Prism Core

The Strange Origin of the Club

I woke up in an excited rush the next morning. I threw my cover across the room, accidentally knocking down my Nintendo poster. I slipped on the exact same jeans I was wearing yesterday and put on a shirt with a sprite of Pac-Man on the front. I ran out of my room and into the bathroom across. I looked at myself in the mirror and said, "Today's gonna be a great day." I brushed my teeth and put contacts into my brown eyes. I ran downstairs and straight out the front door without eating breakfast. Halfway on my way to school, I realized that I still had my bedhead. I quickly ruffled my light brown hair. The stars were still shining, and the sunrise gave the sky a warm orange glow. Wait, what time is it? I checked my phone. 5:30. Registration was at seven. I laughed at myself, and joked that I finally had woken up early. On school campus, there were benches in multiple locations, and I sat on one that was under a tree with blooming white flowers. I looked up at the stars. "Hey buddy, if you're looking down at us... I hope you like my idea," I whispered. I stared at the stars for a bit longer. Suddenly, I heard footsteps. "That's strange, school starts at eight. I don't think people would wake up this early." I looked around, and I saw Cora. She was on the other side of the campus, so she had not seen me. "Aww, it's so heartwarming to see someone else excited about the club!" I said to myself. I was about to walk over to say hello when she sprinted to the back of the school. "What the... Where is she going?" I began to run after her when someone called my name. "Ryan! You're here early too?" I turned around. It was Brad. "Uh, yeah! I was too excited to sleep," I said. "Why were you running, you getting into exercise?" Brad joked. I looked back to where Cora had stood. "No, I just thought I saw something. But it's nothing. Let's wait for the others."

After a while, Gabe and Kate showed up. Cora, however, was nowhere to be found. The four of us sat under the tree. "Ugh, does anyone know what she's up to!?" Kate asked, her voice clearly filled with annoyance. I fidgeted in my seat. I knew I had seen her, and she was acting suspicious. Clearly there was something going on that none of us had caught up on yet. I wanted to tell them what I saw, but at the same time, I wanted to respect Cora's privacy. "I guess she had things going on. We can register without her," I said. Everyone looked at one another, and then we walked to the front office. From the corner of my eye, I saw Gabe staring at me. He knew I had seen something.

The front office was something I rarely ever visited. The only people who ever visit regularly were the school's gang members who called themselves the Bloodveil. You could identify a member by the red scarf they always had wrapped around their necks. The office was already full of five gang members and the woman sitting on the front desk gave us a displeased look that we were crowding the place some more. "May I help you?" She asked, her green eyes looking menacing behind horn-rimmed glasses. With my friends behind me, I walked up to the desk. "Yes, um, we would like to start a club," I said in my most polite voice possible. Brad poked out from behind me, "And not a literature club please." Everyone glared at him. "What?" The assistant behind the desk smirked. "Alright, I'll have you sign some documents. Please tell me who your assigned teacher is." I stared at her. "Assigned... teacher?" Gabe asked. "Well, young man. In order to start a club you must have adult supervision..." She said it as if we didn't know what adult supervision was, "...if you do not have a teacher looking after your butts, then I'm afraid I cannot allow you to run a club," The assistant sneered. I suddenly felt weak, and my eyes started to water. I hated getting emotional, so I quickly wiped the tears with my sleeve. The gang members saw me and snickered. Suddenly, Kate pushed me aside and slammed her hands on the assistant's desk. Everyone went quiet and stared in shock. "Listen here, you jerk. We've been going through a lot and you think you can speak to us in that tone? Well, guess what! I know for a fact that it is severely against school guidelines for a staff member to emotionally hurt a student for no apparent reason. And believe me, there isn't one..." The assistant's eyes widened at Kate's threat, but she said nothing. "Um, Kate. It's okay, we'll just ask around for-" Before I could finish my sentence, the assistant exploded, "WHO DO YOU GUYS THINK YOU ARE!? I AM REPORTING YOU TO THE PRINCIPAL FOR THREATENING ME, YOU HEAR!?" She was trembling. All of us backed away, and then we were right in front of the Bloodveil members. "You guys! You have permission to KILL THEM!"The assistant yelled at the gang. "W-what!? You can't do that!" Brad yelled. The gang members stood up and grinned at us. They blocked the door, and there was no way to escape. Kate and Brad put up their fists, ready to fight, but Gabe was struggling to keep calm and I was beginning to have a mental breakdown. Then, the door swung open hard enough to push the gang member that was blocking it. Cora poked her head out from the slightly open door. "Um, is everything okay?" She asked us. We gave her a face that said "OHMYGOSHYOUJUSTSAVEDOURLIVES". The door then opened completely. Behind Cora was our science teacher, the guy with the big smile and bulky body. Except he didn't have a smile, but a very serious face. "I heard it all." The assistant then shrank back in her seat in fear, and the gang members sat down with disappointed faces. We all stared at our teacher in amazement. "I already reported the situation to the school district. The principal expects your desk cleared by the time he gets back," he said. He then turned to the Bloodveil members, "And you guys will not be returning to school." The members gave him an angry and panicked face. The assistant said nothing as she began to pack. We all then turned to Cora. "Oh my god, you just saved us!" Gabe said. Brad then turned to her, "Where were you this whole time?" She smiled. "I went to get Mr. V to be our supervisor. I found out this morning about the conditions and I didn't want you guys to be disappointed, sooooo..." We all then hugged her. Even though we were happy in that moment, something about the whole thing bugged me. That was unusual behavior for a staff member. And there is no way Cora arrived so early just to get a teacher. Maybe there was REALLY something going on that we have not noticed. I just wasn't sure what, but I knew it had something to do with the incident. 

A small dog jumped oveR the River.

The cat was soon to follow.

HoweveR, the boy was unable to jump successfully.

He splashed in the River, and was caRRied away.