-Cascade Hill High, Principal’s Office-
Principal Jean Armstrong was less than pleased this morning. And the reason for her displeasure was sitting right across from her.
“Why is it that 9/10 times a problem arises in this school you two end up in my office?” Jean Armstrong said, a tight frown on her face. Her pale green eyes darted between the two teens in front of her. Her long dark brown hair was thrown over her shoulders.
Katherine Norman and Alex McKenzie both turned to each other, eyebrows raised and small frowns on their faces. The two teens are notorious pranksters, well Alex more so than Katherine. Alex McKenzie is a rather scrawny kid, and rather socially awkward. Short black hair and dark brown eyes, a bit of a smart ass who doesn’t know when to shut his mouth at times.
Katherine, however, is the polar opposite. She mostly keeps to herself, but don’t mistake that for weakness. She’s not someone to be treated like a doormat. Long curly strawberry blonde hair and dark green eyes. She’s rather average if not a tad bit quirky. When they turned back to Jean, Alex spoke first leaning towards her desk with a large friendly smile on his face.
“Ms. Armstrong, I-”
“Shut it, I wasn’t asking you.” Jean immediately cut Alex off, giving him a rather nasty glare, her frown deepening ever so slightly.
Alex’s smile immediately drops as he falls back into his chair with a pout, crossing his arms over his chest with an annoyed huff. Jean glares at him for a bit before turning her attention to Katherine, her expression softening.
“Ms. Norman, would you please explain what happened?” She asked with a kind smile on her face.
“I would love to, Ms. Armstrong.” Katherine says as she throws a quick glance at Alex, her voice a little shaky and a weak smile twitching on her face.
Alex grumbled something under his breath causing both women to glare at him.
“Sorry!” Alex said with a plaster-on smile, hands raised in his defense.
“I know Alex and I haven’t had the best track record.” Katherine trails off, throwing another glance at Alex however this time it holds a bit of annoyance in it. Alex didn’t meet her eyes as he glanced around the room like it held the secrets to life.
“Yes?” Jean urged as she kept throwing analyzing looks at Alex, her jaw tensing at every glance.
“However, this time, I swear we had nothing to do with what happened in the boy’s locker room.” Katherine finishes, her voice steady and her eyes staring straight into Jean’s.
It was obvious by Jean’s face that she was still unconvinced as she glanced between the two teens once again. A few moments of silence enveloped the room, Katherine had lost a bit of her confidence and was sitting rather stiffly in her seat while Alex was bouncing his left leg a bit, still looking around the room. Jean let out a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair before looking back at them.
“Look to be completely honest, I could really care less about what happened.” Jean said with a sigh.
“So does that mean we’re free to go!?” Alex practically yells out, sitting up straight and attentive. His eyes practically glowed with happiness.
Jean glares hard at him making him recoil almost instantly. His smile died immediately and he pushed himself backward, deep into his chair.
“Yes, you two are free to go.” She spat out the words like they were poison, her eyes still trained on Alex. “However! I have one condition…” She trailed off leaning back into her chair.
Katherine opens her mouth, a concerned look on her face however Alex, being the headstrong person that he is, cuts her off.
“We’ll do it!” He said with a slightly impish smile on his face.
The smile that came to Jean’s face was positively evil causing both teens to shiver.
“Good! Glad to see that you both agree to help the council with the Homecoming dance, they were short-staffed. Well, you two have a nice day then.”
And with that, the two teens were dismissed from her office. For a few minutes, the two teens were just standing outside her office clearly shell-shocked.
“You just had to agree…” Katherine said with no clear emotion in her voice, a far off look on her face.
Alex winced a bit as he could tell it was just the quiet before the storm.
“Come on, Kat! It won’t be that bad.” Alex said with a weak smile.
Katherine’s head snapped towards him, her strawberry blonde hair whipping around and her dark green eyes blazing in anger. She startled him so badly that he stumbled away from her.
