Speed Racer Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love, Life, and Reincarnations ❯ High School Days and Troubles ( Chapter 6 )

If there was anything that the O'Connell clan could agree on it was mornings were always hectic. Alarm clocks rang at various times, the dogs barked and whined to be let out then back in, and everyone rushed around like mad to get showered and dressed, to grab work and school supplies, and to eat breakfast before rushing out the door to get to work and to school on time. Except for Torie O'Connell. She stayed home to work, the benefits of being a professional writer, the manager of the successful all-girl rock band, the Misfits, an owner and part-owner of six small businesses, home owner of five houses, and part time educator. Cup of herbal tea in hand, she sat down at her desk, and pulled out her pen and paper to write. Fortunately for her, the Misfits were taking a break and she'd hired more than competent managers to keep an eye on the stores.

To say that the house had become quiet since her husband and children had left would have been untrue. Ten minutes after they had left and she began her work, Torie got back up, hooked herself up to the hands-free phone, and turned the stereo on. Living with a husband, four children, six dogs, and seven cats made it relatively easy to work amid distraction. As the stereo crooned out Manic Monday by the Bangles, Torie set to work, humming and singing along. The day had had such a promising start.

* * *

"Good morning, class!"

"Good morning, Mrs. Thomason!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as the class spoke as one, like they were first-graders instead of freshman in high school. Or was it more like Harry Potter's first flying class? He couldn't tell but he also couldn't complain too much about the composition teacher. She presented a challenge to him when his English teachers in middle school hadn't. He could still Sesshomaru talking about her and the way she taught. And so far . . . Sesshomaru had been right.

"Before we begin today's lessons, I have a couple of announcements to make. First, there'll be an assembly in the auditorium at two. Student council representatives and class officers will be nominated at that time so all freshmen are required to attend. Second, we have a new student joining us today. Catherine . . ."

At the mention of her name, a chestnut-haired girl stepped to the center of the room, her doe eyes taking in everything and everyone. With her matching green skirt and sweater-vest, green head-band, white blouse, and all out prim and proper appearance, Inuyasha had a single word to describe her: preppy. He also surmised that she had rich parents or, at the very least, extremely popular parents. Her "I'm-superior-you're-inferior" glance over the room indicated as much and he made a mental note to stay away from her. Other than his older brothers' friends, he didn't get along too well with preps and jocks. People like them didn't like people like him and he'd long since figured it had to do with freedom of expression. Their parents wanted them to be a certain way and they were bound to be that way. His parents just wanted him to be himself and that allowed him certain freedoms when it came to how he dressed, and what activities and studies he engaged in. Inuyasha slouched in his chair, doodling idly on his book cover as Mrs. Thomason continued.

"This is Catherine Racer. Her family just moved here from Farmington Hill, Michigan, so please take the time to make her feel welcome. Show her around and help her get acquainted with the school. Catherine, please take a seat . . ."

Inuyasha fought back a sigh as the click-clacking of Catherine's shoes made their way towards the empty desk next to him then stopping as she sat down. Hopefully she'd be one of the quiet preps and not bother him. He hated to be bothered, especially when it felt like he was light-years ahead of the rest of the students.

"Now open your books to page forty-five. Today, we'll be looking at sentence structure and the proper way to diagram sentences . . . Catherine, just share a book with someone today . . . Inuyasha, could you please help her? Thank you . . ."

Catherine scooted closer to him as Mrs. Thomason's voice droned on. The rest of the hour flew by. Before the class had ended, Inuyasha had walked up to the teacher's desk and turned in the day's assignment and then some. Mrs. Thomason laughed as she took the papers from him.

"I'm going to have start assigning you extra, Inuyasha, like I did your older brother. I can't keep up with you!" she exclaimed. "Have you considered becoming an Honors student?"

"Not really . . . I don't even know if I'm going to take the next semester's English class . . . Depends on if it's interesting or not."

