Chapter Four

"This is getting ridiculous. It's like every time she sees me, she wants to pick a fight." Sam ran her fingers through her hair, which was still pretty damp from the water bottle incident earlier. "She's triggering me, which is confusing and annoying because I don't get triggered."

Tucker brought his forefinger to his lip and hummed softly. "Perhaps she pulled that stunt so she could redeem herself in a rematch. Gossip spreads like a wildfire around Casper High, and word has it that you won that fight."

Sam's forehead creased as she frowned. "What did I win, exactly? Oh, that's right. Suspension, a tortuous class assignment, an after school club, a headache, and more Paulina-time than I wanted. Trust me, this whole situation isn't a win for either of us."

Danny, who had been sitting quietly in the corner of his room on his laptop, peeked up at the pair with his brows curled together. "I'm not entirely sure how her provoking you like that was going to redeem her reputation."

"When I saw you slap that water bottle from her hand and jump up like that, I for sure thought it was on and popping again," Tucker told Sam, who rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I was torn between rushing over to stop the fight or continuing to order our food, but luckily for me, Danny was there, so."

Danny crinkled his nose and let his gaze fall to the monitor of his laptop once again. "All I know is that I really don't want you getting physical again."

"Don't worry. That's not going to happen," Sam vowed, and she was true to her word. After two days crawled by, she was finally able to go back to school. She was looking forward to having a good day there until she remembered the little assignment that Principal Ishiyama gave to her and Paulina.

She was hoping the woman forgot about it, but sure enough, she was standing front and center in Mr. Lancer's classroom when she arrived. They made brief eye contact before Sam broke it by glancing over at Paulina, who looked just as irritated as she did. Without uttering a word, she made a beeline for her seat just as the bell rang.

"Good morning, students." Principal Ishiyama straightened herself up and panned her eyes around the classroom. Sam lowered her head onto her folded hands and groaned, which made Danny reach his hand out to sympathetically pat her back. "Today, we have two students who would like to demonstrate an act of kindness. Paulina and Samantha, please join me."

Reluctantly, both girls stood up from their seats and trudged towards the front of the classroom. Mr. Lancer crossed his arms and smirked. "Well, ladies? Which one of you wants to volunteer first?" Neither of them responded, so he jerked his head towards Paulina. "Miss Sanchez, why don't you start?"

"Because first is the worst," she replied. Sam rolled her eyes and shifted her weight onto her right foot.

"Well, first sure did kick second's ass." She only said it low enough for Paulina to hear, which is why both Principal Ishiyama and Mr. Lancer were confused when Paulina growled. Sam stepped forward and cleared her throat, ready to go, but Paulina moved in front of her and smiled broadly.

"One thing I like about Manson is her bravery." She dramatically gestured at Sam, who only raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "It takes a lot of courage to step into this school wearing those awful combat boots everyday, but she's somehow able to overlook the fact that it makes her look like a complete loser."

"And one thing I like about Paulina is her confidence." Sam stepped in front of the cheerleader and clasped her hands together. "If I had the chance to parade around the school with my face all caked up with a foundation shade that doesn't match my neck, I probably wouldn't, but she does that very well. Confidence is the key."

Principal Ishiyama inclined her head and brought her hand over her eyes as Mr. Lancer rolled his eyes and told the girls that they could head back to their seats. After sharing a powerful glare, they both huffed and walked back over to their seats.

The rest of the day went by pleasantly for Sam. She passed her Algebra II quiz, ate her favorite salad at lunch, and then she had a smooth period during her Physics class, with her teacher only making them watch a video instead of doing any class work. Unfortunately, her good day came to a halt when the last bell of the day rang, meaning that she couldn't go straight home.

No; she had to attend that stupid character education club.

It was Thursday, which meant that the program wasn't supposed to be in session that day, but something happened with the schedule and, as a result, Friday's session was moved to Thursday instead. She wasn't even sure where the participants of that program met up after school, so she just followed a random guy that was wearing the club's official t-shirt.

He navigated his way through the packed hallway and entered the cafeteria, where he then made a beeline for a lunch table near the corner. Present there were about several other students, with majority of them wearing the same t-shirt that the guy was wearing. She exhaled sharply, guessing that she was right where she was supposed to be.

After waiting around for roughly ten minutes, a tall female teacher approached the group with a smile so radiant that Sam inwardly gagged. "Good afternoon, folks!" the woman chirped. Everyone returned her chipper greeting except for Sam, who just tipped her head back and mouthed her displeasure. "Now that we're all here, please grab your belongings and follow me to the classroom that we'll be using for today."

As the group gathered around by the door and prepared to exit, Paulina came rushing over. "Wait! I'm here." Everyone looked over at her and some of them smiled. She merely disregarded them as she stopped in her tracks before the teacher, flashing her a beautiful toothy grin. "I'm Paulina. Principal Ishiyama signed me up for this club."

"Hi, Paulina. I'm Ms. Castillo, the owner of this club. Come along, dear." The woman spun over her shoulder and started towards the door. "Time to get this party started!" Paulina, retaining her grin, trailed after her along with everyone else. Sam lingered behind the group, suppressing the urge to punch the wall with agitation.