Fan Fiction ❯ The Pep Rally... OF DOOM! ❯ Evil Exposed ( Chapter 2 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Black Seventeen 
Cassie finally makes it to the pep rally, with Timothy nowhere to be found. Has he finally realized just how ridiculous his ideas have been? NO!
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.12.2003 | Pages: 1 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 241 | Status: Completed
Cassie finally makes it to the pep rally, with Timothy nowhere to be found. Has he finally realized just how ridiculous his ideas have been? NO!
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.12.2003 | Pages: 1 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 241 | Status: Completed
The pep rally. During the entire day I had only wanted to go home and not have to put up with it, to not have my eardrums blown out by the overzealous school spirit that was responsible for a sea of painted faces and swirls of school colors. For one thing, I have the school spirit of a bagel. Secondly, there are so many more productive things one could be doing with her time. Hell, even the proverbial washing of the hair was a damn better waste of time than any pep rally. But now, as I trudged to the gymnasium through the now empty hallways, with Timothy Geist at my heels, who glanced around fervently like a spooked gazelle, I recognized the possible opportunity of losing him in the crowd in the gym. I quickened my pace.
“Slow down, Agent Marigold,” he said. “We would be wise not to hurriedly rush into action without devising a proper plan. I suggest we rest here and take stock of the situation.”
“You take stock. I’m going.” My voice came out very bland, being that I was through trying to argue with the little shrimp.
“Agent Marigold, I must insist. Yes, there are times when direct action can be the bane of all evil, but when dealing with someone as dastardly as Principal Reynolds, it is important to have a well thought-out strategy. Believe me when I say that any reckless behavior on either of our parts could spell the end of this operation.”
I made no reply as I continued down the hall. Up until now his eccentricity had been strangely compelling, but the novelty had worn off, and my only focus was putting as much distance between the two of us as possible. As I was about to round a corner, I almost bumped into Mr. Gilmore.
“Oh, sorry about that,” I said. I had English class with Mr. Gilmore last year.
“No problem,” said Mr. Gilmore. “Say, the pep rally is about to start. How come you’re not at the gym?”
I didn’t really feel like explaining about Timothy, since I wasn’t in the mood for another headache. “My locker got stuck, so it took me a while to get my books. I was just on my way there now.”
“Is anybody out here with you?”
I looked back to where Timothy was standing, but he was no longer there. “Well, Tim Geist was with me, but I guess he went off somewhere.”
Mr. Gilmore’s face turned white. “Did... did you say Tim Geist?”
“Yeah.”
Mr. Gilmore started to fidget. “Oh, this is not good. Who knows what that kid’ll do when no one’s watching. I’d better run and tell Reynolds. You go on ahead to the gym, okay?”
“Alright,” I said. Mr. Gilmore nearly sprinted down the hallway in the direction of Principal Reynolds’ office, muttering something under his breath that I couldn’t quite catch. As he rounded a corner out of sight, I was left standing alone in the hallway, and couldn’t help but wonder where Timothy had gone off to. He was standing not twenty feet behind me not a few seconds ago.
My questions were answered when the door of a nearby supply closet flung open, spilling a mop and several cleaning supplies. Out stepped Timothy, who smoothed the front of his tuxedo. “Now I understand your plan,” he said to me. “You want all the attention focused on me so you can slip into the gym unnoticed and thwart Principal Reynolds. I must say that I am unaccustomed to being used for diversionary tactics, but under the circumstances I will follow your plan. So, I’ll leave it to you to get to the gym while I draw the attentions of the teachers. The free world is counting on you, Agent Marigold. Good luck!” With that he turned on his heels and ran off in the opposite direction, leaving me alone in the hallway once again.
I was too astounded at my good fortune to move. Just a moment ago he was stuck to me like a barnacle, and now he was willfully going away to play somewhere else! Finally realizing my regained freedom, I nearly clicked my heels as I turned around and skipped to the gym, all too glad to embrace the mindless screaming of the pep rally.
The bleachers were already full when I got there. I wondered if there was any place at all left for me to sit, since a handful of students seemed to be wandering around aimlessly, gazing up at all the occupied seats like puppies in a pet store eyeing the customers. I was about to join them, when out of the corner of my eye I saw someone frantically waving her hands. It was Lisa. She then motioned me to come over to the empty seat she had saved for me with her backpack. I climbed up the bleachers and with a lot of “excuse me-s,” I was finally able to sit down next to her.
