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Chapter 7: Tug of War
"All right, students! To your stations!"
A shrill whistle followed that statement as Mr Dome divided students into teams. Young bodies quickly scattered as they teamed up and gathered at opposite stations across the gymnasium. While some hurried along excitedly, others were pensive and wore wary expressions on their faces.
On today's schedule for physical training was a sport that many hated more than any other indoor activity: dodgeball.
Not that Skeebo was one to complain, of course.
If anything, it meant he could finally get away with openly targeting a particular yellow orb.
As the blue jock took his position on his team, he eyed the opposite team's numbers. It didn't take long to spot a speck of yellow among a wall of other colourful bodies.
Pac had taken position next to Spiral, hidden behind a group of other students. They kept themselves as inconspicuous as they could, opting to stick to the back to weather out the game for as long as possible while the students in the front were picked off.
Skeebo smirked. No biggy. He could still knock the yellow boy out easily, front defences or not.
"Ready!" Mr Dome announced, ever the enthusiastic gym teacher. "And…!"
His whistle echoed shrilly in the gym, just loud enough to overpower the sudden roar of voices, running shoes, and flying dodgeballs.
At once, Skeebo grabbed a ball and took off to the side, manoeuvring past his teammates and dodging flying balls. His eyes never left his target.
Students were taken out of the game one by one, peeling off to the sides once they were hit. The less crowded the court got, the fewer defences both teams had to work with. Impressively, the Yellow One had managed to avoid every single dodgeball thrown at him. Not for long.
Moving into position behind Cubo as defence, Skeebo planted his feet firmly on the ground and readied his aim. Both the yellow orb and his red sidekick were distracted, leaving the yellow boy an open target.
Skeebo smirked, thinking it ought to be funny to see Pac go down crying. The blue jock mustered up momentum in his arms to prepare a throw that would surely give the yellow boy more than a few bruises. But then…
BAM!
Pain exploded across Skeebo's face when a dodgeball came out of nowhere and cannoned right into his head.
The impact sent him stumbling backwards, nearly falling flat on his back. Stars splattered across his vision.
As quickly as he lost his balance, he swiftly regained his footing and held his head, groaning in pain and indignation at the sudden assault. Affronted, Skeebo looked back over to the other side of the gym. Who hit me?!
Angry eyes roved across the opposite team, trying to trace the offending ball back to its owner—
Until he locked eyes with someone whom he had come to loathe since early that morning.
Cylindria glared unflinchingly at him from across the gym, a second ball in her hands in preparation for another throw. Her icy glare said it all. She had hit him.
When did she get on the other team's side!? His initial confusion was pushed aside and he glared right back at her, gritting his teeth. It didn't take much to figure out that she had hit him in defence of Pac.
A storm brewed between the two Pacworlders, despite the chaotic game unfolding around them. Beneath Cylindria's glare was a message.
Remember the deal.
Skeebo's grip tightened on the dodgeball in his hand, clenching it as though he could channel all his frustrations into it. He even made to take a step forward to throw the ball at her in retaliation, but Mr Dome's voice stopped him.
"You're out, Skeebo!"
Aggravated, the blue jock reluctantly dropped the ball and stomped off to the sidelines, muttering angrily under his breath.
Cylindria watched him go, releasing a tense breath of relief.
And so the pattern went.
After their heated argument from that morning, a deal was made: she won't rat him out to the principal on the condition that he leaves Pac alone, and in return, he won't start rumours about her on the condition that she stays away from Pac.
The latter part of the deal was a ridiculous compromise, in her opinion, as it only put more power into Skeebo's hands by restricting her interactions with Pac.
She knew the reason behind it, of course. If she communicated with Pac about all that Skeebo was responsible for, then that's one more person who would know about the truth behind his schemes, giving Pac and Spiral more than enough information to report the blue jock. It would be the last thing Skeebo would want to happen.
And if there was one thing that Skeebo has proven about himself, it's that he would do anything in his power to keep his reputation.
Which gave Cylindria plenty of incentives to make sure he didn't break his end of the deal.
Their truce war didn't end at dodgeball. Everywhere Skeebo went, Cylindria was there to get in his way.
"Ahem."
The blue jock froze in his tracks, having been stalking towards their classroom when a feminine voice from behind stopped him. His sights had been on the yellow boy standing alone outside of their class, an open target, but now the jock's intentions were entirely thwarted. He had forgotten about the pigtailed goth keeping a watchful eye from nearby.
Clenching his fists, Skeebo turned around to glare vexedly at his ex-girlfriend. She glared back in return.
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
Suppressing a growl, Skeebo sauntered off in a different direction, but not without holding his glare for a good minute.
As the hours ticked on, the storm grew steadily between the two Pacworlders. Throughout the day, turns were taken to put the other person in their place, as though they were challenging each other to see who was going to break the truce first.
Cylindria was onto the jock like a hawk every time he as much as looked at Pac the wrong way.
And every time she looked even remotely interested in getting close to Pac, Skeebo was there to stop her.
