Day 6: English with Ace, Colette, and Kateri
“Someone better shut that indie music off before I make it so ‘underground’ that you’ll have to be 6 feet under to find it.” Ela’s black mood followed her into the bean-bag filled room. Pillows lay scattered everywhere and Bridgette was being a makeshift barista in the back. Her fawn colored hair was spun tightly into a crown braid and she looked like a fairytale princess. Ela didn’t like princesses. Neither did she like poetry. Or hipsters. And especially not--
“Come hithro sister dearest and I shall minister unto your every need.” Thomas lay in a stack of pillows like an Egyptian god.
Yeah. Especially not Thomas.
“How about you take my first request and stop breathing.” She planted herself in a beanbag next to the wall and pressed her lips into a white line.
“Who woke up on the wrong side of the world today?” Travis made a curvy path around Ela’s moody side of the room and sipped his hot chocolate next to Alice.
Two sharp claps brought attention to Colette who stood like a china doll in front of the room. “If you fine folk would kindly cease your chatter and pay mind to Ace’s words, I’d greatly appreciate it.” She daintily curtsied and backed up. Ace stepped forward and rubbed a black ringed eye.
“I trust you all slept like a bunch of rowdy elephants, considering you spent your whole night playing Twister and then wasting your time trying to find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of the tootsie pop. The answer is 592. Trust me. I heard you beasts counting all night.”
A few coughs and shifty eyes were shared around the room.
“Anywho, we have stuff to do so we better, oh thanks,” Acacia handed him a tall cup of coffee and sat down. “So do it before Akira breaks down the door again.”
“Agreed. Where’s Kateri, anyways?” Griffin made a quick head count and noticed one vital person was missing.
“I could care less at this point.” Ace shrugged and staggered over to a beanbag. “Colette can take care of it from here.”
“There’s a pen and paper next to you all, so I’ll be back in ten minutes—with Kateri—to check on your progress. Be done before I come back.” Colette flicked a fan in front of her face and laughed. When she brought it down her happy face was gone and replaced with a terrifying, pointed grin. “Or else.”
“I think we might have a vampire problem.” Dante scarcely breathed as he remembered Alice’s scary voice and Sebastian’s evil eyes.
“We’re right here!” Alice threw a balled up piece of paper at Dante and hit him in the back of the head.
“Just work, the faster we do this the faster we leave.” Vevila balanced a notepad on her knees and scribbled a few lines. She looked critically at them then drew dark circles over them. “Forget it. Just someone write a poem to make it look like we actually did something….”
MEANWHILE IN THE HALLWAY
“Kateri? Kateri?” Colette jogged down the hall turning her head this way and that. Still no sign of the missing girl.
“Colette is that you?” Akira’s voice floated from the open kitchen door.
“Yes Akira, it’s me. I’m looking for Kat-“
“—eri, right?” Akira stepped out of the kitchen and dusted her hands off on her jean shorts. “I think I know where she is.” She took off down the hall with Colette trailing closely behind.
BUT IN THE CLASSROOM....
“So… the weather we’re having.” Solana looked up from her work and met Thomas’ eyes.
“Are you needing help?” She ripped the paper off the pad and stuffed it in the inner pocket of her jacket.
“I’m not a child predator, I promise. I just want to look at your paper and copy it word for word and make it look like I did it.”
“Uhm, as good as honesty is the best policy, I can’t let you see my paper but I can help you write your own.” She glanced over her shoulder at Ace who was fast asleep. His ears flicked subconsciously.
“Sigh. This is like regular school all over again.” Thomas threw his pencil down and puffed his cheeks out, deep in thought. Solana returned to her work and was about to start writing a new poem when Tommy caught her wrist.
“I’ll make you a deal. We’re going to play a game of strip tag and if I get you, you take off your jacket and your poem becomes mine. Deal?”
“Did someone say strip tag?!” Emery threw everything down and stood up quickly. “I’m it! Y’all better run!” He picked his way around those trying to work hard and made a b-line for Amor who wore the least amount of clothes.
“Touch me and I’ll kick your throat.” She cautioned. Never once did she remove her gaze from the work she was doing, but Emery gave her a wide berth.
“I’m coming for you doll face.” He made the I’m watching you sign to Solana and she ran.
“Wait! I want that paper!!” Thomas gave chase and a few curious members followed…
“WHAT. IN. THE. SAM. HILL. IS. GOING. ON?!” Akira thundered into the gym. She managed to keep her anger to a minimum and didn’t break the door. “Stop your game right now and everyone sit down!”
“Yes ma’am!” Emery, no longer the chaser, but the shirtless stripper, took a seat right in front of Akira. Colette and a strange blue haired, yet oddly familiar young man, stepped out from behind Akira and made it to the front of the room.
“Holy crap. I totally wasn’t sleeping. I was counting the fifty shades of black behind my eyes. I only made it to 13. I better count again.” Ace’s head flopped back onto his shoulder and he was out like a light. No one really took notice of him; their eyes were fixed on the hipster Akira had dragged in.
“Kateri is that you?” Bridgette peered from across the bar at her friend.
“Yeah, but it’s a long story.” Colette’s voice sounded slightly peeved. “How about everyone return to your original seats and… who’s shirt?”
“Oh, mine.” Thomas swiped it from Colette’s hooked finger and slid it back over his head.
“That was strange. I never want to see any of you shirtless again. Anyways, let’s finish this session with a nice round of poetry. Whoever is ready just walk up here and tell us the title of your poem before reading it.”
The first move was made. From the back of the class, Bellinda crossed to the front of the room with a single sheet of paper.
“My poem is called: The-Psycho-Rapist-Killer. Roses are red, violets are blue, I have a knife, get in the van.”
No one moved.
“I’ll do us all a favor and leave with my life.” Thomas was the first to make a mad dash to the door, shortly followed by the rest of the class trampling past Akira.
“But I had another three verses….” Bellinda crumpled the poem and let it drop next to the sleeping Ace.
Thus, another day in the MCC passed.
