Friend or Foe?
Author's Note: Attention readers. To all of you who've read all three chapters up until this point, I should tell you all I've been looking forward to this chapter. Something long overdue is taking place that I'm assuming some fans probably have wanted. And believe me, I wish that part, if not all of what happens in this chapter became cannon. Take it from here Todd!
Wednesday
Though I had a satisfying day yesterday, I had kind of a rough sleep. I had a dream involving Maurecia but when I punched her the wall collapsed behind her. Was that dream trying to tell me something? I'm scared that either within the next few days the building will collapse on all the students, or… Maurecia won't make it. The former isn't likely but the latter is possible. Its 6:15 and I'm wide awake. I might as well get ready for my third day of the week.
Within the next fifteen minutes I pack a lunch, containing a sandwich with turkey, pepper jack cheese, mustard, miracle whip, and wasabi sauce. Most people prefer horseradish but I've always loved wasabi. I also grab a cheese stick, an applesauce, and a pack of peanut butter crackers, my favorite snack. Then I realize it's only 6:30. But for some reason I feel I should get to the school right now. It's time to step out of my comfort zone.
I went back into my room and opened my closet to spot a nice, flat yet fast rolling skateboard. I used to ride it to my old school every day but after the toy incident I felt it wasn't safe to leave lying around. But maybe… I could get back into the habit of using it? I know I just took an injury to my knees yesterday but even so I want to get used to being braver than I am now. I put on my unsaturated sky blue helmet on my head then get on the skateboard to test it. I roll out my bedroom and stop before I hit the wall.
"Slow and steady never fails." I say. I pick the board up and head downstairs where I'm greeted by my mom.
"Good morning sweetie." She says.
"Good morning mom." I respond before facing the door. "I was just on my way to the school." She almost drops what she's doing.
"You're not hungry?" I guess guilt has weakened my appetite.
"Well mom I'm not really feeling it today."
"What's with the skateboard?" She asks. I realize I have some explaining to do.
"Well mom yesterday some things happened."
"What sort of things?" She asked raising an eyebrow. I feel I might as well just be honest about this.
"Remember when I told you I wanted to change schools?"
"Have you made your final decision?" She asked.
"No let's not make any assumptions." I say. "Yesterday there was an unfortunate accident involving me and a girl." She smiled.
"Did you finally get a girlfriend?"
"I said don't make assumptions!" I said with a little frustration. "I punched her." Her face lit up with sadness.
"Why son?" She asked. "Why would you punch anyone at all?"
"Because she's been punching me for the last year. Now she's in the hospital and I don't what to do." She looks worried.
"Have you said any prayers?"
"Not yet. I don't usually do that. But I want to go to the school early to see if I can find things I love about it." She pointed at my legs.
"Are you sure your knees are okay? Maybe I should drive you there." I wave my palm.
"That won't be necessary mom. I'm a quick healer and I need to get to school now. A part of me says I gotta jet." I set the skateboard on the floor.
"It's really early Todd. Are you sure you want to leave now?" I mean I live about five miles from the school. I know Maurecia skates to school every day so what have I got to lose? Besides, if I use the skateboard as my source of transportation I wouldn't need to ride home on the kindergarten bus.
"Yeah mom. I want to familiarize myself with the positives of Wayside School." I pick up and put on my backpack. "I want to know for sure if I still like the school itself and not just the people I see there."
"Okay sweetie. Have a nice day." Just when I was about to drive off she said one more thing. "And please don't hurt anyone again." I sighed but continued.
"Alright mom. Bye!" I skated out the door and did a quick rotator over the porch stairs.
"Yeah!" I say in excitement. I don't know why I gave this thing up. I might not be as daring as Maurecia or Jenny but I'd be a fool if I said it wasn't fun.
By the time I finally made it to the school I picked the board up. I think I'll need to practice more before I start skating the stairways. As I walk in the school I spot Louis who looks a little tired for some reason.
"What's up Louis?" I give him my usual greeting. He yawns.
