THOSE GOOD TEEN YEARS 3 CRUSHES NO MORE

Chapter Eleven: Sneak In

The truth was, the moment Emma entered the Principal's office, her bravado, her confidence, all disappeared. This was the first time she was in any authority's office for the WRONG reasons. Yes, calling someone a chauvinist was considered an important matter because Lakeforest was a strict feminist society. The idea of unequal citizens was like a disease here. How Ford and his dad had managed to live like this, Emma had no idea.

It felt weird to sit in the chair, because she hadn't really sat here and WAITED for the principal. Ever. All of her friends had, at sometime, been reprimanded for some action or the other. Sienna for the Dyke Joke. Luke for purposefully hitting a senior with his football. Lincoln for destroying an electric outlet for his mad experiments. Peter for pulling the fire alarm once. And of course, Ali (no comments). She was the only 'pure' person left (according to Ali, who'd criticized her a lot for not getting in trouble.) A part of her felt like she was fitting in, a part of her felt scared like crazy. And then, Ali didn't make things easier for her.

"Just chill, Em. She's just going to yell," she said in a bored voice. She was actually playing with Yang's tiny clock on her mantle.

"Easy for you, Al. You've been in here countless times. And for god's sake, will you leave that kitty clock alone?"

"What? Oh, this." Ali put the clock down. Then she sat down on the chair beside Em and made herself at home by going all the way down and almost going off the chair all together.

"By the way, Em, can I just say that you were magnifique? Really, you were so amazing, it was like watching someone flip a channel, y'know? I swear, I was like-"

"It would be better if you didn't encourage her further, Ms. Thomas." Yang entered the room. She was a gracefully aging woman of about forty, with eyes that belonged only to someone of the Orient region. Her black hair (graying at the edges) was tied into some sort of fancy knot, the kind with pins and what not. She was very pretty, but right now, she looked stern. That almost made Em whimper. Meanwhile, Ali just sat like she owned the place.

"Sit properly, Alison. As much as you would wish that my humble office was your home, it sadly can't be." Yang said as she made her way to the chair and sat down with a look of disapproval towards Em. Then she continued her...scolding.

"Beginning of the week, a new school day and I'm already faced with complaints! Emma, this was not expected from you. First of all, I never believed I would see YOU in my office."

"I know, I didn't either." Em muttered. Ali let out a snort, after which Yang started getting angrier.

"First, you Em. I couldn't believe it when Chastity told me this. You called Mr. Ford a...a...to be exact, a male pig chauvinist?"

"Yes, I did, Principal Yang." Em said truthfully.

"So you admit it."

"There's no point in lying."

"So may I know how Mr. Ford provoked you to call him such a serious name.?You know how serious that is here, don't you Emma?"

"I do, ma'am, I do. See, the thing is, I'm completely justified in doing what I did."

"Excuse me?"

A new found confidence burned through Em now. She wasn't scared anymore. She wasn't going to be punished for something that was someone else's mistake.

"Yes, Principal Yang. It was totally justified, and I'm not sorry for what I said." And with that, Emma told the events of Friday afternoon. Yang's eyebrows went higher and higher until she finally raised her hands, signaling Emma to stop. Then she pressed her temples a bit before addressing Emma again.