“Not so bad? Not so bad?!” She hissed out, eyes narrowed in a glare.
“Apparently it is,” Alex mumbles under his breath as he chuckles weakly raising his hand in surrender to appease her: however, she was having none of that.
“I have 3 AP courses! 3! That I have worked my ass off to get into Alex! I do not want to waste my time on some stupid dance!” Katherine practically screams in his face.
“Hey hey! I’m sorry, okay!” Alex says with an apologetic look on his face, his dark brown eyes appearing to sadden. “I assure you this wasn’t what I thought she had in mind!”
“Well maybe if you’d stop jumping at the chance to get us out of trouble this wouldn’t have happened! Remember Alex, you’re the genius that gets us into trouble and I’m the one that gets us out!” Katherine yells, throwing her hands up.
“Okay okay, I’m sorry Kat.” Alex said with a smile. “Forgive me?” He asked, giving her his trademark kicked-puppy look.
Katherine glares at him for a few seconds however it soon falls as she lets out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“One of these days that’s gonna stop working…” She says more to herself than to Alex.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Kat.” Alex says, his impish smile returning.
Katherine just shakes her head and they proceed to walk down that hall. Luckily for
them, the first period had just ended. The hallways were quickly crowded with teens, echoing with gossip.
“So, do tell, what exactly happened this morning?” Katherine asks as she pulls her backpack along with some books from her locker.
“What do you mean?” Alex asked, leaning against a locker nearby hers, his head slightly tilted and eyebrows clenched together, the perfect mask of genuine confusion.
“Gee, Alex, what do you think I mean?” Katherine said throwing a quick aggravated look at him as she stuffed her books into her bag.
“Well, um I woke up at about 7, kind of fell out of bed-“Alex rambles.
“Oh, cut the crap, Alex. I know you, a hell of a lot better than you think. So when a certain football player is yelling bloody murder at about 9 in the morning, you’re usually involved.” Katherine said with a pointed look, slamming her locker shut to emphasize her point.
“Oh come on, it was just a small stink bomb, the smell’s more than likely gone by now. It’s not like he died or something.” Alex said with a huff, eyes rolling in irritation.
“Alex, why can you never just be the bigger man and not try to rile him up?” Katherine said as she placed her backpack on her back and started walking again.
“First of all, have you seen the guy? I will never be “the bigger man”. Secondly, he’s a dick!” Alex hisses out, throwing his hands in the air.
Katherine shakes her head as they continue down the hall.
“I’m just saying Alex, maybe if you didn’t try to piss him off every chance you get, he wouldn’t want to rearrange your face.”
Alex opens his mouth to reply however just as they turn a corner he is knocked down rather violently. Katherine is immediately at his side, slowly helping him up.
“Watch where you’re walking, McKenzie.” Said a familiar voice, their tone practically dripping venom.
Alex and Katherine both glanced up towards where the voice came from. Alex’s face immediately morphed into an aggravated expression. Samuel Jefferson was glaring down at them, well mostly Alex. Sam is Cascade Hill High’s star quarterback and one of the more popular kids at Cascade Hills. Short spiky black hair, dark brown eyes, a sturdy, athletic build, and a cocky smile always on his face.
“Oh great the princess has arrived.” Alex mumbled under his breath.
Luckily for Alex, Sam didn’t hear a word. He just turned and walked off, not even trying to help Alex up. Two people followed close behind him, Melody Solomon and Aiden Richards.
Melody is your average teenage boy’s wet dream, vibrant long red hair, bright blue eyes, and an hourglass figure. She is known to be the jewel of Cascade Hills High, however like Sam, not the best person attitude-wise. If you’re not worth Melody’s time (which is virtually everyone, mind you) then you are basically ignored. However, contrary to popular belief about popular girls, Melody is smart, terrifyingly so. Student council president, valedictorian, and the list goes on.