"Not much Toddster. Nice helmet." He says.
"Thank you. I wanted to try skating to school today and it was pretty fun." The helmet is actually Myron's but after that stunt I did he never asked for it back.
"Cool dude. Your knees didn't bother you?" I shake my head.
"Not really. It's a very minor abrasion." I tell him. "What's on your mind?" He sighed.
"Todd. Have you been thinking of Maurecia?" He asked me. Truth be told I had but I wasn't too worried about it.
"A little." He sighs again. "What?"
"Well Todd. After you left the school I got a call from the hospital." This can only end badly I think. "She got hit in a joint in the back of the skull that temporarily paralyzes the entire nervous system if fractured."
"Oh my god." I say. "What's her condition called?"
"Intracranial hemorrhage." He states. "It's when a portion of the skull is fractured and there is internal bleeding. In her case a nerve connecting to her brain was damaged and if the blood flow to the brain is disrupted for even a split second, the person blacks out instantly." My eyes widen.
"How long does it take to resume its usual blood flow?" I ask.
"Often no less than a couple of days or sometimes weeks. But don't worry Todd. They said the nerve wasn't permanently damaged and blood is still making its way through her brain. It's just that a portion of it was lost so it's taking time to resume." I guess that's logical. But how much did she lose? When will she wake up? All of this is actually starting to scare me.
"Did they predict when she'll wake up from the coma?" I ask worryingly.
"Unfortunately the doctors can't tell for sure. They said she'll likely be asleep for about a week." I don't have that much time.
"Is there any chance she'll wake up today?" I ask.
"Extremely unlikely Todd." He says. I frown in sadness. "But she's still alive and breathing as we speak so she's closer to waking up today than she is to death." That's something to be grateful for.
"Is there anything I can do?" I ask and I feel pretty dumb after I say it. I'm not a doctor and I can't just shock someone out of a coma.
"Well Todd. You can hope for the best." He says. I look down in sadness.
"Okay thanks for telling me." He pats my shoulder.
"And hey. I still hope for you to make your best decision. See you Todd." He says as he walks into the office. I shrug and begin walking up the stairs. It's a really long walk and I walk by the bathroom I covered up, the short room I lowered, the area that cow would eat the walls. All of these small changes I made that made a big impact. I guess there are a couple of things to feel good about. Until I get to the stairs between twenty nine and thirty. I see the spot on the wall where Maurecia crashed and that guilt comes back.
"That actually probably hurt a lot." I sigh. But it all happened so quickly I wonder if she even felt it. A couple of tiny red spots are on the floor which I can tell is Maurecia's blood. I almost want to cry.
*Oh get a grip Todd!* I hear my subconscious say. Imagine a devil with my face appearing on my shoulder. *You don't like her! You never liked her! Within the first minute you joined this school she punched you! And she's punched you every day since! You don't like her and she doesn't like you! She never once cared about how you felt after getting hit and she never took your feelings into consideration!*
After I think about that I don't care. If she did care she would've tried to be a better friend to me while I was here. I tried very hard to be her friend and she treated me like a punching bag. Suddenly I hear her voice.
"I love you Todd!" But it's only an echo of the past. The first Thursday I was at this school she said that… But she doesn't have any proof of her 'love' now does she? I tell myself I'm done thinking about her. Then as I walk by our lockers I hear what sounds like a faint crying noise. I flinch and listen very carefully to try to find where the sound is coming from. I follow the whine until I find myself at Maurecia's locker, feeling a little confused.
"Huh?" I open the locker out of curiosity and see a familiar looking green ball, the little seaweed colored thing turns towards me.
"Oh hi Fluffy." I say casually and suddenly the little pest attacks me. He leaps out of the locker and claws his grip onto my shirt. "Hey pal calm down." I say scared.
"AYEII!" He screeches in my face then scratches my chest.
