SUBJECTBALLS

Rose without Thorns

A/N: Unlike the other chapters that I released in batches, this will only be two chapters. I'm mostly writing them for fun and out of boredom, but they still apply to the plot. Hope you enjoy anyways :)

The teacher's lounge was full of its usual inhabitants, but English couldn't help but notice that some teachers were missing. Most teachers ate their lunch in the lounge, but PE ate his in random spots around the building, for whatever reason, but he usually came here afterwards just to relax. He was usually here by now.

Biology was missing, too. She was almost always late, but never this late.

English thought nothing of it. He had enough to worry about, anyway.

He flickered his gaze over the teachers in the lounge. Any one of them could have witnessed what happened in the MUGA.

English calmed himself. Surely, by the slim chance somebody had seen, they wouldn't know the context.

He sipped the warm coffee out of his Shakespeare insults mug, and, as he looked up, he noticed Drama staring at him worriedly, as if she could read his mind. They enveloped their hands together in a wordless gesture of comfort and affection.

Usually, the teacher's lounge was exploding with noise, but today was the outlier, which was just as well. English needed to think clearly.

When English was just beginning to appreciate the silence, PE burst through the door, gasping for breath as if he had just done laps around the school. The gazes of the silent teachers turned to him.

Still breathing heavily, he strode over to a sofa (🇬🇧🇬🇧) and flopped down onto it. The springs of the sofa (🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧) protested unceremoniously.

He's looking worse for wear, English reflected, exchanging a look with Drama, that can't be good for his superiority complex.

PE's expression went from tired to suddenly serious, as if he had just realised something important. English had to repress himself from sighing as PE turned to him.

"Oh, yeah, the headmistress wants to see you." PE said casually, his expression turning back to tired and disgruntled.

"Wish me luck." English mumbled to Drama as he stood up.

When he walked into the headteacher's office, he was immediately choked by the reek of rosey perfume. Business was dragging a red highlighter across a graph.

As English slammed the door shut, she gasped in surprise before turning, exhaling a sigh of relief.

"Oh, hello English. You startled me."

How could I have started you when you were expecting me? English thought with a roll of his eyes. Fortunately, Business took no notice.

"I was just tracking how my portfolio has been doing, y'know, sometimes it rises, sometimes it drops; that's the fun part about crypto, English, the risk. What's life without a little risk, eh? Life without risk would be like a rose without thorns. What I'm trying to say is, in life, you hit the lowest lows, but you can't have lowest lows without highest highs..."

English began to zone out as Business went on one of their typical cryptocurrency-based rants.

"...so, when you invest in a low crypto, or a low stock, have faith, because there's nowhere to go but up. Anyway, English, take a seat."