During their first recess of the day, Cylindria had spotted Pac and Spiral far away in the corner of the cafeteria, keeping to themselves. She wanted nothing more than to warn Pac about Skeebo, to go over there and tell him the full truth of everything that's been going on for the past two weeks…
But even just staring at his table for too long seemed to make her a suspect of truce-breach.
"Don't even think about it."
Clenching her grip at the ends of her food tray, Cylindria veered around to throw a sharp glare at Skeebo. "I was just looking," she snapped, breaking into a brisk walk to find a seat far away from him.
Skeebo glared after her as he watched her go, until he sat down at a separate table with a huff of his own. While poking at his food with a fork, he glanced over at where Pac and Spiral were seated and noticed that their table was rather close by…
Discreetly, the blue jock's eyes swivelled left and right to make sure nobody was watching. Then he took a napkin and crumbled it up into a ball. A vain smirk tugged at his face, thinking he could at least get away with chucking a paper ball in Pac's direction—
But out of the blue, a juice box flew in and nailed Skeebo right in the head, coming from his ex's direction. A reminder that he's still being watched.
Skeebo grunted at the mini assault, growling and slamming his fist on the table in frustration.
And so the storm kept brewing, building up and intensifying for as long as the two Pacworlders were at each other's throats. Neither one was willing to back down on their end of the deal, no matter what means it took.
But their silent feud was so palpable that their classmates had started picking up on it. They could sense the tension, and it confused them greatly.
What was going on between the school's famous sweetheart couple?
In true student fashion, gossip started circulating about the two teenagers. Some claimed that the tension was worse than the rivalry between Team Skeebo and Team Pac, others thought it a mere phase that will soon pass. Some even theorised a break-up. They were both curious and unnerved by Cylindria and Skeebo's behaviour. It all but confirmed the state of affairs between them, their friends, and to an extent, the entire school.
There was war in Maze High.
Spiral was never one to care about those on top of the social ladder.
He knew how their world worked. It was a hierarchy, where only the most popular and wealthiest students got to be the top dogs in school. To them, everyone else was just meagre low-lives that were not worth their time or attention, other than serving as good pickings to single out and ostracise. That's their language.
He learned that language a long time ago, and usually Spiral couldn't be bothered to give them a penny's worth of his time or attention…
But things have been suspiciously passive between him, Pac, and Skeebo's group ever since that morning.
The red jock settled himself in his desk at the back of the classroom, with Pac already seated at the desk on his right. This was their last class before lunchtime, Spiral noted, as he watched more students stream into the room and take their seats. The last class, and yet, no incidents or heated fights had broken out between the two rival groups for the entire day so far. Except for the brief altercation before school, of course. He watched with a leering eye as the likes of Cubo and Rubix entered the classroom, but no eye contact was made.
Spiral couldn't help but feel suspicious. Skeebo's group had been on Pac's case the entire week, and now all of a sudden, they've ignored him completely for the entire day? Maybe Poly and Tetrah's silence could be reasonable, and Rubix and Cubo's to an extent, but Skeebo's? There's no way he'd go a full day without targeting Pac. Something was up.
"Spi?"
Spiral snapped back to attention, realising that he'd been staring into space with a frown. Pac was looking at him with a raised brow.
"Sorry," Spiral muttered. "Was just thinking."
Pac observed him for a moment, before looking down at Spiral's desk. "How's your hand?"
"Pretty good, actually," Spiral replied, a bit more upbeat as he briefly rubbed a thumb over his knuckles – the hand that had given a certain blue jock a swift punch to the face that morning. It had ached for a while after the assault, but now the ache had dulled into barely a flicker of soreness. Spiral felt a bit of satisfaction at the memory.
He didn't regret giving Skeebo that punch. Not one bit.
He did, however, regret allowing Skeebo's little girlfriend to talk him out of continuing the fight.
That part of the memory made his mood turn sour again. He didn't know what the deal with that goth chick was. Throwing herself in the middle of their fight was beyond reckless, not to mention the gall she had to talk about 'two wrongs not making a right.'
Spiral held back a scoff. She's one to talk. Apparently, she had been kind to Pac at the beginning, then she took Skeebo's side in accusing him of theft, and now according to Pac, she was fine all of a sudden? The girl's stance was as fickle as the weather.
He did not want to undermine his best friend's word, though. Pac was insistent that she had come around and believed their side of the story now. But actions speak louder than words. She'll have to prove more than just breaking up a fight to gain his trust.
Spiral would've kept going with his train of thought had a new voice not spoken up from his left.
"Hey guys!"
Taking her seat at the desk next to him was Sherry, a pink girl whom they had gotten familiar with over the past two weeks. She was a peppy girl, with a perpetual lisp that would eventually be remedied by the braces on her teeth, but she's come to be a very welcomed presence on their side of the classroom. So far, she's been the only friendly face since Pac and Spiral enrolled.
"G'afternoon," Spiral greeted, a genuine smile finally gracing his features upon seeing her. "Nice of you to join us."
"Pleasure is mine," Sherry quipped, cheerfully. "How'sh your day going?"
"Alright-" Pac murmured before Spiral cut him off.
"Suspiciously quiet."
Pac and Sherry looked at him curiously, Sherry more so. "How come?"
