Trouble In Paradise

35. Breaking Bones

"He's really in the hospital, is he?"

"Yeah. At first, I thought that they were lying. He really isn't coming then. Can't say he didn't deserve it, trying to call us in for two days before the trip," an evil senior cackled with another.

It was Wednesday and all the seniors of Paradise High were standing near the buses, ready to leave for the trip. Apparently, someone had spilt a ridiculous amount of baby oil in all of our school corridors before school hours on Monday. This forced the school to declare Monday and Tuesday as holidays. None of the students were harmed but the same couldn't be said for our dear Principal, Mr Brown. Rumour had it that he had arrived at school before anyone else and learned about the oily hallways the hard way.

"I wonder why he got here before the others," Matt mused.

"Yeah, I made sure to check if anyone was coming in before the school hours," Mason frowned.

"Why are you standing so quietly, Miller?" Torryn narrowed his eyes in unadulterated suspicion.

"Yeah, you didn't even make a stupid comment when Brit came over to kiss me," Rhea murmured confusedly.

"Oh my God," exclaimed Ethan, pointing an accusatory finger at me. "After we were done with the oil, you were speaking with someone on the phone. You even asked us to leave soon. At the time, I thought that was because you didn't want us to be caught bu-but you wanted us all to leave because you had actually called Brown."

A simple phone call about a few students wreaking havoc in the chemistry labs had been enough for the man to come running in.

"You caught me, I didn't want us to be caught," I shrugged.

"Of course, you called Brown," Mae let out her signature bark of laughter.

I just smiled innocently-well, as innocently as one can after having indirectly broken some bones- at my gaping group of friends.

"Wait, but won't he know that you called?" Mason frowned.

I smiled, "No, I used Ethan's phone."

"What?!" Ethan cried out.

"Thanks, buddy," I smiled some more enjoying the anguish on his face. Of course, I forgot to tell him that I had only thought of calling from his phone but in the end, I had just used the telephone in the staff room.

"I have to admit that I wasn't expecting that from you," Matt said, something akin to hero-worship sparkling in his eyes. "That was genius," he grinned.

"Yeah, at least now Brown won't come with us for the trip," Owen smiled happily.

"I didn't know you were capable of that," Torryn gave a disbelieving shake of his head.

"I like having lots of friends and if people knew my exact capabilities of evil, I wouldn't have as many friends," I pouted. "I hope he isn't seriously injured though," I scrunched my nose, trying to picture our principal on a hospital bed.

He must be sweating in an air-conditioned room too, my subconscious snickered in a mean way.

Be more sensitive, you broke his bones, I chastised.

"He'll live," Owen affirmed, texting someone from his phone. "My contacts at the hospital say that he'll be in great health by next week."

"Contacts at the hospital?" Rhea echoed, giving him a weirded out stare.

"We get into a lot of fights," Owen gestured towards himself and Torryn and Matt and Ethan.

I shrugged. "Makes sense."