Genesis

Hanna- Introductions

The small principal's office seemed to be getting smaller in my eyes. Being claustrophobic was not working for me right then. Not being able to see an exit is very stressing. Why am I here, again? I thought.

Oh, right. I was being blamed for one of Luke's stupid (but, admittedly, hilarious) pranks. I had happened to be the one who accidentally flushed the bomb that Luke had put in the girls' bathroom toilet down.

Everyone was still baffled that he had figured out exactly when the bomb would reach the sewer. Nobody was surprised he had built a bomb, complete with timer, even though he was only fourteen. It wasn't the first time he had done something that he shouldn't have known how to do. He had been the one who made a slow burning fuse that lit fire to the janitor's truck, which burned a large L into the hood.

The principal sauntered into her office, and I finally had something to focus on, other than the Star Wars trash compactor-style walls. "I'm sorry, Hanna. Yet another one of Luke Hamilton's end-of-year pranks went off in the teacher's lounge and Miss Pierce did not appreciate the coffee stain on her white blouse." Undoubtedly, Luke rigged the coffee pot to explode the next time a tired teacher needed a caffeine boost.

Luke's pranks always got worse on the last week of school, and he always spent more time in Mrs. Sanders' office then in any actual classes. Usually, he only teepeed the lunchroom, turned the swimming pool green or spray painted the football field purple once a month. But on the last week of school, all bets are off. Well, actually, people placed bets on what he does on the last day of school, because they're always the most spectacular. Last year, he put gummy spiders and worms in the food, took the frogs from the science lab and put them in the cheerleaders' locker, duct taped the principal's car to a pole and threw all the textbooks in a bag and hid them under the boiler in the basement... and that was just first period.

"Anyway, down to business." The principal's sharp, stern voice snapped me out of my trance about being stuck with a princess, a Jedi-in-training, a guy with a gun and big, trigger-happy teddy bear in a shrinking room full of space waste. "I know that it wasn't you who put the bomb in the toilet, causing thousands of dollars of damage!" She spoke the last part louder than the rest, which made me think that Luke was outside the door. The adorable (Who said adorable? I know I didn't!) snickers coming from outside the door confirmed my suspicion.

"Mr. Hamilton!" She yelled at the door. The snickers cease, but, knowing Luke, he was silently laughing. She turned back to me, and continued. "I would like to know if you know of any of everyone's favorite prankster's accomplices. Do you have any idea?"

"I don't." I said. "Everyone's favorite prankster tends to work alone, as far as I know. I'm sorry, ma'am."

"It's alright." She replied with a smile, like she didn't expect an answer, but she still continued to study me like I was important to her Toilet-Explosion-Epidemic, which is what everyone was starting to call it. Or like I was important to something else. I think I'm getting paranoia from sitting in this room for too long. "You're excused."

"Thank you." I grab my binder and move to get up, but Mrs. Sanders spoke up, quickly.

"Before you leave, I'm going to have to ask you to stay after school to help with an idea the school board and I have to help rehabilitate Mr. Hamilton. We're asking him and his closest friend to stay and explain to him why he shouldn't be doing this." She picked up a few paper slips and handed them to me. "These are for his friends. I believe that we need you, your brother Jace, Iris Winters, Quinten Overwood, Ayden Beacon, and Rebecca Alexander."

"Rebecca prefers Bex." I replied, quickly. Being her best friends with her for forever integrated that into your system.

"Well, then, tell Bex as well." She smiled.