Author's note: I'm the worst author ever! I get you guys all psyched for a new chapter and then I don't follow through! If it makes you guys feel any better, this chapter is 2200 words longer than my usual chapters and I am actually quite pleased with it.
As always, thanks to Paladin Juul and mimi cupcake sweet heart for taking the time to review. Chapter 6: go!
"In my office now please girls." Principal Simpson was hasty. Alli and Clare walked in ahead of him. "I'm expecting some other guests. Please tell them to have a seat and I will be with them shortly," he told his secretary, who nodded. He walked into his office and she shut the door behind him.
Five seconds later, Adam and Eli arrived. "Have a seat, boys."
Adam and Eli sat down in two adjacent chairs and Eli pulled out his phone. "You really think that right now is the most appropriate time to be texting?" Asked Adam.
"I'm giving Clare some words of encouragement. So sue me."
"Well that's awfully sweet of you. Are you sure you're not into her?" questioned Adam.
"I might be I might not be. You told me to weigh my options and I took that to heart. I'm not rushing into anything, but I have a feeling she might have a hard time dealing with Simpson's punishment. I am allowed to be concerned for the girl, am I not?" Asked Eli, innocently.
Adam laughed. "You don't need my permission to send a pretty girl some sweet expressions."
Eli put his hand on Adam's knee. "As it so happens I am into someone at the school. The question is: are they into me?" He winked at Adam, who blushed slightly. "Now pipe down, you've gotten me into enough trouble for today."
Adam smirked and looked down at his feet. He couldn't help but smile and secretly admire the kind way that Eli treated Clare. And then there were those blasted butterflies again. If you only knew how your unclear hints made me feel… Adam drifted away into his thoughts.
"I'm not very impressed with the students of this school today." Principal Simpson stood in his office while Alli sat in one chair and Clare sat in the other. "What were you two thinking? Or rather what were you not thinking? When the fire alarm goes off: go outside. Why did two firemen find you two fighting in the cafeteria while the rest of us were standing outside?"
Alli and Clare (who had both remained silent since they had been located and then escorted to the principal's office) stared directly at Principal Simpson but said nothing. He continued to look at them and finally Alli cracked. "Because Clare here is a stuck-up snob that I should never have wasted my time getting to know or being friends with."
"Oh you are one to talk, Alli."
"Unbelievable. I am at a complete loss for words, girls. While why what happened isn't entirely my business, I have to tell you that I am very disappointed in you both for your actions. I'm suspending you both for the next two days. This is going on your record. You will take these notes that I am writing to your teachers to explain your absence; you will gather your belongings and your parents will be telephoned so that they can remove you from the premises. Is all of this understood?" He asked. The girls said nothing. "Feel free to acknowledge the fact that your principal is talking to you." They stayed quiet. "Alright, I have no problem extending your suspension another day. How does three days sound? Or four? Four suits me just fine."
The girls gasped. "Sir that's not fair. On what grounds are you allowed to just change your decision and extend our sentence?" asked Clare.
"Insubordination, Clare. And a suspension is not like a death sentence. Three days it is. Hopefully the time off will do you both some good. You are academically brilliant and yet I don't think your prowess was well used when you made the decision to fight one another. Here are your notes. I hope to see you on better terms Monday morning. If either of you get into anymore altercations or cause any sort of ruckus that requires my intervention: we will have a problem. I'm going to phone both of your parents. Now off you go." He began to dial Alli's house number and then watied. "Hello Mrs. Bhandari, this is Principal Simpson calling."
Alli grabbed her note and left quickly without another word. Clare on the other hand was in much less of a hurry to leave. She waited until he had put down the receiver before she began her speech. "Sir, I really feel that a three-day suspension is overly excessive and severe. I didn't even start the stupid fight. I was completely unwilling to participate in such an absurd quarrel with that hussy she-devil but –
Principal Simpson put has hand up. "Clare, I am still your principal. I don't want to hear you bad-mouthing another student, no matter what happened. I also need to call your parents so just give me a moment." He picked up the receiver once more and began dialing Clare's house number. "
"Sir, no one is home. You're wasting your time." Clare crossed her arms and sat quietly.
The phone rang several times and then went to voicemail. Principal Simpson looked at Clare's file and dialed her mother's work number and then her father's. There was no answer at those numbers either. "Do your parents have cell phones?"
