Seizing the Day

Chapter Four: Plotting Rebellion

JACK KELLY

It was instinct more than anything that made him duck as he entered the room, a hard-bound atlas with a horribly broken spine slamming into the wall inches from his head, showering pages everywhere.

"I told you to stay out!" Katherine shouted, her face bright red from anger and crying. Jack closed the door behind him with a familiar click, perching in his regular spot up on a busted filing cabinet.

"Actually, I think ya' told me ta go away," Jack specified, resting his feet on the single remaining handle of the cabinet, the structure squeaking protestingly under his weight, "But I'm not great at listenin' or followin' instructions, so..."

For a split second, he wondered if he'd jumped a line rather than toeing it as Katherine reached for another atlas, but she, fortunately, hesitated to throw it as the door swung open again, revealing a worried Crutchie.

"Hey, Kath- Oh!"

The blond quickly put the door back between the writer and himself, having gotten a clear view of Jack trying to protect his head with his arms, and Katherine poised to strike for the second time.

With a sigh that could have knocked down a forest, Katherine tossed the large book over her shoulder, not bothering to check and see where it landed.

"It's alright, Crutchie. Come on in."

Jack shot the girl an irritated look as the other boy tentatively hobbled into the room after a moment's hesitation, his gaze wary and sad.

"Oh, so he can waltz in here no problem, but the second I try ta offer emotional support-"

"He's not as annoying as you are, Kelly."

She said it with a huff, but her spunk had been snuffed, her shoulders slumping. Her usually sharp tongue has seemed to have lost its wit, and she just looked, well, defeated as she fell heavily onto a plastic desk seat, rubbing at her eyes.

Jack felt his annoyance melt away, reluctantly, as he watched Katherine struggle to maintain her composure. Typically, the girl had an air of complete control, like she could handle anything the world threw at her, even if she was frazzled and completely overwhelmed.

He wasn't used to seeing her crack.

"Look, Katherine," Crutchie shuffled up to the girl, offering a smile, "This sucks. A lot. But we can't say we didn't see it comin'." Katherine sniffled, but her eyes were sharp.

"What?"

"It's only been the three of us for a while now. Sooner or later, someone was gonna pull the plug. It was too much for us ta handle alone." Crutchie stated, logically, and the girl bristled.

"We were doing fine. A few more weeks, and we might have had things up and running like they used to be again-"

No; no, they wouldn't have been. As much as they'd been trying to convince themselves that everything would go back to the way it was, that they could handle the paper on their own... Suddenly, Jack felt blind. Of course nobody cared about the opinions of three kids; the teachers couldn't even handle taking an interest in the wellbeing of the student body as a whole, judging by all the fighting and bullying that went on behind the Institute's doors. What were two paperboys and a writer to them? Profit. Business. Trouble.

"They said they were letting us go due to budget cuts. Budget cuts! The nerve! We were hardly even using any funding from the school!" Katherine growled, dismayed.

In that, Jack had to admit, she had a point. Of all the reasons Pulitzer could have used for shutting down the school paper, claiming financial trouble was a pretty shitty excuse.