*jumps through the roof to infinity and beyond*
The next day, after school, was the official start of preparation for the Nothing Interesting play produced by none other than Jennifer McCarthy. The auditorium was in disorder, with the ones on prop design busy with looking at what they needed to make and setting out the materials McCarthy had bought for them. Meanwhile, the ones who had roles cast for them were sitting on the edge of the stage, legs swinging as McCarthy went over exactly how she wanted her characters portrayed.
"And Annabelle, I want Hansel and Gretel's mother to be loving, caring, and soft. I don't want to see anything else from you. I don't want any negative emotion coming from you; you'll be a flat character." Annabelle nodded, and McCarthy moved on to the next person. "And as for you—" She stopped once she realized she was talking to Cody. "Now why are you here and not over there with the prop design crew?"
"Uh... Because I'm one of the leads?" Cody raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, you are, but your job right now is to help with prop design!" McCarthy pointed at the people on the other side of the auditorium. "Come to me later, and then I'll talk about Hansel with you."
"Why are you giving me so many jobs to do?!"
"Because you missed out on a portion of practice last time!"
"I was in the hospital!"
"Excuses, excuses." McCarthy waved her hand loftily. "Just go over there and see what you can do to help."
Cody realized that this conversation was over and his teacher's words were final, so he got up and trudged over to the prop design area while muttering what were presumably French curse words under his breath. Hazel, who had been sitting next to him, couldn't help but wonder where exactly he learned those words, considering it was unlikely that his teacher taught those to him. Also, she really needed to remind herself to ask for details on why he happened to be in the local hospital no more than a few months ago.
"Anyway, as I was saying, Hazel, in the chances that Bostyn won't be able to portray Cheryl in the play, you should ask her for the character details. I've already told them to her." Hazel glanced hesitantly at Bo, who gave her a withering look in response.
"...Okay then," Hazel finally replied meekly.
She did not mean that. Oh, she definitely did not mean that. She would rather deal with Cody's quips for hours nonstop than deal with that...embodiment of evil that was Florence's older twin sister.
Hazel happened to be the last one McCarthy was talking to, so the entire cast dispersed after that. Zander passed by her, muttering, "Good luck," referring to the time she was about to spend with Bo. Speaking of the redhead, she flounced over to Hazel instantly and declared, "So you're my understudy."
Way to be Captain Obvious. "Yes, I am."
"You auditioned for Cheryl."
"Yes, I did."
"And you didn't officially get the part."
"I did, in a way. What exactly are you getting at?"
"Oh, nothing," Bo, at last, said loftily. "I just wanted to rub in the fact that I'm apparently a better actress than you are."
"...Aren't you supposed to be teaching me about Cheryl's character instead of flaunting your skills in my face?" Hazel questioned, a hint of irritation seeping through her tone.
"Of course I am—and you need the practice, too. I heard that you tried to kiss the emo during your audition, and you definitely can't do that during the actual thing," Bo smirked. "Just letting you know."
"He was the only other one in the room at the time!"
"Yeah, sure. Like you weren't looking forward to it. At least he had enough sense to pull away in the end. I don't see why anyone would want to kiss you."
By now, Hazel's expression exhibited pure sulkiness. "Well... You look just as bad as your driver's license photo..." She immediately cursed herself afterwards. Good going, Hazel, that was great and definitely not pathetic.
Nevertheless, Bo still scowled at the sorry attempt of an insult. Malcolm was walking by at that moment, so she grabbed his arm. "Malachi, who's the better actress? Me or Hazel?"
"That is not my name, and also, I don't know and I don't care. Rebecca Black is better than you pretentious human beings," Malcolm responded coldly. "Now let go of me, or I'll be filing a lawsuit against you for harassment."
Bo's scowl deepened, but she still complied. As he walked off, Hazel couldn't help but shoot her a smug look. The Robinson only glared back.
"Will you learn the role of Cheryl from me or not?"
I'd probably be much more willing to if it were someone else doing so. In spite of these thoughts, Hazel nodded politely. After all, what could she do? She wasn't Cody or Florence, who were both extremely, if not excessively (Well, Florence didn't overdo it, but Cody on the other hand...), abrasive with their thoughts and opinions.
"Good. Now get the emo over here."
"Why?" Hazel asked, confused.
"Cheryl's the love interest, right? You'd probably be more comfortable with him filling in the role as Hansel for you."
"But he is Hansel—wait, what?!" Hazel blushed at the implication. "Why?!"
"Haven't we been over this already?" Bo retorted offhandedly. "Anyway, Cody!" she shouted across the room. Needless to say, her voice was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "Get over here, we need you!"
Cody flinched and probably would have lashed out due to the fact that he was being universally depended on if it weren't for the fact that Jack was on his knees right next to him and giving him the 'Don't start' look. Instead, he turned around and asked in only a slightly strained voice, "What is it that you need?"
"Just get over here and you'll know!"
Cody looked at Jack, silently asking if he would be able to handle the rest of the banner that they were working on by himself. When the former winter spirit nodded, Cody stood up and went over to the two girls. "What?"
"Can you pretend to be this one's boyfriend?" Bo motioned towards Hazel, whose face had now mostly gone back to its natural color.
Cody gave Hazel one long, hard look before questioning, "But why?"
"I'm teaching her how to portray Cheryl in case something happens to me or whatever and I want you to pretend to be Hansel," Bo explained.
"But I am Hansel."
"Not the point!" Bo impatiently replied. "So will you do it?"
"Are you sure you don't want to ask someone else like Asian Chili over there?" Cody pointed to an oblivious Anton who was standing only about ten feet away.
"But... I don't know Anton that well, so..." Hazel, fidgeting, spoke up timidly.
"Yeah, but you at least like him better than me, right?" Cody countered. "'Cause trust me, he's a lot more pleasant to have around, as you probably have figured out over the past couple of weeks."
"Still, I don't know..." Hazel trailed off, then muttered so quietly that no one could hear her clearly, "And I at least like you more than I did on the first day..."
"Aw, you can admit it, Cody. You just can't stand the idea of pretending to be in love with her, can you?" Bo smirked. "I totally called it."
Cody narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?"
"I mean, she can't be dating material, can she? Especially not for a guy like you, anyway. She's not confident enough, she's got a face of a freshman, and her chest looks like it belongs to a kindergartener's."
