The War for Love- a Collection of Short Stories

Prank Night - Zach

A/N: I told y'all that Pigeon would make an appearance, and there she is! Don't worry, she'll be back, but for now,  we've got to see just how much trouble Zach can get in!

    Also, I'm sorry about these updates being so slow, I'm really struggling to write from Zach's and Ryan's POVs... But, I've managed to pre-write quite a bit for the next two books!

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        April 25th

    It started with the text thread, and of course, it was Thomas who created it.

Hello friends, family. We have slaved away for the past four years, waiting for this day to come around. 

And it is finally here! 

JUNIOR PRANK NIGHT BITCHES!

    The thread was quickly taken over by messages sent in all caps from every single senior. I knew I'd promised Uncle James that I would behave... But I'd made no promises about being good.

Technically, we aren't even going to get in trouble- it's a Pinewood Charter tradition.

I'm in.

        May 9th

    All the juniors were anxious, foot-tapping, leg-bouncing energy writhing through us. Two weeks of planning and sneaking supplies into our lockers would end tonight. 

    Prank Night. 

    I seemed to be the only one who had managed to keep my wits, as I thumped my foot against Grace's desk, passing a note across her desk. Reading it, she rolled her eyes and kicked my desk in response. The teacher glared at me, smiled at Grace, and went back to... doing whatever it was she got paid to do. 

The joy and hatred of taking an online class.

    I sighed, looking back at my laptop screen. I'd just finished the final exam for my Italian class, and passed it with almost twelve points to spare. I'd only needed a 70 to make an 85 in the class, so I quickly checked my total grade. 

Shit. 

    A bright 93 flashed across the screen, and I mentally cursed- there went my streak of being a solid B student. I hated getting higher than I had to, it set up the expectation that I could make a 90 or above in every class. Which I could, but I was preoccupied with other matters when I should be studying most of the time. I had people counting on me, and I wasn't going to let them down just to surprise my English teacher by getting a high grade on a random paper.

    Another ten minutes ticked by with me stuck in the program until the monitor noticed I had finished, and put in the password that allowed me to exit. "Finally..." I murmured and ripped through an overview of my final essay- comparing and contrasting Cromwell to Satan in Paradise Lost- editing it in the last two minutes of class and printing it before logging out. Sliding out of my row, I swiped my paper off the printer and rushed to the English hallway, walking in with some time to spare. Checking over the pages I'd taken, I held back a string of curses when I saw that this was Melanie's essay over business planning, which meant she had my Paradise Lost paper. 

    "Ma'am! Mrs. Hackler? It seems I've taken the wrong paper, this is Melanie Hollin's essay on business planning. She must have mine, we had a class together in the tech room last hour. May I go and switch papers with her?" I rushed to my teacher's desk, speaking over the calamity of the other students rushing in before the bell. "It'll be late, but I suppose." "Ma'am I- never mind. May I have a hall pass?" 

    She looked at me as if I were stupid, and signed the paper she was writing on, handing the green slip to me. "Thank you!" I called as I ran out the door, hoping that if I was fast, she wouldn't count it late. The electives hall was downstairs and across the building, so I wasted no time in walking, choosing to run through the halls like something was chasing me. 

    Something was- my ability to pass English.

Zach, does she even have business this hour?

SHIT.

    Turning myself around, I ran back toward the office. I had no idea what class Melanie had this hour, and it would do me no good to run to the electives hall if she wasn't there. Coming in the door, I could see that I'd gotten extraordinarily lucky- she was making copies in the workroom. "Melanie!" She looked at me like I was crazy, yelling at her in the office. "I have your essay on business planning. I think you've got mine on Paradise Lost." Nodding, she grabbed her backpack and searched through it, pulling my pristine paper out and snatching hers from my hand. "Next time, try looking?" 

    She practically snarled at me before going back to the copier, grabbing whatever she had been printing and shoving past me. "Thank God this is my last class," I muttered and dashed back to Mrs. Hackler's room, coming in just as she was asking if all the papers had been turned in. "Not mine. Here you go." She nodded approvingly, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I went to my seat. She wouldn't count it late, and I would pass.

    After class, I went into the library, determined to find Ronnie a new book that she would enjoy. She complained that all the middle school books were boring, so I checked out some from the high school for her. The librarian gave me a questioning look when I slid a copy of the book My Sister's Keeper across the checkout desk. "It's for my sister," I explained, checking the time as she scanned the bar code. I had to pick up Ronnie at the bus stop in ten minutes, and it took me seven to get there. The librarian shrugged sliding the book back to me.

I'll have to find a public library for her, once I graduate I won't be able to get her new books. 

    I'd only have a few hours to make dinner and get back to school for Prank Night, so I had to speed things up.

I've still got to come up with a good enough lie to get Uncle James to let me go.

Just tell him you're meeting some friends.

