CHAPTER ONE

THE ROOT. A single decision to not let Mitch copy our History assignments turned to getting me and Rheanne out of the region.

The Locke Alley

By RavenZane

 

CHAPTER ONE

Respect.

People around you, whether they are your relatives or not, always say that you should respect other people, regardless of their appearance, their personality, their opinions, and the way they act. My parents have taught me that.

Whenever there were visitors, they would always tell me to be courteous and to respect them, to talk to them politely and if asked a question, to answer with a decent answer.

I would obey them, of course. I would, if I was still the indecisive child. Without her own world. Without her own thoughts, nor feelings. Like a robot.

And I so wished that I didn’t have parents like the parents I had. I realized that ever since I stepped out of my monochrome world. Which just means that I grew up and had my own life.

“Ms. Richards.”

My parents. My folks. I wouldn’t call them that �" shouldn’t. They turned me into a freaking robot, and I just escaped that fate just when I entered junior high. Come on; they taught me to be courteous and to respect other people who looked (and I knew they really were) like one of those greedy dealers and officials. I had to greet them with a smile my parents programmed in me, even though they were real suckers.

“Ms. Richards?”

“Hey, the principal’s calling you!”

That characteristic - being able to realize how really respect is - is just something that I have and cherish, but something that got me in trouble.

“Richards!”

Like this deep s**t I was in. Where all the wonders began.

I stared at the tomato-faced principal with a mocking bored look and raised my eyebrows. “Yeah? Whatcha want?”

I wanted to laugh so hard when the holes of Principal Jose’s big nose grew larger than before. Did he use his thumb in picking the dear mucus inside?

Rheanne, facing me in her seat, kicked me strongly in the shin. Poor girl got in the way of the fight. Well, like they say �" whoever they are �" friends will bail you out of jail, but best friends may stay with you and even say, “let’s do it again!”

Her hands slammed on the table, which distracted Principal McHorsie from kicking my butt, McHorsie Jose style. Which can never happen, considering that Principal Jose is a freaking stick. Too lean. Like, if you ever have a chance to just slap him on the shoulder, he’ll break into pieces.

“Sir Jose,” Rheanne called with her calm and polite vernacular with the Spanish accent on the Jose. “Maybe we can talk about this in some other democratic way without calling our parents? I mean, my parents?”

I glowered her down with the fiercest glare I could muster. I didn’t know if it worked, but it had a fifty-fifty chance.

She continued after shooting a taunting look at me. “I only was there near the fight. But I never did anything wrong.”

Oh, yeah, right. She wasn’t in the fight. She only witnessed the fight. She didn’t accidentally hit my chin with her ankle while attempting to give that jerk Mitch and his gang of Gay Warriors of Homoville who couldn’t even pack a right enough punch in my pretty face.

“What about…her?”

McHorsie pointed his finger that looked like a branch with its brownness and distorted shape at me. Judging by his voice, he seemed to calm down. Really. Rheanne amazed me sometimes. Her coaxing skill is incredible.

Rheanne gave me a long look. It was my turn for the act. A round of applause for Richards and Greene, in their new impromptu performance, “The Escape from Jose McHorsie.”

Summing up whatever dialogue popped in my mind, I engaged a smooth conversation with the principal. “I told you, didn’t I? It wasn’t me who started the fight. It was that damned Mitch” �" I noticed McHorsie wince at the swear word, but whatever �" “and his gang who started it. Not us, not her, not me.”

It was true. They were the ones to corner us near the comfort rooms. They were the ones who wanted to beat the crap out of us just because we didn’t let them copy the assignments for History. They were the ones at terrible fault.

“But you still beat Mr. Rutherford almost half to death. Have you seen him when he was brought to the clinic?”

“Why would I look at that b*****d?”

“Your words, Richards. Choice of words, please.”

I rolled my eyes at him. Now, I was ready to tear him into pieces. He wasn’t my mom or dad or anything. And even if he were, I would never obey someone as greedy and pathetic as him.

“Okay. So I did beat almost the living daylight out of him,” I echoed his idea but it still seemed senseless to me. It really wasn’t my fault. I acted on impulse, on self-defense. What did Jose want to happen to me? Get raped? Mugged to death? Tortured?

Probably, since he hated my guts a lot. It wouldn’t also be surprising if he were the mastermind of the Gay Warriors. He also might be elected as mayor of Homoville, if he isn’t the mayor.

I mentally kicked myself for getting distracted. As if that was possible. “But I told you earlier, I didn’t start it. I was defending myself, us,” I gestured at Rheanne, who seemed lightly amused. “Against Mitch and the others, against what might possibly happen. It would be our loss, and their mistake.”

I grinned at myself, proud that I was able to pull off a speech like that. I guess memorizing oration pieces about nationalism and democracy did help me a lot. I could only hope that time that McHorsie would buy that thought.

Come on, fishy, bite the bait!

It took quite a long time for Jose to answer.

He raised his head high, as if saving up his pride, and looked at me and Rheanne sternly. “Alright,” He began. Our faces lit up for a second, but a thought stroke us like lighting: he isn’t finished yet.

“I will not tell your parents, nor will this leak out through the whole school,” He raised his two twig-like fingers to symbolize the points. “And I will also reason for what happened to Mitch and the others.”

My jaw dropped. That was…bizarre. Stunning, but something was up. Principal Jose was giving too much. “I’m also not going to expel you nor suspend you…” Basically meaning that, since this school was the capital’s school, it had control on every other school or college out there. “…from the school.” He finished.

Oh, okay.

…

WHAT?!

Then that basically meant �"

“I’m going to expel you from the region.”

Respect had to be chosen every once in a while. And that statement brought it all down.

Author's Note

huh. Well THAT was gold. I’m starting to love Principal Jose a bit. Full of screaming surprises. Anyway, please do review. Constructive criticism is very well-appreciated. I’d like you to point out my weaknesses and strengths in doing TLA in Zone’s point of view. Thanks for reading!