And lastly, the sort of black sheep of their group, Aiden Richards. Unlike the other two, Aiden is a softhearted, gentleman. He’s a bit soft-spoken and on the shy side but don’t take him for a pushover, you will be mistaken. Curly slicked back dark brown hair, green-blue eyes, and a “heart-stopping” smile. Unfortunately, too much of the female student body’s disbelief, that Aiden is gay, that, however, hasn’t really stopped the girls from trying. Melody didn’t even glance at them as she continued to walk, her attention honed on her phone while Aiden, true to his nature, helped Alex up and mumbled an apology before also walking off. Alex and Katherine watched as the three turned the corner.
“Yeah, Kat. A real charmer, so sorry I can’t be the bigger man.” Alex says, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he turns to her.
“Okay, yeah he’s a dick. Still doesn’t mean you have to make it your life’s goal to piss him off.” Katherine says as they continue to walk.
Alex throws her a slightly insulted look.
“My life goal? Do you really think I’m that boring?” Alex said with a raised eyebrow.
They soon arrived at Alex’s locker which he fumbled with a bit to open.
“Forget I said anything, Alex, just hurry up. We don’t want to miss your favorite teacher now would we?” Katherine says with an amused smile, adjusting her glasses a bit.
The deadpan look that Alex throws at her is all the answer she needs as he closes his locker and they continue to class. School went on as usual for the two teens until lunch when Melody suddenly walked up to their table. Alex perked up almost instantly, almost choking on his food as he did.
“H-hey Melody!” He said, looking like a puppy who had just seen his owner after a long period of time.
Melody just threw him a sideways glance before turning her attention back to Katherine as she holds out a sheet of paper to her. Katherine grabs the paper, “Homecoming” which was written on the top. However, before she could say anything Melody spoke up.
“The Homecoming dance is scheduled for next Friday so be prepared to work today.” Melody said sternly before twirling on her heels and walking off.
Alex waved stupidly after her even though it was clear that she was ignoring him.
“Isn’t she great?” He said in a lovesick sigh, watching Melody as she sat back at her table.
“Yeah, she’s a peach.” Katherine says dryly as she looks over the paper Melody gave her.
The paper detailed all the decorations, where the dance was being held, and who was assigned to what.
“Ugh, I don’t even want to look at this.” Katherine said with a groan, pushing the paper towards Alex who immediately grabbed it.
“Hey, we’re paired up with Kris!” Alex said a happy smile on his face.
“Yeah, I saw that where the hell is she today anyway?” Katherine said as she took a small bite out of her ham sandwich.
“Don’t know, she wasn’t here this morning. Probably doing family business stuff again.”
Alex says shrugging his shoulders.
Lunch proceeded as normal and the day continued on until finally, the school day was over. Alex and Katherine went to the student council room at the sound of the final bell. At least 20 to 25 students crowded the relatively small room. Melody and a few student council members were seated at the front of the room. As Alex shuts the door, Melody calls everyone’s attention, the room going silent almost immediately.
“Alright guys, the Homecoming Dance is next Friday. We have a lot of work ahead of us if we want to finish on time so I would be very appreciative if some of you could join me this Saturday to put in some extra work. It isn’t mandatory so don’t feel pressured to
help alright?” She said looking around, waiting for any complaints.
After a short pause, she continues.
“Okay then, you all know what you need to do so let’s get to work.” She said and dismissed everyone with a hand wave.
Alex turns to Katherine, puppy dog eyes on the display.
“No, Alex. Go by yourself if you want to volunteer so badly.” Katherine said, glaring at him.
“Please, Kat! Please!” Alex pleaded, adding a sad pout.
A few seconds go by but soon Katherine let out a defeated sigh which was enough of a yes to Alex as his expression morphs into that of an excited puppy. Wide smile and eyes virtually sparkling with glee.
“Love you Kat!” Alex says as he hugs her.
“Hate you so much.” Katherine mumbles jokingly pushing him off of her.
For the next hour and a half they worked, it was dark out once Alex dropped Kat back at her house. Kat let out a tired sigh as she entered her house, her mother was standing in the foyer just finishing suiting up in her police uniform.