Spiral shrugged. "I don't know, haven't you noticed that the blue M&M and his cohorts haven't been pestering us all day?"
"The blue m-" Sherry spluttered, holding back a chuckle.
"Yeah, I've noticed it too," Pac said, but his tone was much more serious. He sounded wary. "Other than this morning, Skeebo and his friends have been really passive. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing…"
"See it as a good thing, while it lasts," Spiral advised, side-eyeing the class as more students piled in. "Don't know what Skeebo's deal is, but nothing good can come out of him behaving differently than usual. He's probably cooking up a nefarious scheme in his head."
Pac fidgeted in his seat, mouth drawn to a thin line. "That's what I'm worried about. It's almost like he's taunting us. Why would he ignore us for a whole day while he's been onto us every day for the whole week?"
Spiral hummed in agreement, a frown creasing his brow at the thought of having to deal with any of Skeebo's shenanigans.
But Sherry was looking at them oddly. She was confused, until she put two and two together.
"Wait… you mean you haven't heard?"
Pac and Spiral blinked at her. "Heard what?"
"Well, the rumours are unreliable at thish point because everyone has a different version. But something unexpected happened early thish morning," Sherry explained, glancing at the class before revealing what she knew.
"Skeebo and Cylindria got into a huge fight."
"What?" Pac uttered in surprise, eyes widening. Spiral looked less shocked, but he did raise an eyebrow at this new development.
Sherry nodded. "Uh-huh. Some people might tell you a different story, but I promise you it's true. I heard them arguing in the halls earlier today before school started."
"What were they arguing about?"
"I didn't stick around to listen. I'm not Poly. I don't eavesdrop on people's conversations-"
"Respect," Spiral nodded his approval of her values before she continued.
"But from what I could tell, Cylindria was the one who was angry at him. She practically screamed at him. Over what, I'm not sure..."
Spiral huffed. "Probably accused him of not giving her enough attention or something."
Pac threw a chastising look at Spiral. The red jock shrugged, gesturing to their rivals seated at the front of the class. "What? You know how they are."
The Yellow One looked concerned as the news sunk in. Spiral knew that look. It meant that Pac was thinking of any possibility of something going wrong in a given situation. He usually has that look whenever he's trying to think of ways to protect himself from trouble.
"Hey," Spiral started in an attempt to cheer Pac up, "don't worry too much about it, bro. It's probably just a typical quarrel between popular snobs. If it keeps them distracted, then it's a good thing. They'll leave you alone."
"It's not me I'm worried about."
Spiral blinked, studying Pac with a confused eye. The silence that followed made him think between the lines until an answer popped into his head.
"…You're worried about her?"
Pac shrugged, an act that was as close to confirmation as he could get. "I just didn't think she would confront him like that. What if she gets on Skeebo's bad side? She could be putting herself in a bad situation…"
"Why are you still holding out on her? There's no guarantee that she won't go back on her word, so why bother?"
"Because I want to give her a chance."
Spiral sighed. He trusted his best friend, he really did. But sometimes Pac could be too forgiving for his own good.
"If it helpsh," Sherry said, giving her input, "I've been in the same class as Cylindria since last year, and out of Skeebo's whole group, she's the nicest one out of them all. Harmless, wouldn't hurt a fly. In fact, she never really speaksh out much."
"So, she's got no backbone?" Spiral enquired with a jest in his tone.
"I didn't say that," Sherry retorted, throwing him a look. "I meant that she's just passive. She might go with whatever it is her friends are doing, but she's still the first to be kind and the last to be cruel. She doesn't step out of line in any way. She's just quiet."
"That's why I think we should give her a chance," Pac insisted, as though all the points Sherry mentioned were things that he had picked up on, too.
"Hm," Spiral made a sound of reluctance, still not convinced. Sherry had good points, but he knew first-hand that letting your guard down amongst bullies is the last thing you should do to survive high school. No matter how kind or harmless one of them may be. He just didn't have enough proof or reason to believe that Cylindria was any better than the teenagers she hung around with…
And speak of the devils, and they shall appear.
Just as the last few students entered the classroom, the last remaining bunch of Skeebo's group arrived. Tetrah and Poly sauntered in and took their seats with their usual air of entitlement, and following close behind in their tracks were-
Wow. Sherry wasn't kidding. Skeebo and Cylindria really are angry at each other.
The two walked into the class while keeping a distance from one another, but their eyes were sharp and hateful, glaring bloody murder at each other even after taking their seats.
As though a switch had been flipped, a strange atmosphere came upon the classroom. A layer of tension settled over the class and many fell silent upon seeing the two former lovebirds being at odds with each other. Cylindria and Skeebo were oblivious to the change in the air, their sole focus being how long they could glare holes into each other.
Spiral watched them through frowning eyes. Despite Pac and Sherry's honest attempts at persuading him, he still didn't trust the situation.
Cylindria could be less of a problem than he'd initially thought, and Skeebo may just be too distracted by his sudden relationship dilemmas to pay too much attention to Pac, but none of it gave Spiral enough assurance that their enemies won't try something when given the chance.
