The day started off deceptively normal, which for the group, was the biggest red flag of all. By mid-morning, the tranquility had shattered into a million pieces, thanks to Crimson and his eternal quest to escalate everything into utter chaos.
"Hey, check this out," Crimson said, holding up the now-infamous metal pipe he'd somehow smuggled back into school. Where he found it or how he kept getting away with carrying it around was one of life's greatest mysteries.
Leon's eyes narrowed. "You better not do something stupid with that."
"Oh, I won't," Crimson said with the kind of grin that screamed, I absolutely will.
By lunchtime, Crimson's "stupid" plan was in full swing. He snuck up behind Leon, who was innocently munching on a sandwich, and—without warning— He shoved the cold end of the pipe in Leon's ass.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Leon screeched, nearly choking on his food as he jumped out of his seat.
The cafeteria erupted in laughter, with Kai doubling over and Kazuki shaking his head in disbelief. MJ, as usual, seemed completely oblivious to what just happened and was staring intently at his pudding cup like it held the secrets of the universe.
"YOU ARE DEAD!" Leon roared, chasing after Crimson with murder in his eyes.
Crimson, laughing hysterically, darted around tables and dodged stray backpacks as Leon gained on him. Just as Leon was about to grab him, Crimson turned too sharply, slipped on a spilled drink, and fell flat on his face. Leon, unable to stop in time, tripped over Crimson and landed right on top of him.
From across the room, Kazuki cringed. "That looked painful."
Kai wiped a tear from his eye. "Totally worth it."
As if the pile of bodies wasn't ridiculous enough, MJ chose this exact moment to leap onto the heap, shouting, "DOGPILE!" He landed squarely on Leon's back, knocking the wind out of him.
"GET OFF ME, YOU IDIOTS!" Leon wheezed, flailing beneath the combined weight of Crimson and MJ.
After school, the group decided to hang out at Kai's house. It was supposed to be a chill afternoon, but with this crew, "chill" was never an option.
"Alright, new idea," Crimson announced as soon as they walked into Kai's room. "We're doing sumo wrestling."
"What?" Kai asked, already regretting inviting them over.
"Sumo. Wrestling," Crimson repeated, rummaging through a pile of clothes. He pulled out a frilly pink skirt and held it up. "But with skirts."
Kazuki stared at him. "You've officially lost your mind."
"Oh, come on, it'll be hilarious!" Crimson said, already slipping into the skirt. He turned to Kai and tossed him a matching one. "Here, you're up first."
Kai sighed but put the skirt on anyway. "Fine, but only because I'm tired of arguing with you."
The sumo matches were predictably chaotic. Crimson faced off against Leon first, and within seconds, the two were grappling like their lives depended on it. Kazuki acted as the referee, though his calls of "No biting!" and "That's illegal!" went completely ignored.
In the middle of the chaos, Crimson somehow got hold of a pair of new panties that he bought while coming to Kai's house and, in a stroke of brilliance, decided to wear them on his head.
"LOOK AT ME, I'M THE KING OF FASHION!" Crimson declared, striking a ridiculous pose.
Kai turned. "YOU IDIOT, TAKE THOSE OFF!"
Crimson took off running, still wearing the panties as a crown. Kai bolted after him, shouting every curse word in his vocabulary. The chase ended abruptly when Kai tripped over the living room rug and face-planted onto the floor. Crimson, standing over him, burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"You look… so stupid… right now," Crimson managed to say between wheezes.
"I hate you," Kai groaned, rubbing his face.
After everyone had recovered from the sumo-and-panty debacle, they decided to head outside for a game of football.
"Alright, let's keep this simple," Kazuki said as they set up. "No tackling, no throwing punches, and definitely no using the metal pipe."
Crimson pouted. "You're no fun."
The game started off relatively tame, but that didn't last long. Crimson, naturally, ignored all the rules and tackled Leon to the ground just to steal the ball. MJ, meanwhile, was running around in circles, completely unsure of what to do.
"MJ, you're supposed to catch the ball!" Kazuki shouted.
"Oh!" MJ said, finally getting it. When the ball came his way, he made a heroic leap to catch it… and promptly landed on top of it, squashing it flat.
The group froze, staring at the deflated ball beneath MJ.
"Uh, my bad?" MJ said, adjusting his crooked glasses.
Kai groaned. "That was my only football, you moron."
"It's fine," Crimson said, grinning. "We'll just use it for sumo next time."
"Not happening," Kai snapped, shoving Crimson's shoulder.
By the end of the day, they were all sprawled out on the grass, exhausted and laughing at the sheer stupidity of it all. Sure, they'd caused more chaos than any normal group of friends should, but that was just another day in the life of High School Shenanigans.