"I can't believe I'm actually letting you drag me into this," a freckle-faced, auburn-haired girl grumbled as she followed Specs through the English wing.
"Hey, don't blame this on me," he grinned. "You're doing this of your own free will."
"Well you've worn me down over the last four years!" she retorted. "'Oh come on, Sniper, it'll be fun, Sniper, really, I thought you were my best friend.'"
Specs just laughed. He couldn't really be mad about her mockery when he was finally getting her to come to Journalism. Just give her a few minutes to be a drama queen, he decided. She'll be back to normal by the time we get there, anyway.
Once they had reached the room, Specs grabbed the door handle and held the door open for her. "Ladies first," he teased. With a sigh, Sniper took one step into the room, then froze. She turned around with a look of annoyance.
"Specs, I thought you said Journalism was low on members."
"Uh, yeah, it is," he said, confused. That's when he looked into the room and saw the mayhem ensuing from within.
"Oh, hi Specs! We got some new members!" Katherine smiled widely, as if oblivious to the chaos that had erupted behind her.
"Hey, that's my pen!" A shorter boy with brown hair yelled to a taller, paler boy with bright red hair, looking ready to fight him over it.
A lanky boy with light brown hair, a large nose, and a frustrated expression was chasing after a shorter, Asian-looking boy with black hair. "I know you took it! I need that!" the lanky one called, while another boy with caramel hair and a mischievous grin stood in the corner, flipping through a wallet. An African American boy sat laughing next to Crutchie, and a blond boy was telling Jack a joke.
"Uh, Katherine…" Specs said, looking around, unsure of what to make of the scene. He turned to Sniper, but she'd already made her way over to Crutchie. Specs gave Katherine a questioning look, and she shrugged, giving him a look that said, It's not every day that we get this many members.
Katherine decided to try and call the room to order. "Um, does everybody know each other?" she called out.
The Asian boy strode over to Katherine, giving a little bow. "Actually, I don't think I've introduced myself to the lady yet," he grinned.
She laughed. "Ease up, Romeo," she joked.
"Huh, I guess I did!" he scratched his head upon hearing his name. He walked back towards the others, leaving Katherine confused. She shrugged again.
"Albert! Race!" Jack called out to the redhead and the short boy, who looked like they were ready to knock each other's teeth out. "Show some respect, would ya?"
"Hey, it's not my fault he's a dirty thief," Race spit out, responding to Jack but glaring at Albert. Jack sighed at the both of them. Albert grinned smugly.
"Albert's not the only dirty thief in this room," the lanky boy declared, glaring at the boy who had stolen his wallet.
"Really, Mush?" Jack shook his head, turning away from the pick-pocket. "Look, I'm sorry Katherine—"
"No, no, it's fine," she reassured him, although she wasn't so thrilled about the ruckus. She decided to try changing the subject. "How about we all get to know each other?"
Jack looked at her with a face that said, You sure? but proceeded anyway. "Alright…well that's Romeo, Albert, Race, Mush, Jojo—" the lanky boy—"Bunsen—" the blond boy—"and Henry." The African American boy waved a hand.
"And this here's Sniper!" Specs proudly introduced his friend, who gave a half-hearted smile.
"Well it's great to have you all here—"
"Wait a minute," Davey, who had been sitting silently with Bill, Elmer, and Buttons for the last few minutes, spoke up. "Isn't there an adult in charge here? Like, no offense, Katherine, but are you really allowed to run this club all by yourself?"
Katherine was taken aback. "Oh!" she said. "Um…well, our sponsor is actually Principal Pulitzer."
Davey looked surprised. "The principal? Is he allowed to do that? And he never supervises—"
"Yeah, well, he trusts me," Katherine cut him off. Davey looked unsatisfied, but he let it go. Jack, not being a very big fan of the principal, gave Davey a What's her deal? sort of look, but didn't say anything.
"So, uh, Katherine," Jack got her attention, "What's your next big story?"
She smiled. "I'm glad you asked. I'm writing about the senseless cuts to extracurriculars that have been taking place lately."
"'Senseless cuts?'" Race asked.
"Yes," she replied, becoming quite serious. "In this last month alone Pulitzer's moved to cut the Chess Club, Latin Club, and Scholastic Club."
"Well, there's gotta be a reason for him to do that," Davey said.
Katherine sighed. "The School Board says it's to save money. But those clubs cost barely anything next to our sports. And they actually do well at competitions." She rolled her eyes. "Unlike our football team."
"Hey, how's the football team supposed to have any luck with a couple players like the Delanceys?" Henry joked.
"Or a coach like Mr. Weasel!" Albert added. The room erupted in laughter.
Katherine smiled. "My point is, we've got to save extracurriculars. Sports are all fine and dandy, but there's gotta be some stuff left for your not so…athletically inclined kids, too."
"You think you can do that just by writing an article?" Jack asked sincerely.
"Yeah," she grinned. "Yeah, I think I can."
A/N: Guys it's been too long! Sorry it's taken me like two weeks to update. I don't know if that is normally considered too long, but it feels too long to me. I've been preoccupied with school work (hooray high school) and procrastinating on my Tumblr (plug alert: my blog is katepkelly) and also I've been having more musical rehearsals lately (this year my school is doing The Drowsy Chaperone) (it's a really good show). But yeah I'm glad to finally have another chapter up and I don't have school tomorrow so maybe I can have another chapter up tomorrow! This chapter is the one that has scared me the most because I just couldn't think of the right way to write it (haha) for awhile but after this it should be slightly less choppy sailing. I'm gonna stop rambling now
xoxo Bella