Perhaps he was being paranoid, and the turbulent week was just doing a number on his intellect.
But as Ms Globular entered the room and called for their attention, Spiral inwardly decided that he was going to stick to his guns. To stay alert and monitor the situation as it progressed, keeping an eye out for any trouble that might befall him or his best friend.
If Skeebo and Cylindria's fallout proves to be the catalyst that would alter Skeebo's behaviour, then good. If it ends up only exacerbating the conflict between the two rival groups, then it would prove that Spiral was right to be suspicious. Only time will tell which one will be the eventual outcome.
Until then, he was going to keep his guard up.
Everything was wrong.
And not just the answers on her paper.
Cylindria caught herself just as she scribbled down yet another incorrect sentence about Pacworld's history, thoughts and words mixing so much that they turned into incoherently written mush.
For three times in a row now, she's written down the wrong answers on the first section of the History questionnaire they've been given, too distracted with her thoughts to focus on what she was writing.
She ground her teeth and clenched a fist around her pencil, almost tempted enough to crumple up the paper and throw it across the room in a mad fit, onlookers be damned.
Her answers were wrong. Her ability to focus was wrong. Her situation in all of its cruel absurdity was wrong.
Everything was wrong.
Skeebo betrayed her. He deceived her, cornered her, and forced her hand into a game of tug-o-war over his bullying antics, for her to stay silent on a dire matter. Pac was – and still is – blamed for a crime he never committed.
And there was nothing she could do about it.
She was trapped. Caught in a snare of lies, deceit, and blackmail.
All she could do was weather out the storm until-
Until…
She didn't know until when.
Until everyone catches on and realises that Skeebo's the real culprit? Unlikely. Until he gets so discouraged from pursuing his jealous ambitions that he forgets about Pac entirely? Doubtful. Until Skeebo apologises? Impossible.
She simply didn't know for how long she was going to have to keep this up.
Cylindria glared sideways at the blue jock sitting at the desk to her right, watching as he worked through the questionnaire and pointedly ignoring her.
Ever since they entered the classroom, they've been glaring at each other at frequent intervals. The space between them was filled with so much tension, one could cut through it with a butterknife.
For several times that day, she's caught and stopped him from breaking his end of the deal. She intercepted him where needed, distracted him when necessary, and outright snapped at him whenever he was pushing his luck. She's been watching him like a hawk ever since their fight from that morning…
All while trying not to dwell on the growing heartbreak that wants to rear its ugly head inside her chest.
Pitiful, despairing heartbreak.
Because despite her resolve, she couldn't deny the existence of the gaping wound that was lashed across her heart, wedged in there by the hurtful memory of Skeebo threatening her into a corner. Never in a million years did she think he would turn on her like that…
Her now-ex-boyfriend did the unthinkable. He shattered her trust. A whole year of trust gone to waste.
She thought he had loved her...
If he really loved you, that little voice of reason reminded her, would he have lied to you? Deceived you? Threatened you?
The goth swallowed hard, forcing that emotional knot down.
It was over. Their relationship was over. There's no use despairing over it. This heartbreak will have to be suppressed and duly ignored. There are far more pressing matters at hand.
Like keeping Skeebo in check.
The blue boy stole a frowning glance at her, and she met it with one of her own. Another glare-off took place, riddled with suspicion and distrust. Only this time, Skeebo accompanied it with a hushed remark.
"Still got your tinfoil hat on, I see."
Cylindria would've laughed at the incorrect use of the analogy had it not been a serious situation.
She sneered. "And you're still testing your luck and shoving your nose into places you shouldn't."
He sneered right back. "Oh, the irony."
Back and forth the two went with their hushed whispers, neither keen on being caught by Miss Globular, but neither wanting to back down on expressing their ire.
"I wonder who's really guilty of shoving her nose into places she shouldn't."
"Keep talking and you'll get a one-way ticket to the principal's office for reported bullying."
A threat loomed in Skeebo's eyes. "You're playing with fire. All of this can be avoided if you stop trespassing on my business, babe."
"You have no right to call me that anymore."
Skeebo huffed under his breath, pulling his eyes back to the paper on his desk.
Deeming the conversation over, Cylindria focussed her attention back on her questionnaire, despite the anger still simmering underneath the surface. Skimming through the questions again, she decidedly chose to ignore Skeebo and everything around her to properly finish this paper. She would finish the questionnaire, wait for Miss Globular to collect them all, and then they'd continue with their History lesson on the Pacworld Wars. Afterwards, they'll all be free to head into a long-awaited weekend. Simple.
But fate had other plans.
Cylindria was halfway through the questionnaire when Skeebo suddenly whispered over to their punk-haired friend sitting on his opposite side, the faintest smirk tugging at the blue jock's face.
"Say, Rubix, didn't we hear of a new rumour that has surfaced today?"
Her hand froze mid-way through writing a sentence, eyes turning over to Skeebo in a suspicious side-eye.
Rubix, having been nonchalant and silent during their tense exchange, leaned closer and whispered back with an air of secrecy, "Oh yes, I've heard. Quite a scandalous rumour, is it not?"