"Ow!" I frown. "Stop that!" I demand but of course he doesn't listen. He pulls my collar down and scratches me just below my neck. "Ow! Okay that's it!" I know this will hurt me to. I slap him off my shirt while poking my fingers a couple times on his quills. "Ow." I say and then shake the pain off. Fluffy gets into an attack stance. I glare into his eyes. He returns an equally intense glare at me. I imagine fire burning around us.
"Bring it!" I shout at him. He screeches again and then leaps at me again holding a quill. I attempt to hit him but my hand misses him and he stabs my arm. "Ow!" I yelp as he grips my neck from below. "Get off!" I crunch my chin down and he loses his grip, only to catch the bottom of my shirt. "How does Maurecia put up with you?" I ask half astonished and half annoyed. He then sinks his teeth into my pancreas. "Ow!" I shout before seeing a nearby wall. A dark grin appears on my face as I firmly body slam the wall. Fluffy falls onto the ground dizzily. I feel I've won the fight.
"Okay can we stop now?" He snaps out of it and growls at me. He doesn't move but I can tell he still wants to maim me. "Look. I'm sorry you got left in the locker for a night okay. But it's only because I accidentally knocked Maurecia out." He flinches then his glare comes back.
"AYEII!" He screeches at the top of his lungs then leaps forward. This time though I managed to catch him. As he flew towards my chest I brought my hands together in a clapping form just below his quills, and pressed my thumbs against his tiny arms. At this point I've restrained him real good. He can't move any muscles and he can't reach my chest again to bite. But he didn't lose his anger. He screeched at me again.
"AIEY!" He is really giving me a headache.
"Please stop screeching." I say only for him to ignore me. "Be quiet!" I shout. I know he knows he's trapped but intimidating me is his only option. Unfortunately for him he's in checkmate. He continues screeching and I feel my frustration plug inside my brain being pulled.
"SHUT UP YOU LITTLE PAIN IN THE ASS!" I scream as loud as I can. His mood immediately changes into sadness. He cries a little but I'm sick of it. "Quit crying!" I yell but he continues. I sigh and then I bring him to the point our noses are touching.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" I say fiercely and he opens his eyes. I can feel him shivering in my hands. "I don't know what your problem is but you always have to make a pest of yourself!" His lips quiver like he's going to cry again. I sigh.
"Why do you always pick on me?" I ask. "Is it because I used you to block a dodgeball? Because I'm sorry, but that's no reason to hold a grudge against someone." He shakes his head and then I drop him on the floor. "Then what the hell is your problem?" He stands there looking sad. "Well? Are you gonna show me?" I ask half demanding. He stands there for a few more seconds, and then he crawls back to Maurecia's backpack.
"What do you have in there?" I ask looking a little confused. He crawls back carrying a large scrapbook I've never seen before. "What's this?" He just leaves it next to me then walks to the end of the hall and sits there. I open the book and on the first page I see, I notice images of Maurecia punching me.
"Oh ha, ha." I say sarcastically. "Very funny. I never knew Maurecia was sadistic enough to save pictures of me getting hurt." Suddenly Fluffy walks back. "What now?" I ask. He then tears the entire page off and eats it. After that page I see some things I'd never imagined. The first photo is the first time I met her after she saved me from falling items.
-Me saving the boy of my dreams, it says. "Okay… I guess she did save me once but even so…" Fluffy turns the page for me then without looking, he points at a bunch of photos I can't believe I'm seeing. He then goes back to the end of the hall to let me continue. I read the top which is labeled 'Friendly friends.'
-The captain of the science club. There is the photo of me with my rocket.
-Our inspiration. There is a photo of me motivating the tetherball team.
-'Go Todd, go Todd, go Todd!' It's an image of me playing my video game with her watching and cheering me on.
-Please give me a detention! I'm wearing Kidswatter's tie and taking his job for the day. I continue scrolling through images of us eating lunch together, walking down the halls and stairways together, and taking participation in school activities together.
"Okay I guess she doesn't hate me. But she definitely doesn't love me." I say. Fluffy makes a book symbol in his hands and motions me to turn. I turn the pages until I hit a section that catches my attention immediately.