“Where have you been?” she asked. “I was beginning to wonder if you didn’t just decide to skip out.”
“I wish I could,” I said. I envied the seniors and their cars. Even though the student lot was cordoned off until the end of the pep rally, most of them thought ahead and parked in the YMCA parking lot across the street, and were able to bolt after last period.
“Yeah, me too. So, what kept you?”
Finally having a peer I could complain to extensively, I told her everything that had happened with Timothy. She listened to my story, her brow furrowed in disbelief. When I finished regaling her with his screwball antics and gross misinterpretations, she snorted. “I heard he was a troublemaker, but a secret agent? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Trust me, this guy was a total mental case. I’m just glad that he finally decided to leave me alone.”
“So, what do you think happened to him?” Lisa asked.
“Who cares?” I replied. “I hope Principal Reynolds caught the little troll and locked him up for the rest of the day. Now all I have to do is endure this stupid pep rally, and I’ll be home free for four days.”
Someone behind us tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw Ron Grable. He’s a really bad student, and often gets in-school suspension for doing stuff like smoking out on the back walkway during classes and writing on the bathroom walls. He actually asked me out about a month ago, but I turned him down because he’s so obnoxious. I was assuming that he was tapping me on the shoulder to talk about wanting to go out somewhere. But his smile was mischievous as he spoke.
“Don’t worry, the pep rally isn’t going to last very long at all this year. In fact, I’ll get us out of here in a few minutes.” He held out his had, which contained a wadded up paper towel. He peeled back the towel and revealed three plastic capsules with a yellow liquid sloshing around in them. “Stink bombs. Once the pep rally starts I’ll toss them down onto the floor.”
“Eww, get those things away from me!” Lisa squealed. “I don’t want any of that stuff getting on me. I’ll smell like a dead skunk!”
“It’s not like I’m going to throw them on anybody!” Ron said. “Once they dim the lights for the movie I’ll toss ‘em.”
“Movie?” I asked.
Lisa pointed to the portable screen and projector that was situated near the center of the gym. “They told us that we’d be watching some stupid compilation film about the sports program.”
“Were those their exact words?” I asked knowingly.
“Not likely. It was more like, ‘Here’s what you’re all cheering for!’ and, ‘The team really needs your support this year!’ What a load.”
“Yeah, just like last year,” I said. From the corner of the gym I saw Principal Reynolds, walking with Mr. Gilmore at his side. They scanned the crowd, and once their eyes fixed on me, they began walking towards me. Ron noticed their approach and stuffed the stink bombs back in his pocket, making sure not to break them open just yet. The two faculty members climbed up the bleachers and stood next to me.
“Hi, Cassie, right?” Principal Reynolds asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Mr. Gilmore tells me that you’ve seen Timothy Geist today. Is that true?”
“Yeah, he was following me around after class today.”
“I see,” Principal Reynolds said. “Did he seem to be acting out of the ordinary?”
“Well, ‘out of the ordinary’ is kind of an understatement,” I said. “He kept going on about being a secret agent and trying to stop some kind of evil plot, or something.”
Principal Reynolds rubbed the bridge of his nose, blinking his eyes tightly. “Cassie, did he tell you where he was going after he left you?”
“Well, somehow he got it onto his head that I’m helping him, so he said that he was going to let me take care of whatever evil plot he was talking about, then he went off somewhere. That’s all I know.”
“Okay then,” Principal Reynolds said. “Thanks for your help, Cassie.” As he walked off with Mr. Gilmore, I heard Mr. Reynolds saying something about posting teachers near all the entrances to the gym. I turned to Lisa and shrugged. We chatted for a while about classes and our plans for Thanksgiving vacation, and for the moment forgot all about Timothy and about Ron’s stink bombs.
Several minutes into our conversation, the lights in the gymnasium dimmed, and all eyes turned towards the projector and screen in the middle of the floor. Some kind of overly dramatic music cued up, signaling the start of the compilation film. I sighed, resigning myself to the fate of needless school spirit, when in the darkness I saw a figure emerge from the entrance to the boy’s locker room. Even in the dim lights I recognized a tuxedo.
“Oh, no, It’s Timothy!” I hissed. Lisa turned her eyes to where I was looking and saw him, too. In his right hand he held what looked like a basketball.
“What’s he doing with that ball?” she asked.