Cylindria glanced over at the two, frown deepening. What are they up to?
"I know, right? I can't believe she'd do this to me," Skeebo continued in a falsely miserable tone, pulling his face into a look of pretence.
Rubix nodded along, "It's tragic, isn't it? You'd think Cyli would be more faithful."
Now she was alarmed.
"What?" She mouthed, staring at them in a mix of confusion and annoyance. What were they talking about? And why were they talking about her in the third person? She was right there-
"To think that she'd leave me for someone else, and all without ever telling me about it," Skeebo drawled airily, his intentions finally coming to light. "How could she?"
Those words sunk in like a kick in the gut.
Icy horror gripped her insides. They wouldn't-!
"Indeed," Rubix whispered back, "who would've thought that our dear little Cyli could be capable of cheating?"
"I didn't!" She countered in a barely restrained whisper, eyes wide and frantic.
She was about to say more, to demand why Skeebo was breaking the deal and why the two were teaming up against her. But then came a new voice before she could say anything, a whisper from her left.
"I heard that she's planning on cheating in our next exam, too."
Cylindria turned in her seat to face Poly, who was writing on her paper with an equally nonchalant expression, avoiding eye contact as though the pigtailed goth sitting next to her didn't exist.
And seated right behind her sister, Tetrah muttered another whisper. "Hm, cheating shouldn't be a problem for her, since she already has a bad streak by lying to Rubix and slapping Poly. Matter of time before she showed her true colours."
"I'm not—I didn't-" Cylindria gawked at the two, at a loss for words at their sudden antagonistic disposition. A fretful chill raced down her spine, realising the position she was in. They were all turning on her, motivated by her recent behaviour against them-
And it all boiled down to one main suspect.
She turned to Skeebo again, angry but alarmed. "What did you do?"
"I warned you," he answered in as low a whisper as he dared, no longer wearing a fake mask of hurt, replaced by a look of dark foreboding. His face remained indifferent, but she could practically hear the smirk in his voice. "Deal or no deal, I told you I can ruin your reputation just as easily as I did for the lemonball. The deal wasn't going to hold up anyway. I simply got the gang in on the plan."
"You-"
"Yo, Skeebster, why not ask her what's her secret to selling lies so successfully while acting so innocently? I'm sure she'd be an expert on that," Rubix cut in with his own smirk, reminding them of that morning's events when she pranked him over going to see Mr Dome for an issue that never existed.
"I didn't lie, it was just a prank-" Cylindria tried her damnest to defend herself, all while struggling to keep her voice below a whisper. Dread and fear circled in her chest like a hurricane, heart hammering in her throat.
"Oooh, listen to that. Not only is she unfaithful, but she's starting to excuse her bad behaviour, too," Rubix drawled.
Skeebo was quick to join in, "And she accuses me of acting in bad faith. Maybe she is no different from the lemonhead…"
"Cut it out," she nearly hissed in aggravation. A plea rested on the tip of her tongue, held back by her pride and by fear. If anyone in this class caught just a whisper of their words, then rumours would spread like wildfire, and Skeebo's plan will have worked-
"Cut what out? We're just telling the truth," Skeebo smiled, cruelly.
"You're lying-"
"Takes one to know one, wouldn't you say?"
"No-"
She saw red. Panic and anger clouded her mind and judgement. And her sense of awareness.
Back and forth they went on their argument in whispers, none realising how much volume their heated whispers were gaining…until it was too late.
"Skeebo, Rubix, and Cylindria!"
Miss Globular's voice boomed across the class, shattering the peaceful atmosphere once rife with hushed voices. The lilac teacher was frowning at them disapprovingly, seemingly at the end of her patience.
A ripple of suppressed laughter went through the classroom, hiding their snickers behind their hands upon witnessing them being caught talking in class.
Cylindria froze like a deer caught in headlights. Her words, however fretful or angry, disappeared from her tongue. For the first time ever, she deeply wished she was not seated right next to her ex-boyfriend.
All while Skeebo and Rubix had the gall to smile sweetly up at their teacher.
"Sorry, Miss G," Rubix said, with no care in the world.
"We were just messing around," Skeebo smiled, coyly.
But their innocent façades were see-through against a teacher's sharp discernment.
"You three know better than to talk during a test session! You've been talking non-stop ever since the class started. That goes for Poly and Tetrah, too!"
"But like Skeebo said, we're just messing around," Poly smiled sweetly. Deceivingly. Even going so far as to hold a hand over her heart in false earnestness. "I swear we didn't swap answers out or anything! Not the unimportant ones, at least."
The class erupted in snickers again, some looking guilty at the mention of swapping answers while a teacher wasn't looking.
But Miss Globular wasn't amused.
"I allowed the bunch of you to sit together, as friends, under the condition that you accept the responsibility that comes with keeping quiet and being dutiful to your work during class hours! If you can no longer respect that, then it's time to switch your seats."
The effect was instantaneous. Immediately, their cocky smiles vanished from their faces.
"Hey, that's not fair-"
"But Miss Globular-"
"No buts!"