Clare shook her head. "I can keep trying their work phones when I leave, if you like. I'm sure they're both in meetings right now or something." Clare said, nonchalantly.
"Very well. Listen Clare, I know that you think a suspension is unwarranted and that is your right but I am not going to change my mind. Take your note to your teacher please. Don't try to make things worse." Principal Simpson.
Clare looked extremely peeved but she decided not to bother trying to fight back. She took the note and left Principal Simpsons' office completely composed. The second she shut his door, she broke down. She allowed herself to slide the length of the wall and burry her head in her arms. "Hey Clare," cooed a soft voice from in front of her. Clare looked up and saw Adam sitting on a chair next to Eli. Adam walked over to Clare, knelt down and patted her on the shoulder. "What happened?" he asked.
Clare wiped the tears from her cheeks. "He suspended us both. For three whole days. Can you believe that? My parents are going to kill me." She began to sob into Adam's shirt. He put his arm around her. "I've never gotten in trouble at school before. I'm not tardy, I don't raise my voice, I do all my work…and this stupid thing with Alli is going onto my permanent record. I hate her." She sniffled. "I also hate the fact that I allowed myself to lose control like that."
Adam smiled at her. "Hey Clare, it's ok. It happens to all of us. As long as you find a way to get the control back, there's nothing to worry about."
"Mr. Torres, Mr. Goldsworthy? Mr. S is ready for you." The secretary's gruff voice interrupted them.
"Wait for us, Clare? We'll be in and out pretty fast," promised Eli. He stood in front of her and squeezed her knee. Clare nodded and watched them walk past her into Principal Simpson's office.
Clare pulled out her phone and noticed she had two new text messages, both from Eli. She read them in her head and smiled. I'm awfully lucky to have good friends like Eli and Adam she thought.
Adam closed the door behind them. Principal Simpson pointed at the chairs in front of his desk as he paced around behind it. "Once again, I can't help but say that I am at a complete loss for words. Fighting and false alarms, fairly bad behavior and bad judgment calls all around today. From what I have been told by your teachers, you both seem like very intellectual students. What doesn't make sense is the fact that –
"Sir, spare us the lectures and sob stories. Just dole out the usual punishment and we will be on our merry way." Said Eli, uncouthly.
Principal Simpson narrowed his eyes in Eli's direction. "You know, I was thinking about waving your detention, Eli. Now? I'm thinking it might be good for you to take some days off. I'm handing each of you a three-day suspension. When you come back to school on Monday morning, I expect you to be refreshed, calmed down and better behaved. You will also have to come and see me for notes. Since you both are expected to vacate the premise immediately, I'm going to have to phone your parents. Adam, what is your mother's new cell number?"
Adam's eyes went wide. "Sir, I'd like to just keep this between us and have to walk home if it's all the same to you."
"It isn't 'all the same to me' at all, Adam. I am expected to follow school protocol on matters like these. Unless you can give me a valid reason not to call your mother, I don't have much of a choice."
"She kicked me out." Adam admitted, quietly.
"Pardon?" said Principal Simpson. "You're going to have to speak up. Why don't you want me to phone your mother, Adam?" He was getting frustrated and it was making Adam nervous.
Eli couldn't take it anymore. "His mother kicked him out of her house. Is that good enough incentive for you not to call her up and fuel the fire further?"
Principal Simpson was astonished. "I…had no idea. Adam, is this true?" Adam nodded. Principal Simpson looked back and forth between the two students sitting in front of him. He was completely speechless.
"I-it's really not a big deal at all, sir. She got mad and she said it but she probably didn't mean it." Adam shrugged.
Principal Simpson did not look convinced. He put his hands on his desk and leaned forward. "Please don't hesitate to come and talk to me if you need anything."
Adam sighed and nodded. He didn't like it when people tried to pry into his home life. Since Principal Simpson was being kind enough to throw him a one-time-only verbal rope of hope, Adam figured he should at least try to act grateful. "Thank you sir, I appreciate it."
"I know you don't have a house phone, Eli, but tell your parents that I would like to set up a meeting with them in the near future. Now get going." Principal Simpson almost seemed reluctant to tell them to leave.
