Silence. The loud murmurs of the crowd soon came to a halt when the principal entered. Her angered expression was soon present after she saw the red words written on the large white poster.
"Who did this?" she yelled at the crowd, her voice cracked, making an unusual sound coming out of her mouth. If this wasn't a serious situation, Serena would've chuckled. But, she stood still, waiting for someone to lift their hands up and apologize. No one. Absolutely nobody did. The principal, known as Ms. Smith, stood there eyeing everybody, waiting for an answer as well.
"She's pissed," Nick whispered to Serena.
"I wonder why." Serena sarcastically replied.
Finally, for what seemed like forever, the principal made her way to the poster and ripped it off the wall.
"Everyone in the gymnasium NOW!" she said while folding the poster.
Everyone obeyed. They made their way to the gymnasium including Serena and Nick, all murmuring and groaning. The principal was in the lead, with her heels clicking and her hair flipping back and forth, she really made her presence known. She was wearing a black skirt and a white buttoned-up shirt with a black suit vest. Even though her principal had a sense of style and was gorgeous for an old lady like her, Serena disliked Ms. Smith's attitude. She always thought that Ms. Smith was too egotistical for her liking and was rude to people of colour whenever she would encounter one. At least that's what Serena felt when Ms. Smith spoke to her last year. Nevertheless, she was taught to listen to her seniors whenever they asked her for something whether they are rude or not. Serena didn't seem to like this rule, but if her father told her to do something, she would obey.
Everyone sat down on the bleachers and waited for the principal to speak. Serena and Nick sat in the very front, their shoulders touching others as they sat. It was uncomfortable to be this close to someone, Serena thought, but she didn't seem to be displeased when she was this close to Nick. And hopefully, Nick felt the same. Yes, Serena had a crush on her best friend that she has known her whole life. She didn't know when this started. Maybe it was his dimples every time he would smile or maybe it's his muscles every time he would hold something heavy. Regardless, Serena was persuaded by his personality. So corny, she blushed.
The principal stood in front of the bleachers, still angered about this morning's incident, waiting for her secretary and security guard to come in before she could start with her speech. The door of the gymnasium opened up loudly, revealing Serena's father and Ms. Antonio walking in together. Serena made eye contact with her father right when he stopped next to Ms. Smith's side. They both smiled at each other for a few seconds before listening to what the principal had to say.
"I am VERY disappointed with what had just happened this morning. Not only did someone made a joke about something very serious, but they didn't even apologize to what they have done. We, the school, are very adamant about stuff like this and if this ever gets out, we could be in serious trouble. With the authorities and with Josie's parents. Now, every single one of you ARE not going home this afternoon until someone raises their hands up and apologizes!"
The students groaned in annoyance at what they just had heard. Serena sighed heavily at the thought of being cramped up with people she didn't even know about. She looked at her father for any signs of reassurance but was met with a disappointing shrug which made her feel even more uneasy. In the meantime, she took her phone out of her pocket and checked every app she had installed. She scrolled through her message box and was met with a lot of notifications coming from the unknown number. Even though she was hesitant, she was curious to see what this person had to say. However, right when she was about to check, she felt a hand grasp her phone, pulling it away from her hands. Serena looked up in confusion and was met with two angry pair of eyes staring right at her.
"And NO phones! I do not want to see any phones out or you'll be staying even longer." she snarled, still glaring at Serena.
Serena held her anger in, trying to not cause a fight especially when her father was staring right back at her. She couldn't believe this. Staying in a big, humid room filled with sweaty students made Serena even more upset. She slumped in her seat, bored and sweaty, trying to not lash out.
"You okay?" Nick asked.
"I'll be alright."
///
Time flew by and the principal finally decided to let the students leave to go home, even Serena. She got her phone back but was given a warning straight from the principal, herself, along with a glare. Serena wanted so badly to hit the principal right in the face after that encounter, however, as much as she hated her principal, it will only make her father angry at her.
"Well, that was something," Nick said.
Nick was driving her home in his blue Nissan Sentra, clean and shiny like it was just cleaned recently. Serena breathed in the lemony scent that was produced by the Febreze clipped in the AC as she looked at Nick focused on the road.
"Yeah, it really was. At least I got my phone back."
"At least. You would probably die if you didn't get it back." he chuckled.
"Haha, very funny," Serena replied while tapping on the notification from the unknown number.
"Peekaboo, I see you. Sweet Serena has no clue."
Serena gasped and her eyes grew wider when she saw the text message, making Nick gaze at her in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Nick asked in confusion.
"This..." she pointed at the screen of the phone.
Nick pulled over and grabbed her phone, reading what was on it.
"We gotta notify your dad."