Murmurs broke out under the class, some students expressing resistance against the decision, others showing indifference. Skeebo and his friends looked angry and offended, Poly most of all, but before they could get another word in, Miss Globular stood and pointed towards different seats across the room.
"Poly and Rubix, you two can switch with Triang and Octa, while Skeebo and Tetrah switch with Loop and Cubo. Cylindria, take the seat in front of Sherry."
She didn't need to be told twice.
Having been frozen up until now, Cylindria quickly gathered her things in complete silence, too embarrassed and ashamed to argue. Murmurs and grumbles sprung up around her as the designated students shuffled and started switching seats.
"To make up for lost time over this, everyone now has five extra minutes to finish the questionnaire. I want to see those pencils moving," Miss Globular announced, waiting tersely for everyone to be seated again.
As the switching students shuffled past each other, Cylindria made her way to her new desk without complaint, briefly making eye contact with Sherry before sitting down. There had been a glimmer of pity in Sherry's eyes, offering a sympathetic smile. Cylindria kept her head down, refusing to look at either Sherry or anyone else.
As the last remaining students took their seats and the murmuring died down, she finally released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She's never felt so relieved to be away from the centre of attention, and she felt even more relieved to be away from Skeebo…and from her entire group of 'friends,' for that matter.
A bitter feeling coiled around in her stomach, and she nearly felt nauseous over being betrayed and turned on by her friends. That small voice of reason chastised her for thinking they would never stoop so low, but even still, the experience left a horrible aftertaste in her mouth. She felt sick.
"That's better. Now, finish up as soon as you can so that we may start with today's class," their teacher insisted, taking her seat back at her desk again in preparation for everyone to finish up their papers.
Cylindria took a moment to collect herself. The last few minutes had flown by in an anxious blur. Her heart was still racing.
She had been so engrossed in her desperate attempts to sway Skeebo from starting up rumours about her that she hadn't realised she was playing right into his hands… the whole act was just a ploy from him to get her in trouble out in the open by getting her to participate in angry whispers and getting caught.
It was only now, far too late into the aftermath, that his intentions became clear. And she fell for it like a fool.
She clenched her pencil, stifling the anxious tremors in her hand. How much worse was this day going to get?
Apparently, much worse than she could've ever bargained for.
"Time's up! Please put down your pencils and have your papers ready for me to collect."
Ten minutes later, their time to complete the questionnaire has run up. The sound of clicking pens and rustling papers sounded throughout the room, complete with murmurs and chatter as students shared their feelings over the test.
Cylindria compiled her papers neatly on her desk. She had to rush to finish it all in time, but at this point, she couldn't care less if she missed a question or accidentally gave a wrong answer to some.
As Miss Globular did her rounds and gathered up everyone's papers, Cylindria took the moment to take in her new space.
She's moved farther back into the classroom, now seated right next to the windows, and the new perspective offered a fresh view of the class. Unfamiliar faces were seated all around her, and despite feeling relieved to have moved away from Skeebo, she felt a bit out of place amongst students whose faces she'd yet to grow accustomed to. She just hoped that they'd already forgotten about her embarrassing altercation with Skeebo and Rubix earlier.
In her haste to get to her new seat, Sherry was the only familiar person Cylindria had taken note of…
Until she remembered who else sat at the back of the class.
Rigid with the realization, Cylindria discreetly took a peek over her shoulder. There, in the two seats next to Sherry's right, were Pac and Spiral. Unbothered and chatting to each other in low whispers.
Well, isn't that just great…
The revelation made her feel conflicted. This was the closest she'd ever been seated to them, so close that Spiral was diagonally right across from her, with Pac just one seat further away. A spark of optimism compelled her to think that maybe now she had a better chance of actually speaking to Pac and warning him about Skeebo…but that optimism was muffled with apprehension over being so close to two students who saw her as an enemy…
She looked away when Spiral's line of sight travelled over to her, and she fixed her gaze back onto her hands, folded together on her desk.
Just her luck.
"All right, then, class! Take out your tablets and turn to chapter four. Today we're discussing the Pacworld Wars and Commander Betrayus mobilising his allies from the Netherworld to aid him."
Miss Globular stood at the front of the class, pulling up a video on the interactive board and letting it play silently in the background in tandem with her introduction of the topic.
"Before any wars, Pacworlders across the globe lived in harmony. Pacworld was a peaceful planet…until the ghost wars of the last century, when Commander Betrayus led a revolt against our nation."
Cylindria listened with only half of her attention to the presentation. She's heard this story before, albeit not in much detail, but everyone in Pacopolis knew about the wars that took place only a few decades ago. The only part of the story that nobody can agree on is the presence of ghosts during the wars, a much-debated subject in contemporary times. This introduction was old news, if anything, and despite doing her best to pay attention, her mind kept wandering back to her problem at hand – that of Skeebo and his behaviour.
While their teacher kept talking, Cylindria stole a glance over to where Skeebo was seated across the classroom, several seats away. As if sensing her stare, the blue jock looked over to her too, and a mocking smirk came over his face.
She met it with a sharp glare. Apparently, he didn't forget about their altercation either, but instead of pouting over the change of seats, he now looked proud of himself over the reaction he had drawn out of her and the consequences that had followed.