"Romantic times?" I ask. Fluffy, still looking sad, gives me a thumbs up. I look down at the book. The first photo I see is of me and me only.
-Todd, the boy of my dreams. I notice she drew a couple of hearts around the label and a large heart around the photo itself. Then I see an image of us last Valentine's Day. Our desks were locked together.
-Love hurts. I see me holding her ponytail as she moves around. I chuckle slightly at that. The next one is of us doing our dance.
-We're the champions! I didn't think she'd remember that one. It was the only time we'd planned her punching me but we changed our plans at the last minute. Next I see a photo of us holding hands in a raft.
-Just me and him. A smile appears on my face. I am so surprised to see these all of a sudden. I see a photo of the Halloween dance.
-My knight in shining armor. I feel a tear make its way out of my right eye. I had a great time that night and it looks like she did to. I turn to the final page and see an image that I'll never forget. It was the third day I was in this school, the walls were closing in and she was too afraid to let go of the dangling light until I told her I'd catch her. After she let go I got squashed pretty badly but she was grateful for being saved.
-My hero. I notice she drew hearts all around this page. At this point I'm in tears, happy tears. I never knew Maurecia kept all of these images and frankly I hadn't remembered any of these events myself. I spent all my time thinking about how often she hurts me to even consider thinking of good times we shared. I kept trying not to look back.
"Wow. She really does love me doesn't she?" I turn to Fluffy and he gives me another thumbs up, followed by a couple of tears streaming down his face. I'm confused for about three seconds but then it hits me.
"Hey Fluffy." I say calmly. "Are you worried I'll take Maurecia's attention and she won't love you as much?" He nods twice then bursts into tears. I actually feel a little sorry for him. I didn't know he had such sincere feelings. "Hey." He looks up at me. "I'm sorry." I tell him. He sniffles then slowly crawls over to me. I wonder what's on his mind until he gently hugs my arm.
"You're sorry to?" I ask and he nods. I'd never seen him so emotional. "I forgive you." I say. He smiles for a second and then let go of my arm. After that he went back to the end of the hall. I think he feels neglected. He sits there shivering and groaning very lightly. I pull out my lunch box. He looks like he's starving. I take out my pack of peanut butter crackers, remove the wrapping, and hold a cracker out.
"Hey Fluffy." He looks up slowly. "Do you like peanut butter?" His face lights up and he runs towards me. He stops at my hand and puts his tiny fingers on the cracker, then shyly looks back up at me. "It's all yours pal." He then grabs the cracker and takes a bite.
"Mm." I hear him hum contently. I've never seen him eat before. He continues until the cracker is gone. I pull out another one and hold it out.
"You want another one?" He smiles contently and takes it. As he begins eating it I pour the other four into my hand. "You know what? You can have them all." His smile widens. I sit there as he eats my second, third, fourth, and fifth cracker. He looks so happy and adorable! I feel pretty good about myself for a minute. After he finishes the fifth one he picks up the last one, but he doesn't eat it.
"Are you full?" I ask. He shakes his head but continues to hold the cracker out. "You want me to have the last one?" I ask. He nods. "It's alright, I really don't need it." He doesn't put it down. "I know you haven't eaten since yesterday so you deserve it more than me." He raises an eyebrow. Then he breaks it in half and hands me the larger half. "You want to share it?" He nods. "Okay."
I take my half of the cracker and eat it. It tastes delicious, especially since I haven't had anything else yet this morning. I watch as Fluffy eats his half and licks his lips. He yawns after he's done, crawls to my arm, and hugs it. I never knew he had a kind side to him. Ever since I first saw him I thought he was a wild monster. I guess he thought the same of me. But this time he's being gentle and not trying to scare me.
"Hey." I pick him up slowly and hold him in my hands. "Are we friends now?" That smile leaves his face quickly. He shrugs. I raise an eyebrow. "Let me rephrase that." I say. "I want to be your friend. So do you accept?" He smiles and nods. "Okay!" I exclaim as I hug him gently to avoid his quills. I hear him purr contently in my arms.
"You know, I don't think we've ever had any official bonding time before." He shakes his head. "I kind of wish we had though." He nods. "I used to think you were the devil himself." I hear him chuckle. "And you thought the same of me right?" He nods. I give a hearty laugh and he joins me. After about a minute I hold him in my hands again and he looks into my eyes. This time he's not sad or scared or angry. I feel proud to finally have erased a long lasting grudge.
"Fluffy, you're actually really adorable." He continues purring. "And I'm sorry if I hurt you a few minutes ago. I've had a tough time releasing my anger recently." He gives me a gesture to flip my right hand over. "Um. Okay." I flip it over. Then suddenly he licks the spot I got pricked. It stings very slightly but I know he's only trying to help. He then climbs up my shirt and licks the area between my chest and neck where he scratched me. I chuckle a little.
"Thanks pal." I tell him and he gives me another thumbs up. Then after he's done he turns back to the scrapbook. He jumps off of my hands and stares at the book for a few seconds. Then he looks back up looking sad.
"What is it?" He points at Maurecia in a picture, points at me, and then punches Maurecia in the photo. After that he shrugs. "Oh, are you asking why I hurt her?" He closes his eyes and then nods. "Well Fluffy, I don't know if you want to know. It's actually pretty sad." He looks up and folds his hands together in a praying motion. I take a deep breath and sigh. "Okay. You deserve to know." I look back to the day prior.
"Yesterday I came into the building in a horrible mood. You actually witnessed me flipping out and screaming at Mrs. Jewls on Monday, and whether you liked or hated me at the time, you have to admit she punishes me a lot and frankly I was kind of sick of it."
"Mm hm." He hums softly. I think he knows where this is going.
"And furthermore I really don't know why she punishes me. I really don't try to be a bad student like most kids who receive punishments do. I follow the rules, or at least the normal ones, pay attention in class, take tests seriously and even ace them, but then I end up going home early for simply trying to fit in with everyone else. It's very infuriating sometimes." He hums again. I can tell he understands what I'm saying.
"So as I was leaving the room, I'd already had more than I'd ask for even on average, and Maurecia punched me again!" He frowns. "Like, really hard." He sighs. "And even so she waited until I didn't expect it either. It felt like a battering ram colliding into my scapula. You know what I mean?" He nods.
"So long story short, yesterday I heard her shout 'Hi Todd!' and got scared. For most of the morning I was hiding from her so I wouldn't get punched. But when I heard her call my name I felt screwed. I've tried running away many times but they were always in vain. She's much quicker on her rollerblades than I've ever been and while I was able to dodge a few punches that day, she doesn't quit until she's satisfied." Fluffy folds his arms and I'm a little confused who's side he's currently on.
"So when she got close enough, I closed my eyes since I knew my potential fate and I didn't want to watch myself do this. I turned and punched her as hard as I could, I was aiming at her shoulder but again I wasn't watching, so I actually hit her in the forehead." Fluffy gasps. "Then, just when I thought it was over, she kept rolling until she rolled down the stairs, backwards, and hit the wall head first." Fluffy looked so scared. I made complete eye contact with him.
"So you see, I wasn't trying to injure her, I just wanted to make my point with her about not wanting to get punched daily. I tried talking to her but it didn't work. I figured the only way she'd take it seriously is if she knew how it felt. The environment wasn't in her favor. But I'm truly sorry it happened. And I carried her all the way down to the ground level to save her faster." Fluffy's face instantly changes, he looks surprised.
"What?" I ask. "Does it surprise you that I carried her down thirty floors?" He nods. "She's in the hospital right now and she's still unconscious. It's uncertain when she'll wake up but it likely won't be this week." He begins crying, I feel my voice begin breaking and more tears coming. "I'm so sorry Fluffy! I really am. If I could go back in time and restrain myself, I would've taken the punch." Fluffy suddenly stops and gives a sad smile. Like he was sad and saw something heartwarming. He then climbs back onto my stomach and hugs me lightly. I stop crying.
