A/N: I haven't updated in a very long time! Hope you still like the story, please R&R! Leave nastiness at the door
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Disclaimer: I do not own Recess. Ok?
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Principal Prickly sat at his desk, flicking sheets of a permanent record with one hand and massaging his head with the other. Spinelli noticed that when the door slammed, his moustache twitched and came to rest against his upper lip. He did not look up at his 'guests' and instead proceeded to glance along the paper, his eyes darting behind his scratched glasses. He finally folded the record and threw it onto the desk with a sigh.
'Take a seat children,' he said tiredly, taking off his glasses and rubbing them with a cloth. TJ and Spinelli took the only two seats available, while the others stood behind, chewing their lips and straining to see the name on the record. Prickly returned the glasses to his nose and swivelled his chair around to face them.
There was a momentary silence as he tried to find his words, the sound of the clock lulling behind him. Instead of waiting for him to begin, in her usual curiosity, Spinelli said, 'have we done something wrong?' A brief smile formed on Prickly's lips and he shook his head.
'No Spinelli, that's not why you are all here, which I must say is very unusual.'
Vince and Mickey exchanged glances and they all sighed in relief.
'However…' he continued, 'what I have to say has more importance than punishment and more continuity than a permanent record.' He slid the record across the table to eager eyes on the other side.
'This,' he pointed to the record, 'is Menlo's permanent record. Inside is every achievement and wrong doing that he has done since his time at this school. As you can see, it is spotless.' He opened the file and flicked through the papers, his hand sliding through with casual speed. 'Do you agree?'
They all nodded, still confused with what was going on. TJ released Spinelli's hand and brought it toward the record, flicking through the papers himself. Spinelli cradled her own hand; missing the connection they just had.
'Principal Prickley, this is missing two years,' TJ said, frowning at the record.
'Yes TJ,' he replied, reaching down underneath his desk, as he returned, he brought back an incredibly thick file, stuffed with all types of paper and held together with string. He grunted as he slammed the heavy file back on the desk, the sheer height looming over the children. 'THIS, is Menlo's record from his rebel years, the years before we had the 'principal for a day' competition, which turned him into the reformed character we see today.'
TJ grinned to himself as he remembered the day he won the competition, the day he threw the biggest party the school had ever seen, complete with hot dogs, snow cones, ice cream and a band. Yet he was amazed that Menlo used to be a prankster like him and how weird it was that he had given up so fast. He then realised that Prickly had been talking for the last few minutes.
'…graffiti, arson, bullying, stealing…as you can see children, the list goes on.' He leant back in his chair and sighed, wiping his glasses once again in silent anxiety.
'But Principal Prickly, how are we involved?' Mickey said, scratching the back of his neck nervously. Prickly stood up and wondered over to the window, the reflection of the tetherball court dancing on his glasses.
'We can accept this children, we can use Menlo's good behaviour to 'rewrite' history, which were going to do.' He paused, walking over to his filing cabinet and pulling out another file. 'However, we have recently found that Menlo was part of a...group, should I say, and still is to this day. For this, he has been suspended and most likely to be expelled when his case is sent to the school board.'
A gasp came from them as they shook their heads in disbelief.
'Not Menlo!' they said among themselves. 'He can't be expelled!'
'What group?' Gretchen asked, with slightly too much agitation then she would have liked. Prickly's eyes darted towards her, searching for an answer.
'I can't tell you, not yet anyway, but I need you to find out about Francis, or, as you kids call him, Hustler Kid.'
Gretchen's eyes widened and she let out a girlish giggle. 'What about him?' she laughed. Everyone looked at her in confusion and smirked at her new 'crush'. Gretchen looked daggers at them all and returned her attention back to Prickly.
'I need to you to find out what exactly he is selling, and don't lie to me, I know he sells something. I would find out myself but he does not seem to have his 'merchandise' on him whenever the teachers or I go. That is why you must, and report back to me.' He said with a harsh voice; enforcing the importance of his request. They all opened their mouths to speak but he held his finger up to silence them.
'I didn't want to ask you to do this but I have no other choice, I chose you because you are the most reliable and I can trust you not to tell anyone else…and don't, or you will find your own permanent record getting a whole lot worse.' He nudged Menlo's rebel file with his finger. 'Now go children, as far as everyone else is concerned, you were in here for littering.'
And with that, he ushered them out of the door with a forceful hand and shut the door firmly behind them, leaving five stunned faces behind him.