"Have your mom teach you instead?" she winked. "Well, just think about it. You don't have to go with the entire Honors program, just certain classes. I think you're more than qualified. If you're interested, I'll be more than happy to speak for you to the Honors director." She handed him some papers as the bell rang, and everyone got up to leave. Inuyasha ran back to his desk and saw Catherine still working on the problem. He made a split decision.

"You can borrow my book for tonight. Just bring it back with you tomorrow, okay?"

Catherine nodded, her eyes wide with surprise. Inuyasha headed out, catching up with his girlfriend, Trysten, a girl with short, kinky blonde hair and cobalt-grey eyes. Her face had been powdered all white, and black and grey eye-shadow surrounded her eyes. They wore the same shirts: black tees claiming in bold white letters that they were Hogwarts drop-outs. He noticed that she wore a long, flowing black skirt, instead of black jeans, like what he wore, and he smiled.

"Making it through English?" she inquired, her hand locking with his and she winked. He had started to reply when a very powerful shove violently separated him from Trysten and sent him stumbling towards the door of someone's locker . . .

* * *

Torie glanced at her watch as the phone rang then she frowned. 'Something's not right,' she thought as she pushed on a button the receiver.

"Hello, O'Connell residence. Torie speaking."

"Hello, Mrs. O'Connell. This is Mrs. Williams at West Hall High . . ."

"Ah, Mrs. Williams," she greeted, smiling a little. "What's happened?" The school hardly ever called her home within the first hour of classes starting. Not unless Inuyasha had something he shouldn't have, like a candy bar or a soda, or if Anna had an extreme asthma attack.

"You never were one to mess around, Torie . . ."

"Not when it comes to my children, Denise. What's happened? Is everything okay?"

"It appears that Inuyasha and Ryan were involved in some kind of an altercation with some new students. One of them allegedly shoved Inuyasha into an open locker door and Ryan saw it, starting the fight immediately after. We're not doubting the part of Inuyasha hitting the open locker door. In fact, that's why we're calling you. We need you to come and take Inuyasha to the ER. The nurse thinks he may need stitches but we have no one to take him. Jeff's still on medical leave," she explained.

"I'll be there in fifteen," Torie replied, slipping on her sandals and grabbing her keys. Tossing the phone on the table and picking up her cell, she headed out, dialing her husband's work number as she went.

As she had told Denise Williams, Torie arrived at the high school in fifteen minutes. She parked her little Ford Tempo in front of an unusual but sleek-looking sports car and dashed into the building, a torrent of emotions washing over her. Fear and worry for her youngest son -- living with a diabetic wasn't always easy -- and anger. Anger at the new students for shoving her baby into a locker door and anger at her other son for starting a fight.

'He knows better,' she thought, entering the office. Another couple, a younger-looking one at that, stood at the front desk, their expressions echoing the same anger that she felt, but she paid no attention to them. Instead, she rushed by them, heading directly for the nurse's office. Before she could enter, the principal, a Mr. Dean Stanton, flagged her down.

"Mrs. O'Connell . . ."

"What is it, Mr. Stanton? I need to get to my son."

"I know," he replied. "And I'll talk with you later about Ryan. Right now, I want you to stop and take a deep breath before you go in there. I know you. You're worried, probably running on very little sleep as it is, and you're liable to break down if you don't take that deep breath."

For a moment, she just glared at him, his words painfully true. She was on the verge of breaking down. She just didn't know entirely why. Grudgingly, she inhaled slowly then exhaled, some of her tension slowly leaving.

"You're welcome," he winked. "Now to deal with the Racers."

He moved away and Torie entered the nurse's office. What she saw fueled her anger even more.

Inuyasha sat by the desk, both hands holding bandages over his nose and his left cheek. Several gauze pads soaked with blood were in the trash can. He fought valiantly not to cry - she saw it in the way his eyes shimmered. The nurse looked up when she entered and offered her a weak smile.

"I think we got most of the bleeding to stop, Mrs. O'Connell," she began, "but I'd rather not take any chances, especially with him having diabetes."

