A Year Full Of Surprises

A Year Full Of Surprises - Chapter Twenty-Four.

Chapter Twenty-Four...

After listening to a very loud lecture from my very annoyed teacher and trying to hold back my laughs at her increasingly aggravated and red face, I finally made it home. That wasn't before Mr. Armstrong had walked past me and smirked, clearly trying to hold back his laugh though.

The rest of the day was uneventful. I had to put up with my parents who were actually home and being overly sympathetic. It was quite annoying that they only appeared to care when they thought something horrific had happened to me.

I went to bed early to avoid their hugs and offers to get me food and drinks; I knew they went out as soon as I has gone to bed though.

The next morning was also boring and normal. Nothing out of the ordinary occured and lessons followed through as normal without incident.

When it got to maths, I was perfectly relaxed and not expecting any problems, so I was surprised when the secretary and another maths teacher appeared at the door.

I snapped to attention and waited for the announcement I knew was coming. "Can Jessica McCarthy and Mr. Armstrong please report to the headmistress's office. Mr. McVay will cover your class for you." She aimed the last sentence at Jord and then promptly left the room.

Mel shot me a look telling me I was going to be retelling this story as soon as I saw her. Grace was looking bewildered along with the rest of the class; a teacher and student both being called to Mrs. Dank's office looked awfully suspicious. I dreaded to think what conclusions they came up with. Couldn't they have picked a lesson we weren't both in together to speak to us?

I stood up and looked towards Jord who was also walking to the door. "Fill in the sheets I handed out at the beginning of the lesson." He ordered the class. "Mr. McVay will help you if you're stuck."

Then he opened the door and I followed him out of it. "Zack must have told them he's dropping the charges." I said, stating the obvious. "What do we say to that? We can hardly just say, oh well we'll drop them as well then, can we? That would look way too suspicious." I said. We really should have thought about this earlier.

Jord's face contorted into a frown. "I don't know." He said eventually as we weaved our way through the corridors.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to come up with a plan before we reached Mrs. Danks' office. "Just say something believable." Was his only adivce as we entered the room.

I was surprised that there were no police there, but I wasn't disappointed. It would be much easier to talk to Mrs. Danks than the police; they were more likely to ask questions I didn't have answers too.

"Please sit down, both of you." She said kindly. We both followed her command and sat down in two empty seats next to Zack, who was sat in silence, his arms crossed in annoyance.

"Zack has come to a decision that I think you need to be informed of before the police." She began. "He's decided not to pursue the assault case against Mr. Armstrong." She revealed happily. I could guess she didn't want to lose a teacher that she had only recently employed and ruin the school's good reputation. 

Mr. Armstrong smiled, acting oblivious to having any prior knowledge that this would happen. "Thank you Zack, it is very much appreciated that you've come to realise I never meant you any harm." He said formally. I knew only me and Zack had picked up on his sarcarstic tone and Zack grimaced.

"That is all I really needed to tell you, but I thoght you should be the first to know." Mrs. Danks said politely, indirectly asking us to leave.

I could see Zack's irritated glare and I decided it was time for me to speak up. "Err... Mrs. Danks?" I said quietly, causing her to look in my direction. "I would also like to drop any charges I have placed upon Zack."

She gasped and looked at me as if I had gone mad. "Why would you want to do that?" She exclaimed incredulously. "Zack go back to your class." She ordered coldly.

I gulped when she turned her angry glare back onto me. I was just glad that she hadn't sent Jord back as well, it was a great comfort having him sat next to me.

"Why would you want to do that?" She repeated, scewering me with her eyes. "You shouldn't let him try and get away with what he's done."

I gulped again, my mouth dry. "I just don't think he was really thinking straight. He has apologised tons of times since it happened and he looked really genuine." I lied. "I just don't think he should be condemned for the rest of his life because of one little mistake."

Mrs. Danks still looked angry, but her look had softened a bit. "But deary," she began, her voice sickly sweet. "I think he might have been trying to win you over when he apologised. Do you really want him to get away with it with somone else?" She asked, trying to guilt trip me. The only problem was that I knew he wouldn't try and do it to anyone else, because he had never really done it to me.

I shook my head innocently. "I went out with Zack for four months, I know what he's like." Or at least I thought I did. I noticed how Mr. Armstrong's hand clenched slightly when I said that and I resisted sending him a puzzled glance. Why would Mr. Armstrong even be bothered by that? "He would never do that again, it was just a mistake." I assured her.

"But..." She began, clearly ready to argue some more.

Mr. Armstrong interrupted her though. "She's clearly made her mind up." He snapped. "Why don't you let the police try and convince her otherwise, she's had a long enough day already. Don't you think this was a hard enough decision in the first place, without someone pressuring her to change it already."

I blinked in astonishment. I had never seen Jord so worked up before. Mrs. Danks also looked taken aback. She opened her mouth, presumably to speak, but no words came out.

After recomposing herself, she finally formed a sentence. "I will let the police know of your decision." She said calmly. "Mr. Armstrong is right though, you'll face much harsher questions and comments from the police." She almost, almost taunted me.

Then she made a gesture with her hand, clearly asking us to vacate the premises.

We got up simultaneously and exited her office without looking back. Jord still looked relatively angry. "Are you okay?" I asked tentatively, pretty sure I wasn't going to believe his answer.

