Breaking Point

8

Chapter Eight

The principal, Mr. Tanner, was a bald white man with a stern face. It was rumoured that he and the girl's gym teacher were having an affair and that the only reason he hosted monthly locker checks was to confiscate drugs which he then kept for himself. I scanned his desk drawers with a suspicious eye while Cody lazily sat back in his chair. Ian nervously looked around the room while the principal cleared his throat.

Tanner, who was not tan at all and instead marvellously white like a marble statue, peered at me with a disapproving expression. He didn't have to open his mouth to let me know what he was thinking. It was obvious that he did not expect the brightest student in the school to be picking fights at lunch.

"I did not expect the brightest student in our school to be picking fights at lunchtime, Abdullah." He said, sternly and shook his head.

If I were in the T.V show The office, I would look at the camera with a deadpan expression. Unfortunately for me, I was in an office but it wasn't a TV show and there was no camera to display my exasperation to.

"Will you please tell me what happened?" He went on.

Unsurprisingly, Cody opened his big, fat mouth and began to spew out so much garbage that I considered calling garbage disposal to send his ass off to the dump where he so obviously belonged.

"I dont even know, Mr. Tanner!" He started, overly dramatic with excessive hand waving. "One moment I'm hanging out with my buddies and talking to Ian, who asked me to help him with his homework and the next this kid-" here he paused and pointed at me. "-is jumping on me for no reason! I just wanted to help Ian! But I guess he thought I was picking on him or something but I'm just so misunderstood and everyone thinks I'm some kind of delinquent and I wish people would just give me a break, you know?" He sniffed.

While he blabbered on, Ian and I both grew increasingly horrified and stunned at his terrible acting and obvious and outrageous lies. I turn to Tanner who looked sceptical and almost sympathetic but I cannot tell if it was because he believed the ridiculous story or because he was thinking about how poor Cody would do in the T.V business, with those horrible acting skills.

"I see." Tanner managed to croak out, looking relieved when Cody finished up. "Well, Abdullah, why did you decide to act the way you did?"

"First of all." I began and casted an irritated look at Cody. "Everything he just said was a lie."

"Are you implying that I'm a liar!" Cody asked, shocked.

"Yes." I rolled my eyes. "Right, Ian?"

"Yes!" Ian nodded and turned to the principal. "He's lying! He was picking on me and Abdullah just wanted to help."

"By punching me in the face?" Cody sneered.

"Oh, so you admit you were picking on him, then?" I shot back.

"Enough!" Mr. Tanner interjected and turned to Ian. "Hold on. What was Cody saying to you, Ian?"

Ian went white and I silently urged him to be brave and tell the principal the truth, then and there. I may have acted out harshly, by jumping on Cody when I should have stayed calm but my anger had gotten the better of me. I imagined my father groaning in despair amidst the slumber of his coma, his magical fatherly senses alerting him about how this would affect my grades. It probably wasn't beyond the realm of possibility for him to burst into the office right then and whack me into another universe. I considered getting ready to duck, just in case.

"He...he...told me to give him my money and hits me if I dont and pushed me into the wall and hurts me." Ian said, eyes on the floor.

He was still and waiting and so was I. My eyes studied the principal and watched his face transform from indifference to surprise to horror and then thoughtfulness and finally a stern expression settled on his face. He turned slowly to Cody who is staring at Ian with shock, no doubt faked.