Adam and Eli nodded and walked out of the office. "So now that we've all been suspended for the remainder of the week, what do we want to do for fun?" asked Adam.
Clare grinned at him. "My parents didn't answer their work phones, so I don't really have any plans other than having to take public transportation home and dealing with their wrath as late in the evening as I can possibly manage."
"Didn't Principal Simpson throw a hissy fit when you told him that?" asked Adam.
"What he doesn't know can't hurt him." Said Clare, grinning.
"Well then why don't you come with us and pack Adam's belongings? I'm sure we could use the extra hand." Suggested Eli, casually.
Clare glanced at him in mock disbelief. "Very funny, Eli. Where are you going, Adam? Caribbean cruise or something?" She laughed and then noticed that the guys were not laughing along with her. "Why so serious? Did something happen that I don't know about or no one felt like mentioning to me or…" Clare trailed off, anticipating an explanation from at least one of her friends.
Adam glared half-heartedly at Eli. "You may as well tell her the story since you're so darn fond of it."
"Adam's mother came by, instigated a fight with him, physically and verbally assaulted him and right before she left she told him he was kicked out. We have 24 hours to get all of his belonging's or else." Eli summarized. "So! Seeing as you are otherwise unoccupied, come help us?"
"I guess I can't really say no to that. Are you going to be ok, Adam? I had no idea things with your mom had gotten this bad."
Adam forced a smile. "I'll get over this the same way I get over everything else that goes wrong in my life: by spending an absurd amount of time watching crummy horror movies and inhaling chemically buttered popcorn." Clare looked at him. "Oh relax, I'm fine. We're all kind of jumping the gun anyway. We might get there and start trying to pack and she might apologize or something. Stranger things have happened."
"Yes but Adam –
He cut Clare off. "If she actually is kicking me out of the house today, it might be a really good thing. If we're not stuck in the same house constantly, there are a lot fewer opportunities for us to fight. I'm going to take full advantage of this. She actually has no idea just how much freedom she has given me."
While Clare was happy to see Adam sounding so confident, she was worried that it might be something of a façade. She knew there would be an opportunity to discuss it with Eli at some point later in the day so she pushed the negative thoughts back for the time being and smiled at Adam. "If that is how you feel, I support you 110%."
"Thanks Clare. We should probably go get this over with." The three friends began walking down the hallway. "I don't need anything from my locker. Don't really feel like spending the next five days getting ahead in class," announced Adam.
"Ohh I do. Sorry, would you guys mind waiting for me? I'll be two minutes, I promise." The boys nodded at Clare and she ran off down the hallway.
Eli watched her go and then shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Nothing ever takes to minutes," Adam pointed out with a smile.
That made Eli grin. "Only girls," he said. Suddenly he stopped grinning, grabbed Adam's wrist and started down the same hallway as Clare. "Fitz alert, keep moving."
Adam didn't look over his shoulder as he tried to keep pace with Eli. "Does he just never go to class or am I going crazy?"
"I don't know but the last thing we need today is another brawl," said Eli, quickly. They walked briskly down on hallway after another and then turned down a hallway that neither of them recognized. They stopped to listen for the sound of Fitz' footsteps but heard nothing aside from their own heavy breathing. They sighed in relief and smiled at each other.
"You know one of these days we are going to have to stop running and being afraid of him, right?" Asked Adam.
"Who says I'm afraid of him?" Asked Eli. "We are hiding for your sake not mine. I have no problem strangling that punk if he tries to pull any crap on us today. It would be nice if he would leave you alone once and for all."
Adam (who only just noticed how close together his and Eli's bodies were) smelt something unbelievable. It had to be Eli since Adam couldn't smell himself. He knew that he himself never smelt quite that good. He took a deep breath. "Eli, I have to say something." Eli looked over at Adam. Here goes nothing he thought. He grabbed Eli's face without another moment's hesitation and kissed him hard.
Eli was stunned. To the surprise of both himself and Adam, he didn't pull away. On the other hand, he didn't move any closer and when Adam realized this, he let go. Eli arched an eyebrow. "Thanks Adam, that was uh…"
"Totally unexpected? Too forward? Unwanted? Starling? Unpleasant? I know, I'm sorry. It's just that I've been having these feelings towards you…about you…regarding us…I pretty much wondered what would happen if I…if I did something about them." Adam paused to catch his breath. When nothing further was said between them, Adam took that to mean that his efforts had been in vain. "So am I on your hit-list now?"
