Shaken

Chapter 3- A typical school day

Piper stared out the bus window, drawing faces on the foggy glass. The bus began to drive off again, though she barely registered that it even stopped. She felt someone tug at a strand of her hair . She looked over to see the grinning face of her friend, Haley, who had just sat down beside her. "Haley!" she exclaimed, surprised to see her friend, "I thought you weren't riding the bus today".

"My mom couldn't drive me. Anyway...Look what I got yesterday." Her friend said, pulling a shiny new Nintendo Switch out of her bag. "No way!! Do you have Mario Kart 8 deluxe on there?" She asked. Haley nodded turning on the device, "But you can't tell my mom about this.".

Piper gave her a confused look. "She says I'm not allowed to bring my switch to school." Haley whispered, as if her mom was listening. Piper pretended to lock her lips and then throw away the key, letting her know she would keep the secret. Haley slid off the controllers from either side of the gadget

"Do you know how to play?" Haley asked, setting the switch between them. Piper nodded, "My uncle Will has a switch, he lets me play all the time whenever I come over." she said, half-bragging. Haley scrolled through race tracks. "We should try that one, it looks cool." Piper said, pointing at a track titled Sweet Sweet canyon. Haley nodded "Okay." She said selecting it. They were in the middle of the second lap of the race when the bus came to a halt in front of the school.

"Dang it." Piper said. She handed the small controller back to her friend and slipped her backpack straps back on her shoulders. A crowded line formed in the aisle of the bus, blocking the girls from leaving their seats. She hated when that happened, patience wasn't one of her strong suits. She shoved herself and her friend into the first available opening in the line. Piper shuffled down the aisle, anxious to get off the bus.

The impatient girl jumped down the bus steps feeling the cold, fresh air hit her face once again. She walked alongside her friend across the grass to the door of the school. Children flooded the halls rushing to get to their classrooms. The hallway was filled with sounds of loud chatter and the smell of industrial ammonia. A beeping sound echoed from Haley's backpack.

"Oh gotta go check my blood sugar in the nurse's office, see you in class." Haley said, turning to walk down a separate hallway.

Piper watched her friend disappear into the crowd. She continued down the long corridor lined with fluorescent lights and kids artwork. Piper pushed through the group of students until she made it to her classroom. "Mrs. Clark's First Grade Class" was spelled out in cartoon letters over the doorway. She passed through the doorway and made a beeline for the row of cubbies that lined the back wall. There stood her one of her other friends, Alex.

"Piper!" Her friend greeted her with a hug, "Guess what, my mom packed cosmic brownies for me and you and some cheese crackers for Haley for afterschool.". Piper smiled, "Your mom is so nice." She said.

A small fragile old woman walked into the room and began writing her name on the whiteboard. "Who is that lady?" Alex snorted in disgust. Piper's shoulders drooped as she shoved her backpack in her cubby. It was a substitute, Piper's worst nightmare.

"It's a substitute." Piper sighed, walking over to her chair. She sat down and put her head on the desk grumpily.

"Sit down boys and girls. Quiet down." The old lady said in a voice that could only be described as sickeningly sweet. Having a substitute was bad enough for Piper with a full night's rest, now it was practically intolerable. The class began to sit down, per the sub's instructions, but the noise level did not improve.

"SHHHHH" the old lady hissed. Piper could feel her anger rising, she couldn't explain why but shushing made her incredibly irritated. She did her best to remain calm by focusing on the window across the classroom. She noticed a truck parked on the lawn, not far from the window. She really liked the color of the paint, which was a vibrant ford blue. The hood of the truck sparkled in the morning sunlight.

"SHHHHHHH" The substitute repeated when the kids continued to talk. Piper took a deep breath and focused on the truck. She watched the driver exit the truck. He was tall, on the lanky side. He wore a dark green shirt and faded blue jeans.

"Stop talking!" The old lady snapped at the class, which fell silent. Piper directed her eyes back to the temperamental teacher. "So disrespectful." The lady scoffed. "I'm so disappointed in you children. Why can't you follow a simple instruction?" She scolded.

"You know, your class has been the most disrespectful out of all the classes I've taught. Do you act like this for your teacher, Mrs. Clark? Because if you do I really pity that woman."

Piper looked over at her friend Alex, who gave her an annoyed look. She did her best to stifle a giggle. There was something so comical about the angry woman's yelling. The substitute continued on her rant,

"You know, this would not have been tolerated when I was in school. We were required to show our teachers respect and gratitude. I'm giving up my day to come teach you, I don't have to be here, but I choose to. You all are being so ungrateful by not giving me your attention and continuing to talk. I don't want to have to leave a bad note for your teacher but if we continue to have this problem I'm going to have to." The woman lectured.

Piper made an exaggerated face and mouthed along to whatever the old lady said causing her friend to let a slight giggle escape her lips. Piper continued, not noticing that the woman's gaze was now directly pointed at her.

"Excuse me Young Lady!" the substitute snorted, marching over to the young Halstead's desk.

"Do you find this....amusing?!" The old lady looked as though she might explode.

"Yes." She answered with absolute honesty, doing her best to stifle a nervous chuckle. Around the room a few people snickered.

Piper looked up at the teacher with her bright green-blue eyes, a smile creeping across her face. The gray-haired woman clenched her jaw, her eyes shimmered with a glimpse of rage.

"You! In the hallway now." the angry woman growled, sticking her finger in the small girl's face. Piper obliged and, still wearing a smile, stood up and pushed in her chair. The whole class watched in silent amusement as Piper made her way out into the hallway. The same hallway that, only minutes before, had been filled to the brim with kids, now remained mostly empty. That is except for Piper, the exile.

She stood against the wall directly opposite the classroom so the teacher could see her through the window next to the door.. The exasperated substitute shot the girl one more nasty look "The principal will be down to...deal with you in a minute."

Piper watched her shut the door and began to pace, something she'd picked up from watching her anxious uncle. She wanted to believe she wasn't the least bit nervous, but the principal? That's hardcore. It wasn't her first time of course, she always seemed to wind up in this position. This is why she hated substitutes, she always wound up here.

Her normal teacher had an extreme tolerance to her hijinx, often she joined in. Piper was convinced that she was her teacher's favorite. She smiled a little bit, no longer focused on her current situation.

"Hey, Piper! Why are you in the hall?" A voice whisper-shouted from behind her. Piper turned, it was Haley, she was standing in front of the classroom door.

"I got in trouble with the substitute" She said, still  trying to play it cool.

Haley chuckled and started to speak but was cut off when a wave of force pushed into the school. The last thing Piper remembered before she blacked out was the sound of screaming . She felt the building shake and she was out cold.

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A/N 

Hello all!! I honestly debated on whether or not to do an author's note on this chapter but (clearly) I decided to. I wanted to take this time to thank my wonderful BFF and an editor-of-sorts, My real life Haley, Whose only request was that I name a character after her. Thank you so much. I love you ❤️! Thank you all for reading!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️