Hazel looked mildly taken aback. Cody, however, simply snatched up Fernando's physics textbook (Who knew why it was lying there on the ground?) and whacked Bo upside the head before dropping it and walking off without another word.
"Ow!" Bo winced as she felt the hard cover make contact with her cranium. "Hey!" she shouted indignantly at Cody's retreating figure. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you not to treat a girl that way?!"
Meanwhile, even though she didn't realize it, Hazel was also watching Cody go back to Jack, but with a completely different expression on her face.
Jack involuntarily sighed as he watched Malcolm work with the twins on prop design from afar. For the past few days, it seemed like Zander and Spencer were spending less time with the regular group and instead hanging out with the wealthy, new kid. And while the difference wasn't significant per se, Jack certainly felt like it was. Maybe it had something to do with his just not trusting Malcolm—the guy simply gave off a fishy vibe. However, if he brought this up with either of the twins, they would most likely dismiss his suspicions as jealousy...which it sort of was, but it was for good reason.
"Ow! Hasn't anyone ever taught you not to treat a girl that way?!"
Jack was jerked out of his thoughts and turned towards the source of the shout, only to be greeted with the sight of Cody coming back whilst ignoring the angry cries of Bo Robinson. Jack really didn't want to ask. However, for just a second, his eyes locked on Hazel, who was standing right next to Bo, and the expression she was making. Jack blinked, before a widespread grin appeared on his face.
"Why do you look like the Cheshire Cat?" Cody asked carefully, looking at Jack as if he were utterly delusional.
Jack snickered. "Oh, no reason."
"...Weirdo." Cody got back on his knees to continue working on the banner. "Now back to—what the fuck is this?"
Jack looked down to see what Cody was so dismayed by and saw many red strokes streaking through the entire banner, effectively ruining whatever progress the two had made beforehand. Right smack in the middle of all the scribbles, however, was 'MAL' written in capital letters and a giant X penetrating through the name. To top it all off, underneath the word, there was a drawing of one stick figure with a staff freezing a second stick figure to death. It was at this moment when Jack realized that he had absentmindedly done all this while being absorbed in his thoughts.
"...Uh... Sorry?" he glanced at the stone-faced Cody.
"...You know what—ugh, whatever. I'm not even going to bother right now. But you're going to be doing most of the work for the redo," Cody grumbled. "And next time, try not to get your hatred for Mal in the way. I know you didn't like him the minute he stepped inside your homeroom, but get your shit together."
"Yes, sir..." Jack trailed off. "...Wait, you noticed how I felt about him?"
"Duh. It's pretty obvious to anyone who isn't Zander or Spencer," Cody replied, standing up and walking off to get a new sheet to replace the one that had been carelessly drawn all over.
"Okay, okay, but wait—" Jack stood up and hurried to catch up to him. "How do you feel about him? I need your opinion."
"Meh. Don't like him, but don't hate him either, since other than auditions that day, I didn't bother to really notice him. The only thing I have to say is that he talks weird," Cody remarked while taking a banner sheet from the stack on the stage. "I mean, what's with all the formal words? No teenager talks like that."
"Yeah," Jack agreed. "Also, why is nobody questioning the fact that he's from Phoenix? Wouldn't that make more people suspicious of him? And he isn't really nice to anyone who isn't the twins either. Why is everyone so quiet about this?"
"Because everyone who isn't a teenage girl who's into gossip isn't really interested in talking about other people behind their backs," Cody annoyedly said, turning to Jack. "So can we please stop discussing this?"
"Sure—I mean, no. No, we can't," Jack said firmly as the two of them began to walk back to the place where they were working. "Mal is up to something and I can't just sit here and let it happen. It's obviously got something to do with Zander and Spencer, so I definitely can't leave this alone."
"Wasn't there something about how those Phoenix people are trying to lure Zander and Spencer to their school so they can pull some sort of propaganda shit on them? Mal's probably a double agent sent to get the two of them," Cody nonchalantly suggested.
Jack stopped walking. "...Wow, I spent way more time thinking about this than you, so how come I didn't think of that?"
"Because you're dumb as fuck."
"Ignoring that. But why Mal? Assuming that what you're saying is right, why is Mal the one they sent to get at the twins?" Jack wondered aloud, beginning to walk again.
"I think you're overanalyzing it. They probably just picked a random student."
"That's possible, but... I have a gut feeling that tells me otherwise."
"Well then, what do you plan to do?" Cody finally asked impatiently, stopping and turning around. "If you want to find out who exactly Malcolm Baxter is, that means you'll have to get your ass to Phoenix, because I doubt he's just going to come clean and tell you."
Jack only gave him one look.
"...You're going to infiltrate Phoenix, aren't you."
"Well, I know this guy who might be able to help me—"
"You're going to infiltrate Phoenix, tell me if I'm right."
"It's for a good cause—"
"You're actually going to fucking infiltrate Phoenix."
"I'm just worried about what he'll pull, okay?!" Jack snapped, prompting Cody to raise an eyebrow. "Ugh, just... And it's not like this'll involve you, so you don't exactly have any reason to complain."
"Fair enough. But who's this guy you say you know?"
"Really. Fucking really."
Anton looked up, not knowing why Cody seemed so disappointed. "What?"
Cody turned to Jack. "When you said something about a certain guy, I thought he was some badass guy who works undercover as an FBI agent, not Asian Chili. Plus, why did you refer to him as if he were some secret character when I obviously know him too?"
"I thought I was the Asian phenomenon, not Asian Chili."
"It sounded cool and edgy," Jack protested.
"Don't even try. I'm obviously better suited for that role."
"What are you guys talking about?" a baffled Anton asked.
"Nothing important. Anyway, would you like to help me infiltrate Phoenix Preparatory School?" Jack asked in a very straightforward way.
Anton's jaw dropped. "...Where is this even coming from?"
"This dumbass just wants to get down to business and figure out who Mal exactly was at Phoenix," Cody explained for Jack. "And apparently, the most sensible way to do that is to fucking invade their school and possibly provoke the wrath of 3000 rich students."
"You were the one who suggested it in the first place!" Jack argued before turning back to Anton. "Anyway, will you help?"
"Why me?!"
