Arabella Academy: Perfectly Imperfect

48. Ghosts Of The Past

Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence & face your future without fear

~Anonymous

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"So according to what Miss Juliana told me this must be the old man's house," Jeff spoke.

Marcus, Jeff, Michelle and Luis stood in front of what was assumed to be William's house. It was a bungalow, which symbolised simplicity and comfort. Its brick walls were painted white, preferably to prevent the summer heat from making its way into the house. There was a small garden outside, with fleshy plants grown in it. The path leading to the house was made of outdoor tiles, with a line of beautiful flowers on either side of the path. Just outside the house was the rickety Volkswagen Beetle, well beyond its years. The house had Wisteria plants hanging from its walls, similar to those at Luis' ranch. The kids hesitated at first, then began proceeding slowly towards the house. Visiting their Principal's house was surely not among their bucket list.

They reached the front porch, no sound other than the chirping of birds around them. Jeff rapped at the door and they silently waited like sinners who were preparing to meet their doom in hell.

William was astonished to find four of his students standing just outside his door, gaping at him as if he was a stranger. He looked at them, his eyes rolling on seeing the school's two reigning troublemakers, Marcus and Jefferson, among the squad. He glared at Michelle and Luis.

"Young girl and Spanish boy, puberty's making you roll with the wrong group I see," he commented, clearly pissed that someone—students—had decided to ruin his peaceful day.

"I assure you, there's nothing more wrong than seeing you in shorts sir," Jeff teased him, shocked by William's poor dress code. He was wearing a pair of shorts with his work shirt; the top buttons of his shirt unbuttoned, revealing a forest of grey hair on his chest. His legs were no less, as the hair clung on to his bony calves like feathers on a chicken.

"I can make your life miserable in school young man, you do know that, right?" William threatened, sending chills to Jeff's spine.

"Sorry sir," Jeff apologised, but he couldn't let William win that one.

"You didn't have to be grumpy and salty," he added, and immediately noticed the effect it had on William after he squinted his eyes at him.

"That's a whole month of detention for you, and cleaning the changing rooms after gym classes," he ordered and closed the door immediately, not even giving Jeff the chance to react. Jeff noticed the glares from his peers and shrugged at them. After all, the man was indeed grumpy and salty.

"There goes our chance of having a decent conversation with him," Michelle sighed. However, Marcus was never one to give up so easily.

"We know about you and Macarena!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping to get William's attention. Nothing happened for a while, and Marcus decided to add on to his statement.

"We know that she was the daughter of the Expiravit of Middlewood," he spoke. The speed at which William opened that door was comparable to the time a calculator takes to calculate a sum. He looked outside and scanned the surroundings, the four teens left out of his vision. Once he was satisfied, he dragged the four inside and locked the door after him.

"So who sent you? How did you know about all that?" He asked, his tone dangerous. The teens scrambled back and huddled themselves into a corner, suddenly regretting why they came.

"¡Nadie señor!" Luis hurriedly spoke.

"Luis, your Spanish is not helping," Jeff whispered to his boyfriend, his hands shaking.