Eli rolled is eyes sarcastically. When he saw the hurt-filled look that spread across Adams' face, he immediately softened his expression. "Of course not. What can I say that won't sound cheesy or scripted and won't hurt you? Honestly is always the best policy. You've shared two pretty important secrets with me in the past five hours and I'm glad you trust me so much. I'm…flattered that you like me, really I am. In all honestly though Adam, I like you as a really really good friend. I don't see you in a romantic light at all but I don't want this experience to stop us from staying friends. That means more to me than anything else. Are you going to be ok with that?"
Adam looked pretty disappointed with the answer he had been given and he wanted Eli to know that. "Does it even matter?" he asked quietly.
Eli shook his head and put his hand on Adam's shoulder. Adam shrugged it off. "Don't do that, Adam. I wouldn't ask if it didn't matter to me. You know it does. I'm going to go for a quick walk to clear my head. When I come back, we'll talk some more, ok?" Adam nodded and Eli walked away.
Adam was silent for a few moments and then "are you busy right now?" Adam turned around to see Bianca standing right behind him. "I was just wondering if you had found a gym partner yet."
"How long have you been standing there, Bianca?" He asked, ignoring her question.
"Not long," she said simply. "So do you have a partner or not?"
"I really hadn't thought about it at all, actually." Adam admitted.
Bianca smiled as she moved closer to him. "What do you think about the idea of being my gym partner?" She brushed her hand against his cheek. "I think we'd make quite the pair." She grinned and moved to kiss him but he pulled away. She feigned hurt. "Is that any way to treat a lady?" He kept looking at her, utterly bewildered. "Do I have three heads or something? Stop starting at me. What is your problem?" She extended her arms towards his chest and shoved him hard into the lockers. Her eyes went wide. "What are you? Do you have…were those…are you a girl?"
Adam was mortified. Before his brain could formulate a response, his feet started to run in the direction that Eli had gone. Like I don't already have enough problems to deal with. She'd better not tell anyone or I am totally screwed, thought Adam as he dashed past Principal Simpsons' office.
Bianca smirked. "Freak status confirmed and mission accomplished. Principal Simpson is running quite the bizarre school, it seems." She pulled out her phone and dialed Fitz' number. "Hey it's B. I chased him out of the school but good. He's going to be looking over his shoulder for the rest of the year, and I have no problem holding it over his head." Fitz said something that made Bianca grin. She listened a little more and then nodded. "I don't think we're going to catch up with him today but he's in for a world of hurt come Monday." She smiled again and hung up the phone.
Running down one hallway after another, Adam refused to allow himself to cry even though he was shocked at the event that had just transpired. He didn't have a particular destination in mind; he just knew he wanted to get as much distance between himself and any further incidents. Luckily for him, he didn't physically run into any more snags. Just Clare.
"Everything alright, Adam?" she tried to put a comforting hand on his shoulder but the second she got near him, he flinched. "Ok what happened to you? I've been gone for two seconds. Where is Eli?"
"Right here." Adam and Clare turned to see Eli walking towards them. "I realized that I did need something from my locker. Now I've got it and we can get going. You all set Clare?"
"Uh sure." Clare nodded at Eli but kept her gaze on Adam. With everything settled, the friends left the school and walked toward the parking lot. Eli unlocked Morty and hopped into the drivers' seat.
"Go ahead and take shotgun, Clare," said Adam as he reached for the back door handle.
Clare shook her head. "We're going on this adventure for you, Adam. I think you should have the front." Adam stared at her, sighed and then opened the front door and hopped in.
"Buckle up, kids. Wouldn't want to get a ticket on top of everything else that's happened today," said Eli. He pulled out of the parking lot and drove off towards Adam's house.
When they arrived, the front door was open, some of Adam's belongings were on the door step and the trio could hear screaming coming from inside. "Maybe you guys had better wait in here. She might not appreciate my bringing company over, even if it is to help me do what she said."
Eli and Clare looked at each other. "Adam if she does anything: holler. We'll be in there in two seconds flat" promised Eli.
