Caroline stared out the window and sighed. As the teacher's droning fell on her deaf ears, her interest in the lesson only diminished. This was her first year since second grade not attending a charter school, and she had already found herself bored of the easy material.
See, Ms. Caroline Septima was exceptionally brilliant, and had been going to a renowned charter school for most of her life.
This year, however, an unknown error in the student count had left no room for her at her old school. And, as the zoning laws had it, she was sent to a 'slightly average' public school.
"Ms. Septima, is there something out there more important than my lesson?" The teacher asked.
"Sir, I have a grade of 102% in this class... I apologize, but I really don't think you're in a position to act condescendingly towards me." Caroline remarked.
The class let out a strange hiccup of a laugh. The potbellied instructor scowled, and went back to writing on the board. As much as he wanted to send her immediately to the principal's office, he couldn't deny that she was right.
"Wow Carrie, it's only been two weeks into the school year, and you're already fuckin' with the teachers. You must really be a bad seed, huh?" The girl next to her, Kirsten, giggled.
"Shut up, and DON'T call me that. I was given a name at birth for a reason, you know?" Caroline snapped.
Though she seemed harsh, Caroline was quite fond of Kirsten. They had met on the first day, and clicked instantly. She was her only friend thus far in the year, and wasn't a total idiot, unlike most of the other students at the school.
Caroline's stark cynicism was complemented perfectly by Kirsten's childish and fun-loving nature. Kirsten had been dating a boy named Caelan Carter, whom Caroline had been neighbors with since she was a child. Caroline found it a bit awkward, but she was simply happy that her friends were happy.
"Why don't you like the name Carrie? I thought you loved that movie." Kirsten questioned.
"Hmph," Caroline pouted, "The book was better."
Suddenly, the teacher waddled up to Kirsten's desk and slammed down a slip of paper.
"Aw, come on! Another behavior notification? That's the second one this week, what gives!?" Kirsten yelled.
"Ms. Avalon, unlike your partner Caroline here, your grades don't justify not paying attention. If I catch you talking again, I won't hesitate to make it three notifications." He chortled.
Kirsten waited for the man to start walking back to the front of the room before sending a rude hand gesture his way. "Asshole." She turned to Caroline. "Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom, you got anymore passes?"
"What happened to your passes?" Caroline asked, baffled.
"What do you think, I got hungry and ate 'em? I used them to get out of class! Now hurry up, this fatass is gonna start getting on my case again." Kirsten persisted.
"Fiiine..." Caroline groaned, while handing her a slightly crumpled bathroom pass.
Kirsten stood up and showed her pass to the teacher, while walking out the door. With her edgy hairstyle, faded jeans, and leather jacket, Kirsten really looked like your generic hoodlum. Despite this, Caroline knew she was a much smarter girl than she let on. Don't be fooled though, she was still just as tough as she looked.
Suddenly, a loud shriek rang through the hallways, and caused almost everyone in the classroom to jump out of their seats.
The fire alarm. A fire drill was commencing. Everyone in the class was chattering amongst themselves, giggling and joking around as they lined up and walked single file through the door, and outside the school.
It was a hotter day than usual outside, and the sun's rays found themselves amplified by the asphalt of the parking lot.
A few minutes passed, and the classes weren't yet going inside. What were they waiting for? Caroline then saw her friend walking out of the school, and realized what was causing the wait. Kirsten strolled up next to Caroline.
"Geez, I can't even take a shit in peace, huh?" She joked.
The teacher grabbed Kirsten by the collar of her jacket and pulled her away to the side to have a talk with the principal, who was also waiting outside. He looked like an angry tomato with a mustache and a receding hairline. Kirsten just couldn't catch a break.
As the classes all returned inside, Kirsten was escorted elsewhere by the principal. The teacher returned to his usual spot at the front of the classroom.
"Quiet down! It was only a fire drill, there's no need to continue talking about it! Now, if you will all return to paying attention, you are to begin and turn in all the practice problems on pages 100 and 101 before the end of class." The teacher instructed harshly. "You are to complete this assignment either in your notebook, or a separate sheet of paper. Get working, and if you don't finish, it will be added on to your homework."
As the class let out a unanimous groan, Caroline reached in her backpack for her notebook. She could get this assignment done in no time at all. When she made her way into her belongings, her notebook could not be found. She lurched back in confusion.
Did I leave it at home? No, Caroline Septima is not one to misplace things! There has to be an explanation. Kirsten might just be messing with me. She probably hid it while she was still inside during the fire drill. Well, this is just phenomenal. Now I have no choice but to wait for her to return to class if if I want it back...
In the meantime, Caroline began working on a separate sheet of paper. She had trouble coming to terms with the whole notebook debacle, but decided to leave that problem to her future self, and get working.
YOU ARE READING
APEX
Mystery / Thriller"If you have a quality, let it define you. No matter what it is." Caroline Septima was your ordinary over-achiever. She has always been the top of her class at her charter school, and envied by many of those around her. However, all that changed on...