"You're awfully forgiving today. Why is that?" He just looks into my eyes and sits there. I can tell he understands everything I say completely perfectly. It's almost as if he feels my pain. "Do you ever feel neglected?" I ask. He nods but doesn't stop smiling or crying. It's like he's sad but he's fighting his own feelings to remain happy. I honestly don't know what's on his mind.
"Fluffy are you happy or sad right now?" He holds his hands flat upwards and moves them up and down in a shrugging manner, I think he's uncertain of his feelings. "If you're mad at me for hurting Maurecia then it's completely justifiable." His tears disappear, he sighs and makes what I'd describe a humble frown. Maybe? His eyes are closed and he seems pretty adamant.
"Are you mad?" I ask and he shakes his head. "Are you sure?" He nods. "You have the right to hate me now." He opens an eye for a second and then shakes his head again. "You don't hate me?" He nods. "Or you don't hate me anymore?" He nods again. "But are you disappointed?" He nods. "In me?" He pauses and opens his eyes. He brings his thumb and pointer finger close together. "You're a little disappointed in me?" He nods. "How about Maurecia?" I ask and his adamant frown flashes off. He gives me a wider symbol this time.
"Are you more disappointed in Maurecia?" He sighs and nods lightly. I know he's trying very hard to communicate with me but I cannot understand him and he knows it. "I'm so confused. Is there another way of you making yourself clear?" He shrugs. "How about we play charades? You nod whenever I'm correct." He gives me a thumbs up and crawls to the end of the hallway.
He first folds over his shoulders, sticks his head up and walks forward whistling. "You're me." He nods and keeps going. Then he imitates me getting punched and hitting a wall. "So what you're saying is you understand why I did it? All the pain that lead up to me doing it." He smiles and nods repeatedly. I realize this isn't as hard as we both thought it'd be. He then stands up straight and looks like he's loosening a tie.
"Mr. Kidswatter?" I ask. He shakes his head. He then looks like he's walking to work holding a briefcase. "Hm." I hum. "This one's trickier. Is there an easier way?" I ask and he sighs. He then goes back to imitating Maurecia hitting me. Then he glares and walks out. I'm struggling to get what he means for a second until he makes a very worried face. "Maurecia got scared?" I ask. He nods and keeps moving. He shows me leaving the school then not returning. I think I'm getting some of it now.
"Maurecia got scared I'd leave the school for good and knew I was serious after that last blow?" He grins and nods. Then, still posing as Maurecia walks into what I'm guessing is a house and sits down. He mimics her talking and then switches locations and makes that same adult like face. I face palm.
"Oh! Her dad?" He grins and nods. "That makes things a whole lot easier." I say as he continues. I then see him acting out her telling him about me, him questioning her, her punching me, then him looking unimpressed. Then he points making a serious face, makes a punching motion, and then glaring while shaking his head. "He told Maurecia punching is unattractive?" I receive a thumbs up. Then while posing as her dad he makes a hugging motion and she looks surprised.
"Wait a minute. I think I have this figured out." He stops. "He told Maurecia that instead of punching me, she should hug me and then I'd know her feelings?" He gives a very enthusiastic smile and nods. "So the second I threw a punch at her, I wasn't avoiding a punch, but instead a hug?" His smile disappears and he nods. "And you're disappointed in me for doing it." He nods. "But you see it was pretty logical of me to assume she would've hit me right?" He nods at that to. I stand up and get that serious face back.
"I'm sorry Fluffy but I don't believe that in the slightest." He looks sad for a second. "You mean to tell me Maurecia was actually going to stop punching me and hug me yesterday." He nods and proceeds to look worried. "Fluffy, that isn't like her at all. She didn't look any more enthusiastic yesterday than any time in the past she punched me. If she was going to change don't you at least think she'd make a different approach?" He shrugs. I know it's hard for him to tell since he didn't see it.
