Big Girl Boots

Six

Kellan and I were sitting in the back of science, having a competition of who could flick a ball of paper the furthest while Turner's back was facing us as she scribbled things on the whiteboard that didn't make sense. Coda, who was halfway paying attention to the lecture, also served as the judge of our contest. So far, I seemed to have the most flicking power, but it was Kellan's turn and he had a pretty determined look on his face.

He was just lining up, cheek pressed against the grimy surface of his desk when the door swung open with an obnoxious squeak. I could've cheered when his shot went totally haywire, the crunchy paper ball flying past the face of an unsuspecting office aid that carried a note. The kid's hazel eyes went wide but he recovered quickly to hand his message to our science teacher.

Coda leaned over once Turner began unfolding the faded green slip, obviously trying to stifle a giggle. "Well, your aim was terrible, but the paper went pretty far."

Kellan just grinned and tore out another sheet of notebook paper for us to make ammo with.

"Alright, thanks," Turner nodded, sending the kid back out the door. "Well, everybody, it looks like we'll be getting a new student, so we might need--"

She stopped cold when the clunky green clogs on her feet began making crunching noises. This was due to her walking directly through the sizable pile of crumpled paper bits that had accumulated through the class hour. With an evil eye, she let her gaze roam the spacious classroom in search of the culprit.

At that point, Kellan was just rolling another ball. As her bugging eyes got closer to us, he rolled slower but didn't stop altogether, giving him away.

"Dace!" She barked, placing both small hands on her nonexistent hips. "Is this your fault?"

Kellan's eyes went wide and he pointed to me without a word, crumpled paper still in his hand.

"Hey!" I protested, thoroughly disgusted with him for ratting me out.

"Williams!"

"It wasn't just me!" My objection could be heard all the way across the room, officially getting the attention of whoever wasn't already watching this unfold.

Kellan and I both watched in awe as she stalked across the room, ample bust jiggling awkwardly with the force of her step. She threw open a door that I knew adjoined the science classroom to the silence lab, stepping back out with a wooden broom and metal dustpan.

The paint was chipping off of both items, leaving the once green set a worn gray.

She then stomped to the back of the room where we sat, holding the articles out towards us with a determined look. "Clean it up. Now."

My cousin and I rose, exchanging a grin that said we knew we were in trouble, but it was worth it. As slowly as possible, we shuffled to the front of the room and began gathering our crinkling ammunition into a neater pile. The entire class watched our purposely clumsy efforts at picking up. Occasionally someone would titter as we missed half the pile and had to start all over, but that was the point of it all. I don't think Turner appreciated our antics near as much, but that was okay. We knew she wouldn't really get us in trouble as long as we finally did clean it up.

The bell chimed just as Kellan dumped the last of it into a trash can I'd found, and we proudly returned the cleaning supplies to our teacher before walking out the door with the rest of the class.

"Thanks," some guy I didn't know grinned, giving us each a high five, "I definitely don't have time for homework tonight."

Coda appeared, swinging her red and black book bag up a little higher on her bony shoulder and shaking her head at the two of us. "I told you you'd get caught."