Chapter 5 Falling

Peter grabbed a note from his locker and headed straight for class. He walked steadily but not fast; no one could tell he was late. In no time, he was at the door. The class was noisy, and he knew Mr Sanders wasn't there yet. He walked in with his head down and headed towards a direction in a way that would tell anyone watching that he was used to it. He sat behind everyone else, his desk is quite distant from anyone else, and at a spot where he could get a perfect view of his age-long crush, Jules Davis.

Soon, a figure appeared at the door, and the noisy class fell dumb almost instantly. Mr. Sanders wore a multi-colored that contrasted with the colorful shirts he was known for. The students said his fashion sense was as dead as his teachings. No one found history interesting, especially when Mr. Sanders taught it.

"Today, we'll be discussing World War II," he started after a minute of clearing his throat. He did it often as he spoke; it was a habit. "But before we do that, I have bad news" he laughed out loud and alone. The class sighed almost in unison. They knew what was coming next--- test results. Mr. Sanders gave the most difficult and impromptu tests, and they always counted at the end of each school year. If any Iver High student had to retake a class before graduation, it was Mr. Sanders's history class. "Well, it is good news for some of you, the serious ones, of course, so I'll just hand them over now."

Peter was worried about his test result. The test wasn't such a smooth one. He wouldn't have minded failing if he wasn't on a scholarship. He had failed a test the previous year and was issued a warning from the school scholarship board. Failing a test again would warrant them withdrawing the scholarship, and that would break his mother's heart.

The class was cool from the air-conditioners, but Peter was sweating profusely. He could feel his pulse. God, please, not again. Mr. Sanders was done handing scripts to the desks in front of the class, smiling at those who had a D or an F and frowning at those who had an A or a B. "You just got lucky," he muttered underneath his breath. He was a sadist.

Jules flipped over her test paper as soon as it landed on her desk. She was a bit certain of the outcome. In as much as the test was a walkover for her, Mr. Sanders had frowned greatly at her, so one thing was certain for sure. The test paper bore a small A at the corner in a circle. That was typical of Mr. Sanders; he wrote As or Bs in the tiniest of writings, like though he was reluctant to write it but wrote Fs very clearly and as large as possible. One could detect the joy with which the Fs were written.

"Yes!" that was Jules; she celebrated even when she was sure of the outcome, even though without the intention of gloating. There was a sigh from beside her. That was Penelope, "this man is definitely sad, just because I missed an L in Lincoln." Jules turned to peep at her test paper while she buried her face in her palm as though mourning her grade. "Oh, come on, P! A B+! That's great! Cheer up." "Yeah, because colleges prefer B students to A students, I should be totally excited." "That sarcasm was weak P." "Oh, shut up." Jules giggled and twisted back into her desk.

Peter saw the large red circle with the vertical and horizontal strokes in it and knew already. He didn't bother turning it over; he buried his face in his arms and placed them on the desk. What am I going to tell my mum now? There was murmuring throughout the class. Mr. Sanders returned to the front of the class. "Now that's enough. You can cry later; let's face the business for today. World War...." There was an interruption at the door. Jayden Iver. Jules's countenance changed at the sight of him. She hated him. Now Mr. Iver, can you not walk into my class with your music playing out loud?" There was a lot of murmuring. "Say please," Jayden retorted in the arrogant manner he was known for. "Oouuhhhh...." Those were the boys behind; Jayden's minions. "Yeah, I've heard about how obnoxious you are; I do not care if your father owns the school; I'll deal with you." "What are you going to do? Expel me? I mean, the school's named after me." Everyone laughed except Jules. She turned to Penelope, "how is this funny?" "Come on, it actually is." "Pfft...."

"Mr. Iver, that's enough! Have a seat now. Or you walk out of here." Jayden knew Mr. Sanders too well to carry on with his attitude. He wasn't like the other teachers that loved to lick his ass to remain on his Father's good side. So, he let it go and switched his phone off; although, shuffling his feet and extending hi-fives to anyone that cared to receive one. He took a seat next to Penelope, and he winked at her. She turned red at the cheeks. He, too, got a B+ on the test. That was the mystery no one could unfold. How did he manage to have good grades with all the exuberance he exhibited? Wasn't failure the reward for being a jerk? So many concluded that the teachers were scared to fail him because his father owned the school. However, there wasn't any proof of that.

After what seemed like an eternity to a severely bored class, the bell rang, signifying the end of Mr. Sander's torture. Everyone sprang up from their seats with a lot of noise from textbooks stacking and pulling chairs on the floor. Soon the class was almost empty.

'Almost,' because Peter sat back at his desk pondering his test result. The only thing that could stop him from losing his scholarship was a miracle, which Peter had never been a beneficiary of. His sadness soon metamorphosed into anger. He was angry at everything. At his brain for not being attentive nor retentive, at Mr. Sanders for everything he was, at the rich kids for not understanding what it meant to be in his shoes and acting accordingly, at his father for not fighting to be alive and relieve his mum off the bills, everything was just annoying. In his opinion, his life was a mess.

Peter couldn't sulk for long; the next class was up --- literature. It gave him a bit of relief because it coalesced with his personality, artistic and calm. So, with his small and rough-looking backpack that was across his shoulder most of the time, he headed for the next class.

"I'm really looking forward to this literature class; who knows who Miss Gwen is going to pick to play the parts this time. I hope she picks I and Jaydenas Romeo and Juliet, you know," Penelope said to an already irritated Jules with a shy grin on her face. "Like Jayden Iver is going to want to read a book, that arrogant being." "He is if a teacher mandates him." "Who? The Jayden, we both, know. Come on, P, don't be delusional." "Whatever."

The girls approached a small crowd of boys that wore a blue jacket that bore a common inscription, RAPTORS. They chatted noisily like they were known for and paused whenever a girl walked past. For this, girls walked in pairs and never alone to ease the tension and to prevent the walk of shame, the almost slipping and wobbling walk that one did when they felt everyone was watching.

Funnily enough, it wasn't the intention of the boys to make anyone uneasy; the girls did this on impulse and sometimes fell. Hence, the boys started to initiate it intentionally by suddenly keeping quiet when any girl passed and laughing out loud when she developed wobbly feet. It was fun for them. No girl dared to walk that path alone. Except, of course, Rebecca Shayne, the most popular female in school, captain of the cheerleading squad, and most importantly, Jayden's girlfriend. Trust her to be as arrogant as Jayden; even the boys on the team didn't like her but were afraid to be on Jayden's bad side.

Jules and Penelope walked past the boys, both holding their breath subconsciously and avoiding eye contact. They were successful as other girls in pairs were.

The class was still empty when they got in. They both took seats in the front row as they always did while the other students trooped in.