As if he was trying to answer her question specifically, he reared back and heaved the ball at the projector. He hit his target, and the projector went blank. But the basketball was not finished with its flight, and glanced off the projector towards us. Ron, who had stood up to throw the stink bombs, quickly dodged out of the way as the ball whizzed towards his head. In the commotion the stink bombs fell from his hands and scattered. They did not break when they landed, but I was too absorbed in the scene unfolding before me to notice that one of them slipped down the back of my sweater.
The lights came back on and revealed Principal Reynolds rushing towards Timothy, who had a satisfied expression on his face. Principal Reynolds was lobster red and clenched his fists as he spoke. “Geist! What on God’s green earth are you doing?!”
The smile did not fade from Timothy’s face. “You know very well what I’m doing, Principal Reynolds. I saw through your evil plan from the start. There’s only one reason that you could possibly have for forcibly amassing all the students into the gymnasium at the same time. You plotted to brainwash them all and turn them into your minions! Obviously there are subliminal messages in the film you were about to show. But your evil scheme has failed, has it not? A pity you don’t realize that justice will always triumph. And today, justice has been carried out by me, Timothy Geist, Codename: Poltergeist!”
Dumbfounded, Principal Reynolds just stood there gaping. Snickering could be heard among the students, as well as comments denouncing the tuxedo-wearing freshman before them as a dweeb, dork, geek, moron, or just about any other negative connotation that can possibly be attached to a high school student. I just sat there shaking my head.
Proving that there is no God, Timothy found me in the stands. “Capital work, Agent Marigold!” he shouted loud enough for the whole gym to hear. “You kept them occupied long enough for me to implement my own plan. I, and indeed this whole school owes you a debt of gratitude.”
Is he... is he talking to you?” Lisa asked.
“Don’t,” I mumbled. “Just don’t look at him.” Mortified, I sighed heavily and leaned back in my seat.
The crackling sound I heard as my back hit the bleacher behind me was accompanied by the feeling of a wet spot growing on my sweater. I wasn’t quite sure what would cause something like that off the top of my head. Then I noticed the smell. An oppressive, sulfurous stench that invaded my nostrils and maliciously battered my olfactory nerve like it intended to wage a war within my nose. It did not take long for the smell to reach others.
“God!” Lisa said, recoiling and covering her nose with the sleeve of her sweater. “You stink!”
“Oh, no!” Ron exclaimed. “You must have broke one of the stink bombs!”
The bleachers around me cleared as everyone tried to get far away from the horrific aroma that emanated from my back. Shouts of disgust and panic arose from the masses as I became ground zero for the acrid smell that began to spread its rotten tendrils to every corner of the gym. Helpless, I just stood there, knowing that no matter where I ran I wouldn’t be able to escape the evil odor. I held my nose and tried my best to endure.
Timothy put a hand over his mouth. “Chemical warfare, eh, Principal Reynolds? You’re even more twisted than I imagined!”
“This is all your fault!” Principal Reynolds screamed, finally losing his cool, along with any control he may have had over the situation. The smell began to thicken in the back of his throat and he began to cough. “If you *cough* hadn’t thrown that *cough* stupid basketball, *cough* none of this would have *cough* happened!”
“And these unsuspecting students would have fallen under your diabolical control!” Timothy replied. “If anyone is to blame here, it’s you!”
Before Principal Reynolds could respond, Timothy rushed over to where I sat in the bleachers. “Don’t worry, Agent Marigold,” he said, holding a hand out to me. “I’ll take you back to headquarters and we’ll find an antidote for this vile toxin.”
“Oh, my God, is he friends with Cassie?” I heard from somewhere around me.
“Maybe she’s his girlfriend!” an astonished voice said.
“Hey, this loser is Cassie’s boyfriend!” another voice chimed in. The declaration sparked laughing and chanting from all sides that were bent on connecting me romantically with the diminutive clod that stood with his hand stretched out to me. I angrily swatted his hand away, feeling my rationality fade away and give way to blind rage. In front of my friends—no, in front of the whole school—he had ridiculed me and made me the butt of everybody’s jokes. My social status had swiftly been flushed down the toilet, leaving me with a shattered reputation and no hope of ever joining another social clique before graduation. All because of some delusional freak who wouldn’t leave me alone. There was only one way to save face in this situation; only one way to prove to everyone that I was still one of them, and thought as ill of Timothy as they all did.
I was going to have to beat the living piss out of him.
