Short Story, Long

𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 4: 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝙸𝚝

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It was a normal Monday morning for the students of Tovar High School where everyone was having fun, laughing, talking with friends, and having their lunch.

Extremely loud chatter of conversations drifted in the air and could be heard from a mile away, as the children were busy enjoying their break. That is, everyone except Tammy, Slyvia and Jen, who were huddled off into the far back corner of the classroom talking in whispers among themselves.

This wasn't unusual for the trio. They were always seen talking amongst themselves because they shared an inseparable bond. Because of this, no one took into consideration what they might be whispering among themselves about.

"Did you bring it?" Tammy questioned eagerly to the friend who was clutching her bag tightly to her chest. Sylvia simply nodded, fumbling around the contents of her backpack.

"Lemme see it, lemme see it!" the third friend piped up a little too loudly.

"Keep it down Jen!" Tammy practically hissed successfully silencing her friend that now slumped back into her seat, "It's like you want everyone to know what we're up to"

"Tch!" Jen huffed, rolling her eyes, before a smile lit up her face and she resumed leaning forward in her seat once more.

"What's taking so long? You did bring it with you, right?" Tammy asked impatiently.

"You're so impatient" Sylvia replied just as her hand grasped the item she was looking for, "Here it is. Happy now?"

She then proceeded to pull out a small, yellow bottle with the faded words Super Super Glue written around its label. The three girls then all pulled a sinister smile, knowing smile as they looked down at the bottle.

"Are you guys sure we should do this?" Slyvia hesitantly asked.

"Seriously, we've come this far, and you want to chicken out?" Tammy groaned in annoyance, "You even brought the glue Sylvie, you wouldn't have if you didn't want to do it too"

"Exactly" Jen added leaning closer to her friends, her voice now an even lower whisper, "Ms. Gray deserves it. She practically made us fail that Math test last Thursday"

"See, even Jenny agrees. Come on Sylvia" Tammy whined, "We planned everything, you can't back out now"

"Okay...." Sylvia breathed, now gripping the bottle with newfound determination, "Let's do it"

The three girls then rose from their seats, trying to act naturally as they made their way to the front of the classroom to their teacher's desk. No one seemed to notice as they were still too busy talking among their friend groups.

"Sylvie, gimme the bottle" Tammy hissed, extending her hand to which Slyvia handed her the glue.

"I'll be on look out like we planned" Sylvia said walking towards the door, glancing back at her friends every few minutes.

"You ready?" Tammy asked Jen.

"Yeah! I wanna do it! Lemme do it!" Jen exclaimed excitedly, causing a few turns of heads in the room.

"Shhh!!!" Tammy shushed her friend but handed her the bottle, nevertheless.

Giggling, Jen took the bottle, unscrewed the lid, and started to discreetly pour its clear, sticky contents over the teacher's chair. This now caught the attention of a few more classmates, who watched in amusement.

Everything seemed to be going according to plan, until Sylvia got distracted by a classmate asking her some questions that she didn't see their teacher Ms. Gray enter the classroom behind her.

"Tamara, Jennie," the math teacher said, "What are you doing by my desk?!"

Caught off-guard, Tammy and Jen dropped the bottle out of sight and Jen, in shock, proceeded to sit on the pranked chair, eye's wide in terror.

"N-n-nothing M-Ms Gray" Jen answered in a shaky voice.

"Oh no" Sylvia exclaimed in a hoarse whisper, realizing her mistake.

"Nothing?" the teacher continued, "your desks are at the back of the class, far from mine. So, unless you are the teacher here, you shouldn't be up here. Lunch time or not. If you would please return to your seats"

"Yes miss" Tammy said and began to walk away before Ms. Gray spoke again.

"Why aren't you moving and still sitting in my chair, Ms. Anderson" the teacher enquired looking at a panicked Jennie.

Jen, however, didn't answer.

Tammy and Sylvia shared a look among themselves. Tammy, both angry and scared while Sylvia, guilty and panicked.

"Ms. Anderson?!" Ms. Gray spoke again.

Jen stayed silent, a few tears now slipping down her face, for she knew she couldn't move without ripping her uniform or giving away the prank. A failed prank, that is.

By this time, the whole class had gone silent, and all eyes were at the front of the screen.

"Ms. Anderson, I know you aren't deaf or dumb, so you please remove yourself from my seat, and return to your own, right this minute"

"I can't," Jen whispered.

"Come again?" Ms. Gray spoke, a bit bewildered.

"I-I-I can't," Jen's voice wavered.

"What do you mean 'you can't'?" the teacher asked.

"I- "Jen started, but Sylvia beat her to it.

"She can't move, Ms. Gray"

"Why not? She has legs, doesn't she?" the teacher asked, growing quite annoyed.

"Because...." Jen spoke, looking defeated, tears welling in her eyes.

"Because we pranked your chair-"

"Because she's glued to it-"

Sylvia and Tammy looked at each other, knowing they gave themselves up, and were going to be in a lot of trouble. Instead of replying, the teacher looked surprised, her lips pulled somewhere between amusement and a lecture.

"Well then" Ms. Gray spoke a bit bewildered, looking around at her students and the three 'pranksters'.

Jen sat there, tears now streaming down her face, refusing to look at anyone...even her friends.

"A failed attempt at trying to prank your teacher, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Wilson and Ms. Osbourne" Ms. Gray spoke looking at Jen, Tammy and Sylvia in order, "Look where that brought you.

"Stuck in your own prank, humiliated in your classroom and all to gain what?"

"Detention," Slyvia said knowingly.

"De-tention" Ms. Gray spoke.

After being cut from the chair by the school nurse that was carried throughout the school halls by her best friends, not only did Jen and her friends get detention, but she became the laughingstock of their school.

They were never given the chance to live it down.

The 'Failed It Trio' was what they were known as after that dreadful day.

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