"How bad is it?" she inquired.

Carefully, her son lowered his hands and Torie flinched. A thin gash ran from the top of his nose to underneath his left eye. The bleeding, for the most part, had stopped but it still oozed.

"Here," the nurse handed Inuyasha some more gauze. The teen automatically threw the old ones away and applied the new. He still looked miserable.

"Thanks for calling me," Torie stated, holding her arm out to Inuyasha. "I better get him to the ER. Just to be on the safe side. Looks like it needs stitches anyway."

"Of course," the nurse smiled knowingly. "I'll talk with you later, Torie."

She just nodded as she led Inuyasha into the main office. The couple from before had disappeared. She heard raised voices coming from Dean's office but, as of the moment, they weren't any of her concern. Denise handed her the sign-out sheet, which she immediately filled out. Then she and here son were out the door and on their way to the ER.

* * *

Sesshomaru sat down at the lunch table and sighed. The entire senior class buzzed with the news that two of the new seniors, Danielle and Greg Racer, had started a fight with two freshmen. And, according to the buzz, the two freshmen had been his brothers, Ryan and Inuyasha.

'Mother's probably burning a fuse over this,' he thought as he stared at his sandwich. If rumour was to be believed, Inuyasha wouldn't be in trouble. He'd been shoved into an open locker door and had to be taken to the nurse's office. Ryan, on the other hand, would be - it was said that he threw a punch at Greg.

"Hey, Sessh," a sullen voice greeted. Sesshomaru raised his head as Ryan plopped down in front of him with his tray.

"Rough day?" he inquired lightly, causing the freshman to snort.

"Oh no. Not at all," Ryan jibed. "Only the entire freshman class is cheering because I took on a new student and set him in his place. A senior at that." He paused then sighed. "And all I've been doing is worrying about my little brother."

"What exactly happened?"

"The jerk shoved Inuyasha into an open locker door, and continued to walk on by. He had this smirk on his face, like he'd done it on purpose."

"So you confronted him about it."

"Yeah, and he shoved me, like he was some sort of big shot and he could get away with it. It didn't even matter that he'd hurt someone else. So I punched him."

Sesshomaru chuckled. He'd heard both his mother and his father speak like that many times and hearing Ryan say it in the same manner . . . It'd been spoken like a true O'Connell.

"Mom came and got Inuyasha, he was bleeding that bad. I finally got a hold of her on her cell and found out how he was doing."

"And?" he prompted.

"He's out of school for the day. I have to get his homework assignments and I'm also in trouble," he sighed, "but Mom's calm enough to be objective and hear what I have to say."

Sesshomaru nodded as he listened to his brother. It was as he suspected. Inuyasha bore no blame and Ryan had minimal. As long as he'd admitted to what he'd done, Ryan's punishment would be less severe than what it would have been if he'd denied any involvement.

"Did he need stitches?"

"Yeah but Mom didn't say how many. Anyway, I see Robyn waving at me. I'll see you after school."

His younger brother go up and went to sit with his friends just as his own friends had approached the table. The rest of the lunch hour passed by quietly, and Sesshomaru went to his next class with his girlfriend, Austen, a tall brunette with blue-green eyes. As was his wont, he sat in the front with Austen next to him. They were talking quietly when two students - a guy and a girl- stormed into the room and headed for the back. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at the one, the male, and hid a smirk. Their appearances told him everything he needed to know. She wore a white blouse, a matching pink sweater-vest and skirt, and loafers. He wore a white shirt, black dress shoes, and a matching blue vest and slacks. Heads held high, they probably had enough pride - and money - to choke a horse or two. What had really grabbed Sesshomaru's eyes was a fist-sized bruise forming around the guy's left eye.

"Nice right hook, little brother. Father would be proud. Mother, too,' he thought as the teacher, a Mr. Kim Jugger, walked into the room, and the rest of the class filed in. Without another thought, he pulled out his Middle-East history book and notepad, ready for the day's lessons.