Reluctantly, Cylindria pulled her attention back to her tablet and tried her very best to ignore her ex's existence.
At least from here across the classroom, Skeebo can't distract her or pull any tricks to get her in trouble…
Or so she thought.
"It was with his ghostly forces from the Nether-realm that Betrayus dealt a devastating blow to the security of Pacworld—"
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Heart leaping in her throat, Cylindria gasped and slapped a hand over her wristcom, silencing its shrill ringtone. But it was too late.
Silence came and several students looked at her, some holding back snickers, except for one blue boy whose smirk pulled his face into a look of cruel glee, the culprit behind her wristcom's ping.
Just when Cylindria thought she might explode from embarrassment under everybody's stares, a looming figure stepped up to her ex's desk.
"Mister Skeebo."
Startled, the blue jock whirled around to see an angry Miss Globular frowning disapprovingly down at him, arms crossed and looking thoroughly ticked off.
"Try to focus a little more on the ghost wars, and a little less on your love life!"
The whole class burst out laughing.
Cylindria's face grew hot, and she reflexively held her tablet up to hide away from everyone's laughter, despairing over the fact that Miss Globular didn't even know that they weren't together anymore.
He did that on purpose, didn't he? He did it to humiliate her out in the open again. Was this just another step of his to try and paint her in a bad light? A warning of what's to come…?
It was too much. This whole mess, the rumours, the betrayal, the blatant antagonization… it made an unwelcomed knot of emotion spring up in her throat, and a prickle of tears threatened to gather behind her eyelids. Oh Overlords, please just let the ground swallow me up!
"Come on, Miss Globular…nobody believes in ghosts anymore!" Skeebo shrugged, playing it all off with a grin.
The lilac teacher raised a brow. "Is that right?"
She gestured to the rest of the class, prompting everyone to give their input. "Well then, show of hands! How many of you believe in ghosts?"
Cylindria nearly didn't register the question, too focused on keeping the knot in her throat contained. She did believe in ghosts…to an extent. She had her doubts and reservations, but she reasoned that they wouldn't have added an entire chapter on ghosts in their history books had it not been real.
But now, knowing the general public opinion on ghosts and not wanting to add to her fresh humiliation, she refused to raise her hand.
Apparently, nobody else felt compelled to, either.
Miss Globular waited patiently, but soon her expression fell when not a single hand went up. "…No-one?"
Some students looked doubtful, while others looked outright bored. Nobody raised their hand…
Until a single, gloved hand perked up from the back of the class.
Everyone's attention swung to the owner of the hand and a relieved grin broke out on Miss Globular's face. "Ah! One student believes!"
"Wait…him?"
"No way."
"Pac?"
Cylindria blinked and snapped out of her woes upon hearing chuckles all around her, accompanied by surprised utterings of that particular name. When she glanced over her shoulder, she, too, didn't expect to see the Yellow One's hand raised.
It was the first time he's ever raised his hand in class.
And he looked entirely content about it, despite the glaring difference in him being the only believer. He shied faintly when everyone looked at him oddly, but his hand didn't falter. Unlike everyone else, Miss Globular looked elated, seemingly happy over Pac participating in class openly and out of his own accord.
Only for it to be shut down by a boy in blue.
"Ha! Yeah, but he's not a student… he's an overgrown lemon!"
Skeebo broke out in laughter, quickly followed by most of the class, and Pac recoiled from their reaction. Only a select few students didn't find the remark funny, Spiral and Cylindria being among them.
Angered to the point of nearly standing up from her seat, Cylindria glared Skeebo down, her blood boiling. The message was clear in her eyes. You said you'd stop!
To her shock, Skeebo simply smirked and shrugged back at her, as if saying back, What? You think I was gonna miss out on a good joke like that?
"All right, settle down!"
One harsh look from Miss Globular had everyone going silent in seconds, though some still had the odd smile plastered on their faces. Pointedly ignoring the rest, Miss Globular turned to look optimistically at the yellow boy. "Pac, on what do you base your beliefs?"
With everyone's attention now focused on him again, Pac fidgeted with his fingers.
"I, um… I've read up on ghosts."
He quietly pulled one of his books closer on his desk in emphasis, "There are all kinds of ghosts, but the ones from the Nether-realm are a bit different. They're dangerous, and they hate us. From what is known about them, they're the only ghosts that are capable of mind control."
The atmosphere changed in the classroom. Some students looked at Pac in curious interest, while others looked at him as though he was crazy. Brows were raised and confused glances were shared. Not only was the yellow boy a believer of myths, but he was knowledgeable about them, too?
Miss Globular, on the other hand, was intrigued by this sign of intelligence.
"Very informed, Pac. Seeing as you've spent some time on the topic, could you tell me why Commander Betrayus sought an alliance with these ghosts in particular?"
A faint and nervous tension settled on Pac's shoulders, not expecting to be asked to elaborate. He briefly glanced around at the number of eyes on him, before he straightened up and drew courage from somewhere within.
