✮Ｓｔｅｐｈａｎｉｅ✮

CH.8: CROOKED PATH

Now, this is what I'd like to call drama.

"You know each other?"

"You know this guy?" Arthur asked.

"You know this guy?" Emlyn shot his index finger at Arthur.

"Calm down. Emlyn, Arthur is my closest friend from school. Arthur, Emlyn keeps me company at home and works for my dad," I gestured. "Now, how do you two know each other?"

Emlyn suddenly became uncomfortable with the question and danced impatiently, 'secretly' gesturing with Arthur to be quiet.

"Well, he attends the same school. He got suspended for two weeks because some boys got him into trouble because of Nicole."

"Why, you chatterbox!" Emlyn moved fiercely into the house and pulled Arthur's hair.

"Ow! Well, why didn't you tell her the truth?"

"Because, I didn't want Stephanie to know about Nicole and all the drama that happened between us."

But why?

"That she has a thing for you and 'cause you don't feel the same way and you put her to shame, and she sponsored some cankerworms to frame and accuse you of theft?"

"Shut up!" Emlyn shot back.

"Okay, calm down," I tried to allay the contention.

"And, did you know she still has an eyes on you, watching your every move? And she sent Mikey to follow you in case you have eyes for someone else."

"What?!" Emlyn exclaimed, being astounded.

"But..." I was immediately enlightened about the weird event in the marketplace and rendered dumbstruck. "The strange photographer! He was meant for you!" I poked Emlyn.

"Ow!" He retreated, "well, then he saw you and gained a more juicy story for her."

"What are you guys even saying?" Arthur asked and Emlyn came at him again.

"Well, aren't you quite the nosy fowl?"

"Fowls do not have a nose!"

"Then stop prying! Jeez."

"That's enough. You two, get out."

"See what you caused?"

"I caused? We were having a perfect moment until you came and ruined it!"

"Oh, a moment?"

I pushed Emlyn out first, then Arthur, and shut the door and locked it.

At that point, I was already sad about everything—nothing in particular. I layed on the couch and turned on the TV.

                     ***
The next day, on Friday, before heading to school, I grabbed my dad's thick and strong gloves then placed them in my bagpack.

When I got to school, I wore the gloves, so as not to be once again, a victim of Nicole's previous stunt. Of course I knew Nicole wouldn't repeat a stunt twice but I had to be canny and I couldn't take any more chances. I opened my locker and a mighty stench hit my nose.

"Ugh, what is that stench?" I said to myself. I opened the locker wide; lo and behold, I found a dead rat, ants, and sugar all around, and my books were awfully tattered.

"What the... Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no," frustrated, I said and called Arthur to meet me by my locker.

"Well, apparently, Nicole did this. She put sugar in your locker so ants could get attracted by it and she planted the rat in there so it could feed on your books and the ants, on the rat. "