as promised, here is Chapter the Third of my still unnamed story. i really still have no idea as to what to call it... ideas anyone???
well. here it is. chapter the third
Chapter the Third
William sat in front of the headmistress, Ms Stoneworth, whose cold grey eyes seemed to be boring into his skull, twiddling his thumbs. He knew the drill – you just had to sit there, looking apologetic, and you’d get off with a warning, maybe a detention, but nothing more. Ms Stoneworth, or The Stoner, as William and his crew called her, walked over to the window, and continued to speak. “Now William, I know you’ve had a hard time of it lately, what with the whole drama of your mother. But that is still no reason for your violence to be acceptable! Really!” William rolled his eyes. He wondered if there was another human being on this planet who irritated him as much as she did. Her and her beak-like nose, stupid pince-nez that she just wore for the hell of it, and her nagging, screechy voice that cut right through his skull like an electrical current. “…there is no reason for you to be attacking Josh in that manner! Why, when I was at school, if a boy even thought about doing that, he’d certainly have something coming to him! It’s just a pity that corporal punishment has been outlawed in this country!” God, is she ever going to stop?, thought William. He’d been sitting in The Stoner’s office for over half an hour now, and he just wanted to get out. She’d never delivered a lecture this long before. I’d think it was PMS that was getting her at the moment, if it wasn’t for the fact that she’s too much of an old bag to be still getting her rags, he thought. He just wanted to get out of here, and go somewhere quiet to think.
He’d been hauled abruptly out of his dark corner, between the Science and Humanities blocks, eyes still reddened. An outraged Mr Richards, his second-most hated member of the school staff, had marched him off to the headmistress’ office without so much as a by-your-leave. He was left to stew in the empty office for a good twenty minutes before Ms Stoneworth had appeared. During this time, he’d had an opportunity to check out the contents of the office. He should know it well by now, he thought, but clearly he’d never paid attention. He now observed a host of photographs on a low wooden table of what was clearly Ms Stoneworth’s schooldays. He was mildly surprised that photographic technology even existed when she was at school. He saw a class photo, and skimmed over the faces, looking for any decent looking girls, just to see what he’d missed by being born in the wrong era. He found Ms Stoneworth very easily. Even at this age, she had already developed the stony gaze, the pursed lips, and the tightly pulled back bun that he knew too well. His eyes came to rest on a gorgeous blonde girl, laughing into the camera. She stood out – everyone else was staring poker-faced into the camera, as if it’d just been announced that Christmas had been cancelled three times over. He suddenly realised that the face was familiar… But why would it be? Who did he know that was alive then? His pondering was interrupted by Ms Stoneworth’s entry, on which she launched straight into the lecture of the century. The lecture he was still enduring now…
William suddenly realised that Ms Stoneworth was staring at him murderously. If looks could kill, he thought, then I’d have died about seven times already. Vicious, vindictive bitch! She was still staring. William realised that she must have said something to him while he was lost in thought.
“Answer me, you insolent boy!” Ms Stoneworth shrieked. William stifled a groan by turning it into a cough. She glared at him, eyes burning. “Err…” he began.
“You weren’t listening then, were you?”
“Err…” he began again.
“Do not address me in that uncouth manner!” she squawked. “Say, ‘Yes Ms Stoneworth’, or ‘No, Ms Stoneworth.’ Do I make myself clear?”
“Err… Yes. Ms Stoneworth,” he replied tentatively.
“Right then. So, as I was saying while you had rudely tuned-out, this is your last warning William. If you even put a single toe out of line, there will be severe consequences! Consider yourself warned!”
William gulped. The Stoner was still staring at him. Oh what now?, he thought. Oh. She probably wants an answer or something. Typical. Stupid old hag!
“Yes Ms Stoneworth,” he replied meekly.
“Right then. Now. Stay here, do not move a muscle. I will be back soon.” She left the room, slamming the door behind her.
William was breathing heavily. God that woman is scary. Spawn of the devil, I reckon. Probably never smiled in her entire life. He looked again at the photos on the table, trying to figure out why he thought he knew the blonde girl. He stared into her eyes, thinking.
Suddenly it hit him. It was Granma! He kicked himself for not seeing it before. Her cheeky smile and intense gaze had not faded with age – if anything, they had become more pronounced. Well, at least he had someone else to complain about the Stoner to, he thought. Granma was sure to remember her, as she was more than likely the class bitch.
Ms Stoneworth entered the room once more, clutching an envelope in her scrawny hand. William took it from her without a word. He assumed it would be to his parents. Stupid bitch!, he thought again. He almost laughed, wondering, if he kept referring to her as a bitch in his thoughts, if he’d actually call her that to her face one day. He could imagine her expression. Choking down uncontrollable, almost hysterical giggles, he turned on his heel, and left silently, closing the door loudly enough to irritate her, but not so loud as to merit another verbal onslaught from the Stoner.
He made the journey to his locker, dug out some random books that he thought he might need, shoved them carelessly into his bag, and shuffled slowly down the vibrant, busy corridors, not noticing people sidling out of his way to let him pass, watching him warily. Little did he know that rumours were getting round, about how William Hadley had suddenly jumped onto Josh Parcelle, broken his nose in four places, and then disappeared. William had never felt more alone. He couldn’t wait to get home, where he could hide from everything, everyone.
by the way, it's now 2095 words. GO ME..
plus, i've edited the first two chapters ever so slightly, but i havent put the changes up yet. couldn't be stuffed, to tell you the truth. once it's finished, i'll stick the entire thing up, k?
umm... anything interesting in my life??? well, someone else has come into the picture besides rick... his name's adam... i've never really taken that much notice of him until this year, and only REALLY noticed him at the beginning of this year.
adam - he's also extremely tall - 6'1"... evil tall person.... he's blonde, blue eyes,cute grin. ahaha sounds stereotypical i know, but he's not. umm... what else. i dunno. stuff, i guess.
and then while i'm at it, i'll mention a few others that i'll probably end up mentioning...
john - john is adam's best friend. he's a debater, like me, and we're both on the same debating team, both third speakers... causes a few arguments. at the moment, he's attempting to blackmail me by threatening to tell adam i like him if i don't let john go third speaker. he should know by now that it isn't gonna work!! jeez.
william (aka will) - will is my personal, unoffical shrink. he keeps me sane. plus adds to my insanity by teasing me incessantly about adam, but you get that. he's a real sweetheart, and i love him to bits - platonically, of couse.
tom (aka thomasas) - tom is grant's brother (remember grant??). the muso boy. well, tom is much the same. so involved in the performing arts that his life practically revolves around it. he's tall, dark and handsome (god he'd love me if he read this... ahahaha), and it's his birthday today!!!! TOM, IF YOU READ THIS, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!!!
that should do it for now.
until i type again...
yeah... that...
austin