Just You Wait (Lams High School AU)

Chapter 5 - Petition

TW: mild homophobia and transphobia

On the screen was a document. John read the title at the top: "Petition to Allow NHD Projects on Gay and Trans Rights." It had a short description about how they had been given detention and forced to change their topics for wanting to do their projects on the gay and trans rights movements. It also contained instructions to sign it and then pass it on so that more people could sign it and to return the petition to Laf, Herc, Alex, or him when it was fully signed or when lunch ended. Then the rest of the page was filled with numbered blanks.

John scrolled to the bottom. 50 blanks in total, but surely Alex printed more than one copy. 200 signatures would probably be enough to get Mr. Lee to give them their topics back, right? Then John looked at the time. They still had about 20 minutes of lunch left. John did some quick math and realized that they would need 10 signatures a minute, which means a signature every 6 seconds, if they wanted to get 200 signatures.

Alex came back from the library, running and breathing hard. "Hey," he said, out of breath. He set the printed petitions down on the bench then started digging in his backpack. He pulled out an inhaler and took a couple puffs. "You have asthma?" John asked, surprised. "Yeah. It's mostly exercise-induced though," he replied, still panting but breathing a little easier.

A/n: idk why but Alex with asthma is so funny to me, i had to include it

"Anyway, we need to get this petition out fast, before lunch is over. We've only got 20 minutes before lunch is over and everyone goes to their separate classes." Alex continued. "Here, take these and hand them out," he said, passing him, Laf, and Herc each 5 papers and keeping 5 for himself. "I made extra because some are inevitably going to get thrown away or torn up by jerks who think it's funny."

They all spread out across the courtyard, handing out their petitions to people who looked like they would sign them and pass them on instead of just throwing them away. They then each stood near a trash can, intercepting anyone that was going to throw one away. All in all, it worked pretty well, and they got 14 out of 20 petitions back with a total of 147 signatures. Herc stapled them all together and they were done. Alex put the packet in his backpack and they continued to their classes, where John and Laf were each given another petition that people didn't have time to return during lunch, bringing their total signatures to 162.

They met up again at the end of the day and walked to the office to tell the principal about their situation and show her the petition. When the receptionist, Mrs. Skelton (A/n: we love random obscure history references that make absolutely zero sense in the context that they're placed in :D) asked them what they needed, they asked to see the principal and she led them to her office.

The principal was Mrs. Schuyler, mother of the Schuyler sisters, who gave off a work-first-play-later kind of vibe but actually had an amazing sense of humor and a huge amount of empathy for students. They began to explain their situation to her and as soon as Alex said that they had been planning to do their projects on the gay and trans rights movement, she understood where they were going. "I've dealt with situations very similar to yours in years past and have tried to get Mr. Lee fired multiple times, but I can't get him fired without the approval of the superintendent of our district, who is, how do I say this... To put it lightly, a homophobic piece of sh*t, if you'll pardon my language." John had to stifle a giggle because that was the first time he'd ever heard a teacher curse.

"As nice as that would be, we're not even asking for him to lose his job, just for our projects back." Alex said. He held the petition out to her. "And 162 people agree with us." Mrs. Schuyler took the petition, read over it, and then began to laugh. "You didn't need all these signatures, boys." She glanced at Laf. "Kids, I mean," she corrected herself. "Anyway, I would have still done everything in my power to get you your topics back. They might still be useful when I go give Mr. Lee a little talking to, though. Knowing him, I'm guessing you have detention, too?" "Yes ma'am," Herc said. "Well, while I can't get him fired, I do have the authority to cancel detentions. I try not to use it, because teachers will give detentions when they think it is needed and that's none of my business, but it's a handy trick up my sleeve for situations like this. Now, come with me while I go give Mr. Lee a piece of my mind."

A/n: idk where i'm getting the inspiration for mrs. schuyler from, but i love her and her sassy empowering attitude so much

As they were about to leave, John asked, "Would it be possible for me to go ahead and go home? My dad is very strict about me being home by 4:00 to finish my homework, and it's already 3:30." "Sure! Do you need a note about the detention being canceled?" "That would be nice," John replied.

They stopped for a moment so that Mrs. Schuyler could write the note. Before he left, Alex hugged John. "You got this," Alex said. "If he asks, tell him there was a mix-up, and your project is the development of nuclear weapons, not gay rights." "I'm not sure if he'll believe that, but I can try," John responded. "If your dad gives you any trouble at all, have him call me. I'm more than willing to tell him there was a mistake if it will keep you safe," Mrs. Schuyler said. "Thanks, Mrs. Schuyler," John said. "Anytime," she replied.

John left and the four of them: Herc, Laf, Alex, and Mrs. Schuyler, headed to Mr. Lee's room. She instructed them to wait outside the room, so they caught pretty big snippets of conversation, including a surprising amount of cursing. Once the shouting started, Alex started recording it to show to John later.

When Mrs. Schuyler finally stepped out 20 minutes later, she was happy. "Now, you should be able to do your projects, but if Mr. Lee starts giving you bad grades just because of your topic, come talk to me and I can give him another little talking-to, okay? Now you should probably get home, it's past 4:00 and students are supposed to be out of the building by 3:45." "Thank you so much!" Alex and Herc said simultaneously."Merci beaucoup, Mrs. Schuyler," Laf said. "Au revoir, mon ami! Ma ami? Wait, is there a gender-neutral word for 'my'?" she said, flustered. "Mon ami is fine, but merci," Laf said, laughing.

Alex was smiling as he walked out of the building.

A/n: ik this chapter is kinda long and the ending is bad but whatever. also, i think i'm starting to get a bit of a routine for writing so start expecting about 2 parts a week (key word: about. don't expect too much consistency, i'm still only an overwhelmed procrastinating 9th grader)

ok byeeee ;D