It's been awhile.
Disclaimer: Look at previous chapter.
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Chad ran down the now empty hallway. The second period bell had rung after a few seconds of him looking evil in the face. He had to make it to the office to call his mom, the police, someone. The worst possible day for him to have gotten his phone taken away by Darbus after morning basketball. One Shakespeare joke gone too far, he blamed.
He barged through the office door, interrupting the secretaries' conversation. "Can we help you?"
Chad didn't bother with formalities. He rushed and leaped over the wooden desk and grabbed the nearest phone. He picked it up. There was no dial tone. Chad pressed every button, still getting no dial tone.
"What is wrong with the phone?!" he yelled.
"They said they were working on them today during lunch. Is there something wrong?" a secretary asked.
Chad slammed the phone down and grunted in frustration. "Do either one of you have a cell phone?"
"Well pardon me, but cell phone usage is prohibited on…"
"I really don't care, give me detention later, I need a cell phone, now!" he begged. A secretary shakily reached for her purse and handed him her phone. He immediately grabbed it and dialed his mom's work number. His mom's voice wasn't the one her heard on the receiver.
"I'm sorry, sir, but Miss Danforth isn't in right now," her assistant explained, "she went back home to pick up a few things. Can I leave a message for you?"
Chad ended the call without another word. He type his home phone number, praying his mom would pick up.
"Hello?"
"Mom! Mom, we're in danger," he said quietly knowing the secretaries were overhearing.
Chad's mom was baffled. "What do you mean, sweetie?"
Chad took one look at the secretaries and shook his head. He walked out of the office quickly.
"Hey, don't forget my phone!" the secretary called out to him.
He walked around the East High entranceway, seeing if anyone was around to listen to his call. He crouched over near the brick walls of the school building.
"Mom, he's here. He's here at East High. They have him filling as a sub for one of my classes!" he rushed, most of his words coming out in a blur.
She replied, "Calm down, now tell me what are you talking about?"
"Rico Thomas is here, at East High. Mom, dad's killer is here!"
A moment of silence had passed before Kelly spoke to her son. "Chad, were are you right now?"
"I'm behind a corner, up against a brick wall. I rushed out of there once I saw him."
"Chad, I want you to stay in school."
Chad's jaw dropped. "Mom, what…"
"Chad, you are safest at school, you need to stay there for as long as you can as stay around as many people as you can."
"But Mom…"
"Chad,…"she hesitated, "Anthony, he isn't going to do anything if you're around people. I'm going to call the police right now. I'll come get you once I've told them."
Chad took in a deep breath. Fear still trembled in his heart, but he knew the nightmare would soon be over. "Mom, I love you."
"I love you too." Click. Chad hung up the cell phone he was using and went back inside East High.
After Chad was faced with a verbal rebuking from Principal Matsui and a double detention from the secretaries, he headed towards his homeroom. The bell rung as soon as he stepped in the room.
"Ah, Mr. Danforth, how grateful are we to be presented with your presence?" Ms. Darbus announced. Chad quickly walked around her and sat in his usual seat. He could feel eyes burning a hole in the back of his head. He knew those eyes belonged to Taylor, but he couldn't bring himself to look back at her. He didn't trust himself around her. And that was a risk he couldn't afford at the moment.
"Chad, where did you run off to?" Troy asked. "In second period, I actually paid attention. Did you know we were learning about the Civil War?"
"Sorry man, I had to call my mom. Family business," he muttered.
Troy had turned around. "It's all cool. Are you stoked for fourth period though? We have Mr. Thomas, dude."
Chad felt his stomach fall like a brick as his eyes widen. "Yeah, yeah, uh, I'm not feeling too well. I'm going to go see the nurse."
Chad got up and went over to Ms. Darbus. Taylor looked down as Darbus signed his pass and he left the classroom. Troy walked over to Gabriella leaving Taylor with two empty seats in front of her. She frowned as she looked down at her desk. Does he hate me now? She wondered.
"Gabi, you see him, he won't even look at me."
Taylor and Gabi were in the library for fourth period, doing some research on a project they both had already finished.
"I kissed him, he kissed me; we kissed! And now he wants to dump me off to the side," Taylor said.
Gabriella countered, "But you were the one who said he didn't like you and you had no attraction towards him whatsoever."
"Then why am I so concerned about him? I mean did you see how he was almost late for homeroom and then left before it ended?"
"I can't say I've really noticed," she shrugged. Taylor sighed and walked away to a bookshelf a few feet away. Gabriella followed. "Taylor, if you like Chad so much…"
"No Gabi," Taylor butted holding up a finger. "See that's where you're wrong. I don't like Chad. It's impossible for anyone to like someone that remotely egotistical, arrogant, pompous, self-indulging…"
"Oh, self-indulging, you must really like him." Gabriella joked. Taylor rolled her eyes in response. "Tay, I'm kidding. But I do think you like, regardless of what you think."
Taylor turned to her friend. "Then what do I do?" she whispered. "What do I do if I kinda sort of like, but he obviously wants no part of me?"
"Maybe he's just a commitment-phobe. You know most guys, rather have their cake and eat it too, than appreciate the process it took to make that cake and value it for it content."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've dished out that pearl of wisdom from experience," Taylor coaxed raising her eyebrows.
Gabriella tilted her head while she grabbed a book from the shelf. "It's Ricardo, my mom's boyfriend. He's such a commitment-phobe, I wonder if he's really in this relationship for keeps."
"How long have they been dating?"
"Not that long, but that's not the point. You should see the way my mom pines over him when he's around, even when he's not around. I wish they just settle down already."
Taylor brushed over the line of book with her finger as she listened to her. "Things take time, calm down."
"First I have to consult you and your love life, now I have to take hold of my mom's," Gabriella concluded. She put the book back on the shelf and turned her heel. "I should be getting paid for this."
I know I may have left off at the worst possible cliff hanger possible, sorry, but I'm trying to update more often. More action to come...Please review and be nice:)