"...Well, you're the vice principal's son, and it'd be nice to feel at least somewhat authoritative despite all the intimidation," Jack admitted sheepishly. "I mean, it doesn't have to be you if our actual principal has a child who goes here and thus appears even more powerful."
"Mr. Kaka has a daughter in middle school, and I think she's in Kayla's class. I could consult with her if you want."
"Gross, no. If our principal is an immature man with a weird goat fetish, then I don't even want to know what his sixth-grade daughter is like."
"Kayla told me that she's actually pretty normal."
"I'm not taking her to Phoenix with me, and that's final!" Jack stubbornly declined. "I said I'd be willing to take his kid if she goes to this school!"
"What's wrong with taking someone who doesn't go to this school?" Cody questioned.
"Actually, not taking her might be for the best," Anton mused. "We're talking about an all-boys' school. At least some of them are sure to be desperate for women, no matter the age or appearance... Fine, I'll go with you."
"Thank you." Jack visibly became relieved. "Now let's go."
"He's coming along, right?" Anton gestured towards Cody.
"What?" both Jack and Cody said in unison.
"Look, if I'm going to be the authority figure, then we should also at least have someone to clobber heads if things get ugly," Anton explained as if it were the most obvious concept. "It just seems wrong if we don't."
"Oh, is that what I am now? Brute force?" Cody deadpanned. "I'm 5'8" and a half, guys, how many people do you think I can take on at once?"
"To be fair, you are the one who tends to react to things more violently than the rest of us," Jack pointed out.
"And that automatically makes me what you guys think I am?" Cody was sardonic. "Come on, can't I be portrayed in a new light for once?"
"Kind of hard to do that when you don't exactly give us anything that could portray you differently," Anton murmured.
"Look, if Anton says so, then it's probably a good idea to bring you along. Please?" Jack persisted.
"The fact that he was the one who suggested it gives me all the more reason to refuse."
Jack opened his mouth to contend some more, only for Anton to intervene. "Listen, Jack, if he doesn't want to come along, then don't push him. If he doesn't want to see how Phoenix's campus is like, despite the fact that it's actually quite an interesting sight, then so be it. After all, it'd be nice for you and me to have some bonding time...alone..."
Cody's posture stiffened up at this point.
"I mean, it's not anyone's fault he's too chicken to confront a couple snobby, rich boys," Anton finished. "So come on, let's go." He grabbed Jack's arm and proceeded to pull him out the door.
"...You know what, fuck you guys, I'm coming!"
The three of them were standing in front of the gate of Phoenix Preparatory School, gazing up at a huge building that, if you asked them, was so overly decorated that it stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the neighboring architecture.
"So... This is Phoenix?" Jack was the first to break the silence.
"Yup," Anton sighed. "I'd be lying if I said I'd never been here before, you know. I checked this place out out of curiosity a couple years back, and frankly, I had no desire to come back until you decided to be your usual nosy self." He glared at Jack.
"Hey, it's for a—"
"—a good cause or whatever, yeah, you don't have to repeat yourself," Cody interrupted Jack. "Can we just go in already?"
"Yeah, but before that, let me just say something," Anton declared, turning to face Cody. "Can you promise not to start anything once we're inside?"
"...Okay, so at first you said you wanted me to be the fighter of the group, and now you're telling me not to be? Exactly what do you want from me?" Cody rolled his eyes.
"In case something bad happens, I want you to handle it! I just don't want you to be the one instigating the fights!"
"I make no promises."
"Jack..." Anton turned to his other friend.
"Cody, come on, play nice," Jack said in amusement.
"...Fine," Cody muttered hesitantly. "Now can we go in?"
Once going in, all every Phoenix student in sight suddenly quieted and snapped their heads in the direction of the three intruders, making Cody regret his words. Not that he'd indicate that in front of the other two.
"...Uh," was all Jack could manage dumbly, as the students proceeded to murmur about each other. "Is there something wrong with us being here?"
"They don't really like non-Phoenix students stepping on campus in general," Anton explained nonchalantly, seemingly unfazed and continuing to go down the hallway, "but these guys most likely recognize me so they're especially unhappy."
"Recognize you? You... You mean you've been here before?" Jack asked in surprise, as he and Cody followed Anton.
"Yeah, once during sophomore year, why?"
Jack stopped walking. "And you didn't say this earlier?!"
"Was it relevant before now?" Anton glanced back at him.
"Yeah, it was!" Jack argued indignantly. "If I knew these people would recognize you and would stare at us like this like we're convicted criminals, I would've thought up a better plan than to just walk on in here through the front gate!"
"Like what, dress up in spy gear and go in through a secret opening somewhere?" Cody finally inputted. "You've been watching too many action movies with that kid you live with, none of that shit works in real life."
"It'd be worth a try!"
"My ass. Why are you going off about this anyway? It's not like you can go back in time to fix it."
"...How would you know that?"
"Because I'm not a dumbass, you fucker!"
Anton was watching this banter with slight interest, so even he didn't notice one particular student approaching the three of them.
"Anton Suzuki?"
Anton diverted his attention away from the unfaltering argument and instead focused on the speaker. He blinked for a bit, then asked, "...Yeah, and you are?"
The young man scowled. "It's Irving! Irving Bradley?"
Anton thought for a bit then shook his head. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell."
"We were in the same class in eighth grade until I transferred to here!"
"That might be the reason why I don't remember you. Sorry, man." Not acknowledging Irving's expression of dismay, Anton asked, "But anyway, what's up?"
Irving sighed, and spoke flatly, "I'm the head patrol officer here at Phoenix. I basically make sure everyone doesn't step out of line."
"And if they do?"
"Harsh discipline. Usually verbal, but sometimes physical."
"...That doesn't sound like a good disciplinary system," Anton deadpanned.
"You need to teach the bastards a lesson on what exactly would happen if they misbehave," Irving argued.
Meanwhile, Jack and Cody were oblivious to Irving's showing up. "Look, man, whatever I could've came up with wouldn't have been any worse than walking in like this!"
"Your crappy ideas would only get us arrested!"
"...You brought company," Irving stated, unamused.
"They're...you know, people I associate myself with," Anton replied in an equally flat tone.
"You associate yourself with emo vampires?"
Anton honestly cringed at that label, while Cody and Jack's attention was finally caught.
"Heh. Emo vampire... That's a new one," Cody smirked.