"Fluffy are you being 100% honest with me?" He nods and prays I'll believe him. He hasn't lied to me yet, but what he's telling me doesn't seem right. I really want to believe him but a part of me thinks it's too unlikely. I've never seen Maurecia hug anybody before. She's punched me countless times and never once bothered to lower the net force. In fact that last one was harder than ever before.
"Fluffy, you have seen her punch me many times before haven't you?" He nods. "Are you completely sure she would've hugged me?" I feel I've gotten to him. He shrugs. I know he's not lying to me because he didn't see it when it happened so he can't be sure. "So you're not sure. Are you?" He nods. "But you think she would've hugged me?" He continues nodding. "Okay Fluffy. I think I can trust you. Though I can't fully bring myself to believing she would've hugged me, I'll suspend my disbelief." It feels like a fifty-fifty chance right now.
"One more thing." I say catching his attention. "While Maurecia is in the hospital you need someone to take care of you. Don't you?" A smile suddenly appears on his face. He's so cute when he's happy! "I don't have any pets right now and I've never owned a small one. If you're willing to behave yourself, I wouldn't mind taking you in temporarily." He looks so excited his eyes sparkle. "And I've got a lot more peanut butter at home." He jumps with joy. "Okay Fluffy. It's settled! You can come with me until-" Suddenly I'm interrupted.
"Todd is that you?" I hear Mrs. Jewls say while walking up the stairs. "Who are you talking to?"
"Hide!" Fluffy runs the end of the hall and hides behind the last locker. Mrs. Jewls continues.
"Todd what is on your mind?" She asks me looking kind of upset.
"Nothing Mrs. Jewls." I say nervously. "I just wanted to come to school early." She raises an eyebrow.
"For what reason?"
"I guess I just couldn't wait to get here. I rode my skateboard to the school." I say showing her my skateboard.
"Might I ask why you brought a skateboard?" She asks. "I know you're not into extreme sports." I can't disagree with that.
"Well Mrs. Jewls, you don't need to be into extreme sports to have a skateboard. I just thought it'd be easier to get around places." She looks a little concerned.
"I see Todd." I grin. "But it doesn't look like it fits inside your bag. Where will you put it for future kindergarten bus rides?" I frown.
"Well Mrs. Jewls, maybe now that I have a skateboard I won't need to ride the kindergarten bus again." She glared.
"Todd! The kindergarten bus is supposed to be a symbol of discipline so students will improve their behavior. You bringing an alternative is something that will not be tolerated." She walks into her room and prematurely puts my name on the discipline list.
"But Mrs. Jewls. I did it because-" I'm halted.
"No buts Todd. I've read the rulebook and this time I'm using my power correctly. If you try to make an argument I'll add a checkmark next to your name." I'm getting scared. She and I both know my pass has expired and this time I don't have a rule to throw in her face. I walk to my seat and sit down. It's only 7:30 but I'm here so I might as well sit now. What I'm completely oblivious of though, is Fluffy had overheard us talking. He crawled into the room without either of us spotting him until he was under my chair. He tapped my leg a few times then I look down and pick him up.
"Fluffy what are you doing?" I ask. He makes an annoyed face and points at Mrs. Jewls, who's sitting down at her desk and reading a book, completely oblivious of us. "I know. I don't want her to treat me like this but there's nothing I can do about it. I'm the student and she's the teacher. And while she's morally inferior, she's legally dominant."
"Hm." Fluffy crosses his arms. I make a slightly annoyed face and pick him up.
"Fluffy, please do not get me in more trouble!" I whisper sternly while setting him in my bag. I don't zip it but he looks annoyed. To my luck though he didn't protest but he looks like he's preparing an evil plan. I choose to turn away and start playing my Game Boy.
Author's Note: Okay, this is definitely a spot in the story I'm not used to stopping at. But I think the next part needs to be conserved for the next chapter. I wanted to make this one the cutest chapter and I did my best. It makes me feel proud to know people like my writing and want to read more. Next chapter is coming soon. Thank you all for reading and have a nice day!