Rejected ✓

J O N

I sighed as I put my chin in the palm of my hand, looking at the crumpled paper I had squished up in my other hand.

"What's wrong Ruby?" Maddie asked as she sat next to me.

School had just finished for the day, and Maddie, Sara, and I had decided to sit at the picnic tables before going home.

I slumped in my seat, looking at her with sad eyes.

"I'm going to fail English," I whined.

"Nonsense," Maddie shook her head, though it sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

"I got a D on my English essay," I grumbled, laying my essay out on the table. It was crumpled from the many times I had crushed it, before getting curious and opening it again.

Maddie plucked the essay from the table, looking it over. Her face changed from curiosity to a wince as she read.

"How did you manage to mention Justin Timberlake?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows. I shrugged, resting my head in my arms.

"You're going to have to retake Senior Year," Sara said from the side, looking up from her journal. I moaned, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Not helping Sara," Maddie said, shooting Sara a glare. As if it hadn't occurred to her, Sara mumbled a sorry before looking back at her drawing.

Sighing, I pushed myself up, looking around. Near the doors of the school, I saw Connell leaned against a wall. He was watching as students left, making sure they all got to the buses.

I slumped in my seat as his eyes met mine, looking dejected. Connell lifted an eyebrow, before looking away from me.

"Ms. Delson?"

Looking up, I was met with Dr. Ridley, my principle. He was just as I had last seen him, though he looked a bit more rough then before. His suit was ruffled, and he looked rather tired.

"Hey Ridley, something wrong?" I asked, sitting up. He looked even worse than I did.

"Afraid so. I promised a new student I would take him around the school, but I've got an emergency meeting with a supervisor."

I stared at him, waiting for him to get to the point. He was quiet, before he sighed.

"Can you just take him on a quick tour?" He asked.

If I was in a movie, my mouth would have fallen open with surprise and I would have been shook. Yet, it's not a movie, so I just sat there in shrugged.

Shook about Dr. Ridley actually trusting me with something, mind you.

"Okay," I responded.

Relief crossed his face, and he took out his neckerchief to wipe his forehead.

"Perfect! I think he's near the front entrance, I honestly don't know."

With that, Dr. Ridley turned to leave. I had many questions, but was left with no answers as he basically ran away.

Maddie and Sara both stared and me, before glancing at each other.

"I don't know what just happened," I said slowly... looking at the fading figure of our principal.

"I think you have a tour to give," Maddie answered, standing. Sara followed in suit, packing up her supplies.

"No way, you're not leaving me are you?" I complained, watching as they packed their bags.