Jack frowned. He had a gut feeling that Cody didn't realize something he should have. "He's talking about you."
Cody's smirk immediately disappeared. "What?!" He turned to Jack in disbelief. "Dude, what?!" He glared at Irving. "I swear to god, I'm gonna—"
"Easy, Cody. Irving, don't be like that," Anton interrupted, not wanting things to get out of hand already.
"Look, I'm just saying, you're probably better off not having anything to do with a guy who looks like an Edward Cullen reject."
Jack interestedly noted that this was probably the first time Cody had shown a look of sheer offense on his face. "...Are you okay?"
Ignoring Jack, Cody growled, "I will fuck your face up if you keep on going. You don't want to talk to me like that."
Irving turned to a face-palming Anton. "He's certainly something."
"Do I have permission to kick his ass?!"
"No, you don't!" Anton snapped, then asked Irving, "Look, we're here for a reason. So can you please let us continue on our way?"
"I'm sure you know the answer to that, Anton. Like I said, I'm the head patrol officer, and I look out for anything out of line. Students from another school coming into Phoenix without permission is, in fact, out of line."
"Oh, come on!" Jack opened his mouth to counter with an argument, but once he couldn't find any, he settled for a slightly pathetic, "Please?"
"No." Unwavering, Irving motioned for the three of them to turn back around. "Now leave."
"Can I kick his ass now?" Cody asked, a tinge of hopefulness in his voice.
"No!" Jack and Anton replied simultaneously.
"Put a leash on your pet, Anton," Irving stated, annoyed.
"Last chance. Talk to me like that one more time, and I'm kicking your ass no matter what Asian Chili says," Cody darkly threatened.
"Cody!" Anton scolded.
"Asian Chili? Is that a reference to his fake red hair?" Irving questioned, confusion clearly etched on his face.
Anton tensed when he heard Irving call his hair fake, and he gave him a glare that was even darker than Cody's. "Cody..."
"Yeah?"
"Kick his ass."
Cody was clearly much more satisfied once he heard that, and he punched his left fist into his right palm. "Finally."
"Wait, what?" Irving's face showed blatantly the turmoil he felt. "What are you—" He was roughly cut off when Cody tackled him to the floor without warning.
All of a sudden, all the onlookers who had refused to say anything up till that moment exploded into chaotic shouts. Half of the were cheering for Irving, while half were cheering for the "emo vampire" that they wouldn't have wanted to cross paths with.
"Wha—? Cody!" Jack, horrified, cringed as he witnessed Irving's hand shoot out from underneath and smack Cody with enough force to knock him off of him. "Don't—"
He was interrupted when he felt another hand grab the back of his shirt and drag him away from the scene. He turned his head to stare indignantly at Anton. "Anton, Cody's—"
"Don't look back, Overland, this is our chance to get going!"
"But—"
"Do you want his sacrifice to be in vain?!"
Jack deflated promptly. "No."
"Thought so!"
"Zander, help me carry this paint bucket to Cici," Florence called from the other side of the room. "It's heavy as hell."
Zander, who was working on his own banner alongside Malcolm and Spencer, said, without batting an eye, "No way."
"A gentleman never leaves a lady's request hanging," Malcolm opined.
"Yeah, a lady. That thing is not a lady—ah!"
Florence had marched over and was now holding Zander in a very painful-looking chokehold. "What was that, Anderson?"
Zander was gagging too much to even reply.
At that moment, Hazel approached them with a mildly concerned look on her face. "Guys, do you know where Cody is?"
"No, why do you ask?" Spencer replied.
"It'd be nice...if someone would...care about my situation...for a minute here!" Zander managed to choke out weakly.
Apparently, he wasn't heard, because Hazel simply explained, "Bo needs him because she finds him an essential part to learning about my character. I don't know."
"I could give you a list of a bunch of ways to piss her off, if you want," Florence offered, not loosening her grip on Zander, who was beginning to turn blue.
"No, thank you," Hazel politely declined.
"Come to think of it, Jack and Anton are gone, too," Cici, who had made her way over to the group sometime, piped up.
"Do you think they went somewhere?" Spencer suggested.
"Where then?" Florence asked. "They could've just gone to the bathroom. I mean, it isn't just girls who accompany each other to the toilet, right?"
"What do you think, Zander?" Spencer turned to his brother, but Zander failed to give an answer. In fact, Zander had stopped struggling and was lying limp in Florence's arms.
"...Oops?" Florence awkwardly managed, in response to all the expressions of horror being directed her way. "Well, I didn't think I was holding him that tightly, but..."
She let him go, and once he was free, one of his hands shot out and shoved her leg out from underneath her, eliciting a yelp from her as she fell to the floor. Now that she was flat on her stomach, Zander took this opportunity to bend both of her legs back in a Boston Crab, yelling, "Payback, bitch!"
"You're alive!" Spencer shouted in joy.
"I don't understand their relationship at all, do you?" Cici remarked, looking at Hazel.
Hazel shook her head. "Love must come in many different forms."
"Remind me to educate your brother on the importance of chivalry," Malcolm told Spencer.
"So where do we go next?"
Jack paused at Anton's question. "...I don't know, the office?"
"Assuming that Irving was right about how unauthorized intrusion in this school is against their policy or rules or whatever, which he most likely was, I think going there would just get us sent back with a call to my dad," Anton stated.
Jack sighed. "You're right. So then, what do we do?"
"Don't look at me, I asked you first."
"...Maybe we should sneak into the office."
"Ah, yes, enlighten me, genius, how exactly will we be able to do that when there are so many people wandering about right now?" Anton asked caustically.
"I don't know! Why are these people even walking around?! Just go to class or go back to your dorm or whatever!" Jack snapped.
Anton shrugged. "It's a boarding school, who knows? Anyway, if you really want to sneak in, you'll need a really good plan for this to succeed. And if your idea actually has a chance of working, then I'm all for it."
"Right." Jack paused, then ran off down the hall. "I'll be right back!"
"...I found Phoenix's locker room and stole these."
Anton eyed what Jack was holding—two Phoenix uniforms. The inside shirt was the classic white button-up, with black trousers for the bottom half of the outfit. There was also the black tie to go along with the shirt, and finally, there was the signature crimson blazer that had the golden Phoenix emblem sewn onto the left side of the chest area.
