The Six Months Forgotten

Community Service

Still Mal's POV

"I still can't believe you." Evie says for me and Cass to laugh. We had come back to the school, Jay and I doing our best to relay the story of Cass's prank to Ben and Carlos. Evie of course, shaking her head and glaring at us all the while.

Once back at the school, the boys went to make Carlos's snacks and Ben had etiquette classes to get to— not before I showed him the abomination of the handy canes of course.

Us girls had come back to our dorm to get a leg up on decorating while we waited to meet up with Jane and everyone this afternoon.

"You can't say anything. You got like half-off on most of that stuff."

"Only because you stopped that kid from being a nuisance." She argues for Cat to giggle, rolling on the desk. I couldn't help but bite my lip.

"Ooh he's never gonna mess with a black cat ever again."

"Completely traumatized." I snicker as Evie shakes her head. "Oh, c'mon E. It's Halloween! We should get to freak out at least one kid."

"Well, maybe but only ones who deserve it. Some kids don't." She says for me to roll my eyes as I start cutting more paper for chains.

"Aw your no fun." Cass says batting some tape off the desk. "But anyways, what parts of the school are we getting to decorate later?"

"The entrance, the main garden, a few hallways, the entire building for the haunted house, the dorms, and any part that's not decorated once all the booths are set up."

"Sounds like you're gonna need an extra set of paws." C says, hopping off the desk. She changes to human form and pulls over a chair before starting to make her own paper chain.

"How many booths did they say we're going to have?" I question remembering one of them would be ours

"There's supposed to be at least fifteen food booths, twelve game booths, eight kinds of artsy kind of booths, two spots for bounce houses—"

"Wow this things gonna stretch around the whole school, and they expect us to decorate in what? A week!?"

"Well, Jane did mention they had gotten more people to sign up, and even a whole group of middle-schoolers who decided to help for community service."

"I thought community service was just used as a punishment here." I state putting down the scissors and wiggling my fingers.

"No, apparently it's also something that students are required to do in order to graduate, from middle and high school."

"Why though? Like—" Cass pauses, laying down her chain, "I mean, we had community service in Wonderland, but like it was always a choice. We were never forced to do it."

"Well technically you're not forced to do it here either." I shrug grabbing the scissors again and remembering what Jay had told me about his detentions.

"Okay Ms. Sparkle-pants. You know what I'm saying. Why make it both? One day it's a punishment and something you have to do to get a paper that you'll need for the rest of your life then turn around the next day and it's something you want people to do it just out of the gooiness of their hearts. That doesn't work."

"I think you're reading too much into this."

"No, because it's a two-way street. Doing it as a punishment will make it so no one will ever wanna do it again. While doing it through your spleen will make it never be a jailbird word. It's just gonna confuzzled everyone."

"Okay, C. You're right"

"Thank you, Pixie!" She exclaims before her phone dings. She checks it and says Carlos needs her for something. After she leaves, I turn and see Evie shaking her head.

"She gets so defensive sometimes."

"Yeah, but you can't say she doesn't have a point."

"Oh, not you too." She grumbles leaning her head back.

"Hey, I mean it made sense. Which for her is weird, but like you can't argue that she had a point. Why make it both when it's just going to confuse people?"

"Mal, it depends on the situation. You know, like cleaning your room. Sometimes you do it just because it needs cleaned other times, it's a punishment."

"What!? Cleaning!? Cleaning? Who in all of the isle had cleaning for a punishment!? They had that for a punishment they were getting off easy."

"You know what I mean. It just depends on how things go about, and it's a way for people to see both sides of the same thing."

"Okay, fair, but even if a kid has it for both punishment and voluntarily, they're still gonnna have more of one way. Which could result in what Cass was saying. Do it as punishment most of your life and that could be all you'll see it as. Meanwhile, you do it voluntarily most your life and you'll never see it as a punishment. All it's gonna do it confused people." I explain for her to sigh.

"Why are we still discussing this?"

"You started it."

"You started it." She snaps for me to chuckle before there's a knock.

"Come in!" E calls for the door to open revealing Jay who had a familiar look of mischief in his eyes.

"Hey. Done making snacks?" I question placing down the scissors and popping my knuckles.

"Where are the others?" Evie questions for Jay to bite his lip.

"Oh, you— you know. Around." He shrugs for Evie's eyes to get wide as I smirk.

"Jay. Where are they?"

"They're— heh— They're greeting the mi—middle-schoolers." He says for me to lean on the desk, hiding a grin with my hands.

"And how are they planning to greet them?" Evie asks before we hear an ear shattering scream.

"Well, like that." He says before Evie sprints out of the room for me and Jay to follow her. We make it to the entry to see the chaos unfolding.

A white-haired clown covered in red food dye was standing in the center with a plastic knife. His demon dog beside him, having red around his paws and and muzzle. In its mouth hung a red covered cat leg. Cass laid belly up on the ground fake guts laying across her stomach. Her head detached and neck and stomach covered in red.

"No! No! No! No! No!" I hear Evie scream as I lean on the railing and hide my face in my hands to muffle my laughter.

"I'm so sorry!" I hear Evie say. "I swear, 50 weeks out of the year. They're normal! They're just— They're a bit overzealous right now. Dude drop Cass's arm! Cass, you're adorable. Put your head back on! Carlos, get back to the dang dorms."

I grip Jay's shoulder as the two of us continue to laugh.

"I ca— I can't. Oh my gosh." I breath, shaking my head.

"Oh, it's too good." Jay laughs for me to crack an eye open and see he's filming.

"Send me—heh— send me that vi— video later." I sputter wiping my eyes. Evie's gonna kill us.

Wow! This chapter was so fun to write I wrote it twice! Don't you just love technology? -__- Anyways, it was a fun chapter to make, and I hope you enjoyed. But what will happen with the middle-schoolers? Why's Evie so wound up about the pranks? Why didn't I include a song this time? Find out next time!