Adam took a deep breath and nodded. He undid his seatbelt, opened the door, got out of the car and walked in front of Morty up to the front walkway. He stepped carefully over his things into the front hallway. "Mom!" He called. "I'm here to pick up my stuff! You didn't have to throw it all over the front lawn."
Audra Torres had never been much for fashion when it came to her attire at home. If she wasn't wearing a bathrobe and old slippers around the house, she was in a towel and had her hair all over the place. The only time (since she quit her real job) that she bothered to dress like a normal human being was when she was crusading over to Degrassi. As expected, today was a towel day. She came out from the kitchen and glare at Adam. "What are you doing home so early? Don't tell me you told your teachers what happened and they gave you the day off."
Adam looked at the floor. "There was a fire alarm and we all got sent home early."
"Where is Drew, then?"
"He's…he had football practice" Adam lied.
"You're lying. You want to know how I know? Drew just called home to tell me that he hasn't seen you since lunch and when he went to your class to look for you, your teacher told him that the principal suspended you. So now I'm confused, Adam. Which story is the truth?"
Of all the times for Drew to be trying to look out for Adam, this had to be the worst. "I'm suspended for three days. Not that it's your business nor does it matter to you. You're kicking me out, remember? That's why I'm here. I'm getting my things and I'm getting out of your hair." Adam walked upstairs to his room. He pulled a suitcase out from under his bed and began putting clothes into it.
Suddenly his mom was behind him. She swung at him and nailed him square on the back of the head with her fist. He crumpled to the floor. "Don't talk to me like that EVER! Do you hear me? You may not be living under my roof anymore but you still have to show me the respect that I deserve for birthing the ungrateful little brat you turned into." She took aim again but Adam moved to the side and her fist collided with the floor.
"Do you want me to call the cops on you, you psycho? I will. Try to hit me again and see what happens. I have two friends waiting outside just in case you try to pull something. Go look out the front window if you think I'm joking." Adam was deadly serious and very defensive.
Audra rubbed the part of her hand that had hit the floor and walked out of Adam's room and down the stairs. Adam wasn't lying. "Damn it Adam. You coward! You can't even face your mother on your own; you need your lousy friends to be your backup. That's just pathetic."
Adam was blocking her out as he hurled more things into the already over-flowing suitcase. He zipped it up as best he could and pulled two medium sized duffle bags out from underneath his bed. He grabbed anything else he felt was important: books, school supplies, photos. He was surprised when he zipped up the last bag how little was left in his room and how much he had managed to pack away. He hauled everything downstairs and saw his mother lying on the couch, her back turned away from him.
"Don't even think about coming back, Adam. I'm having all of the locks changed the second you're out of the house. You can leave you keys on the counter. I'm having our phone number changed too, so don't bother calling to say you forgot something." She sounded dazed, out of it.
While he walked past her with his belongings, Adam looked at his mom and gasped. She had fresh cuts running up her arms. A few of them were bleeding onto the couch but his mother didn't seem to take any notice. He didn't know why she was acting the way she was, but he knew as long as he stayed in her house, nothing would be resolved.
He dropped the keys onto the table and headed for the door. He had completely forgotten about his possessions she had flung onto the porch. He put down the bags he'd been carrying and ran back upstairs to grab another duffle bag from Drew's room. As he walked past his mother for what he hoped would be the final time, he laughed. "Somewhere deep down, you still care about me. You may not agree with certain choices I've made, but I know you're going to come around. I just hope for the sake of our relationship that it isn't too late." He walked outside, filled the third duffle bag and then waved Eli over to help him.
Eli got out of the car, grabbed two of the three bags and put them into his trunk. Adam put his bags in as well and looked at his house. Eli squeezed his shoulder. "Let's get going, Adam." Adam nodded and they both got back into the car.
The ride to Eli's was eerily quiet. Both Clare and Eli didn't want to say anything that might upset Adam, but silence (especially silence of the uncomfortable variety) made them both very edgy.
The trio got out at Eli's place, grabbed Adam's bags and went inside his house. "Mom? Dad?" Eli called. No response could be heard. "We've got the place to ourselves for the moment."
Clare put her bag down. "Sorry I've had to go since we left school. Bathroom?"
Eli pointed up the stairs. "It's neon-blue and therefore pretty difficult to miss." Clare smiled at him and ran up the stairs. "So how permanent did we want to make this arrangement, Adam?"