"Do you realize the repercussions stealing their uniforms could have?" Anton finally grouched.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like it's the worst thing our group has ever done. At least we'll blend in once we wear these."
"Nobody saw you, did they?"
"I don't..." Jack hesitated. "...think so?"
"Jack!"
"Okay, okay! Unless if they were deliberately spying on me when I wasn't looking, then I don't see how anyone could've seen me. I was the only one in there."
Anton stared long and hard at Jack, before his look faltered. "I feel like that's the best answer you could possibly give me, so fine. Hand one over."
Jack did so, then inquired, "Do you see a bathroom around here where we can change?"
"Yeah, somewhere down that way." Anton pointed towards the direction where they came from. "Let's go—"
As he turned to head off down the hallway, he immediately bumped into someone who happened to be passing by at that second, causing the person to drop the folder he was holding.
"Uh... Sorry," Anton apologized, rubbing his head awkwardly.
"It's fine—" The guy looked up from picking up his belongings, then donned a look of puzzlement when he saw Jack and Anton clutching two Phoenix uniforms.
Jack, realizing how fishy they seemed, took one glance down at the uniform he was holding and said simply, "Our uniforms were dirty so we took them off. We're taking them to the washing room."
"But the washing room is in the dorms..." the guy pointed in the direction of the exit of the school building.
"Dammit," Jack muttered.
"You guys aren't...students here, are you?"
"Yeah, we are," Jack said quickly, "you...just don't remember seeing us before, that's all."
The guy was not convinced, because he pointed at Anton, "I think I would remember seeing an Asian with hair like that."
Anton had utterly no reaction.
Jack noticed this, then hissed, "Come on, get mad! Don't you hate it when people point your abnormal hair out?"
"At least he didn't accuse it of being dyed," Anton shrugged.
"What?! You sicced Cody on that guy back there because of what he said about your hair, but you won't—"
"So you guys really aren't students here?" the guy interrupted, deciding whatever spat these guys were having wasn't worth listening to.
"Nope," Anton admitted bluntly.
"Dude!" Jack protested.
"What? He's seen through all the lies you could possibly give him already!" Anton argued, before turning back to the guy. "Okay, so we're not students here. We came here for a good reason though."
The guy squinted his eyes at Anton, and, finally recognizing him, questioned, "Aren't you that guy who everyone here calls the 'Crimson Devil of Burgess High'?"
"'Crimson?'" Anton frowned, fingering his hair. "It's classified as red, but I don't think it's crimson."
"'Crimson Devil' is also...quite a nickname there," Jack mumbled. "Not very clever though."
"Phoenix isn't known for excelling at nicknames," the guy agreed. "Anyway, why are you here?"
"We're here to learn some things about an ex-student here, because we met him and I personally think he's very suspicious." Jack knew he sounded like some FBI agent, but to be honest, he didn't really care.
Which wasn't a bad thing, considering the guy didn't seem to either. "Who, Malcolm Baxter?"
Jack did a double take. "How'd you know?"
"Everyone here knows him," the guy explained succinctly. "So obviously, they'd know about the fact that he's been at Burgess High for the past couple of days."
"Oh, so he's the popular type," Jack grumbled.
"You could say that, but it's mostly because he was the president of our student council," the guy added.
"What?!" Jack exploded. "Is that why they chose him to infiltrate our friggin' school?! Because he's like the student leader in a way?!"
"Oh, so that's why he seemed familiar the minute I saw him," Anton mused. "I saw him briefly during my last visit here."
Jack gaped at him. "You didn't bother telling me this either?! If you knew you saw him before when you met him, you should've said something! Then I would've known sooner that something was up!"
"I actually did; when Zander was doing introductions, I asked Mal—and you were there—if I had met him somewhere before," Anton informed, annoyed. "Besides, what good would my memory do for you? He already admitted that he was from Phoenix, which should be suspicious by itself."
"Still!"
"Is Malcolm causing problems for you guys over there?" the guy sighed. "I mean, I know he's there with a 'mission' of some sorts, but he said he'd do it without causing any sort of mayhem."
"He isn't," Jack clarified, "he's just...snobby."
"Yup, that's Malcolm for you," the guy stated matter-of-factly. "He's usually like that towards commoners."
"Commoners..." Jack muttered the word with disdain. "By any chance, are you, uh, his friend?"
"I know him more than most people here do," was the supplied answer. "But that's just because I'm part of the student council as well—treasurer, to be exact. It's Preston, by the way."
"I'm Anton, and this one here is Jack," Anton introduced in return. "And we came here with a third guy, Cody. He's just..." He paused. "He's just occupied at the moment."
"By 'occupied,' do you mean that he's currently in that brawl I just passed by?" Preston pointed in the direction he just came from. "It's a riot back there."
"They're still at it?" Jack spoke in disbelief. "I figured one of them would have won by now."
"You know, as an authoritative student, shouldn't you, you know...at least try to settle things down?" Anton questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Preston shook his head. "Nah, we usually leave the physical stuff to our head patrol officer, Irving. It's surprising though, you'd think he would've begun handling the situation by now..." he mused to himself.
Jack and Anton shared a look, and Anton said hesitantly, "Uh, I have a feeling you don't know that Irving's the guy Cody's duking it out with."
Preston blinked, then began panicking once he processed this piece of information. "What?! Irving may not look like much, but he's head patrol officer for a reason! If your friend is battling it out with him with nothing as defense, then he's going to go home black and blue all over!"
"He already wears black all the time, I see no problems with this," Anton replied.
"And honestly, I think Irving's the one in trouble," Jack frankly commented.
"Still! Irving has a responsibility as a member of the patrol, and fighting a visitor is not proper conduct!" Preston shouted before running back to where the fight was taking place.
"Should we have mentioned to him that the whole thing was technically your fault for telling Cody to beat him up?" Jack asked Anton. "And that Cody was the one who tackled him to the floor first?"
Anton shook his head. "Nah, lately, I've been understanding why Cody likes seeing the world burn so much. So just let this thing play out on its own."
It didn't take long for McCarthy to get sick of Zander and Florence's shenanigans, so she instructed the both of them to stay on opposite sides of the room. Now, Malcolm, Spencer, and Cici were helping Zander continue with his banner.
Poor Zander was moping, grumbling to himself as he rubbed his sore neck area. "Stupid Emmanuelle... Stupid McCarthy... Stupid chokehold... Stupid..."