I stood up and pushed Timothy backwards. He stumbled down the bleachers and sprawled out on the gym floor. As he slowly got to his feet I loudly stamped towards him, feeling as though my insides were on fire. At that moment, I thought of nothing but inflicting as much pain on him as possible. I thought of how good it would feel to have him at my mercy, to stand over his bruised and battered body as he begged me to stop. But I would refuse his pleas, making sure to draw out his torture for untold amounts of time before leaving him in a bloody heap of quivering flesh. The fire of rage consumed me, and it burned for the ass-whooping of Timothy Geist!
“Agent Marigold, is something the matter?” he asked. “You accidentally shoved me down the bleacher stairs.”
My fists shook. “You stupid, stupid... stupid, stupid, stupid... stupid... stupid, stupid, stupid... stupid, stupid, STUPID!” When you get really angry, your brain has a tendency to get stuck on a single word.
Timothy saw the anger in my face, and came to a realization. Or what passes for realization in his convoluted and frightening mind. “This can’t be! Agent Marigold, Principal Reynolds has already succeeded in brainwashing you! Your actions are not your own. Please, just listen to my voice!”
The sound of his voice being the furthest thing from what I wanted to hear at the moment, I lunged at him. I wrapped my hands around his neck and began to shake him. “You! You must die now!” I shouted.
I don’t remember much about what happened after that. When I finally regained my senses I was lying down in the nurse’s office, being carefully watched over by several teachers. I pieced together accounts of what happened from witnesses. Apparently, Principal Reynolds struggled mightily to free Timothy from my grasp. Even when he had separated us and Mr. Gilmore had pinned my arms behind my back, while at the same time desperately trying to hold his nose closed, I was still writhing and screaming something about drinking Timothy’s blood and feasting upon his carcass like a wolverine. Some accounts even describe me gnawing on Principal Reynolds’ leg to get at Timothy, but those reports were never substantiated. Though, I do remember having a salty taste in my mouth when I came to.
After the pep rally incident, Principal Reynolds made me see the school counselor once a week just to talk, and make sure that my rage against Timothy was an isolated occurrence. Principal Reynolds tried desperately to have Mayor Geist transfer his son to a different school, preferably one with an extensive psychiatric program, but he would hear none of it. After all, it’s an election year, and he wants to avoid bad press at all costs.
Timothy doesn’t bother me anymore. From what I understand, Principal Reynolds told him specifically to keep his distance from me. Although, lately I’ve heard unsettling rumors about Timothy. They say he’s been muttering something about picking the marigold from the garden of evil. As for me, it took me a good week to convince everyone that Timothy and I were not “an item,” and that I actually despise him more than anything on the planet. After the way I acted toward him in the gym, few doubted my claim. In fact, I even got a date for the prom coming up this spring. I’ve got my dress all picked out, and I really can’t wait.
Oh, and I told my date not to wear a tuxedo.
— END —
“Slow down, Agent Marigold,” he said. “We would be wise not to hurriedly rush into action without devising a proper plan. I suggest we rest here and take stock of the situation.”
“You take stock. I’m going.” My voice came out very bland, being that I was through trying to argue with the little shrimp.
“Agent Marigold, I must insist. Yes, there are times when direct action can be the bane of all evil, but when dealing with someone as dastardly as Principal Reynolds, it is important to have a well thought-out strategy. Believe me when I say that any reckless behavior on either of our parts could spell the end of this operation.”
I made no reply as I continued down the hall. Up until now his eccentricity had been strangely compelling, but the novelty had worn off, and my only focus was putting as much distance between the two of us as possible. As I was about to round a corner, I almost bumped into Mr. Gilmore.
“Oh, sorry about that,” I said. I had English class with Mr. Gilmore last year.
“No problem,” said Mr. Gilmore. “Say, the pep rally is about to start. How come you’re not at the gym?”
I didn’t really feel like explaining about Timothy, since I wasn’t in the mood for another headache. “My locker got stuck, so it took me a while to get my books. I was just on my way there now.”
“Is anybody out here with you?”
I looked back to where Timothy was standing, but he was no longer there. “Well, Tim Geist was with me, but I guess he went off somewhere.”
Mr. Gilmore’s face turned white. “Did... did you say Tim Geist?”
“Yeah.”
Mr. Gilmore started to fidget. “Oh, this is not good. Who knows what that kid’ll do when no one’s watching. I’d better run and tell Reynolds. You go on ahead to the gym, okay?”
