Cliché

chapter 30. homecoming

"What do you mean, homecoming is still happening in three weeks? That's too far off!" I complain, running alongside the principal to match his long and purposeful strides (even though, frankly, he has nothing to attend to, with school having been released a few hours ago. I stayed behind trying to locate him, only having found him after stumbling upon him leaving the nurse's office).

He glances at me briefly in disdain. "School wide functions do not revolve around you, Iris."

"Well, it's supposed to!" I huff in frustration.

"Iris. Saturday is only four days away." He sighs, obviously tired with my antics. "Please take the people who organize these types of events into consideration. We need the time to book the venue, arrange the music and decorations, order the food and drinks—"

"Be honest. You're not actually organizing anything. The author will just write it into existence!"

His memory resets, and when it does, he simply walks away from me.

"Fuck you, Mr. Principal background character!" I call after him, my patience for unaware characters running thin.

"Someone has issues with authority, huh?" A teasing voice comes up from behind me, along with a horrid stench. I start breathing through my mouth, turning around to find a sweaty Brandon with a large duffel bag at his side, having just finished football practice.

"Someone needs to take a shower, huh?" I fire right back. "And weren't you the one who spray painted dicks in the principal's office?"

"Correction: we spray painted one giant dick. There's a difference," he jokes as we walk through the halls together. "Anyway, what're you doing still at school on this fine day?"

"Trying to convince the principal to move hoco to this Saturday. It didn't work," I grumble, kicking my foot against the ground.

Brandon shrugs. "We could always blackmail him using his affair with the receptionist."

I stop in place, looking towards him incredulously. "I beg your pardon?"

"Evan and I got a picture while trying to steal the gallon sized hand sanitizer. Don't ask why," Brandon mumbles. "Evan wanted to use it for something else but, when's a better time to blackmail than when your life depends on it?"

"You got the picture right now?" I ask curiously.

He nods once, holding up his phone. "Ready to threaten the principal with evidence of his infidelity?"

I grin, nodding my head along with him. "Hell yeah. Let's do this."

-⚘-

"Principal Halbert," Brandon addresses as we approach him, holding up his phone with the picture of the principal kissing the Front Desk Lady in the nurse's office.

I jerk my head towards the photo. "This you?"

The principal squints at the phone, his eyes slowly widening as he realizes that we're holding tangible, hard evidence of his affair in our hands. "Where did you get that?" He sputters nervously.

"None of your business," Brandon shrugs nonchalantly, tucking his phone away safely in his pocket before the principal can snatch it away. "But for keeping your secret, we want something in return."

"Anything. Grades raised? Perfect attendance? I'll do it," he says pleadingly.

"We want to move homecoming to this Saturday. Doesn't have to be good. It can even resemble middle school dances in the gymnasium. But it needs to happen," I state firmly.