"Zander, there's no use complaining about how much Florence physically hurt you, you guys won't be together for the rest of the day, so it'll be okay," Cici attempted to offer solace.
This 'solace' only ended up making Zander even moodier.
"...You're not telling me that you're upset about being kept on opposite sides of the room, are you?" Spencer asked in disbelief.
Malcolm rolled his eyes. "You commoners and your strange, hormonal crushes."
"At least I'm open about it," Zander snapped. "Meanwhile, Cody can't even admit that he has a sweet side under that terrifying exterior even though it's obvious he does."
"I don't think you should let her find out though," Cici remarked.
"I'd honestly be surprised if she didn't already."
"Speaking of Cody, I'm still a little worried," Hazel piped up, having been standing there for a couple minutes. "I know I'm probably being overly concerned, but I just have this hunch that he's getting into trouble somewhere."
"You've known him for a couple of weeks and you've already developed your Cody sense. Impressive," Zander replied. "Don't forget that we're also missing Jack and Anton."
"Although those two are more reliable when there's no one watching over them," Spencer added.
"If you guys are wondering where those three headed off to, I overheard them saying something about Phoenix Prep," a new voice inserted. They looked up to see Jordin, who was looking down and fiddling with her hands nervously. "Something about infiltration."
Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that so?"
"That just spells trouble," Hazel exhaled.
"What would they want to infiltrate Phoenix for?" Zander questioned. "I mean, the only involvement any of us has with that damn rich kids' school is Mal's transfer."
"You know, Zander, this is just a thought, but I've been noticing that Jack doesn't seem to like Mal very much," Spencer informed.
"He doesn't?" Zander frowned. "He seems okay with him to me." He turned to Jordin. "Anyway, thanks."
Jordin's head snapped up, and her face turned crimson. She stuttered out a tiny, "You're welcome," before rushing off.
"What was that about?" Zander turned to Spencer, who shrugged.
Meanwhile, a flustered Jordin ran to her raven-haired sister. "Florence! He talked to me! He talked to me! It's like a dream come true!"
"Who, Jack?" Florence asked, confused.
Jordin shook her head profusely. She opened her mouth, but once she realized she couldn't get the name out, she resorted to pointing in the direction she just came from.
Florence looked where her sister's finger was directed at, and once she saw what—or who—she was referring to, she fought down the urge to facepalm. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," she sighed.
"You're supposed to know better, Irving!"
"It's not my fault! He started it!" Irving, holding tissues to his bloody nose, argued, not at all pleased that Preston was putting all the blame on him.
"I would deny that, but it's true!" Cody said, as he pressed an ice pack to his swollen eye. It was astonishing how that was the only injury he apparently had.
The five of them were now in the student council office. As the argument took place, Jack and Anton were simply watching with intrigue.
"This is a guy who has no respect whatsoever!"
"That's also true, but you're the one who started calling me an emo vampire!" Cody retorted.
"It doesn't matter who started it, what matters is that you fought back! This goes against rule of conduct!" Preston reprimanded Irving.
"Oh, then what was I supposed to do, let him pound me?!" Irving snapped sardonically.
"I would've pounded you anyway, no matter how well you fought back, since clearly, you can see who was winning the fight before the intervention happened!" Cody motioned to his eye. "This is nothing compared to what I gave him!"
"He doesn't look that much worse to me," Anton remarked.
Cody glared. "Suzuki, exactly whose side are you on right now?"
"Cody was having the upper hand when we went back to stop them," Jack pointed out.
Cody smirked at Irving. "See?"
Irving scowled back, then turned back to Preston. "Seriously, I don't get how these people even deal with this guy!"
"I'm ten percent less horrible to be around when you're not putting your foot in your mouth!"
"Exactly what did you say to him, Irving?!" Preston demanded to know.
"I told you, he called me an emo vampire!" Cody inputted before Irving could even reply. "Like excuse me, rich boy, but do I look like a sparkling Pete Wentz to you?!"
When he was in the middle of his lamentation, another boy opened the door to the office and was about to enter when he heard the words 'sparkling Pete Wentz.' Quickly realizing that he did not want to be a part of this, he closed the door again.
Preston was the only one who noticed this. "Royce, wait!" He made a move to go after the boy, but not before giving Cody and Irving a knowing look. "When I get back here, I better not see that you guys started brawling again!"
When he left, Anton commented, "I'm actually kind of amazed that Irving managed to lay a finger on you."
Irving perked up. "Really?"
Cody had a dark expression. "Don't encourage him, idiot."
Irving glared at him. "Don't talk to him like that!"
"You got balls telling me not to insult someone for no reason when you're the one who suddenly began referring to me as a goddamn emo vampire."
"I had plenty of reason to do that!"
"No, you didn't," Anton stated.
"Yes, I did! Why would you waste your time being around someone like him?! He's like...pure outcast material! There are much better people you could be friends with!"
Jack detected a hint of bitterness in Irving's tone. Recalling how Anton didn't even remember Irving from middle school, he considered if Irving was one of those guys who tried his best to be friends with someone, only to still go unnoticed.
"We're not friends," Cody was saying flatly. "You're stupider than I thought if you actually think that."
Irving turned to face Anton furiously. "See what I mean?!"
Oh yeah, he was definitely jealous of Cody.
Conveniently, that was the moment when Preston and the other boy, who looked like he'd rather not be there, came in again.
"Oh, hey," Preston smiled brightly, pleasantly surprised that nobody was at each other's throats. "See, Royce? Things are going great in here."
"Uh..." Royce still seemed skeptical. He was shorter than the rest of them, with blonde hair and blue eyes that gave him a pure look. His appearance was certainly a contrast to Preston, who had tanner skin and almond eyes and actually looked his age.
"I get the feeling that I'm not supposed to be here, so, you know, I'll gladly take my leave if you want me to..." Royce spoke with a British accent. Oh. He was an English immigrant.
Preston ignored his reluctance and directly asked, "Royce, can you tell Irving here that it's wrong to engage in a physical fight and cause a scene with an outsider?"
"Was there a need for you to drag me here just to get my opinion on that? You could've just asked out there!"
"Just answer the question!"
Royce paused. "Well, I suppose it depends—"
"Ha!" Irving cried.
