Brief Introduction Into Teenage Stupidity (MxM)

Chapter 9

*** this is a short one before the shit hits the fan. Welcome to the Academy of C. Craft ***

The morning dawned bright and fresh, completely the opposite of how I felt.
I was indescribably tense, nervous and at the same time felt a bit sick. In a mere hour, I'll be back at school, and I’d have to deal with questions, curious looks, and generally everything that goes along with a high school education.

During these two weeks at home, it occurred to me that I could get a little more involved this year, maybe try improving my grades a bit and start thinking about what I wanted to do after I graduate. Maybe there was even a version of my future that could include college.
Something told me the answer to that question was no, which didn’t make me feel the best.

I tried telling myself not everything was for everyone and that college was just not meant for me. Then again, I always wondered if it was just my laziness speaking out. Once I made the decision, I just had to figure out a way to share it with my family. I hoped that they had already connected the dots and realised that I was not exactly higher education material. Now was not the time to get upset about it.
There were so many more important things to be upset about right now.  Like Sam still not sending me a single message other than the short one last night.

He always woke up early for training or to revise for exams or just to take a shower and have breakfast in peace. I half expected to be greeted by some kind of good morning message, some expression of support or something along the lines of: “I can’t wait to see you in a couple of hours, my best friend".

The only logical explanation for the absence of his message was that he was angry and was deliberately ignoring me. Either that, or he had an accident which resulted in a strong blow to the head, which made him forget who I was. Another option could be that he was too busy planning my assassination to come up with motivational messages.

I thought about that while lying in bed, an alarm blaring next to my ear. I couldn't bring myself to get up and take a shower, even though I knew that if I didn't do it soon, dad would walk into the room, see me in bed, and have a nervous breakdown. He would deny Sam the chance to kill me because he was going to kill me first. Maybe I could pretend to be in a deep coma. I could pinpoint the holes in my plan. I can't take even the faintest tickle, if someone touched my ribs with a slightly rougher touch I’d probably start moaning. Sadly, that was confirmed when I went to the second doctor's examination, to which I went purely because my dad is a bit paranoid, and which confirmed that I had completely recovered. 

Despite that, I managed to get out-of-jail-card for a month of exercise, even though, objectively speaking, I only needed to rest for another two weeks. Better safe than sorry, especially when it concerns PE.
I don't even know where I got the strength to get out of bed and take a shower, but I found myself in front of the closet, slowly putting on my school uniform. The Academy was just pretentious enough to make us wear school uniforms, even if the uniforms were just a plain white shirt, navy blue or black pants and a jacket with the school logo on it. Dad had to order a new one because, as I discovered when I tried to put on my last year's uniform, I had grown almost four inches. The pants were so short I looked comical. After I dressed, I picked the packed suitcase that was lying next to the bed. Thanks to dad, all the books will be waiting for me at the Academy. I hoped my room would be waiting for me as well, because if they gave Sam a new roommate, I’d probably kill that person first and then myself.

I think dad was amazed that I got down on time and that I actually looked like a representative individual because there were pancakes and a litre of syrup waiting for me. Breakfast passed in an extremely good mood. I somehow suspected that dad had already started celebrating his impending peace and quiet.
I thought I'd be too stressed to eat, but pancakes were apparently the exception. I was stuffed on them until dad glanced at his watch for the fifth time and ever so subtly told me that we really should get going. I looked around the living room as I picked up my suitcase, suddenly filled with nostalgia.

This was really it. I had to say goodbye to my peace and privacy. It was time to go back to high school.

***

As if the day wasn't enough of a shitshow, before I was officially welcomed back to school, I had to go to the principal to finalise everything. I knew that dad had already pulled all possible connections to force the principal to allow me to return and make up for my absence and didn’t see why it was necessary for us to go and talk to him.

The truth was, I simply despised that fucker.

The feeling was very clearly mutual because we'd been in some weird kind of passive-aggressive feud since junior year. It wasn't some rational kind of fight where a grown and responsible man was mad that I was causing a mess, although I did cause some occasionally. There were people, mostly Riven, doing much bigger messes than I, and still the target always ended up on my back. Without exaggeration, if an alien invasion started, I would probably be the first one called to report to the principal's office.

The ride was too short and soon the driver was pulling up in front of the entrance.

The Academy of C.Craft, or if you tried to be less pretentious, but still wanted to emphasise how much money everyone here had, the Academy.
The whole complex looked like a small campus. In the centre, there stood the largest building which held most of our classes, and next to it was a sports building that contained a gymnasium, a gym and a swimming pool. Behind it was a fairly large playground, perfectly positioned so one could, theoretically, do all kinds of illegal activities on that playground and no one would be the wiser.

The male and female dormitories were sat on the two opposite wings of the Academy, placed as far apart as possible. They separated them so nicely that if someone, again theoretically speaking, wanted to sneak into the women's dormitory, one would have to cross the entire courtyard, which was always at least partially lit and had no trees to obscure the view.

The canteen, which was the name we used for the huge dining room where all meals were served, was right next to the parking lot, and next to it was a smaller building that was kind of like a place to hang out, where we could go for coffee or watch a movie on the weekend.

All in all, I think the Academy was the most well-equipped school one could imagine. I guess that is expected when for enrolling hee it's not enough just to be rich, you also need to have the right connections.

I got out of the car, the doors locking behind me with a lightning speed and thus depriving me of the opportunity to chicken out and try to hide in the trunk.

Dad was looking at me expectantly
and I silently cursed my life and sent one last big fuck you to the universe.
High school was back in session, baby.