" Are you sure you want to shove a dead rat inside Charli's locker? I mean , you know how extreme she can get , what if she decides to shove a snake in your backpack?" In a panicked expressions , voice laced with jittery concern , Nico kept asking , a cute Stuart little like mouse cradled in his hands , tiny squeaks escaping its tiny mouse mouth.

The once flooded hallways had been emptied , an eerie atmosphere settling around us as our footsteps bounced against the metal rowed walls in a frightful echo. Missing seventh period to execute my petty and juvenile revenge on that goth freak girl seemed far more reasonable and significant than squeezing my butt on a wooden chair , listening to Ms. Beady explaining William Snorespear's boring Sonnets. Something about the eighteen hundreds' literature just doesn't sit right with me. Saying doth instead of do and mine eyes instead of my eyes just seems ridiculous. Like why try to act like your better than us? Just 'cause I opt to say between and not the archaic equivalent betwixt doesn't make me any less intellectual.

Armed with a bolt cutter, I lead the way to my destination , Nico trailing behind , apprehensive about the whole deal but his desperate pleas fell on deaf ears. I was a pretty assertive individual, stubborn than any Mule created which meant once an idea is birthed inside my mind , I won't stop at nothing until I have perfectly executed it , watching it play out with satisfied results . This was one of those times.

" We are totally getting detention for this aren't we?" He whisper -shouted next to the nape of my neck , his humid breathe striking my skin like a lightning bolt .

"Shhh...." I harshly went , my eyes locking gazes with the inconspicuous metal door, painted in the darkest of the darkest tones of black, which screamed Charlotte Dawson with its dark themed art which comprised of a really detailed skeleton , more like a Jolly Roger with a bunch of other smaller 3D skeletons and snakes , a coffin etched at the top with the words R.I.P TO WHOMEVER THAT WOULD BE TEMPTED TO TOUCH THIS LOCKER. How cute of her to think that empty threat would scare me.

" That warning sign looks pretty legit and scary," There goes Nico whining as usual. " maybe we shouldn't be touching her locker. The sign does say we'd die if we touched it. I mean R.I.P literally means Rest In Peace."

" Just shut the fuck up and hand me the dead rat," I hissed in agitation , drawing the bolt cutter to the locker latch secured with a cheap silver painted padlock before cutting through the metallic latch , a snap heard after as the piece of metal clamps down on the linoleum. With a swift yank of the metal door , I was able to get an uninvited appearance inside her locker which was just as dark themed as it was outside. Never understood why certain people make certain things about their personality , like Charli for instance. She'd taken her goth obsession into a whole new level of absurdity. If there was a scale for all things weird, Charli would most definitely break that scale ,by a lot.

More skeleton sketches adorned the inside of her locker , bats too and coffins . Text books covered in black canvas and blank ink , a black leather coat hanged on one of the hooks situated inside her locker, a black painted water bottle, black spray paint cans, a poster of Pennywise , Scream, Chuckie, Freddy Kruger and Jason. Sheesh , that's hell of a lot of horror movie posters. I hate horror movies. Too predictable and boring. Plus I don't scare easily so instead of screaming and jumping in terror like the rest of the theatre folks in movie theatres, I just nod off or roll my eyes aggressively at the predictable jumpscares.

" Keep Winston inside your back pack and hand me the other dead rat we found by the school's dumpster ," I ordered , watching as the incompetent Nico , struggled to immobilize the white rat in his dainty hands. My patience seemed to dwindle by the second as I waited for Nico to produce the dead rat we'd carefully wrapped inside a plastic bag in his bag , my foot tapping the floor impatiently.

It takes him about three solid minutes for him to get Winston on a leash and handing me the plastic bag with the aforementioned dead rat. Perfectly sealed inside the clear bag , I smirked at its rotting carcass , foreboding the reaction Charli will portray once she sees it nuzzled inside her favorite notebook. Of course her careless ass left her poetry journal unattended and an ingenious smirk spreads on my face as I grab its tattered pages , preparing to sandwich the rat between the book pages.

" Do you really have to do that? I mean, she does love that book," My voice of reason , AKA , Nico spoke , pity laced in his broken voice.

" What part of me getting revenge on Charli don't you understand , Nico?"

" I know but still.....can't you have a heart, at least this once?"

" I don't have a heart, just a dark empty space in between ," I gave a fake pout , gently patting my chest to amplify my accusation and Nico rolled his eyes at this.

" Clearly," He scoffed. " Ok then hurry up and get this shit done . I don't want to get caught by the principal. It's my second strike and I could get an in school suspension . Dad's not going to like that."

Deftly prying the plastic bag open , the sudden stench of rotten meat and blood slapped our faces , Nico aggressively gagging , nose covered while I coughed into my flexed elbow , my eyes watering. Charli is definitely not going to love this and that's perfect. That'll teach her not to mess with me. Gingerly pinching its gross , prickly rigid tail with my index and thumb, with careful precision , I dropped it between the pages of Charli's poetry journal , watching its rigor mortis body wedge itself between the cracks of said parted pages.

Have you ever smelled a dead rat? The putrid rancid smell will eat you , chew you up and spit you whole. Disgusting! But we all got to make sacrifices. I am pretty sure even hydrogen sulfide smelled way better than that crap , I mean , ever since that chemistry experiment where Mr. Krowinsky wanted to detect the presence of hydrogen sulfide in sulfur compounds , the smell has never escaped me. It became the stuff of nightmares. That very same day where I 'accidentally' set a test tube on fire thereby earning four hours of detention.

