Being trapped in a room with two pretty girls and a beautiful woman, with no other guys in sight, probably sounded like a fantasy to most. It sounded worse when you considered I was stuck with my teacher, a possible bimbo, and a bitch that tormented others for fun. Although, I guess there were some out there with a certain interest in that kind of thing too. Unfortunately for me, I was not having any kind of fun, and I still hadn’t received an explanation about why I was here. Instead, I was stuck staring at the white wall to my left, wishing that it had a fresh coat of paint on it so at least I could watch that dry. No dice, however. I was treated to a silent room, only disturbed by the occasional grumbles from Miss Halsey or Nicole. They both complained about how unfair life was, albeit for different reasons, but the principle was the same. I wondered if they realized how much alike they really were.
And who would hate that comparison more.
Glancing over at Aubrey revealed that she was doing much the same as I was. The wall she had chosen looked to provide a little more entertainment than mine, though. Some posters we had made earlier in the year hung over the wallpaper that looked like it had seen better days, the creases and rips growing more evident as we neared graduation. Perhaps one of her students would be kind enough to change it for her on their way out the door since it wasn’t like she had any motivation.
There were about ten minutes left of this strange hell, and Miss Halsey confirmed it with a nod of her head. She pushed herself out of her chair and stretched her arms over her head, eliciting a small popping sound from her shoulder blades. Her shirt rose up, revealing a smooth expanse of pale skin that I drank in. For someone who made standing look like a chore, she was surprisingly toned, her lithe muscles dancing as she swiveled toward me. And that was how I found myself making eye contact with Nicole in a desperate bid to not be caught staring.
If looks could kill, hers would certainly be beating me to death. Yet, oddly enough, without her friends around, she didn’t give off the same intimidation factor. Her delicate eyebrows were narrowed and her mouth was meshed up into a snarl. One lip curled higher than the other, putting her prominent canine on full display. The long, black hair she was so proud of was tossed behind her shoulders, drawing my gaze to the logo emblazoned across the chest of her sweatshirt. I found myself intrigued by how far the letters jutted outward.
“Go die, creep.”
“On that note,” Miss Halsey glanced at the clock overhead once more, “I think it’s time for our little tour to begin. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can all go home.”
There wasn’t much I could do other than fall in line behind the others. Although it was less of a line and more of the teacher leading us down the empty hallways while Nicole stuck around her, casting disgusted looks in my direction every chance she could. Aubrey brought up the rear, taking one step for every two of mine, and considering how short her stride already was, it wasn’t long before she fell far behind. Stifling a sigh, I slowed my pace to make sure she wouldn’t get lost going to whatever mystery location Miss Halsey deemed necessary to bring us to. The last thing I needed to do was have this detention extended because she got lost, and we had to dispatch the search party to find her.
We proceeded like this for a few minutes–dodging around groups of students staying after for extracurriculars, crossing over from wing to wing, and waiting for Aubrey to catch up. Eventually, the rows of lockers gave way to plaster walls and a large display case that was at about half-capacity currently. The shine on the trophies was dull, the ribbons had a thin sheen of dust, and not one of them had a date prior to the late nineties. Lights buzzed quietly overhead, and one flickered on and off at the end of the hallway, threatening to plunge that small area into darkness.
We didn’t end up going that far, stopping at a metal doorway a few meters past the display case. The hinges were rusted, and she had to turn the key she fished out of her pocket a few more times than I thought was strictly necessary to unlock it. When it finally did open with a click, she flipped on the lights, and then moved aside to allow the rest of us to go in.
The inside of the room was tiny and cramped, stuffed to the brim with stacks of cardboard boxes and some paint buckets that had lost their original silver color. Splotches of paint lined the linoleum floor, marking a haphazard trail into the next room. This one may not have been free of dried paint, but it was free of much of the clutter and was at least triple the size. A window took up the vast majority of the wall across from us, and a tan curtain with a floral pattern hung at its edges. In the center was a wooden table with worn edges, and four chairs placed around the cardinal directions of it. Behind that were a small stack of milk crates, aligned on a blue tarp, and holding some miscellaneous art supplies. To top it all off was an analog clock stuck to the wall behind us that supplied the otherwise silent room with a constant click and clack of the busy hands.
“And what are we expected to do with this?” Nicole drawled.
“This is going to be your new clubroom.”
The explanation was clear, concise, and to the point. Everything one could want in an explanation, really. In that case, why did it feel like it left me with a million questions rattling around in my head?
“And what club is this?” Aubrey asked.
Miss Halsey shrugged her shoulders in response. “Whatever you guys decide on I guess. Just make sure it’s something that I can report to the principal at the end of the year. Otherwise, you won’t get credit, and I’ll be stuck with you for another year.”
Nicole crossed her arms under her chest, ignoring how our teacher shuddered at the possibility of us repeating our senior year. “And what if I refuse?”
She stared at her like that was the possible dumbest question that could come out of her mouth, which, to be fair, it might have been. “Then you won’t pass. Look, either form a club together or don’t. I’m not going to force you. Honestly, though, did you all think this requirement was a joke?” She was met with silence, so she carried on. “You have until Monday to join a different club to meet the one-semester condition. Otherwise, this will be your only option. Think it over and get back to me.”
While not ideal, this would be much better than any of the other clubs I had been mulling over in desperation. I couldn’t let this slip by me, especially when the others were hesitant. “I’ll join.”
This time it was the two girls who stared at me like I had a few screws loose. Miss Halsey seemed pleased, a small grin plastered on her face. “Great! Congrats on being promoted to club leader. May fortune be ever in your favor.”
While I was mentally patting myself on the back for the absolute menial task of being able to speak like a normal human being in front of such a daunting presence, somebody else groaned at the lame reference. She simply waved them off. “Alright, I’m out of here. See you all tomorrow, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
“Guess burning the place down is still in the cards then,” Nicole grumbled.
“I heard that, you little shit.”
Nicole appeared like she wanted to say something to that, but our teacher didn’t bother sticking around to give her the opportunity, meandering out of the room without a care in the world. She always told us we were free to go ahead and snitch to whoever we wanted about her language. According to her, the worst-case scenario was that they fired her, and the best-case was that they fired her. Either way, it was a win-win.
“Damn that woman,” Nicole practically growled, storming out of the room. Her bag smacked the door in her hurry, rattling the contents of the items inside of it. The heavy door budged a few inches, allowing us to watch her slip into the other room and disappear around the corner. I felt a little lighter the moment I could no longer see her retreating form. Despite being more tolerable alone than when she was in the company of her cronies, I still didn’t want her around.
Aubrey turned toward me, shifting her weight from her rear foot to her front. There was clearly something on her mind, but I didn’t know her well enough to pry or have much interest in the first place. Her mouth opened and closed, floundering for the right words like a stranded fish would for water. Finally, she settled on a frown; her lips pulling into a thin, white line. I wasn’t surprised when she simply walked away, following the same path Nicole had taken less than a minute ago.
That left me alone in the room. And that should be how it would remain now that I had made my intentions of joining clear. Nicole would probably find some club that her friends were in, and who the hell knew what Aubrey was going to do. Under no uncertain circumstances was either one of them going to bother coming if I was already here. All I had to do now was worry about looking busy and maybe try to spruce the place up a bit.
I took a seat at the head of the table, spreading my arms out wide. A small smile graced my face, and I couldn’t help but be somewhat excited. That stupid graduation requirement and having a place all to myself was set, killing two birds with one stone and all that jazz.
I sighed contentedly. This was shaping up to be a pretty good day after all.