“Alright,” I said. Mr. Gilmore nearly sprinted down the hallway in the direction of Principal Reynolds’ office, muttering something under his breath that I couldn’t quite catch. As he rounded a corner out of sight, I was left standing alone in the hallway, and couldn’t help but wonder where Timothy had gone off to. He was standing not twenty feet behind me not a few seconds ago.
My questions were answered when the door of a nearby supply closet flung open, spilling a mop and several cleaning supplies. Out stepped Timothy, who smoothed the front of his tuxedo. “Now I understand your plan,” he said to me. “You want all the attention focused on me so you can slip into the gym unnoticed and thwart Principal Reynolds. I must say that I am unaccustomed to being used for diversionary tactics, but under the circumstances I will follow your plan. So, I’ll leave it to you to get to the gym while I draw the attentions of the teachers. The free world is counting on you, Agent Marigold. Good luck!” With that he turned on his heels and ran off in the opposite direction, leaving me alone in the hallway once again.
I was too astounded at my good fortune to move. Just a moment ago he was stuck to me like a barnacle, and now he was willfully going away to play somewhere else! Finally realizing my regained freedom, I nearly clicked my heels as I turned around and skipped to the gym, all too glad to embrace the mindless screaming of the pep rally.
The bleachers were already full when I got there. I wondered if there was any place at all left for me to sit, since a handful of students seemed to be wandering around aimlessly, gazing up at all the occupied seats like puppies in a pet store eyeing the customers. I was about to join them, when out of the corner of my eye I saw someone frantically waving her hands. It was Lisa. She then motioned me to come over to the empty seat she had saved for me with her backpack. I climbed up the bleachers and with a lot of “excuse me-s,” I was finally able to sit down next to her.
“Where have you been?” she asked. “I was beginning to wonder if you didn’t just decide to skip out.”
“I wish I could,” I said. I envied the seniors and their cars. Even though the student lot was cordoned off until the end of the pep rally, most of them thought ahead and parked in the YMCA parking lot across the street, and were able to bolt after last period.
“Yeah, me too. So, what kept you?”
Finally having a peer I could complain to extensively, I told her everything that had happened with Timothy. She listened to my story, her brow furrowed in disbelief. When I finished regaling her with his screwball antics and gross misinterpretations, she snorted. “I heard he was a troublemaker, but a secret agent? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Trust me, this guy was a total mental case. I’m just glad that he finally decided to leave me alone.”
“So, what do you think happened to him?” Lisa asked.
“Who cares?” I replied. “I hope Principal Reynolds caught the little troll and locked him up for the rest of the day. Now all I have to do is endure this stupid pep rally, and I’ll be home free for four days.”
Someone behind us tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw Ron Grable. He’s a really bad student, and often gets in-school suspension for doing stuff like smoking out on the back walkway during classes and writing on the bathroom walls. He actually asked me out about a month ago, but I turned him down because he’s so obnoxious. I was assuming that he was tapping me on the shoulder to talk about wanting to go out somewhere. But his smile was mischievous as he spoke.
“Don’t worry, the pep rally isn’t going to last very long at all this year. In fact, I’ll get us out of here in a few minutes.” He held out his had, which contained a wadded up paper towel. He peeled back the towel and revealed three plastic capsules with a yellow liquid sloshing around in them. “Stink bombs. Once the pep rally starts I’ll toss them down onto the floor.”
“Eww, get those things away from me!” Lisa squealed. “I don’t want any of that stuff getting on me. I’ll smell like a dead skunk!”
“It’s not like I’m going to throw them on anybody!” Ron said. “Once they dim the lights for the movie I’ll toss ‘em.”
“Movie?” I asked.
Lisa pointed to the portable screen and projector that was situated near the center of the gym. “They told us that we’d be watching some stupid compilation film about the sports program.”
“Were those their exact words?” I asked knowingly.
“Not likely. It was more like, ‘Here’s what you’re all cheering for!’ and, ‘The team really needs your support this year!’ What a load.”
“Yeah, just like last year,” I said. From the corner of the gym I saw Principal Reynolds, walking with Mr. Gilmore at his side. They scanned the crowd, and once their eyes fixed on me, they began walking towards me. Ron noticed their approach and stuffed the stink bombs back in his pocket, making sure not to break them open just yet. The two faculty members climbed up the bleachers and stood next to me.
“Hi, Cassie, right?” Principal Reynolds asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Mr. Gilmore tells me that you’ve seen Timothy Geist today. Is that true?”
