“Will the following students please report to the
high school
principal’s office immediately following announcements: Casey Winslow,
A. J. Stewart, Carter Dubois, Jeremy Christopher, Allan Matthews, Mike
Wheelan, Kenny Fripp, Derek Sutton, Jojo McKenna, Adam Schumacher, Gina
Kenickie, and Christine Larson.”
“They just called your name, Christine. Aren’t
you going to the
office to see what they want?” That was Miss Fisher, my homeroom
teacher. A real winner. She read my name off for roll call
every day
and still got my name wrong.
“My name isn’t Christine Larson,” I told her.
The other kids started to laugh, which caused her face to turn beet
red.
“Christina?” More laughter.
“No.”
“Kristin? Caroline?” Uproarious
laughter.
“Not even close.”
“It’s on the tip of my tongue...”
“Take your time, Miss Hunter.”
“Oooooooooooohhhh!!!” said the other kids.
“Don’t get smart with me, young lady!”
“I’m sure that’s something I would have to do all by
myself,” I
said without skipping a beat. The other kids were freaking out at
my
sassy remarks.
“What did you say?” Miss Fisher was walking
towards my desk with
rage in her eyes. For some mysterious reason, I didn’t feel the
slightest bit scared.
“Lay one hand on me and I’ll sue your polyester
pants off!”
“Ooooooooooooohhh!!!” said the other kids.
“Get to the office! Now!”
“Who are you talking to?” I asked her,
glancing around at the kids sitting behind me. They just smiled.
“You!”
“It would help if you gave us a name.” One of
the other kids was getting in on the fun.
“Check the attendance sheet!” said another.
Miss Fisher walked back to her desk and began
looking through her
attendance sheet. I got up and slipped out of the room while her
back
was momentarily turned. When I was halfway down the hall, I heard
her
holler out, “CRYSTAL!” at the top of her lungs.
Nervous breakdown material, I told myself.
Pretty good for my
first time sassing a teacher! I walked to the office like a real “bad
ass“ until I remembered the incident with Gina Kenickie. Could
that be
what this is all about?
I looked around the hallway. Gina wouldn’t
think twice about
jumping me from behind if she thought I turned her in. That was
her
trademark. I kept a careful eye open for her but didn’t see her
anywhere.
Allan Matthews and a bunch of other kids were waiting in the
receptionist’s office when I came in. They were listening to the
conversation going on in the principal’s office.
“Casey and company are in there,” Allan told me.
“What did they do?”
“Skipped school.”
All we could hear in the other room was hilarious
laughter. The
principal’s voice was easy to recognize: his laugh was the
loudest.
After about five minutes, the laughter died down and the defendants
came out wearing expressions of gloom.
“Now what?” wondered Allan.
Doobie Brother pushed Casey along. “Come on,
dude. Walk it off. There’ll be another time. We’ll
get even.”
“Be careful in there,” Jeremy told Allan.
“He’s in a bad mood
today.” The four of them left the office and burst out laughing
as
soon as they were in the hall.
“What bullshit,” muttered Allan. “Those guys
get away with everything!”
The principal called out to us. “Who’s
next?” Allan nodded to me
and the two of us went inside. “Where’s the other one?”
asked Mr.
Chamberlain. I looked at Allan. He looked at me.
“Where is Gina
Kenickie?” Mr. Chamberlain was a bit peeved.
“Probably late for school,” I said.
“As usual,” the principal replied. “So, are
you the pusher or the pushee?”
I thought to myself, What is this, a drug rap?
“I’m Crystal Larson,” I finally said.
“The pushee. Mr. Matthews, you say Gina
Kenickie pushed Crystal down a flight of stairs. Is that true,
Crystal?”
Before I could answer, Gina came storming into the
office. The
principal seemed horrified by her appearance. “My God! What
happened
to your hair?”
“Never mind that!” snapped Gina. “What
did I get called to the office for?”
“Does that stuff wash out, or is it permanent?”
“None of your business!” Gina turned her look
of contempt from
Mr. Chamberlain to me. “What are you doing here,
Larson? Narcin’ on
me?”
“You pushed her down a flight of stairs,” Allan
reminded her. “I could’ve been killed. We both could’ve
been killed!”
“So what? Nobody would care.”
The principal got mad. “Shut up, Gina. I
mean it!” He leered at
her for a moment before asking her, “Why did you
push Crystal down
the stairs?”
“I never pushed her down the stairs!”
“Yes, you did!” Allan replied. “Ask
Crystal!”
“Crystal? Is what Allan says true? Did
Gina push you down the
stairs?” All eyes were on me, and Gina’s were burning holes in my
skin.
“Uh...well...”
“Did she, Crystal?”
Gina was going to kill me. I just knew it. She had at least
forty
pounds on me and could make my life miserable if she wanted to.
“No,”
I said meekly. “I just tripped.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sure, she’s sure!” Gina snarled.
“Shut up!” The principal gave Gina a stern
look, then turned to
me. “If Gina pushed you, don’t be afraid to tell me. You
could’ve
gotten seriously hurt.”
I could’ve got seriously hurt, all right.
Seriously murdered! No thanks!
“Gina’s my friend,” I said. “She wouldn’t push
me.”
The principal looked at me with eyebrows
tensed. He knew I wasn’t
telling the truth. “Okay, then. You’re free to go.
Except for you,
Gina. I’m not through with you yet.”
Allan followed me out of the office and into the
hallway. “You lied back there, didn’t you?”
“She would’ve hammered me!”
“Don’t be afraid of her, Crystal. She’s just a
bully. The best thing to do is stand up to her.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have a
fist with your name on it like I do.”
“Well, if she bothers you again, come see me.
I know some people who specialize in taking care of bullies.”
“Really? Who?”
“Just some people I know. “ He smiled
slightly. “I’ll see you later.”
I watched him walk down the hallway and wondered who
he was talking
about. Was there really somebody in this school who could keep me
safe
from Gina. The very thought was ridiculous. Gina Kenickie
was like
Colonel Khaddaffy when it came to acts of revenge. With my locker
right next to hers, she’d have plenty of chances to strike back.
Then again, maybe she’d leave me alone. After
all, I did say I tripped. That ought to account for something.
But I know Gina. She’s a psychopath! Allan
could have friends in
the Mafia for all she cared. It wouldn’t stop her from beating
the
crap out of me. I’m dead meat!
* *
* * *
Homeroom period ended and the hallways began to fill
up with
students. I found a big crowd gathered around the part of the
hall
where my locker is. I heard someone say, “It looks like a bomb
went
off!”
I pushed my way through the crowd and saw papers,
books, and art
supplies scattered all over the floor. My locker was wide open
without
a thing in it. Of course, Gina was responsible for thoroughly
vandalizing my locker. She was the only one who knew my
combination.
Allan Matthews came by and helped me to clean it
up. “It could be
worse,” I told him. “This could be my mutilated carcass we’re
cleaning
up. At least I’m still alive.”
“That does it,” Allan said. “Somebody’s got to
teach this little creep a lesson. I know just who to see.”
“Who?”
“Never mind. Just go to your next class.
I’ll take care of everything. Don’t worry.”
I gathered my science books and closed my
locker. Allan made his
way down the hall and stopped to talk to Jeremy Christopher. They
were
too far away for me to hear anything they were saying, but I did see
Jeremy nod his head a few times, then shake Allan’s hand and walk away.
Wait a minute. Was Jeremy
the local hit man? That didn’t seem possible. He was just
as skinny
as Allan and three inches shorter. Gina would eat him alive!