“Staying late tonight?” Katherine said, a bit dejected as she wandered into the kitchen.
Kat’s mother, Olivia, gives her a sad smile as she also goes into the kitchen. Olivia is pretty much an older version of Katherine, with the same strawberry-blonde hair and dark green eyes. Olivia is a well-known officer of the Cascade Hill Police Department.
“I am so sorry sweetheart. Trust me if I could stay home I would.” She said as she grabbed her keys from the kitchen counter.
Katherine lets out a hum as she sits down with a cup of water.
“Big case?” She questions about taking a drink.
“Kind of? Not really sure about this one. But you know Cascade Hills, something strange is always happening around here. Now, I want you to make sure you lock up right after I leave okay?” Olivia says, giving her daughter a serious look.
Katherine smiles and nods.
“Good girl!” Olivia says affectionately as she plants a kiss on the top of Katherine’s head.
“Be back before midnight hopefully, be good!” She said giving Katherine a last-minute wave as she walked out of the kitchen and then the house.
Katherine grabs her backpack and is about to grab her books from out of her bag but then suddenly there is a loud crash. Katherine’s head snaps towards where the noise came from, her back porch. Her heart leaped into her throat a bit.
“Jesus!”
The house was dead silent aside from her rapid breathing. She waited for a few minutes, her heart slowing back down. It probably was nothing. She looks around herself a bit before once again trying to grab her books. However, once again, another loud crashing sound rang out. This time she shot out of her seat, body shaking a bit in fear as she stared at the back porch door.
“C-come on Kat, I’m sure it’s just a raccoon knocking over stuff. Calm down.” She said aloud, trying to reassure herself.
She slowly walked towards the door, her heart beating faster and faster with each step. She could feel her palms starting to sweat as she raised a hand to grab the door handle. She paused for a bit, silence echoed back at her. She took in a deep breath and turns the knob, slowly.
The door creaked open as she pushed forward, flicking on the backlight at the same time. Her backyard wasn’t large but since Cascade Hills is known for its forest, it was dense with trees. Katherine stood in the doorway and scanned her backyard wearily. Nothing seemed out of place however the shadows of the trees seemed to be taunting her.
“Kat.”
A voice calls out and a hand falls on her shoulder. Katherine whipped around with a scream startling her mother a bit as she looked back at Kat fearfully.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong? I’ve been calling you for a few minutes now.” Olivia said as she scanned her daughter for injury.
“T-there was som- something out here…” Katherine says as she gulps down and breathes, her heart slowly returning to normal.
Olivia raises an eyebrow but walks out, looking around. Katherine watches her mother as she steps down into the yard. Olivia walked around a bit before something crunched under her foot and she looked down.
“Well, I found what probably would freak you out.” Olivia said, holding up a broken shard of a vase.
Katherine visibly relaxed as she let out a sigh. Olivia cursed under her breath as she found another broken vase nearby.
“Again! Literally just bought these!” Olivia grumbled as she and Katherine picked up the broken pieces.
Placing them in the trash and locking the back door, Olivia turned to Katherine. Olivia could see that Katherine still appeared unnerved and was reluctant to leave.
“Sure you’re alright?” Olivia asked, looking directly into Katherine’s eyes.
“Yeah Mom, I’m fine.” Katherine said.
“Remember lock-up-“Olivia says as she walks towards her car.
“As soon as you leave, I remember.” Katherine finishes as she leans against the front doorway.
“See you later sweetheart.” Olivia said with a smile, getting in her car.
“See you later…” Katherine replies as she watches her mom’s police car pull out of the driveway and down the street.
Katherine then closes the door and locks it immediately after. She goes back to the kitchen and resumes her homework. However unknowingly to Katherine, a shadowed figure crept from underneath her porch. The creature was extremely flexible and slivered into the trees of her backyard quietly and quickly as it came.
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