NINETEEN

When the bell rang out that day, interrupting the lessons throughout the academy, Charlie's stomach sank. He knew what was happening. The paper was out, and Nolan must have read it.

The secretary went classroom to classroom, informing students and teachers about the immediate extraordinary meeting in the assembly hall. They all left their belongings and stood up in a noisy chair-dragging, heading downstairs. Charlie waited for the crowd to become denser, then blended into it, swimming against the stream towards his own dorm room. He had already drawn up his plan. He knew it was risky, but at least no one else would take the blame for that. He fished a tank top undershirt out of his drawer, tied a knot at the base so as to make a sack out of it and hid the two objects he needed inside. Then he took off his blazer, secured the rough bag over his shoulder, and put the jacket on again. When he went back to the classroom floor, he scanned the horde of schoolchildren: as he located the smallest in sight, he grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him behind a corner.

"Hey!" the kid fussed, trying to cut and run, but Charlie was a behemoth compared to him.

"Shut it, midget. Wanna make big bucks?"

"What? I…"

"I said shut it, shrimp. I don't have much time. Your daddy's a tightwad, isn't he? Sure. You're too young for an allowance. So, do you want my money or what?"

The kid stopped squirming and stared at Charlie, who conjured a wad of bills out of his pocket. The child goggled. The offer was too juicy to be ignored.

"What do you want me to do?"

Charlie grinned in triumph, a feverish glint in his eyes.

"First of all, this is the secretary's office key, you'll go straight there. Nobody will notice your absence. Then count down about fifteen minutes…"

Within a few seconds, the kid had all of the instructions and set off, while Charlie quickly caught up with his friends. Nudged in the ribs by Neil, Knox cast a questioning look at their mate but, as he just shook his head and crossed the threshold of the assembly hall, something clicked in his mind, so he grasped his best friend's collar and pulled him back outside, pushing him against the nearest wall.

"Where the hell did you go, dipstick? You're getting yourself into a screw-up, aren't ya? I swear to God, if…"

Charlie laughed and pushed Knox away.

"Chill out, Knoxious. Don't you trust me?" he rhetorically asked with his smirk in place and a perfectly raised eyebrow that had absolutely no effect on the other boy.

"Goddamn no, not on this! What are you up to? Watcha hiding under there? Jesus, they'll give you hell!"

"Aw. Concerned, honey?"

"Prick."

"Luv you too. Let's go now, before Nolan gets hysterical."

Vaguely amused, Charlie fixed his jacket up and got past Knox, who took a deep breath while rubbing a hand on his face. He didn't like the bad feeling blossoming in his guts.

The students took their seats on the benches, muttering to each other about the reason behind that summons. As the teachers entered, they all stood up, waiting for the headmaster to order otherwise, which he promptly did. The man looked outright enraged. He tore his glasses off with a terse gesture before starting to speak.

"In this week of Welton's Honor, there appeared a profane and unauthorized article" he informed the audience with a harsh voice. "Rather than spend my valuable time ferreting out the guilty persons – and let me assure you I will find them – I'm asking any and all students who know anything about this article to make themselves known here and now."

Mr. Nolan paused to let his words sink in. Meeks and Pitts struggled to keep their expressions blank. Knox swallowed, his stomach upside down. Neil took a tense breath, earning a sideways glimpse from Todd. Cameron tightened his jaw, giving a glancing look at the others.

"Whoever the guilty persons are" the headmaster continued, "this is your only chance to avoid expulsion from this school."

Right after his last word, the sound of a phone ringing was heard. All of the students and teachers looked around for its source. Charlie sneered. What perfect timing. About fifteen minutes must have passed and his dutiful tiny accomplice had pressed the intercom button, making the recording of the ring he had given him reverberate through the hall speakers.

His heart was throbbing in his throat and his palms were sweating, but he looked overall calm.

Come on, man, he thought. Let the show begin.

He picked up the telephone receiver he had hidden under his jacket and pretended to answer.

"Welton Academy. Hello? Yes, he is. Just a moment."

The headmaster turned towards the audience again upon hearing the boy's voice. Charlie then stood up, holding the device and handing it to him.

"Mr. Nolan, it's for you. It's God. He says we should have girls at Welton."

The man pierced the boy with his stare, narrowing his eyes like a beast pointing its prey. Almost all of the students laughed but the Poets, who grimaced and shook their heads in disbelief.

I'll kill him, Knox thought. If he manages to stay in this damn school, I'll kill him.

A/N: Here we are! I know, this is very short, but I had to split the chapter in two so as to emphasize the next scene. Take it as a prelude :)

Anyway, since the three biggest million dollar questions ever are "What is the meaning of life?", "Is the universe infinite?" and "How the hell could Charlie manage to make the phone ring?", here you have my version :D The technology back then offered magnetic tapes on reels, tape recorders, intercoms and speakers, so I guessed it could work :p