"He wanted them in his army. He knew how much they didn't like Pacworld, so he used that to his advantage. The war started in 2523, but he already made a deal with them a few months before, and by the start of the year he had thousands of ghosts fighting on his side against the Freedom Fighters. The Nether ghosts were ruthless, and their mind-control ability gave Betrayus an edge in the war. It was only until early 2524 when Yellow Ones joined the Resistance to offer their aid en-mass, and Betrayus' army slowly dwindled from there…"
Miss Globular's eyes lit up with praise.
"Knowledgeable, book smart, and showing excellent research and articulation on the topic. The class can learn from your example."
Pac blinked, dumbfounded, before his face slowly bloomed into a humble smile. He beamed at the praise, so much so that he held himself with a bit more confidence compared to the trepid, outcasted boy from mere minutes ago.
Cylindria didn't miss the way such a simple act of praise had made Pac light up with happiness. Nor did she miss how some students raised their brows in intrigue, unmistakably impressed by Pac's knowledge of history. It spoke volumes of their perception of him, and the consequences of such perception on a boy who just wanted to fit in.
It made her angry.
"Thank you for your excellent explanation, Pac, I'm sure the class is taking notes. I expect all of you to have just as deep and fleshed-out an understanding of our history as Pac does. Now, on with the lesson!" Miss Globular announced, making her way back to the board at the front.
"Huh, looks like someone is about to replace Cyli as the teacher's pet."
That discreet whisper didn't bypass Cylindria's ears, but before she could pinpoint where the pesky comment came from, the shrill ring of the school bell tore through the air, announcing the end of the day at last.
"Oh, class is over already? My, that was qui—"
Miss Globular was drowned out by a sudden chorus of cheers from the class, happy that school was over, and the weekend could finally start. Immediately, the classroom started to pack up.
A small weight lifted itself off Cylindria's shoulders, relieved that the day was finally over. But soon that weight came back down when she remembered the two incidents from before, fuelling her anger back to life.
Skeebo went too far, one too many times.
She deftly packed up her stuff, with a goal in mind to catch Skeebo outside before he could get away. What she planned on saying to him, she wasn't yet sure, but it was a pendulum's choice between cursing him out and demanding an explanation on why he had the gall to break their deal. Whichever one came first. She was furious, and that anger pushed her into speedily gathering her things and leaving her desk before the majority of the class could leave theirs.
She marched towards the door, along with a few others, and spotted Skeebo already approaching the doorframe-
But before she could meet him outside, a voice stopped her dead in her tracks.
"Cylindria, a moment please."
The pigtailed goth froze, staring back at Miss Globular apprehensively. While everyone else was piling out of the classroom in rows, her teacher was seated back at her front desk and was writing down some notes when she caught the goth's attention just before she could escape out the door.
Cylindria's eyes flickered between her teacher and the door, growing faintly panicked at the prospect of losing her chance to confront Skeebo. Every moment spent away from watching him could give Skeebo a chance to go after Pac, or to start spreading rumours about her, or worse.
She fiddled with her hands, nervously and impatiently. "Um… is it urgent?"
Miss Globular raised an expectant brow, "I'd say it's urgent enough that it can't be left for later. Stay behind after the class is out, I'd like to have a word with you."
A knot of dread settled in Cylindria's chest, suddenly worried over what Miss Globular wanted to talk to her about.
Was it about before? When she was caught talking in class? Or maybe the wristcom incident? Whatever the issue may be, the teacher had worded her request in such a way that left no room for argument, and the goth realised that she wasn't going to be allowed a way out.
Helplessly, she glanced back at the door one more time, just in time to see the last few students exiting the class, Pac and Spiral being among them.
The Yellow One briefly glanced her way, a flicker of concern in his eyes, before he was swept along by the tail-end of the crowd, leaving the classroom.
Resigning to her fate, Cylindria reluctantly turned around and stayed behind in class, praying from the deepest depths of her soul that, whatever Skeebo ends up doing, there would be no damages in any shape or form…
A/N:
Phew…an extra long chapter to make up for the long wait!
We're finally moving into the canon side of the show! That's right, this fic's story is finally relevant to its summary. And it only took me like, what, 7 chapters and a full year and a half? :'D From here on out, some scenes will stay similar, or otherwise unchanged, to what they are in canon, while other scenes will be greatly altered :3
Additionally, I'm sorry that updates for all of my fanfics have been really slow in the past several months. This year is my last year of being in university, and so I have very little time to dedicate towards writing. But I promise that I'm still motivated to continue with my pmatga fanfics! I'm still working on them during the few bits of free time I have, they just take a long time to get written, unfortunately. Hopefully once this year is over, I'll have more time to get back into a more consistent schedule!
Thank you all SO FRIGGIN MUCH for sticking with this story and offering your endless support! You guys rock!
To Hope: Thanks for signing the petition lol! We'll chuck him soon- in fact, your wish may come true sooner than you think :D Next few chapters we finally have the ghosts entering the scene!
To RedsterTheGamer: Thank you so much! Soon our yellow boy will see better times, but there's gonna be bad times before we get to the good times :'D
To Guest: Hmm yes slow torture for the blue bully, me like