"I'm fine." He lied. He was obviously not fine.

"Seriously? What's wrong?" I urged. He couldn't just deny his not-okay-ness when he always managed to get me to spill.

He shook his head. "It's nothing." He denied. I sent him a look of disbelief. "I'm just annoyed at Mrs. Danks. She's so quick to condemn someone. It was obvious you weren't ready to talk about what you were saying, but she pushed it anyway."

I smiled. "I don't mind. I'm gonna get questioned on it eventually anyway." I played it down. To be fair, I had been infinitely grateful Jord had stepped in when he had. "Thanks for sticking up for me though." I grinned.

He sent me a small smile back. "I'll always stick up for you." He said quietly and almost to himself, so much so that I wasn't sure I was meant to hear it. It still sent a thrill through me though.

"Have you really spoken to Zack?" He questioned as though he hadn't just said anything.

I shook my head. "Of course not. I don't plan on talking to the bastard unless I absolutely have too." I exclaimed honestly.

He smiled a relieved smile. "Good. I don't want him anywhere near you."

The bell went half way through our walk back to class and we were soon swamped by students rushing to get home and away from school.

The maths classroom was empty when we returned, except from Mel and Grace who were both sat behind their desks, talking quietly. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Mel had better not have told her anything. I might like Grace, but I wasn't sure if I trusted her yet. Okay, I have trust issues, but after the amount of times I've been lied to now, it's understandable.

I raised an eyebrow at Mel when she met my gaze. She pulled a face and I glanced at Grace trying to get the message across without actually speaking aloud. Mel apparently hadn't realised Grace could clearly see her face though and when a look of realisation crossed her face Grace turned around to look at me.

I tried not to grimace when Grace smiled at me. "What did Mrs. Danks want?" She asked a curious smile on her face.

I hesitated, not knowing what to say. Mel was vigorously shaking her head behind Grace, presumably letting me know she hadn't told Grace anything. "I don't want to talk about it?" My response was almost a question because I was sure she would pressure me anyway.

"Oh okay." She said before turning back around to continue her conversation with Mel.

I gaped with astonishment at the back of her head. Had that been Mel, she would have pushed and pushed and pushed me until I finally broke, with a few threats included that she wouldn't speak to me anymore. Whereas Grace, she had just left it. I couldn't believe it.

I must have been gourming with astonishment for a long time because I soon saw Jord's hand waving in front of my face and amused smile on his face. "Sorry." I muttered.

He cast a glance towards the two girls who weren't paying us any attention. "I'll ring you later so you can get your story straight. I don't think they'll need to talk to me anymore, apart from to maybe tell me that I don't need to be involved in anything else and to formally inform me that Zack's not pursuing the case." He informed me quietly so that no one else would hear.

I nodded. "Okey dokey."

Mel turned back around to me then. "We were only waiting for you to get back." She let me know. "I said I'd give Grace a lift home if she stayed and waited with me, she only lives around the corner though."

I smiled. "Cool, let's go then." I decided.

Mr. Armstrong gathered up his things. "I'll lock the classroom behind you." He said.

"Do you want me to help you carry anything?" I asked automatically.

He nodded. "If you don't mind Jess."

"We'll meet you at the car." Mel called to me, already half way out the door.

"'Kay." I shouted back.

"It's a shame your not after a lift tonight, I could do with some help marking." He teased.

I chuckled. "Unlucky for some. I get the pleasure of listening to mindless gossip about lads and then explaining to Mel why I've dropped the case." I joked back sarcastically.

He laughed. "You're right, I have got it easy."

I grabbed some a pile of books from his desk and followed him out to his car. I almost walked around and got into the passenger seat out of habit, but resisted. "See you tomorrow." I said, smiling at him. Then I considered something. "When do you think the police will want to talk to me?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. It could be tomorrow, it could be in a week."

"Okay. Hopefully I'll have prepared myself anyway."

"You've got to be ready for anything though, both of you retracting your claims is very suspicious." He warned me.

I nodded. "I know." I agreed. "I need to go." I said quickly, realising Mel and Grace were waiting for me.

He waved and said goodbye also. Grace and Mel both looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "What took you so long?" Mel asked suspiciously.

I shrugged. "We were just talking about something." I said vaguely hoping she would take the hint and leave it.

"Well it sure took you a lot of time to talk." She said sarcastically. "Must have been a bloody interesting conversation."

I stared at her incredulously. What was up her arse this time? Surely she didn't still think that there was something between me and Mr. Armstrong. We had just been to the headmistresses office and she couldn't understand why we might need to talk about something? She was unbelievable.

"Well maybe if you weren't always so suspicious and remembered that we had just been to Mrs. Danks' office then you might realise that we had something to talk about." I hissed, trying to keep it as vague as possible but still showing my rage clearly.

Mel was saved from responding when an uncomfortable looking Grace told Mel where abouts her house was.

After she had got out, Mel demanded in a very irritated voice. "So, are you going to tell me what you were actually in Mrs. Danks' office for then?"

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My laptop, its back :') I've never been so happy! 

I can update as normal now and proof read things properly again. I hope this chapter is alright. When I was on my brother's Ipod I actually go up to Chapter Twenty-Six written seeing as though I had nothing better to do. 

Please Vote and Comment, The next two chapters have some more Matt in, I'm trying to develop his character a bit more :)