Outburst

Chapter 8 - Hitting Two Birds with Two Stones

The school finished earlier than usual because the teachers had a meeting about our final examinations. It would be my first final exam in this school. I moved in with my uncle at early 11th grade, and now I would be a 12th grader in no time. If seen from people's perspective, one year was a short time. But if you lived a life where you were the Princess who had to obey the King's rules, you had to live every single second of it and in the end, you just had to say 'it was a hell of a year'... in negative way.

I missed my old life. After my Mom died, I thought I would spend the rest of my lifetime with my Dad—my loving Daddy, the man who introduced me to basketball and always spared some of his busy time playing basketball with me.

Until my old school's principal broke the news to me. I just got a call. Your father was in a car accident, Callie. You are permitted to go home.

I didn't react immediately when hearing it outside my class. My Dad had always been a joker. He once prank-called me and pretended to be Michael Jordan's assistant. I was so happy because he said I could meet my favorite basketball player, but then he couldn't hold it anymore and came out of his room laughing. Was I angry? No. But I gave him a perfect pillow throw that he claimed to be my best shot at the moment.

I was thinking that it was another prank. But to do it when I was at school was too much.

Mrs. Ruth hugged me and stroked my back—something a school principal shouldn't have done for a prank.

Then I realized that it was not a prank. It was real. I broke down in tears right away. I could barely walk to take my bag, so my friend had to do it for me. My body shivered and was frozen for a few moments. I couldn't even think of anything else, like how I could leave school with this condition, until my close neighbor picked me up and took me to the hospital, where I saw my Dad's body lying in the morgue, covered with white sheet.

"Cal, you're not going home?" Lucy's sudden touch on my shoulder shocked me up. She was in complete surprise seeing the tears flowing on my cheek. "What—what's wrong?"

"Is this because of Chad?!" Emma came up with a weird but logical assumption. "Do I need to do something with that guy?"

I wiped my tears right away. "I'm okay. I just..." I looked at Emma and laughed when I realized what she said. "What do you mean 'do something'? You can't even face a flying ball without screaming."

Emma snorted. I was referring to the time when we went to the basketball court and Chad's retarded ball pass almost hit us.

"Seriously, Cal, you were crying," said Lucy. "Are you actually sad over Margot's death?"

As much as I respected a dead person, I found her reason was beyond ridiculous. But I just shut my mouth and stood up from my desk. I might have to be careful next time if I wanted to swim back to my old memories, I could've cried like that.

Three of us were the last people to leave the class. School's corridor was getting empty as we saw two figures near the entrance. It was Ivan and...

"Cal, it's Chad!" whispered Lucy, and I instantly hid behind her back as if her small body could cover mine.

"Make him go away, please," I said. Before we reached the entrance, I pulled them to the women's toilet.

"What is going on between you two?" asked Emma. Of course, the gossip queen had to be really curious about this.

"I told you, I don't want to meet him!"

Lucy walked to the door. "Explain it to us or I call Chad up here."