Prank Ed

Principal Grey shook his head and threaded his fingers together as he sat down at his desk in his office. "Now, it's not everyday that teachers are sent to the Principal's office, so what do you two have to say for yourselves?"

Lucy Chen and Tim Bradford exchanged scrutinizing gazes as they crossed their arms.

"She started it," Tim accused her.

"Oh my god, it was harmless," she shot back as she rolled her eyes. "You're the one that made it worse!"

"Did not!"

"Did, too!"

"Are you kidding me?"

Grey was starting to get a headache, so he interrupted them firmly, "That's enough out of both of you! This prank war is over. I never want to hear you two pull another stunt ever again. Is that clear?"

Tim and Lucy gave each other stubborn glares. "Yes, sir," they said at the same time.

With a nod, Grey dismissed them. "Go back to your classes. School is about to start."

"Yes, sir," they repeated, however Lucy thought she spoke more respectfully than Tim and gave him a smug smile, so he knew what she was thinking. The second they left Grey's office, they bounded down the corridor in lock step, which was annoying, but it sometimes happened even if it made no sense considering how much taller Tim was and should have taken longer strides. When they stopped in the middle of the hallway where there classrooms were, they eyed each other curiously.

"This isn't over, is it?" Tim questioned. He glanced into his math classroom half expecting her to have pulled yet another prank since the day before.

With a mischievous smirk, she assured him, "I could do this all year."

"So could I."

Based on how he was standing right in her space looming over her, she wondered if he was trying to intimidate her, but she was tougher than her petite frame might indicate. "Bring it on."

"First one that gets caught by Grey loses our little battle for the year."

"Should I make you a sash you have to wear when you lose? Something like 'Mr. Loser', or no, 'Mr. Irrelevant'. I bet your students would love calling you that for an entire school day."

Even when she was being positively infuriating, there was something about her smile that made her the slightest bit endearing; it tended to disarm him for a second, but he had to focus. "What should your sash say? 'Ms. Annoying'? 'Ms. Loser'? 'Ms. Oxford Comma'?"

Lucy scrunched her nose at that. "I don't get the last one."

"Oxford comma, you know, it's an English joke, because you're an English teacher. The Oxford comma is irrelevant, so it's like calling you 'irrelevant'." He saw that she hardly registered what he was saying. "It's not as funny if I have to explain it to you."

"That's because your jokes are never funny."

"Yes, they are. You just don't get math humor."

"I do get math humor when it's actual, you know, humor."

He scoffed. "Whatever, nerd."

"Says the guy who makes math jokes," she sassed with a hand on her hip. Because he was standing impossibly close to her, it was hard to really show her full fury, but she tried her best.

"Ms. Chen," a little voice said from down the hall.

Tim and Lucy looked to find one of their students was standing there observing them.