“Yeah, he was following me around after class today.”
“I see,” Principal Reynolds said. “Did he seem to be acting out of the ordinary?”
“Well, ‘out of the ordinary’ is kind of an understatement,” I said. “He kept going on about being a secret agent and trying to stop some kind of evil plot, or something.”
Principal Reynolds rubbed the bridge of his nose, blinking his eyes tightly. “Cassie, did he tell you where he was going after he left you?”
“Well, somehow he got it onto his head that I’m helping him, so he said that he was going to let me take care of whatever evil plot he was talking about, then he went off somewhere. That’s all I know.”
“Okay then,” Principal Reynolds said. “Thanks for your help, Cassie.” As he walked off with Mr. Gilmore, I heard Mr. Reynolds saying something about posting teachers near all the entrances to the gym. I turned to Lisa and shrugged. We chatted for a while about classes and our plans for Thanksgiving vacation, and for the moment forgot all about Timothy and about Ron’s stink bombs.
Several minutes into our conversation, the lights in the gymnasium dimmed, and all eyes turned towards the projector and screen in the middle of the floor. Some kind of overly dramatic music cued up, signaling the start of the compilation film. I sighed, resigning myself to the fate of needless school spirit, when in the darkness I saw a figure emerge from the entrance to the boy’s locker room. Even in the dim lights I recognized a tuxedo.
“Oh, no, It’s Timothy!” I hissed. Lisa turned her eyes to where I was looking and saw him, too. In his right hand he held what looked like a basketball.
“What’s he doing with that ball?” she asked.
As if he was trying to answer her question specifically, he reared back and heaved the ball at the projector. He hit his target, and the projector went blank. But the basketball was not finished with its flight, and glanced off the projector towards us. Ron, who had stood up to throw the stink bombs, quickly dodged out of the way as the ball whizzed towards his head. In the commotion the stink bombs fell from his hands and scattered. They did not break when they landed, but I was too absorbed in the scene unfolding before me to notice that one of them slipped down the back of my sweater.
The lights came back on and revealed Principal Reynolds rushing towards Timothy, who had a satisfied expression on his face. Principal Reynolds was lobster red and clenched his fists as he spoke. “Geist! What on God’s green earth are you doing?!”
The smile did not fade from Timothy’s face. “You know very well what I’m doing, Principal Reynolds. I saw through your evil plan from the start. There’s only one reason that you could possibly have for forcibly amassing all the students into the gymnasium at the same time. You plotted to brainwash them all and turn them into your minions! Obviously there are subliminal messages in the film you were about to show. But your evil scheme has failed, has it not? A pity you don’t realize that justice will always triumph. And today, justice has been carried out by me, Timothy Geist, Codename: Poltergeist!”
Dumbfounded, Principal Reynolds just stood there gaping. Snickering could be heard among the students, as well as comments denouncing the tuxedo-wearing freshman before them as a dweeb, dork, geek, moron, or just about any other negative connotation that can possibly be attached to a high school student. I just sat there shaking my head.
Proving that there is no God, Timothy found me in the stands. “Capital work, Agent Marigold!” he shouted loud enough for the whole gym to hear. “You kept them occupied long enough for me to implement my own plan. I, and indeed this whole school owes you a debt of gratitude.”
Is he... is he talking to you?” Lisa asked.
“Don’t,” I mumbled. “Just don’t look at him.” Mortified, I sighed heavily and leaned back in my seat.
The crackling sound I heard as my back hit the bleacher behind me was accompanied by the feeling of a wet spot growing on my sweater. I wasn’t quite sure what would cause something like that off the top of my head. Then I noticed the smell. An oppressive, sulfurous stench that invaded my nostrils and maliciously battered my olfactory nerve like it intended to wage a war within my nose. It did not take long for the smell to reach others.
“God!” Lisa said, recoiling and covering her nose with the sleeve of her sweater. “You stink!”
“Oh, no!” Ron exclaimed. “You must have broke one of the stink bombs!”
The bleachers around me cleared as everyone tried to get far away from the horrific aroma that emanated from my back. Shouts of disgust and panic arose from the masses as I became ground zero for the acrid smell that began to spread its rotten tendrils to every corner of the gym. Helpless, I just stood there, knowing that no matter where I ran I wouldn’t be able to escape the evil odor. I held my nose and tried my best to endure.
Timothy put a hand over his mouth. “Chemical warfare, eh, Principal Reynolds? You’re even more twisted than I imagined!”
