The Garden of Eden || Canis Canem Edit / Bully [ #WATTYS2018 ]

Chapter Forty-Two: Dr. Crabblesnitch Part One

"Ow, ow, ow..." A soft voice whimpered out, the quiet wails echoing throughout the hallway.

"You're such a baby."

"You weren't hunched over writing sheet music for two hours, Pete."

Eden Milenko glowered at her friend, as the two shuffled out of their music classroom. Music class had been pure torture. The last thing Eden wanted to hear at 9:30 am was Damon West banging on a set of drums all lesson long. It left a ringing sound in her ears and a bad taste in her mouth. Combine that with listening to Algernon whining about having to use the bathroom and Miss Peters screeching whenever someone was a chord out of line - Eden was annoyed, to say the least.

Students scrambled out into the hallway as if their lives depended on it, spilling out into the locker-lined corridor. Steel lockers opened left and right, Nerds jostling away at papers before being shoved straight into them by a passing Jock. The hallway was a bustling metropolis, full of chatter, laughter and watchful gazes.

"Didn't know you were tone-deaf, Eden." Pete teased, nudging her ribs.

"I've always been tone-deaf, I can't play an instrument to save my life." The tall teenager agreed with a sigh, stretching out her aching limbs.

"I can't blame you, I'm only good at the triangle."

The pair approached the wooden banister, overlooking the downstairs foyer. From their position on the second floor, they leaned comfortably against the rotten wood, the timber letting out a loud creak from the force.

"I'm somewhat okay at playing the piano. My mother forced me to learn when I was younger." Eden averted her gaze, watching the students interact below. "It was a bragging right, to have a daughter that could play quite well. She would always try to show me off in front out of our guests, clients. But, I just could never get the hang of it, no matter how hard I tried. Mother made me practise every day. My tutor would leave and I would play that wretched piano until my fingers cramped up."

Pete remained silent, sneaking a quick glance at her. Worry pooled deeply within his chestnut eyes. He had a feeling that something was not right with Eden's life back home, with her parents. She had never said anything outright to him but always looked sad at the mention of her mother. The floor would suddenly become very interesting, as that's all she would look at.

"I'm sorry that you were in that situation..."

Eden shrugged carelessly, dismissing his worries. "No need to apologise, I'm rather grateful. It's made me who I am today."

"That's a good way of looking at it."

She hummed in agreement, flashing her friend a confident grin. Her head whipped to face him before a sudden glimmer of metal flickered in her eyes. The stark light forced her to rub at her eyes, as they wandered over Pete's shoulder, to the source of the gleam. Eden's heart jumped straight up to her throat at the sight, her blood running cold.

'What on Earth is he doing here?' Gary Smith was standing in the school office. Standing there so casually, without a care in the world, chatting away with Miss Danvers. Not knowing or perhaps not caring, that his enemies could walk by at any minute and spot him. Eden hissed aloud at the idea of what could happen, letting out a string of curses under her breath.

Pete heard this and raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You okay?"

"I completely forgot that Miss Peters needed to speak to me after class." The lie rolled off her tongue smoothly, as she facepalmed herself.

"Ah, you might wanna run and do that or she might turn your face into a drum kit." 

"We'll check up later, right?"