"That doesn't mean he's siding with you, peasant bitch!" Cody contended viciously.
An offended Irving's jaw dropped. "'Peasant bitch'?! I'm the one who goes to the expensive, prestigious, private school, you filthy commoner!"
"I'm not siding with anybody! Who are these people, anyway?!" Royce shouted.
"These are people who are...visiting from Burgess," Preston sighed wearily. "They were just leaving, don't worry about it."
Anton caught on to the cue. "One thing, though: what do you want us to do with these?" He held up the uniform he was holding onto.
Jack honestly forgot that he and Anton were still in possession of those.
Preston waved his hand carelessly. "Keep 'em. Take it as an apology for this guy right here." He gave Irving, who only rolled his eyes, a dismayed glare.
Jack wondered what use could come out of uniforms that he had simply swiped from the locker room, but since Anton seemed okay with the compromise, he decided not to say anything.
"Alright, let's go. Cody, you, too," Anton ordered as he and Jack made their way to exit.
Before heading off, Cody gave Irving a dirty look, who gladly returned it. Silence ensued for a few seconds, then Irving said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Emo vampire."
Immediately, Cody lunged at him, but he wasn't able to lay a finger on him, thanks to Anton predicting these events and holding him back. "Cody, stop it!" he snapped. "Enough's enough, let's just go back to Burgess!"
"You protected me from him!" Irving exclaimed in delighted surprise. "You're my hero!"
A long pause followed, until Royce matter-of-factly said, "You have issues, Bradley."
"Sh—Shut up, you...foreign exchange student..." Irving shot back lamely.
Cody, who had now calmed down enough for Anton to let go of him, stated, "I bet you were that kid in middle school who was willing to name his pet dog Swaggers."
Irving scoffed. "His name was Yoyo Lolo."
"I'm not even going to comment," Anton voiced.
Jack shook his head. "Yeah... Me neither. Can we leave already? Everyone else probably thinks we ditched them to...go do drugs or something."
"Yeah, see you guys around, I guess." Anton waved goodbye to the Phoenix boys as he, Jack, and Cody left the room.
"Yeah, bye." Preston smiled and waved back as the door closed again. After they were gone, he sighed. "You know, it's pretty obvious that they stole those uniforms from some place, so we're probably going to get some complaints about missing clothes right about now."
"Our charming vice president isn't going to be happy," Royce supplied dryly.
"If that's the case, then why did you tell them to keep the uniforms?" Naturally, Irving had to ask that.
Preston glared at him again. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have felt obliged to tell them to keep them!"
"Where were you? Why do you have those uniforms? And what happened to you?!" Hazel demanded an answer to her plethora of questions while staring at Cody, who was still holding his now-melted ice pack to his eye.
"I got into a fight with an asshole over at Phoenix," Cody informed plainly. "Nothing too eccentric."
"So you guys were at Phoenix," Spencer remarked. "How come?"
"Yeah, how come?" Malcolm echoed, eyebrow raised. It was obvious he knew how come.
"Anton wanted to...negotiate," Jack offered a halfhearted lie. "We...got two uniforms."
"Okay, two questions: what do we need uniforms for and why two?" Zander promptly asked.
Jack shrugged. "I don't know, he's helping his sister get more cosplay outfits?"
"Actually, I think Kayla would appreciate a couple extra male uniforms. She could probably make something out of them," Anton quietly mused.
"...You guys are horrible at covering up ulterior motives," Cici bluntly told them.
"Correction: Jack's horrible at that," Cody answered. "I'm just standing here listening to whatever lame excuse he can offer."
"The least you could do is help me!" Jack irritably argued.
"After you made me go with you and prompted me to beat up Yoyo Lolo Boy, thus causing me to receive this?" Cody pointed at his bruised eye. "No way."
"Anton was the one who asked if you could come along and told you to punch the lights out of Irving!" Jack sighed. "You know what, can you guys just pretend like nothing happened and not care about what we were doing at Phoenix?"
Zander shrugged casually. "Okay," he stated before resuming to work on his banner.
"Ignore him, he's just a little upset right now," Spencer informed the three infiltrators. "He and Florence got into another scuffle and McCarthy is making them stay on opposite sides of the room for the rest of the day."
"What, are you telling me that Zander likes getting pummeled by Florence?" Jack asked confusedly, eyebrows furrowing. "That's very...masochistic of him."
"And people thought I was the one into S and M," Cody muttered.
"Yeah, I...wonder why," Anton deadpanned.
"You're a bitch!"
As Cody and Anton began their trillionth argument and the rest of them decided to let the whole Phoenix infiltration thing slide (albeit somewhat hesitantly) once they saw the three of them felt no need to explain, Malcolm turned to speak to Jack once they were alone. "So, why were you at Phoenix?"
Jack opened his mouth to reply, only to close it once he noticed the expression on Malcolm's face, which visibly indicated that the question did not need an answer. "Why are you asking? You know exactly what."
"You're right. I do," Malcolm admitted casually. "What I meant to ask was, what are you going to do about it?"
Jack narrowed his eyes. "Once Zander and Spencer know that you're only patronizing them in order to lure them into that dumb school of yours, they won't have any of it."
Malcolm rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. My purpose for being here is strictly confidential between the Phoenix authorities and me. None of the other students know my exact reasons for coming here, so everything you accuse me of is merely conjecture."
"Are you insinuating that I'm not right about you?"
"No, I confirm that the impression you have of me is one hundred percent accurate," Malcolm smiled wryly. "But the problem here is, you can't really go to your little friends and reveal to them my plans without proof, can you? If you do so, they'll be dubious. They may become more cautious around me, but they won't be entirely believing of you either."
Jack gave him a vicious glare, though he knew Malcolm had a point. To Zander and Spencer, whatever accusation he makes against Malcolm would simply seem abrupt, especially with nothing to back up his claims. What little evidence he had of Malcolm's ill intentions was circumstantial.
Malcolm, satisfied with the conversation being left off on that note, walked away, but not before giving Jack an aloof yet slightly triumphant glance over his shoulder.
Jack wanted to throw something heavy at the guy. However, he kept his fury in check and abstained from picking up the half-filled paint bucket next to him. He took in a deep breath, exhaling as he turned around, deciding to let this go for now.