"As permanent as you'll allow. I refuse to go back there. I know for a fact that Drew is going to find out and try to convince me to go home, but it is just not happening. She cut herself again. She hit me and then went to the living room to cut herself. She was just lying on the couch when I left." Adam clenched his fists angrily.
Eli's eyes went wide. "Adam, you didn't call an ambulance for her?"
Adam stared at Eli. "The cuts weren't that deep, Eli. Besides: while she does a lot of stupid things to get my family's attention, if we gave her the attention that she is looking for, she would probably stop talking to us for a week." Eli didn't look convinced. "If Drew doesn't call me when he gets home, I'll call him and tell him to check on her, ok?"
"You don't have to say anything to convince me Adam. No matter what she does, she is still your mother. You generally only get one and I think you still care about her."
Adam frowned. Since when was he so callous, coldhearted and unsympathetic? He just wanted to get along with his mother more than anything else, and now here he was refusing to call an ambulance for her because she hit him and was kicking him out.
He knew Eli was right without actually saying the words he was thinking. He should still care about his mothers' well-being. He pulled out his phone and dialed 911.
It rang three times before a switchboard operator picked up. "Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?"
"Hi? Yes, my mother cut herself. I don't know if she was trying to end her life but I was wondering if you could send an ambulance to her house to make sure she's ok."
"What is your mother's address please?" Adam recited the coordinates and waited. "Are you with your mother at this moment?"
Adam hesitated. "She told me over the phone. An ambulance will get there a lot quicker than I will."
"Alright, we're sending one of our units over right now. Please stay on the line."
Adam paced around Eli's living room. Clare emerged from the bathroom and came down the stairs. She opened her mouth to ask Eli who Adam was talking to but he shushed her and mouthed the word 'ambulance.' She nodded and sat on the staircase.
"Thank you for being so patient young man. An ambulance should arrive at your mother's residence shortly."
"Great. Thank you for your help. I'm sorry but I'm losing reception." Adam hung up before the operator could say anything further. "Satisfied?" he asked.
"Are you?" asked Eli.
Adam shrugged. "I guess I would feel bad if…" Eli shook his head and Adam stopped talking. "So what's for dinner?"
Eli smiled grimly. It bothered him that Adam wasn't overly concerned about the fact that his mother possibly tried to kill herself over their fight. He decided that he would wait and see if they might discuss it further after Clare left. "How does take-out pizza sound?"
Adam and Clare smiled. "Want to go put your things somewhere while Eli deals with the food?" Clare asked Adam. He nodded and they took the bags upstairs. By time they had managed to get all of his things sorted out, they could smell fresh pizza.
"Come get it while it's still hot!" called Eli.
Adam and Clare came downstairs and sat at the kitchen table. Just as they began to dig in, Clare's cell phone went off. She knew who was calling before she even looked at the caller ID. "Sorry guys," she whispered. "Hi mom" she said as she left the kitchen to take the call in the living room.
"So about room and board –
"Nothing about it, Adam."
Adam look perplexed. "I'm not staying here for free."
"If anything, pitch in for groceries. Even if you end up staying for a year or something, you're still going to be considered a guest in this house. You won't have to worry about my parents either; they're pretty cool with stuff like this." Eli smiled as he took another bite of pizza.
"Stuff like this? Does this happen often with your friends?" asked Adam, laughing.
"Mmm…once or twice. Even before it happened though, my parents always said that any friend of mine that was in need was welcome in our house, indeed." Eli grinned at Adam.
"That's very kind of them."
"Guys, I've got to go. Is there any way you could drive me home, Eli?" Clare came running back into the kitchen.
"Yeah sure, what happened?" Asked Eli as he stood away from the table.
"Oh my parents got a bunch of angry voicemails from the Bhandari's with Alli's version of what happened and they're on their way over to my house right now for a meeting to talk about what to do with Alli and me. I've got to get over there before she does or I might never see the light of day again."
Eli nodded. Clare left the kitchen and went out to the car. "Coming Adam?"
"Why not." Adam shoved the rest of his pizza in his mouth and followed Eli out to the car.
I hope that more than makes up for the fact that I haven't updated this fic in a while. Let me know what you guys think!