The Class Reject: A Martyr in Maelstrom (Book III)

40

"I have no idea why we have to watch a documentary on the history of our school on a Friday night." Parker, Miles new best friend said. "I know alumni appreciation week is coming up soon, but we could just do it on our own time."

"Speaking of time, I would appreciate it if you'd stop acting like my keeper," Miren murmured with a scowl. Sure, the idea of being jumped again was terrifying, but Parker was insufferable. And granted, he didn't know Miles was Miren, but that was what made the whole ordeal so frustrating. It was hard to decide who was worse—herself or him.

But she knew the answer had been obvious for months now.

"Well, if you'd stop acting suspicious, then I wouldn't feel so inclined to watch over you," was Parker's reply. His eyes narrowed on her. "You skipped class today. Again."

"You like rules more than Ms. Cowdry." Miren's eyes met the instructor's form briefly as the woman motioned for some students to enter the main gym. On a huge projection screen near the back wall there was an image of the school back in the 1950's with dozens of white males waving happily. "Anyway, you're the one with a B+ in the class."

"I'm sorry, I guess being a graduating senior and losing the love of my life made me a little bit unfocused," Parker said jokingly. But she could sense the pain underlying his words. It would have made her feel bad. But she had learned to stop feeling a week ago. "Besides, you never actually told me how you got ruffed up."

"You really want to know?" she didn't even have to look at Parker to know that he really wanted to know. "I was playing basketball by myself and tried to dunk. And because I'm an uncoordinated, short nerd, I fell and twisted my ankle. I thought I had just injured my stomach on the fall but my appendix just happened to be inflamed so I had to take it out." She shrugged. "Any more questions, Dad?"

"Why haven't you made up with Jeno?" Miren stopped briefly in her tracks before resuming her pace. It had been a couple days since their last encounter. Like any true overachiever, she had committed to skipping orchestra and lunch too.

"Look, I get that you're concerned and all, but it's unnecessary," she pushed, wondering why the hell she was pushing anything. "You know how difficult Jeno is. If he wasn't my roommate I probably wouldn't have befriended him in the first place."

"I guess that makes sense," he admitted, wrinkling his nose. "Still, something doesn't feel right."

"My, how perceptive of you?" she knew she was trying her luck (or lack of luck) by trying him, but she could also sense that something was off—this charade. It was only a matter of time until she crashed and burned, and she had been anticipating her destruction for so long that it was hard to resist the urge to prompt it.

Before Parker could give her a snide look, one of their instructors shuffled the upperclassmen into groups and they ascended the bleachers. A million voices filled the air and it was hard to focus on anything other than how much she didn't want to be there.

A couple of more jock seniors dragged Parker to where they were sitting, and for once Miren found peace sitting alone. Well, technically she was in a flock of some nameless juniors, but anything beat the dreaded populars and their superiority complexes.

It felt like an eternity had passed when Headmaster Edsel finally came into the space. Sporting a smirk, it was obvious that they weren't sent here to watch another dumb documentary.

Fuck.

"For those of you who aren't too busy masturbating in your dorm rooms to pay attention to recent school events, you'll know that we have a bit of a scandal on our hands. I've received close to a hundred calls about prom from parents of both Rinzen and St. Rosmunde students and if I have to hear one, I'm going to blow my brains out." Maybe he was already on the brink of insanity, because he was still smiling as he said this. "So, after your hand working instructors make sure that none of you are still holding onto your phones or other electronic devices, we're going to have a little talk. Sound good?"

A million voices seized the air again, but now it was hostile. However, when Dr. Castro and a flock of Rosemunde upperclassmen girls began to enter the space, loud didn't even begin to describe the gymnasium.

"What the hell are they doing here?" most of the boys called out in varying (but still vulgar) degrees. "This is their fault!"

"Dr. Edsel, if you do not put your students in line right now, I will personally do everything in my power to hold Rinzen responsible for these brainless shenanigans that have plagued our schools for the better half of the year." Her dark brown eyes were aimed at the male students like a pistol ready to fire.

"At ease, boys," the headmaster said, his smile only fading slightly. He turned to the female headmaster before his gaze settled on the projector behind them. "And I appreciate your concern, Sofia, but I can assure you that my method will be effective."

"You better hope so." He just grinned harder.

"Alright, everyone," he said, clasping his hands. "Now that you've all gotten comfortable, I wanted to address an important issue that's probably on all of your minds. I know a lot of you don't know what is happening other than the fact that your precious prom was canceled." There was some "booing" and the headmaster rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm here to tell you all there is a possibility—a slight one, nevertheless—that it may be reinstated. The school board and elected to cancel it because they are afraid that these issues will keep occurring. Before the documentary, we were confident that we had apprehended our culprits for the crimes against Miss Van Helsing and even the late Miss Eze. However, obtaining confidential hospital footage is illegal and uploading the particular file on a Rinzen computer incriminates us. Fortunately, no legal action has or will be taken due to the nature of the circumstances. But as I expressed earlier, the school board, particularly the superintendent, needs to feel confidant that nothing else will happen under their leadership.

"Our collective school names are tarnishing faster than the processing speeds of your new iPhones. This is a serious matter, and resolving it will be like removing a Band-Aid: slow and painful or quick and painful. Naturally, I prefer the latter, but it's ultimately up to you guys." He clicked the remote in his hands and seven images faded out images appeared on the projector.

Dr. Edsel just pursed his lips as he watched the students look at each other with baffled expressions. But no one could have looked more baffled (or terrified) than Miren.

"With the help of some anonymous resources as well as utilizing intuition and concrete evidence, Dr. Castro and I have solidified our list of seven culprits that are responsible for this year of hell. We know at least one of you is responsible. And if that person does not come forward, you will risk default disciplinary action on the other six. And at that time, expulsion will be encouraged."

He turned to Dr. Castro. "Shall we reveal them?"

The woman nodded. "We shall."

Then the images appeared. And Miren died all over again.