“This is all your fault!” Principal Reynolds screamed, finally losing his cool, along with any control he may have had over the situation. The smell began to thicken in the back of his throat and he began to cough. “If you *cough* hadn’t thrown that *cough* stupid basketball, *cough* none of this would have *cough* happened!”
“And these unsuspecting students would have fallen under your diabolical control!” Timothy replied. “If anyone is to blame here, it’s you!”
Before Principal Reynolds could respond, Timothy rushed over to where I sat in the bleachers. “Don’t worry, Agent Marigold,” he said, holding a hand out to me. “I’ll take you back to headquarters and we’ll find an antidote for this vile toxin.”
“Oh, my God, is he friends with Cassie?” I heard from somewhere around me.
“Maybe she’s his girlfriend!” an astonished voice said.
“Hey, this loser is Cassie’s boyfriend!” another voice chimed in. The declaration sparked laughing and chanting from all sides that were bent on connecting me romantically with the diminutive clod that stood with his hand stretched out to me. I angrily swatted his hand away, feeling my rationality fade away and give way to blind rage. In front of my friends—no, in front of the whole school—he had ridiculed me and made me the butt of everybody’s jokes. My social status had swiftly been flushed down the toilet, leaving me with a shattered reputation and no hope of ever joining another social clique before graduation. All because of some delusional freak who wouldn’t leave me alone. There was only one way to save face in this situation; only one way to prove to everyone that I was still one of them, and thought as ill of Timothy as they all did.
I was going to have to beat the living piss out of him.
I stood up and pushed Timothy backwards. He stumbled down the bleachers and sprawled out on the gym floor. As he slowly got to his feet I loudly stamped towards him, feeling as though my insides were on fire. At that moment, I thought of nothing but inflicting as much pain on him as possible. I thought of how good it would feel to have him at my mercy, to stand over his bruised and battered body as he begged me to stop. But I would refuse his pleas, making sure to draw out his torture for untold amounts of time before leaving him in a bloody heap of quivering flesh. The fire of rage consumed me, and it burned for the ass-whooping of Timothy Geist!
“Agent Marigold, is something the matter?” he asked. “You accidentally shoved me down the bleacher stairs.”
My fists shook. “You stupid, stupid... stupid, stupid, stupid... stupid... stupid, stupid, stupid... stupid, stupid, STUPID!” When you get really angry, your brain has a tendency to get stuck on a single word.
Timothy saw the anger in my face, and came to a realization. Or what passes for realization in his convoluted and frightening mind. “This can’t be! Agent Marigold, Principal Reynolds has already succeeded in brainwashing you! Your actions are not your own. Please, just listen to my voice!”
The sound of his voice being the furthest thing from what I wanted to hear at the moment, I lunged at him. I wrapped my hands around his neck and began to shake him. “You! You must die now!” I shouted.
I don’t remember much about what happened after that. When I finally regained my senses I was lying down in the nurse’s office, being carefully watched over by several teachers. I pieced together accounts of what happened from witnesses. Apparently, Principal Reynolds struggled mightily to free Timothy from my grasp. Even when he had separated us and Mr. Gilmore had pinned my arms behind my back, while at the same time desperately trying to hold his nose closed, I was still writhing and screaming something about drinking Timothy’s blood and feasting upon his carcass like a wolverine. Some accounts even describe me gnawing on Principal Reynolds’ leg to get at Timothy, but those reports were never substantiated. Though, I do remember having a salty taste in my mouth when I came to.
After the pep rally incident, Principal Reynolds made me see the school counselor once a week just to talk, and make sure that my rage against Timothy was an isolated occurrence. Principal Reynolds tried desperately to have Mayor Geist transfer his son to a different school, preferably one with an extensive psychiatric program, but he would hear none of it. After all, it’s an election year, and he wants to avoid bad press at all costs.
Timothy doesn’t bother me anymore. From what I understand, Principal Reynolds told him specifically to keep his distance from me. Although, lately I’ve heard unsettling rumors about Timothy. They say he’s been muttering something about picking the marigold from the garden of evil. As for me, it took me a good week to convince everyone that Timothy and I were not “an item,” and that I actually despise him more than anything on the planet. After the way I acted toward him in the gym, few doubted my claim. In fact, I even got a date for the prom coming up this spring. I’ve got my dress all picked out, and I really can’t wait.
Oh, and I told my date not to wear a tuxedo.
— END —