Incharge

Chapter 8

Nick Owens

The first Sunday back at school was always Showcase Day. This normally included a display from the horse riders, a friendly football game at lunch and a rugby game in the early evening with other various activities on throughout the day. Tonight, some would be invited to attend a meal with some school sponsors and Miss Grenton would share some school announcements.

As head boy, I was formally invited to attend the dinner and would have the great joy of spending my whole evening with Scarlet. Great.

I was in for a full day of exhibitions as Kit was taking part in the riding show and Cory was going to be captaining the football team later on. Normally, Showcase Day is crawling with inspectors and sponsors so most pupils attend the odd music band or art display. But most spend their time in the nearby town before the bigger events so as not to be questioned about 'school life' every five seconds.

It's a short ten minute bus ride but with the buses only running every two hours, if you wanted to go, you'd better plan ahead. I had arranged to meet Kit and Cory at the bus stop early to discuss the plan.

"I told you I couldn't come with you, I have to be at the stables early!"

"Then why are you even here? Man, I don't understand you sometimes." Cory threw his hands up in the air and the flopped down to his sides.

"Kit's here to go over the plan with us then me and you will go into town to kill some time before coming back to watch Kit like the supportive besties we are. Did I dumb it down enough for you?"

"If you say 'besties' again, I will be throwing you and myself under the next bus." Cory said disgusted as Kit tried to contain his laughter.

"What do I need to do exactly?" Questioned Kit as he composed himself now that Cory had fixed his expression and knew what was going on.

"Just piss him off. Make sure he can't perform or - even better - make sure he messes up while he's performing."

Kit, being the friend that he is nodded and was willing to go along with it. Cory being the friend that he is continued to question me, "And why exactly are we pissing off Thomas Wilson? You have to play with him later on, wouldn't it be better if something happened during the rugby match?"

I opened my mouth to speak but then thought better of it as Cory suggestion made more sense. If something happened at the horse riding, it could very well hurt the horse and the people around him. If something happened during the rugby, it would most likely look like it was his own fault.

"Yeah, why are we hating on Thomas? I think he's alright." Butted in Kit, "By the way you talk about him, you'll be planning his murder after his humiliation."

I argued that it didn't matter and was saved from further investigation as Kit checked his watch and realised that Mr Kinley - the riding instructor - was probably going to murder him before I murdered Thomas.

Not long after, the bus arrived which Cory and I strolled onto. The town was probably going to be packed full of students so there was going to be more than enough people for Cory to check out. At this rate, he needs a relationship therapist.

Scarlet Collins

And although I told the girls I didn't want to see him - I needed some clarity. Just the thought of having my drink spiked made my skin crawl. I would only fully be able to accept that Thomas was a cruel person if he admitted it to me.

I had just invited him over when I got a message saying he was happy I was okay and that I would have to meet him at the school's stables. Thank god he clarified it wasn't the old stables because I wasn't planning on going anywhere near them anytime soon.

Shit!

I was annoyed that we had to meet outside until I remembered he was in the riding show at 12:00! Hurriedly grabbing my coat off of the rack, I flung the door open and hoped I would catch Tom before he performed.

"Hey! Sorry, I forgot you wouldn't be able to leave the stables until later."

He had a slight grin on his lips, "Don't worry about it." As he leaned over and kissed my forehead.

Crimson. My face was going bright red. Guys are not allowed to make me nervous!

"Okay, well, I need to ask you something. Something kind of stupid."

"Okay..." Thomas began to slightly furrow his brows in anticipation of the question.

"I can't remember anything from the party after you gave me that really colourful drink. Did you see anyone put anything in it?"

He looked taken aback, "What? No! I was the only one who handled the drink between the bartender and you." Thomas's eyes narrowed. "Are you accusing me of spiking your drink?"

Fuck.

"No, no! Like I said, it was a stupid question. Forget about it. Please? Ugh, I feel bad now."

His face relaxed slightly but his lips still kept tight as he walked up closer to me, "Don't feel bad, you're alright."

"But I do feel bad, can I make it up to you? Please? I literally inadvertently accused you of drugging me."

He laughed a bit - his face finally relaxing entirely, "Wear my shirt tonight."

"Excuse me?" This guy really wanted a quick fuck! I'm going to throw ha-

"At the rugby match? I made the team this year and I'm taking part in the showcase match tonight."

That made me feel stupid. I agreed and hurried out of the stables before I made myself look any worse.

I jogged round to the arena and found Meghan and Emmy hanging at the back of the audience. I slipped through the crowd to stand beside them and watch the horse show. It didn't last very long, only half an hour, but it was a good watch and put everyone in good spirits for lunch.

I'm not too much of a football fan, so I was prepared to sit it out and have an extended lunch. Emmy agreed to join me but Meghan was suddenly insistent on watching the game.

"Please? You might actually enjoy it! I know it'll take ages to finish but it's about supporting the school."

"And I will support the school by having my parents pay for me to attended. Go Harrowhill!" Mocked Emmy waving jazz hands.

Meghan rolled her eyes, got up from the table and strutted out of the hall.

"What's up with her?"

"No idea, I've been 'pushing her buttons all day' but I don't think I've been any different - no more annoying than usual." Emmy shrugged, "She got really mad when I touched her pillow earlier which I thought was weird."

Trust Emmy to remember the most useless details.