Ratbags and Scallywags [bxb]

Chapter 28

First thing's first, I had to talk to Mr. Hardy. He had to be aware by now of what his overly sympathetic nature resulted in without even empathizing with the actual victims. Someone like Aubrey who was badly affected in the bathroom fight, only to be done over again by the same un-expelled dickhead.

Surely, he'd be feeling bad about it at this point.

What I knew was that I had to talk to him about this and get some things off my chest. It was growing heavier by the minute that I remained helpless in protecting Aubrey. What I didn't know was what I wanted to say or how to say it. Mum would be working, and I knew she'd oppose me saying anything. My next best bet was to call Mel.

It's not often she had a lot to say to me, but it's not like she had anything to oppose when she didn't know the full sitch. Mum would've told her about my latest stories. I was sure she knew at least that much even without hearing from her. It'd be fine if I just called. With that resolve set in my mind, I nodded affirmatively to myself and hurried to first class.

This period was Literature, and I received an uncomfortable scolding from a temporary relief teacher. She was young and awkward and hadn't quite grown into her position yet. Since she didn't have a name tag on her shirt and I'd never seen her before, I assumed she was pretty new. 

She gave off a conceited air that I couldn't find myself feeling genuine towards. For that, I vaguely faked an apology. Satisfied with that, she walked over to the teacher's desk before filtering through stacks of unorganized papers.Probably our return mock test results.

My seat was beside Goose in this class, but I looked back and saw Aubrey sitting beside Ikeisha, while Trey sat behind them with their friend Manu. I gave them a little wave, letting my eyes linger on Aubrey's shy response. He pulled his hair back as it slid over his face and shoulders, looking so sweet. I signed, "Hi handsome" and grinned when he looked at me, blushing. Ikeisha smirked, too, clearly amused by my audacity.

The excessively soft-spoken teacher stood from the front of the class, far enough that me along with most of the class couldn't hear much. There were quite a few whispers piling up around the room, but she seemed adamant not to address it.

"I'm gonna call my sis and talk to Mr. Hardy at break," I whispered to Goose. He jumped a little at the sudden sound of my voice, looking at me with some red-faced mixture of surprise and exasperation.

"W-why?" he asked, going ruddy in the cheeks.

"I don't like where things've left off with Horse-Face Hughes and Jesse the pervert. I just need advice from my sister first so I know the right way to approach this."

He nodded understandingly. "Is your sis good at giving you advice, then?" he asked.

"Remember my supreme tactics for getting I.H to notice B.B," I said, lowering my voice and emphasizing Ben's and Ikeisha's initials for anonymity's sake. My whisper was probably louder than the relief teacher, still drawling like a sleep-talker. 

"Y'you mean your extreme tactics," he said, looking sheepish.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I defended, feeling like throwing a bit of a huff. "Anyway, those were from a book she'd brought around and she taught me a few key things. I kind of just pieced them together to suit."

"Pieced them together to suit you," he said, nodding respectively. "No wonder it was a train wreck. Why am I convinced that the book had absolutely nothing to do with any of it?"

I felt my own face heat up this time. 

In retrospect, he probably wasn't wrong. I vaguely recalled flipping through some pages and getting ideas. And at the time, I thought it'd be wrong to discredit my sister and her book for their contribution... But that was beside the point. I was being creative, and it definitely brought at least one of us attention. Just look at me and Aubrey now.