Henry

Far out, I bet someone from the baseball club did this.

At the first echo of the home time bell, Henry raced out of the classroom faster than everyone else.

"Whoa, we need her in the track team," Miles whistled.

Chase bent down to pick something up by the doorway. "I think she dropped her bus pass."

Laughing, Miles crept closer to see it. Her bus pass had Hello Kitty and Batman stickers stuck onto it. 

"How's she gonna go home then?" he asked.

Chase shrugged and brought up a hand to ruffle his ginger hair. "I don't know. Let's just hand it in to the office."

The two boys walked along in the emptying hallway. 

"Chase? What do you think of her?" Miles wondered. 

"As in?"

"You think she should drop out or stay? Personally, I'm fine with her. I'm not too against Calleria becoming a co-ed."

"I don't really care. As long as she doesn't annoy me or cause trouble, I'm alright with her. She's pretty entertaining though."

"WAIT!" Miles screamed.

"WHAT?" yelled Chase, punching Miles in the arm.

"Fuck, that hurt! Chase, you dick. Anyway, look! It's Henry!" Miles pointed to the distant figure further down in the hallway, talking to the office receptionist.

"Sorry, it was a reflex," his friend laughed. "Come on, we'll go give this to her before she goes."

"So, nothing was handed in?" Henry confirmed with the lady at the desk. In her pocket was her new schedule, but she still needed to get her books back.

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I'll let you know if something gets brought up, alright? You're Willoworth from Class A, Level 10. The first girl too!"

"Yup, the one and only," Henry clicked a thumbs up. 

Sighing, Henry trudged along, wondering where her bag could be. I know they stole it, but as if they would actually take my shit home, she frowned. Her feet made dull step-step-step sounds as she walked, peering through the windows of the classrooms. 

"Maybe it's outside," she mumbled.

"Henry!"

When she turned around, Miles and Chase were running to her. Miles was waving with his fist closed. Henry returned the wave awkwardly.

"Um, hi?"

"You dropped your bus pass!" Miles grinned boyishly at her as he grabbed her hand and placed the card in it.

"Thanks," Henry smiled. "I didn't even notice it."

"What are you doing here so late?" Chase asked.

"I'm searching for my bag. Some asshats stole it off me right near the end of lunch. It's got my books. What are you two doing here so late, hm? People will think you're... up to something."

Chase started laughing.

Miles chuckled a bit too, before replying, "We have practice pretty soon."

"Practice?" Henry echoed.

"I've got track team and Chase has basketball. We've got ten minutes to help you, if you want," Miles smiled at her.

"That'd be heaps helpful," Henry let out a breath of relief. "Thanks."

"No worries."

She stared at Chase, who was still laughing.

"Is this normal behaviour?" she gestured to the boy slapping the wall in his fit of laughter.

Then Miles started imitating him, mockingly laughing as he repeatedly punched the wall with his fist. "Pretty much!"

"Alright," he sighed, wiping away the tears from his eyes. "It's time to move on."

"Stop being so dramatic, Ron," Henry said as she opened the door to the courtyard. She blinked a few times to adjust her eyes to the brightness. Her gaze ended up at the higher branches of an incredibly tall tree, where she could see something hanging.

"Oh, for fuck's sakes," she cursed.

Chase and Miles quirked up and stared. 

"Want me to get it for you?" Chase offered.

Henry ignored him and walked to the tree. She circled the wide trunk, looking for a way to get up. The closest branch to the ground was at least ten metres up. 

"Fucktrumpet!" she swore again. Grabbing a hair tie from her wrist, Henry tied her dark curly hair up in a bun and rolled her sleeves up.

"Do you need our help or...?" Miles asked.

"Stay," she called as she walked around the tree again, "or not. I don't know. Don't you have practice to get to?"

"Oh shit, you're right!" Chase looked at his watch in panic. "Bye Henry, good luck!"

She watched them run away, their tall and lean figures shrinking in the distance.

Henry pulled her phone out and searched through her music. Mulan's I'll Make a Man Out of You started playing.

"Thankfully, I have a thing for ridiculously long scarves," she mumbled to herself as she unwrapped her scarf. Once she jostled it up to a good height, she pulled on it and hoisted her leg up onto the bark. Then her shoe slipped and slid back down, grazing her knee against the bark as her leg bent.

"Far out," she muttered.

Henry undid her scarf and dragged along with her to the office. I have to get rid of all those splinters, she grumbled. I'm just going to go ask the janitor for a ladder. 

When she climbed down the last step and stood safely on the ground, her bag lying on the floor already from when she had snapped the small branch it was hanging from, Henry realized that it was empty. She let out a long string of colourful words, trying to rip her bag apart in frustration. 

"I paid for those books myself, god-fucking-damnit!" she yelled as she kicked the tree.

An old man from the rose bushes behind her held up his gardening shears in a threatening manner and glared at her. "Hey! Don't fucking kick the tree!"

"Sorry," she apologized. 

"My books are gone," Henry muttered darkly. 

She sighed, trying to quell the anger that was rising in her. Might as well go home. Mom's probably wondering where I am now,  she thought as she stared at her watch. She stared at her bag again, before picking it up from the ground and trudging off to the gates to start on her way home.

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Hey guys!! I'm gonna need your help pretty soon! Henry needs to get revenge! Comment below what kind of pranks you want her to play on the guys. As usual, please vote too! That'd make my day. (: