The Most Memorable Moment

Chapter 1

I stared at the wall, preparing for a lecture. The water I was nervously sucking down burned my throat like tiny icicles, nearly matching the temperature of my blood. I looked down at my hands. They were shaking, clammy, and white, and I was sure that the rest of me looked the same way. I quickly wiped my free hand on my pants and took a deep breath. "Calm down, Clay," I told myself. What was the worst thing that could happen? The principal probably just wanted to discuss something else with my parents. It most likely had nothing to do with the fact that I'd just nearly blown up the chemistry lab while attempting to pull off a huge prank.

Durvey, being a large high school in a large town, has had its fair share of pranks. The longest running prank in the school's history has been the award for the "most memorable". Every year one student gets named "Most Memorable". They are voted for by the student body. The teachers think it has something to do with their personality or character or something, but everyone here really knows that they won the title by pulling off the biggest, most elaborate prank of the whole year. That's what I was trying to do the moment I stepped into the chem lab after seventh period. Rather than creating the most memorable moment, it was the worst mistake of my life.

"Clay," I heard a rugged yet stern voice say. A shiver ran down my spine. Of course the voice belonged to Principal Thomas. He was watching me with hawk-like eyes from the open doorway. "Please step inside." Hesitantly I got up, leaving my icy water bottle, and walked into the office. I'd been here too many times for my liking.

My father was sitting in one of the oversized chairs, an angry look on his face. I could see that one vein in his forehead pulsing. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but quickly shut it again. My mother, thankfully, was looking a bit more calm. Her expression was emotionless. She sat there with her eyes on me and her lips pursed, waiting for my next move. I knew I was going to get an earful later.

"Please take a seat, Mr. Cortese." I pulled a blue plastic chair from a stack by the wall and set it next to my mother's, awaiting my punishment. "Now, Mr. Cortese, I assume you know why you're here." I thought for a moment to comply, but figured that it might be better to play dumb. Maybe they'd think I was innocent and let me go. "No, sir. I have no idea why I'm here."

Principal Thomas sighed heavily. This was obviously not the answer he was looking for. "Well then, Mr. Cortese, let me explain it to you. You are here because you've committed a very serious offense. Number one: You entered our school's chemistry lab without permission. There was no teacher present, therefore you were not permitted to be in there."

Maybe I'd get off with a warning. That would be nice.

"Number two - You decided to do your own little experiment in there for who knows what reasons. You mixed two chemicals that were clearly labeled not to be mixed."

Service hours. Detention. Saturday school. Maybe even a little summer work. I'd take anything.

"Number three - You put yourself and other students' lives in danger by creating a dangerous chemical reaction. The lab now requires thousands of dollars in repairs, money that we just don't have."

Wait, was I supposed to raise the money? That would take so much work. "Look, Principal Thomas-" I started. He held up a hand to cut me off.

"Let me finish. This is an extremely serious matter, Mr. Cortese. I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to expel you from Durvey High School."

"What?!" I nearly shouted, shocked. I looked over at my father, who was now a sickly shade of red. The vein pulsed more than I've ever seen. "Are you serious? This has got to be a joke. It was just a silly prank!"

"Mr. Cortese, what you do not understand is that your 'silly prank' has caused the school a great deal of damage!"

"Fuck this school!" I shouted, tipping my chair over as I stood. Principal Thomas leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow, shocked and displeased with my outburst. He said nothing more.