* * *

'I should've just stayed in bed,' Torie sighed to herself as she gazed hard at the couple in front of her. Greg and Trixie Racer. The parents of the senior who had shoved her youngest son into an open locker door.

Next to her stood her husband, Ryan O'Connell I, but she kept her attention on Greg and Trixie. She couldn't afford to take her eyes from them. Tensions were already reaching the sky between them, and it all centered on the child who bore no blame in the situation at hand.

Torie already knew what had occurred that morning. Inuyasha had told both her and her husband while they were in the ER. Sure, she'd still ask Little Ryan about it when he got him and she'd already meshed out the punishment in her mind. She'd talk to Ryan about when they got a moment alone before the rest of their children got home from school but she was not one to mess around. Breaking school rules had consequences, after all.

An arm wrapped around her shoulder and she relaxed slightly. Ryan always knew what to do to calm her down, even if only for a moment.

Greg and Trixie Racer. She'd heard their names before, from George, her neighbor across the street, and she knew that they were new to the neighborhood. Their entire family had moved with the family of six - his parents, his older brother, his younger brother, and another couple who, according to what he had seen as they moved in, seemed to love working on cars. They were a racing family and had earned a considerable fortune by building custom cars and racing them. Torie had never heard of the clan but then she happened to follow the NASCAR stock car and stock truck racing. This family seemed to be into Formula-1.

'They sounded like such nice people, too,' she mused as she took a deep breath. The time had come for her to finally say something against the barrage of abuse the man in the dark blue suit had hurled against her son. 'Here goes nothing.'

"First of all, Mr. Racer," she began, feeling out the right words that she wanted, "I can assure you that my son is not some thug who constantly beats people up and vandalizes personal property. I know where my children are at at all times. That doesn't mean to say that they don't get into trouble from time to time because they do. They're children, after all. But my children know what we expect from them. If my son tells me he never said anything to your son to warrant being shoved into a locker, I believe him. Besides which, they're in school. Your son should not have shoved my son to begin with, for whatever reason."

"Mrs. O'Connell," his wife started to speak up. Torie held up a hand, cutting her off.

"I'm not finished, Mrs. Racer. I've heard what you've both had to say. Now you'll listen to what I have to say."

The younger woman glared at her but said no more. Torie lowered her hand.

"Thank you. Now, the school has rules. Rules that the faculty has to abide by and that the students have to abide by. Believe me, I know. I've been an educator for many years. I've taught on a full-time basis. Your son chose to shove my son into a locker. Why he did that, I don't know. I can hazard a few guesses but that's what they'd be. Guesses. Your son has to deal with the consequences of his actions, the same as my other son, the one who punched him. That's just the way it is, the way it has been, and the way it shall be. Finally, and this is on a more personal note, I don't ever want to hear you running down a child whom you know nothing about. I'm getting the impression you're judging my son based on his appearance alone and I'm not going to stand for it. Do it again and you will be answering to me. Do I make myself clear?"

"Mrs. O'Connell," Mr. Racer sighed. Torie's eyes narrowed dangerously. That tone. That chastising tone. Dammit, he was thirty-eight and she forty-five! She'd been a parent for fifteen years and had even helped others to take care of their children, including the care of her baby sister. No one took that tone with her. Ever. Not if they knew what was good for them.

"I said do I make myself clear?" she growled softly, punctuating each word slowly. Both Racers blinked, as if they were unused to someone challenging them. Or, if she read them correctly, at least having another parent challenge them.

'Well, I'm not like any parent they've ever met. I believe in my children. They better get used to it. And if they have any common sense, they won't press the issue.'

They stood that way for a few moments, eyes never wavering. Eventually Greg Racer scowled and wrapped an arm around his wife.

"I guess you'll just have to learn the hard way," he stated, steering his wife towards the same white sports car Torie had seen earlier at the school. With a roar and a squeal, the sleek machine pulled out of their driveway then was gone. Torie let out a deep sigh, her husband hugging her close now. And the day had started out so nicely.