Once he looked up, he saw Conrad watching him intently from a couple feet away. The expression on the blond's face gave away the indication that he knew Jack had just had an unpleasant chat with Malcolm, and also that he knew exactly what it was about.
Jack eyed him for a bit, then sighed once more before moving to walk past Conrad and saying, "Some people can be against you for no good reason."
Conrad nodded in agreement. "What'd I tell you?"
Jack stopped, back facing Conrad, and admitted, "You were right. Dude's a smug snake with ulterior motives."
Conrad made a disgusted face. "Ugh, yeah, I hate those people. They just think they can do whatever they want without even bothering with others." Jack turned around and saw Conrad with a considerate, understanding smile. "But anyway, if everything's what I think it is, then you can talk to me about it. I'm here to listen if nobody else will."
Jack hesitated momentarily. "You... You don't seem so bad."
"Just because Anton thinks I'm evil doesn't mean I actually am," Conrad countered. Fair point. "I think you and I could become good friends. That is, if you actually give me a chance." He raised an eyebrow. "I can help you with your problem if you do."
Jack didn't say anything. He just stood there, looking at Conrad, feeling tentative.
"You don't have to trust me right away," Conrad reassured. "Heck, you don't have to trust me at all. But I'm just saying, I'll be here if anyone else isn't." With that final vow, he walked away.
Yeah, Jack finally mused again after he gathered his thoughts, he's not so bad.
Ow, I hurt my head jumping through the roof.
Hey, now, listen. I was inactive for, like, at least half a year. My reasons? It started off as writer's block, then it became laziness, then it became distractions. Distractions as in standalone extra chapters that center on my OCs (I already finished this pretty long one that delves into Zander and Florence's amusing yet kind of cute relationship. I'll post that one later on). I didn't say my reasons for slacking were good.
You know, except now I have significantly less time considering I'm in junior year, which is pretty much the most important year that colleges look at when you apply to them. Trying for straight A's, especially after the disaster that was sophomore year, yo.
I am now going to finally have the plot progress after giving you guys a whole bunch of fillers. At last, I've figured out where I want to go with this story, so hopefully, the plot will move along much quicker than it has so far.
Also, the third installment. Yes. All of you seemed to like the idea, so hey, guess what. I'm making a third installment.
Replies (I'm going to assume the numerous guest reviewers I've gotten pertaining to how disappointing it was to see me not update for so long were left by the same person):
ReganRocks: I lost it once you said you imagined that Cody destroyed Hawaii thirty years into the future. That theory you have of future Crouton is pretty legit. I might have to muse about that sometime. And Bailey will most likely appear in person in upcoming chapters, and I'm planning on having her and Cody battle it out for Hazel's affection (Bailey's kind of a lesbian, you see). Also, Hector's existence will be known by the rest of the group in just a couple of chapters! Thank god.
Rigoudon3: MY WAIFU
duncundog: Ah, yes, the whole cast for the play. You're right about Bo having to drop out, but things are actually much more complicated than you think when it comes to the actors and their understudies, because Cody has to drop out first, so Zander has to fill in for him, but then Cody ends up being okay, so Zander's out again... I probably shouldn't give away too much.
mandamichelle: Hey, man, if you don't like Zander and Florence as a couple, then it's all good! To be honest, they started as a joke ship, but I've honestly begun to genuinely like them together XD
Marvel123: If the person knows Jack's true identity, then they'll definitely be able to see him once he gets his powers back. And yeah, Hazel will find out who he is, along with Florence.
Kifo Entiegon: I had exercised my brain muscles a lot, trying to figure out how I could fit so many people into Anton's car. I picture his car to be a standard van (a Subaru, to be exact), so there would naturally be three rows of seats that could seat eight people. And remember, his car technically didn't fit everyone, since in the end, some of the gang had to be in very awkward positions just so they could hitch a ride home. I don't know. There's still a pretty good chance that I screwed up, so if that happened, then... Oops? :D
Sol's Darkness: An interesting concept, but sadly, no, I don't think that would work :( The Man in the Moon obviously doesn't turn just anyone into spirits, so I doubt he would do such a huge favor for Jack (I just made him sound like an inconsiderate ass, whoops). And besides, I've already figured out where I want the third installment to go, so yeah. Btw I'll PM my OC's appearances to you later, once I post this...assuming you're still working on the art... Probably should've messaged you sooner. Double whoops...
guineamania: Thanks for the criticism, bro. Appreciate it. For the thing about the car, I suppose you could check out my reply to Kifo Entiegon above (too lazy to type all that stuff out again). As for everything else, you bring up a valid point. I never thought about how easily Jack fit into modern society before, since I assumed he knew about how to fit in considering he's been observing the world change for the past 300 years. Also, for the phone, I don't think he knew how to use it immediately... He probably asked Jamie for help and I just didn't include that part. Idk.
Pt: I would, but I'm not sure how exactly I could write that and make sure it's over 500 words (What am I saying, it doesn't need to be over 500 words. I'm tired, ignore me).
Skye K. Yang: I haven't! It's in my queue, though, so I'll definitely watch it eventually!
Frostpinkloverfr: I'm sorry, but I can't give you an exact answer as to when Jack will forget. I just write my chapters out, and if I can fit in certain events, that's when they happen.
Phinbellafan2298: Oh, don't worry, Cordelia and Antonia will certainly be making their return, and this time, the whole gang will be there to witness the event ;) Haha, but thank you! Hope you continue to stick with me!
Lolxxx: You're the third person to comment on his car. Not that I mind, it's just amusing lol. Also, I envision Zander's family to just not like him at all. Poor guy.
Darkhorse360: I see what you mean, dude. I was only digressing from the plot because, well, I was stuck on how to progress the plot. But I've figured things out since then, so yeah, no more bullshitting.
Kupkake: Well then, you flatter me :D Thank you!
Awesomalicious: The whole thing with Jack sprouting a gray hair was meant to be a joke/a realistic representation of how some teens grow a couple of gray hairs while still in high school. Also, I'm planning on making this...longer than PG...so...I have no idea. Just...long. I know that much. And yeah, hopefully, you'll be seeing the Guardians again soon... Hopefully. I'll try to integrate them into the story.
Aaaannnnnddddd the rest of these reviews are just people begging me to update/demanding to know where I am. I'm here now, people. I'm still alive.
Now, review, I guess. I forgot what seeing reviews in my mail feels like.