But this smell couldn't compare to hydrogen sulfide. It was the smell of gore and death.

With the deed done, I gingerly closed the book, squishing the dead rat between her pages and carefully fitted it inside her goth looker. I found myself smiling at the thought of Charli opening her locker and meeting with this generous present considering the fact that she was obsessed with death. Maybe she can hold a burial ceremony for this creature; her dream come true. I can even offer to bring her my shoe box as a decoy for its coffin.

" Okay, let's get the hell outta here," Nico declared as soon as her locker door was shut , the deed done.

No sooner had I shut the door than the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat startle us, our necks twisting to face the source of the owner's voice.

Arms crossed and stiletto foot tapping agitatedly on the linoleum floors , Amanda faced us , his eyes cold and stern in a glare.

" Can we help you ?" I turned on my fake polite and innocent smile, hands clasped ahead of me whereas Nico fought the urge to pee his pants in fear as he trembled like a chameleon on a frail twig.

" Shouldn't you two be in class? " She asked , her tone heavy with authority.

" Should we? I can't remember. I have a lousy short term memory," I replied, still maintaining the innocent façade . Amanda didn't appreciate that.

Peering behind the victimized locker to my unfortunate prank , Amanda shifted death glares between me and Nico. " What were you doing in that locker? It's not even yours , is it?"

" Oh, you mean this locker?" I faced the obvious locker and back to her. " Just cleaning it out a bit, as a token of our appreciation to the owner of the locker."

" Isn't that Charlotte's locker?" She asked , eyebrow raised.

" You must be really smart. You probably graduated from Harvard , yes?" My face lit up in an impressed smirk even though I knew that she was familiar with her own daughter's locker.

A prolonged stretch of silence lingered inside the atmosphere , her eyes growing darker with rage and irritation. I didn't mind awkward silences , in fact , I seemed to thrive in awkward situations as I refused to break eye contact with Amanda's angered eyes.

" Nicolas," Amanda spoke.

" Y-Yes ma'am ?" His voice came out tiny , shaking with fear.

" You may go to class , I need to speak to this one for a second, " That was all Nico needed to hear for him to dash away like a terrified kid , his footsteps aggressively smacking the floors as he rushed out and eventually , his presence had departed the hallway. Soon , it's just us two. How romantic can this get!

" What do you have to say for yourself, huh , Maxwell?" Her voice , despite the rage that danced inside it, was euphonic, provocative to my pheromones and my heart picked up its pace as it thumped with excitement. I loved it when she scowled me .

" You look positively bewitching today , Amanda ," I complimented , my gaze raking her frame in a seductive look.

" You think you can flirt your way out of this?"

" Maybe ," I shrugged.

" And if I were to forward you to the principal's office?" She smirked, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

" I wouldn't be surprised," I sighed deeply, matching her smirk. " probably wouldn't put it past you. I mean , you did rush to my dada to tattle on me, isn't that so?"

" Did you just say Dada ?" Amanda's face contorted in confusion. " How old are you ,anyway?"

" Old enough to know how childish it is to run to parents in the name of tattling,"

" So I'm childish, is that what you're saying?"

"Well if you say so,"

" I only went to your father because of your constant disrespect towards me,"

" What disrespect?!" I exclaimed loudly , my voice floating in an echo through the deserted walls. " Why would I disrespect the perfect woman?"

" Hitting on a woman twice your age in front of other students is a form of disrespect ,"

" Maybe in your books but not mine, I see no fault in that,"

" And what about when you wrote that stupid message on the board after I asked you to solve that equation?"

My mouth opened yet no coherent words could be formed at the tip of my tongue to defend myself against her harsh words . " Well....I ....it's your fault for picking me despite the fact that tens of students had their hands raised . Why not pick them instead?"

" That is also a form of disrespect," She informed , her voice filled with conviction as her eyes ripped me apart with her infamous glare. The fire inside the pacific realm of her iris was enough to melt the polar ice caps in the Antarctica.

" So you're going to educate me on the proper way to act, is that your proposal?" I asked , already envisioning myself attending Amanda's school for proper behavior .

" No, " She shook her head. " I will keep informing your father on your disobedience every day until your learn how to behave in front of me. I know for a fact that your own father rules you with an iron fist . I'll just let him deal with you accordingly until you learn your lesson."

" You know , " I took a step towards her , mirroring her body language as I found my arms crossing my chest. " I never took you for the type to run to 'daddy' when things don't do your way. Are you a daddy's girl , Amanda?"

No response .

My eyes beheld her perfectly manicured fingers as they drummed against her arm in a rather peevish mood , the lovely sheek of red nail polish smeared elegantly on her nails. Without giving it a second thought, I too begun to drum my fingers against my crossed arm, emulating her facial expression. They do say mimicry is the surest sign of flattery but mine was anything but flattery. More of a sign of mockery.

" I expect to see you this evening,"

" Are you finally going to let me take you out for our first date night?" A sarcastic gasp of shock .

" Cute," She sneered before turning on her heels ready to grant an exit. " And for the love of God, please remove that dead rat out of Charlie's locker. Unless you are looking for serious trouble from her in that case feel free to leave it in there." Amanda called out as she walked away from me, her frame getting smaller and smaller with each step, her hips swaying elegantly as she did.