Two Truths & A Lie

Chapter 23

"Emalia, I've explained this already.  She and Mr. Styles walked in and explained that she would be here for the week.  Her school requested that she do a paper on the American school system during her visit.  This way, Mr. Styles additionally doesn't feel like he needs to miss the week of school to visit with this... friend of his."  The secretary's brown ponytail bounced around as she peered over her glasses, looking back and forth at the different papers scattering her desk.  She wasn't paying attention to me anymore.

Yes, she had explained it already.  Six times, to be fair.  The minute that Brynn and Harry sat down in Mrs. Lowery's class the day before, I stormed to the front office.  "You can't do this!" I seethed.  I tried to convey to Jeff and his uncaring secretary that I had a problem - to say the least - with Brynn without having to drag them into all of the private relationship crap that was going on.  They sent me back to class for the rest of the day, but one, hideous smirk from Byrnn and I was back into the office.  "I'm staying here for the rest of the day.  No fuckin' way am I returning to class with that skanky-"

"Alright, Emalia...." Jeff sighed as he turned back into his office and started to shut the door.  "I'm calling your mother." 

Fast forward to the next morning: And here I was, in the same, torn-up, blue seat in the front office, demanding an explanation from the secretary and refusing to go to class.  

"Emalia...." Jeff groaned as he walked into the office and spotted me.  He held up his hand swiftly to shut me up before I could leap to my feet and argue about the situation and used the same hand to rub the bald skin of his head.  "For goodness sake, go to class.  We all have people that we don't get along with, but we just have to deal with it.  It's part of growing up." 

"There are people at this school who I don't like at all and I've been going to class with them for the last three years.  This is a totally different situation-" I said, waving my hands around.

"Did this girl try to murder you or something?" Jeff asked, almost sarcastically, shrugging his black coat off.

I crossed my arms and straightened up.  "Yes," I lied.

Jeff rolled his eyes.  "Emalia, if you don't go to class, we're going to suspend you for purposefully cutting class." 

I snarled.  "Yeah, okay.  Suspend me - send me home away from class - just because I was not going to class.  Smart thinking, Jeff.  Give me exactly what I want."  I almost wished I hadn't said that out loud so that he would send me home.

The principal paused and stared at the floor as he realized that his mistake.  He sighed and shook his head as he closed the door to his office.  "God, why do I do this job..." He muttered to himself.  

The secretary laughed and finally looked at me from behind her desk. "Scoot," she said to me, motioning to the door with her pen as she used her other hand to pick up the ringing phone beside her.  "Wilmington High School front office, this is Joan, I love my job, how can I help you?" She answered as she continued to wave me to the door.  I rolled my eyes and slammed the door on the way out.  

It was infuriating to me that I had to deal with Brynn at school.  I didn't even care if she knew she was getting under my skin.  She and Harry especially were a damn good reason to be absolutely pissed off. "I'm not going to class," I told Louis, who had been leaning up against the lockers, waiting for me in the hallway. 

"Understandable," Zayn said from behind me, startling me as he rounded the corner of the hallway with his black backpack on his shoulders.  "Let's go to the roof."

"I didn't bring sunscreen," Niall said, following behind Zayn.  "I'm gonna get toasted if we're up there under the sun all day."  He adjusted his red hat on his head so that the brim was covering the pale complexion of his face.