1 - On That Fateful Day

8 0 0
                                    

Leni and Jasmine walked miserably up the hill. It was unbearably cold and it felt unfair that it was only their year still being forced to go to school. It was a miserable morning to say the very least. It wasn't until the gentle chimes coming from Leni's phone alerted them out of their misery. Swiping the green call button, Leni and Jasmine were greeted by a rather... interesting... sound from Jack.
"Yeah, yeah," Leni exhaled. "We're almost at yours."
"Okay. Love you." Jack replied.
"Love you too."
Upon reaching the top of the hill, Jasmine pressed the button on the traffic lights and the pair made their way across the road, greeting Jack.

The three of them walked together around the corner, the morning sun excessively harsh on their eyes. The car park was next to empty, and there really was no rush at all. Luke and Onyx were already waiting at the gate, and within a minute Milena had turned up too. After a brief conversation, the school bell rang to announce the start of another day.

The group walked in together, muttering "good morning" in response to the over enthusiastic teachers with their masks on. Walking past the boy's toilets, the cold morning air finally hit again and the group shuddered. A brief walk to the field was torturous in the late November chills. Within a little while, Tiegan, Brooke and Alex had all made their appearances and the larger group was laughing loud, much to the dismay of Mr Peacock. They lined up for tutor, Jack and Onyx receiving a grimace from Issy. In fact, nobody seemed particularly happy to be integrated with each other. Previously the groups in this school got on relatively well, until today. Leni and James made polite conversation in the line as standard, but Leni had an awful gut feeling that James wasn't as content as he seemed.

The antisocial behaviour only increased throughout the day. At least half of the year group had blown through their strike cards and were sitting in isolation with gritted teeth. Those who remained in lessons refused to associate with anyone not in their friend group, unless it was brutal, violent protest. It only took a matter of hours for kids to be throwing tables, chairs, and even entire bookshelves at each other. It took even less time for the staff to evacute. The school was in ruins at this point, and with no staff around, there seemed to be no escape - unless you count death.

Due to the immense damage being dealt to the Bourne Academy, it was only guaranteed for the number of students to decrease. The cold atmosphere and the harsh conditions of being trapped in this once bright and friendly school became too much of an uproar for these kooky students to deal with.
"What the hell is going on with everyone?" Jack questioned, in a serious tone.
"I suppose being trapped here has driven everybody crazy." Leni said. They spoke in a rather distant approach, staring over to the opposite side to the field - where another certain group was standing.

The Volleyball Wankers.

Touchy Tom - the founder of The Volleyball Wankers and a nonce with dark curly hair, sort of resembling a 32-year-old's pubes. Minging Morgan - the co-founder. He has a severe allergy towards nuts, but this may be a minging lie. Jarring James - possibly the only Wanker that can be tolerated, but - for some - he may have a rather jarring tone in his voice. Also, he likes Nickelback. Yes, Nickelback. Dickhead Dylan - he believes he is a skater anime boy. He loves touching random girls' boobs and sort of looks like a fox.

Jasmine joined Leni as they kept staring coldly at the group of virgin gaylords.
"Do you think we're the only ones left?" Jasmine muttered.
"Us and the Volleyball Wankers? Possibly soon. I think the Anime Avengers and Straight Orange Girls are still alive but it won't be long until they're wiped out too." Leni sighed, looking over at Heather and Carly's groups.
"NO! I DON'T WANT HEATHER TO DIE!" Milena weeped, reaching her hand over to Heather Weetabix.
Heather looked back at The Wonderfry's Guys, giving them - specifically Milena - a rather malicious look. Suddenly, Rosie Roberts slowly walked like a zombie behind Heather, holding a microphone that she had stolen from the music department. "Heather...." She distantly called. "I really like your singing, Heather. Do you want this microphone?"
"What the fucking fuck, Rose? Are you taking the piss? Fuck off, Rose." Heather grumbled, turning her back to Rosie.
To put it mildly, Rose looked mortified. She threw the microphone at Heather, leaving a resounding buzz around the school and beginning a rather entertaining catfight. Within seconds Heather had thrown her excessive body weight upon Rose's frail figure, leaving her choking and sobbing as her kneecaps twisted and dislocated. Heather spat at her and finished her off - Rose's lungs were punctured and after a while of coughing up patches of blood, there was nothing left of her. Heather stood up slowly, taking in what she had just done. The other groups in school had stopped their fighting to witness this, there was surely no way. Heather froze for a minute, oblivious to the stares. She began to break down into tears; she didn't regret a thing but words couldn't describe how much of a loss she was at. Heather fell to her knees. She sobbed and hiccupped until her eyes ran dry and she couldn't feel her weak body anymore. A last gulp caused Heather to die, not of regret, but of heartbreak.

The Wonderfry's Guys shared a concerned look between themselves. Even the Volleyball Wankers seemed a little unnerved. In fact, distant sobs were heard - but nobody had the heart to fight again. The Anime Avengers retreated to the art classroom, followed by the Football Cretins who stumbled away to the sports hall. The groups disbanded for a while, each in their respective rooms. The Wonderfry's Guys had taken residence in the humanities corridor, partially to honour their memories of Sally in HU07, but also because it seemed to be one of the few places in the building with semi-working central heating. As the first night began to fall, the Guys couldn't find it in themselves to even try to sleep. Sitting stiffly in HU07, Tiegan piped up, "Does anybody else think it's a little strange that everyone else can sleep easy after all of that?"
Milena and Onyx sat upright, losing the French flag they had been using as a blanket. Leni pulled their hoodie tighter over their blazer and looked up. 
"It doesn't seem right." Jasmine finally spoke. "Up until then, everyone had been fighting for their groups, not against them!"
"Exactly." Leni added gravely. "There's a weak link in every group, someone is always going to lose."
Alex and Tiegan shuddered at the thought of it. Jack sat up to have a toke on his vape, before starting to sputter and cough. Brooke sniggered, breaking the silence, and suddenly the whole room erupted with laughter - more specifically, giggles and snorts. For the first time since that morning, everything felt warm, alright, even. The moon shone through the blinds in the window, softly lulling them all into a sleep that just may be the last time they felt safe. 

Meanwhile, the Volleyball Wankers were sitting around the table in AWE06, exhausted and discussing the events they had seen. 
"I'll bet it's those Wonderfry's kids. They fuck everyone up." Cleo hissed bitterly, Jae and Issy nodding in agreement. 
"We can't jump to conclusions," James said wisely. "None of them have a fraction of the intellect to be behind something like this." 
"What about Leni? Or Onyx?" Tom piped up. 
"What about them?"
"They're intelligent. They're in high sets."
"That doesn't matter. Both of them lack any kind of common sense, even if it was their doing, they'd be some of the first to die by sticking their fingers into a plug socket or something." James stated. 
"We can't just think about this, guys!" Dylan suddenly exclaimed. "We can't play volleyball if we're dead!" 
The Wankers immediately got to their feet. Of course! How could they possibly prioritise their dead classmates when they could be playing volleyball?!

Set 8 VolleyballWhere stories live. Discover now