To Iza's relief, the rest of class went without major incident.
As the bell rang sharply, she quickly packed up her school equipment, and scooped up her bag. She was no athlete, but Iza hated moving slowly. And she hated waiting behind droves of people who moved far too slowly for her liking. So with a quickened pace, she dipped, twisted and dodged through the flow of the crowd, dancing on the balls of her feet as she weaved through the crowd to get to Suzy who was leaving Chemistry right now.
The audacious movements garnered a few hard glares from monitors and students alike, but at this point, she was more than used to it and didn't pay it any mind.
In fact, focusing on the simple process of threading the needle with her body through the crowd without bumping into anyone was something that calmed her down, and was something she could focus deeply on.
'Hmnn.. Perhaps I should have been an athlete.' She murmured with amusement in her head.
So efficient was Iza's movement that she managed to catch Suzy before she had fully gathered her notebooks, pens and other equipment in her bag alone in the chemistry room.
As Iza was about to greet Suzy, she immediately coughed a little at a strange smell that immediately seized her nostrils.
As she had exerted herself a bit, the first deep breath was so foul that Iza wanted to retch. 'What the hell happened here...!?' Iza was beside herself as she moved back to the hall with a cautionary gaze.
By the time she collected herself, Iza realized that Suzy was done putting her equipment away and was staring at her with a giggle on her lips. Obviously amused at Iza's reaction to the foul odor.
Iza grimaced, with a question hanging on her gaze. The same gaze that Suzy shrugged with a teasing glance.
Sighing, Iza came to the conclusion that Suzy was going to prepare the wild tale of what had happened here shortly, with the same zeal and excitement that she always had when she talked about the wild things that may happen around her.
She had that excitement as a storyteller, whereas Iza enjoyed peaceful comfort and lazy days in the sun.
Quite a pair of friends they made.
Before much more could be said, Suzy strode out of the Mr. Winesby's classroom and joined Iza on their adventure to the school buses that would soon depart towards a field trip that promised excitement and education in one clean package.
"Stop staring.. I'll tell, I'll tell!" Suzy giggled, her clothes effused with that strange and terrible odor from the classroom.
"So get this! Mr. Winesby took out some chemicals for an experiment and pulled the wrong ones out! How silly of him." Suzy smiled brightly, recounting the tale as if it was a grand adventure.
"The vial broke apart and there was so much of that terrible gas. We even had to vacate the room for a bit to make sure there wasn't anything toxic in the air."
"And then..?" Iza said, acting her part as an interested audience member, captivated by the ever-amazing prowess of a storyteller. This interaction made Suzy a little more smug and confident.
"Well, it wasn't toxic. But it stank so bad, worse than a pile of rat vomit, that's for sure!" Suzy said with a whimsical confidence.
"How would you know what rat's vomit would smell like?" Iza replied with a bemused smile.
"Well, it doesn't take a genius to realize that such a dirty animal would have the rankest of vomit." Suzy grinned, despite the disgusting concept she was storytelling.
The audacity of Suzy made Iza roll her glowing eyes before giggling.
"Anywho, Mr. Winesby forgot to do the pop quiz he usually does after his experiment and we got it kind of easy the rest of the class." She harrumphed as she finished her storytelling, before grimacing at a thought. "...It's gonna take a week to get this smell out, I'm sure of it."
Iza could only nod in agreement at that statement as they departed from the school's hallways into the wider and larger courtyard.
"Look! It's the weirdo and the ghost...!" A mocking voice caused Iza to groan. Ashley McKona. "Aww... Did you both want to scare an old grandma with that appearance? And what is that smell? You know showers exist, right?"
Iza stopped, causing Suzy to whisper back to her. "Don't stoop to her level." Her gaze was full of worry.
The McKona family is one of the known sponsors of this school, and Ashley in particular was that popular girl. No matter how things shake out, Iza would be the one to get in trouble, unless it was Louisiana level of cruelty.
Iza took a deep breath, trying to collect herself.
"Hah! Look at that freak, cat got your tongue?" As she said the word, Iza's nostrils flared with emotion.
If there was one word she hated.
It was freak.
'Calm down... It's Suzy's birthday... Get yourself together.' Desperate thoughts filled Iza as she continued taking hesitant steps away, at the chorus of mocking laughter erupted from McKona's social clique.
"I bet her mother said that when she was born too. That she was a hideous freak. I kinda feel bad for her mom."
Ah.
The last straw.
"Iza!" Suzy called, but it was too late.
Iza's fist was already barreling towards McKona's pretentious face, causing gasps to erupt from the crowd.
A satisfying bonk later, Iza stood over McKona with an expression of fury.
"Keep my parent's out of your damn mouth."
Seething, Iza flinched as a teacher's voice bellowed across the courtyard.
"Iza Smith!" Mrs. Voudenvel made her appearance clearly.
'Ah... I'm screwed.' Iza despaired.
"We are going to the dean's office. Now." She growled. Mrs. Voudenvel was definitely one of the many teachers that favored Ashley, more than others by a good margin. Ashley with a mixture of displeasure from the pain, and joy at seeing me suffer, smirked up at me.
"But..."
"No buts. Violence is not tolerated at our J.C. Sovereign Academy." Mrs. Voudenvel's hateful gaze spelled Iza's doom. She could only give a despairing and sorrow glance back at Suzy.
...Whom was already moving to stand in front of me.
"Mrs. Voudenvel, Iza was provoked by Ashley. She called her a freak." Suzy defended calmly.
"Ms. Blair, I do not care. Violence. Is. Not. Permitted. Understand?" Suzy deflated, before nodding slowly.
"Now come, Ms. Smith." Iza followed dispiritedly, as McKona in all her pretentiousness headed to the nurse's office and Suzy was left alone, as the buses for the field trip began filing people in.
'I'm a terrible friend...' Iza thought hopelessly as she was dragged to the dean's office. Her carefully constructed plan to wish her friend a happy birthday smashed by a poorly crafted taunt.
This day couldn't get worse.