Chapter Seven
The sharp pungent odor of cheap women's perfume and must immediately bombards my senses as I enter the largely crowded hallway teeming with carefree and hyper-active teenagers, their auras ignorant and almost deranged.
I push through the masses of students that still lingered in the main corridor, and though the bell had rung and I was already late for class I still rushed in a haste to get to the office, not wanting to be any later than I already was.
Making a sharp right, I came across a large set of double glass doors in the B Hall, the words Main Office engraved in the small wooden plaque hanging on the wall. I pull on the metal handle and open the door to walk inside, marveling at how quiet the office usually never was.
The Main Office was one of the busiest places in the school, seeing as we were one of the largest public schools in New York, and with so many students to keep track of there was usually always something going on in the office.
Always.
Today though, it seemed that the entire office that was in usual disarray, was now calm and orderly, no more frantic ladies walking around with coffee in one hand and paperwork in the other as they tried desperately to talk on the cell phone they balanced on their shoulder and at the same time speak with an impatient parent picking their kid up early from school.
Nope. There was just one sweet looking woman about in her mid-twenties, speaking quietly to another student as she typed something into the school-provided computer, her fingers flying over the keyboard.
I looked around the space to see at least three adults and a few kids scattered here and there throughout the room, all doing there own thing and seeming to be enjoying themselves. They were all minding their business and they weren't bothering anyone, a direct opposite of the usual pandemonium in the office.
My lips tipped up into a small smile and I shrugged my shoulders, walking to the front desk. This was hardly one the oddest things that's happened to me so far. In fact it was almost normal. And I reveled in that, a side of normality being exactly what I needed after the past few days.
The sweet looking woman waves me forward, her smile sitting a little bit brighter on her face when she spots me and I take a tentative step towards her, my gaze following the student before who looked, strangely... subdued as he walked away, as if under a trance.
Biting my lip, I continue my very hesitant trench forward and rest my hands on the office desk, offering the lady a small smile.
She smiles brightly up at me and immediately I'm put at ease, staring into her chocolate brown eyes. My body felt oddly numb, faint tingling sensations running over my skin, and goosebumps covered my arms. I hugged myself and shivered, wondering how it had gone from stifling hot to cold in a matter of seconds.
"Good morning, sweetheart!" I blinked, my mind still hazy with thoughts, and I stared at her in bewilderment, the feeling of comfort now gone. "I'm Ms. Seamen, the new office attendant, what can I help you with?"
Ms. Seamen gazed at me in expectancy, and I realized I was just standing there, staring at her like a creep, and I mumbled an apology, frantically looking for the doctors note my mother had left crumpled on the kitchen counter. I just barely saw it on my way out of the door and it remember shoving it into my back pocket muttering curses.
Reaching around, I snatched it out and handed it to the woman, slightly embarrassed by the beer stains and how crumpled it was.
"Uh," I stuttered, looking for something to say. Ms. Seamen was raising an eyebrow at me and she picked up my sad excuse for a doctors note and attempted to read it. Trying hard not to seem like a complete idiot, I continued. "My, uh, my doctor told me to bring this in to you for my past unexcused absences."
"Okay..." She drawls slowly, eyes narrowed on the note. "But that still doesn't explain why you were late today." She looks at me and quirks up an eyebrow, her face holding a parentally stern expression that also seemed, faintly... amused?
Shaking my head, I reply in a small voice, scrambling for some excuse that sounds slightly less insane. Though, I knew despite my efforts, no matter what I said, I would end up in detention. "M-my uh, my truck it um... it, broke down." Ms. Seamen had been nodding the entire time as I rambled on with a mock serious expression on her face. She seemed to find it amusing.
She stared at me for a long while, with the same look on her face as if she couldn't believe I had actually tried to come up with an excuse. We both know I was lying, but never was I going to admit it. Ms. Seamen cleared her throat and coughed a little, a smile playing her lips.
She took a breath and slammed her hand on the desk with a sigh. "Tell you what," she says, shuffling through a pile of papers on her desk. She snatches up a pen and begins scribbling on one. "Protocol says that I have to give any late students a detention slip for potential skipping purposes unless they have pass. But, because I'm in a good mood today and you seem like a sweet enough kid," Ms. Seamen hands me the pass and I take it without hesitation. "You can take this pass to your teacher and you should be all set."
She smiles at me then turns back to her computer typing, and just like that I was dismissed.
~394Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6GoICGjCv
A/N: Ugh, anti-climatic, I know. But I promise in the next chapter things will pick up.
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Toodles. @Skyheir__
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