Red Moon, White Moon

Chapter 2: Horror and Things

The rest of the school day proceeded like a sloth making its way across a tree branch. By the last period of the day, I could have sworn the custodial staff removed the batteries from the clocks on the walls in an effort to maximize my mental anguish. After each tick of the clock, my antsy mood must have become more apparent to everyone around me. While I pondered on what awaited me at Horror and Things, I had no interest in the excessive amount of rules that Mr. Farley was going over. Mr. Farley was the economics teacher and a jerk to anyone who didn't live up to his expectations. Sometimes I thought he didn't have a life outside of the classroom. Instead of going home like a normal person, I imagined him sitting at his desk all night, deliberating on new ways to torment us with his mindless babble about how the country was in the toilet because of our generation.

After about thirty minutes of listening to his maddening voice and his absurd rules, I did the only thing that would break up his monologue. I asked to go to the bathroom, knowing it would result in a tirade of insults being hurled my way.

"Well, well, Mr. Maxwell, I'm so sorry that what I have to say isn't important enough for you to wait to use the restroom. Now I have to stop talking about what these children need to know to be successful in my class, to write you out a hall pass. Just because you are determined to be a loser doesn't give you the right to take away from the valuable education that these other students deserve, now does it?"

"Mr. Farley, not to be disrespectful, but aren't you wasting more time by talking about having to stop talking, versus just writing the hall pass?" I asked in a condescending tone.

His face turned as red as the fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. I looked around at the class and saw that they all were anticipating his answer and he didn't disappoint a soul.

"Mr. Maxwell, that just cost you your Saturday. You report to school at nine o'clock for detention. Now, get up and get yourself to the office, before I decide to remove you myself. You mark my words, son, you aren't going to amount to squat in life. You will be a blood-sucking tick, living off the hard-working people of this world. There will be no give, only take from the likes of you. If this were a good thirty years ago, I would handle you myself—a good paddling would straighten you out. I can only imagine how heartbroken your grandmother would be if she was healthy enough to understand she was living with nothing more than a bum of a grandson."

Smiling, I stood up and made my way to the front of the class while Mr. Farley aggressively filled out the detention form. He slung the form at me after signing the bottom. It hit me in the chest and fell to the floor before I could catch it. I bent over, picked up the slip and gave Kevin a quick nod. He knew exactly what was coming next. I stood up, smiled at Mr. Farley, and gave him a thumbs up with the form next to my face. I immediately headed out the door, free from the last twenty minutes of his gibberish. Besides, I knew that last act on my part had Mr. Farley's blood pressure skyrocketing, aware that he didn't get the best of me. Under normal circumstances he would have the average sophomore in tears, but today, I beat him at his own game by keeping my emotions in check. It felt good.

While I made my way down to the office, I couldn't help but wonder how I managed to get him two years in a row. My guess was that he'd had such a joyful time belittling me last year that he manipulated my guidance counselor into assigning me to him again. Oh well, I'd have all semester to worry about my grades and abuse at the hands of Mr. Farley. Right now, I just wanted to turn this form in and head out of prison for the day.

Entering the main office, I gave my slip to the school vice principal, Mrs. Perry, and received the same disappointed look she gave everyone who got detention. She was new to the school this year, and from what I'd heard, she came from a school system on the east coast of the state. Kevin told anyone who would listen that he'd heard she'd seen someone killed by a wild beast, and that was what made her move. She was a little secretive and skittish, but unlike Kevin, I thought that was just her personality, and not because of some deep dark secret from the past. As she entered my name into the log, I couldn't help but notice that Jack Alexander was also on the list. I felt the smile quickly drain from my face, leaving disbelief in its wake.