Without Chance

Chapter Eight: Suspended

I had been back in class for about twenty minutes when I was paged over the school's crackling intercom.

"Ryan Jacobs, report to the principal's office immediately."

The snickers and whispers that erupted in the room at this point suddenly struck me as bearing an eerie resemblance to a pack of hyenas in the dark.

"Ryan? You may go," the teacher instructed.

I sighed, then winced at the pain in my stomach as I stood. I headed to the office. Not much else I could do at this point. As I walked into the main office, Mrs. Bradley looked up from her desk. She didn't smile this time, just shook her head softly and pointed at the office door. I went where she directed me.

My father was there again. Or maybe still, I didn't know if he'd actually ever left. It had only been a few hours, though it sure felt like a lot longer than that. Maybe he and Principal Avery had been 'discussing' me ever since. I moved to the chair beside my father and eased myself into it.

"Mr. Jacobs," Principal Avery sighed. "In a single afternoon, you have disrespected your principal and father, ditched class, vandalized the library resulting in thousands of dollars of damage to our computers and shelving, and assaulted one of your fellow students. This behavior is completely unacceptable."

"I did not vandalize the library! Someone pushed the shelves..." I protested, but my father interrupted.

"Ryan, don't," he said softly. "There were witnesses."

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"Your father has talked me out of having you expelled, but you will be suspended for the remainder of the week," Principal Avery said coldly. "I am going to tell you this as clearly as possible, Mr. Jacobs. Next Monday, if you do not feel you are capable of conducting yourself in an acceptable manner, you are not welcome back here."

I looked at him in shock. He actually believed all of this was my fault. I looked to my father for support, and found none. He stared at me, eyes showing again how broken he was.

I looked back to Principal Avery. His expression was cool and collected, but his eyes burned hotly. As angry as he apparently was with me despite his controlled tone, I had to wonder if I would soon be treated the same way Chance was, with everyone hating me and just shutting me out. After a moment I realized I didn't care. If Chance talked to me, I didn't need anyone else to.

"Go and get your things, Ryan. We're going home," he said. I stood slowly, painfully, and left the office.

I looked at Mrs. Bradley as I passed, but she carefully focused on the paperwork in front of her. You too, I thought? Great. Turned on and abandoned by the only people I had left.

My father believed I was a violent delinquent, the principal thought I should be expelled, the usually friendly secretary wouldn't even look at me, and my best friend in the world had abandoned me to be beaten up by the school bully. He hadn't even gone for help. To top it off, some crazy religious fanatic was apparently now trying to kill me. It was amazing just how much life could actually suck. As if my mother dying wasn't enough for one guy to have to cope with.

I stormed through the halls, lost in my dark thoughts. Grabbing my things from my locker, I didn't even bother with my textbook from the class I'd been called out of. It didn't really matter at this point. I made it almost out of the school when a voice stopped me.

"Ryan..." the voice said. I didn't turn. I knew it was Chance. "Ryan, I'm really sorry. Those guys terrify me. I mean, Noah is the one who..."

"Save it Chance," I snapped, not turning. "I can't be friends with someone I can't trust."