And what conclusion will he jump to then?

Drugs. Right. Because that's the answer to every slacker. 

Yeah. Maybe I can say I... I don't know got a tutor and we're meeting at the school library. 

Fair, but for what class. 

English. It's my lowest. 

Who?

Tyler, duh. He was tutoring me already.

    I pulled up to the bus stop to find Ronnie sitting on the corner, waiting for me. They didn't run a bus route that came close enough to Uncle James' for her to walk, but it was still too far from school for a 10-year-old to walk alone. Since the middle school let out before the high school, I couldn't pick her up, so she was stuck riding the closest bus route and waiting for me at the stop. She smiled, jumping up and running toward my car. "Zach! I was wondering where you were." 

    I smiled effortlessly at my half-sister, with her pale features and bright teal eyes that proved her parentage, no matter how much our Dad denied it. "Hey princess. I'm sorry I was late, I got you a new book. It's under your seat." I waited for her to sit back up before pulling away from the curb. "My Sister's Keeper? What's it about?" Her teal eyes- my eyes- burned into my head, and I shrugged. "Why don't you start reading and find out?" 

    A small giggle escaped her as she raced through the pages. I smiled back at her, relishing in her happiness. Her smiles and laughter were so rare when we were "home"- Kara lived to make Ronnie's life horrible. Since they shared a room, there was nothing I could do about the nightly torture for Ronnie, and I'd asked Uncle James if we could move her into my room, since she spent most nights on my floor anyway, and he had just looked at me like I was sick. 

    I'd given her a key to my door, so she could escape whenever she wanted to, which was about 10 minutes after we got home every day. 

    Pulling to a stop at a light, I looked over at her, already several pages deep. "Hey, princess," I started, watching her finger zoom down the page, reading faster than I thought was even possible. "Yeah, Zach?" she replied, flipping the page and starting on the next one. "I-I'm got to head back to the school in a few hours. So if you can beat your record, and finish it before I leave, I'll get you a new one tonight. Okay?" A horn honked behind me and I turned my attention back to the road. 

    We shared a grimace and a sigh when I pulled up to Uncle James' house. "Hey, homework first, then you can keep reading. Okay?" Ronnie nodded, her face already breaking down just from being here. "I know. I don't like it either. Just a little longer, okay? Then I'll get a job and an apartment, and you'll live with me. Okay?" She nodded again, a ghost of a smile haunting her face. Slipping the book into her bag, she walked up the drive slowly, and I followed behind her, even slower. 

    Four hours later, I'd cooked and cleaned up after dinner, given Jimmy a bath, helped Kara and Ronnie both with their homework and finished the last page of my Calculus review packet. Swallowing my nerves, I knocked on Uncle James' study door and went in after a muffled "Come in." was said. Aunt Alaine sat in the armchair, reading something on her tablet, and Uncle James stood, bent over a map that covered his desk. "Uncle James, may I go back up to the school for a few hours?" "Why?" 

    Taking a deep breath, I said, "I'm supposed to meet Tyler up there- he's been tutoring me." The words tasted sour on my tongue, the truth making me want to recoil. I wouldn't be graduating next week without him though- and had I not chosen to accept, I definitely wouldn't be his Beta in-training. "I have an extra credit paper for English, so I can get my grade up." I shifted nervously on the rug, watching their eyes as they spoke through a Link. "If you're okay with it, James, I don't see a problem with him going." Aunt Alaine's words were cautious, waiting for approval. 

    "Have you finished your homework, and your chores?" He never took his eyes off the map, but I knew he was looking at me. "Yes. Dinner's been put away, but I left two plates wrapped up on the counter for the both of you." 

    "... Okay then. Go. Be back before ten o'clock and not a minute later." 

    Before Uncle James had even finished, I was already halfway out the door. 

    By nine-thirty, all of the pranks had been set. Bubble-wrapped halls, water cup covered staircases. Grammatically incorrect sentences coating every board in the English department, every computer screen set to a random class of 2016 meme, and the principal's office was properly TPed. The only thing left was to do the principal's car. His son, Maddox, had driven it up here and was getting a ride home. He, Gabe, Hallie, and I were tasked with filling it with balloons, one with his keys inside and each one full of glitter, and cover it in plastic wrap- just for some added fun. 

    Nothing was destructive, so we weren't going to get in trouble. It was all just incredibly annoying. Which, according to Tyler, kept us protected. Especially since tomorrow was Senior Skip Day- we were all headed to the lake for some carefree fun before we graduated. 

    The car was almost full of balloons, and I was getting the plastic wrap rolls out to finish this, and get home. It took me fifteen minutes to drive home, and I was getting antsy. "Gabe, you hurry up and get the door to close already? I've got to get home soon, and we-" 

    c***k!

    POP POP POP POP POP!

    "s**t. RUN!"