19GAHHHHH! I am so absolutely, positively, completely, insanely SORRY I updated after like two million years! I don't even have that good an excuse. It's just schoolwork. Always schoolwork. I hope this chapter makes up for it.
Disclaimer: I don't want to say it...
Rick: You have to.
Me: But I'm too ashamed!
Rick: Say it or else you'll never get it.
Me: Ooh, yay! I don't own PJO or HOO! Now can I have it?
Rick: You just said you don't own it, so you can't have it! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Me: -_-
"Alright, cupcakes!" Coach Hedge shouted. "Let's plaaaaay ballllll!"
Most of the kids cheered. Piper McLean did not. She didn't feel like playing basketball. In fact, she didn't want to play any sport at all. It even scared her that she knew Coach Hegde said, "Let's play ball" in a baseball-ish way. Still, she reluctantly dragged herself out to the court.
"Hey, Piper!" a voice called out. A magical voice. A voice that gave her stomach butterflies. A voice that belonged to the nicest, hottest, greatest boy in the world—at least in her mind. It was Jason.
"Hi, Jason," she replied dully.
"What's wrong? Aren't you psyched to play basketball?" Jason asked. Easy for him to say. Jason was a basketball star.
"Uh…yeah. I love basketball!" Piper feigned enthusiasm.
"Ok. Come on! Let's find Valdez and Tanya," Jason grabbed her hand, leaving her blushing like mad.
Why am I blushing? She thought. I don't act like this. Normally, anyway.
Soon they found their friends. "I wish we could play soccer! I hate basketball," Leo grumbled.
"Yeah, only because you're awesome at soccer but suck at b-ball," Jason quipped.
Leo made a face at him while Tanya said, "Come on! Hedge is glaring at us,"
Hedge put the class into teams. Sadly, Leo, Tanya, and Jason were on the blue team. Piper grabbed a red pinny and went with her own team.
Dylan, a guy who thought he was all that and could get all the girls, winked at her and drawled, "So, Piper, glad to be on my team?"
"Like hell I am," she retorted sarcastically. She walked away before he could reply.
Piper was not one of those girly-girls who sat on the bleachers during gym and complained that physical activity would ruin her hair or something (cough Isabel cough). She usually got into the game. Today was not one of those days, though. Piper wondered if there was a secret girly side of her. Nah, I'd never let that happen.
She didn't realize that the game had already begun. Startled, she ran to get the ball from some small kid. He was pretty easy. People shoved and grabbed to get the dribbling basketball from her. Dodging, Piper threw the basketball to Isabel on her team, who screamed at the flying ball and ducked.
Great, Piper thought dryly. I should've known better than to throw it to her. Then she gasped. The ball had sailed over Isabel's head and slugged Jason right in the stomach.
He doubled over and groaned. Piper stared at him in shock. Oh, god. "Jason!" She ran up to him. "Jason, I'm so sorry—"
"Great job, McLean!" Coach Hedge yelled. "Violence is just what we need on the court! Ten extra—"
He stopped when he saw the kids staring at him. "Right, I'm a teacher," he mocked. "And teachers don't support vehemence. Whatever that means…
"Anyway, cupcakes, take the hurt kid out to the nurse or whatever, and McLean gets ten points off for purposely attacking Jason. A shame. Now, get outta my sight!"
"What?!" Piper exclaimed, running up to the coach. "I did not hit Jason purposely! Why would I do that?"
"Well, why wouldn't you?" Hegde shot back. He shook his head. "The lack of violence and competition in you kids is uncanny. Getting Jason was the best war strategy for the cupcakes on your team, 'cause then you'd have an advantage of getting a shot while the cupcakes on the other team tends to him. See? Simple logic,"
"But I'd never do that to him!" Piper argued. "He's my friend," The word echoed through Piper's brain. She didn't want to think about being just friends. That was like cutting steak with a spoon—it would scratch the surface but never go in deep.
Hedge shook her out of her thoughts. "Well, youmight be his friend, but is he your friend? That is the question,"
"Wh-what do you mean?" Piper was baffled.
"It means he doesn't like you, brainless. Duh! He so obviously thinks you're a freak," Hedge said.
"Is that true? Wait, no, he likes me…Right?" She was a bit uncertain. Was there not even a spoon for that steak?
"That's for you to figure out and me to…well, not know, but figure out sooner than you. See ya, cupcake!"
He walked off, leaving Piper very confused and heartbroken.
Piper walked to her dorm room. She sat on her bed and stared at a picture of her dad and her at the beach. Mini-Piper was thrashing in the water playfully, in her dad's arms, laughing. Her dad had a huge smile on his face as he played with Piper. She'd loved the days back then when her dad would act normal—not like she was a juvenile delinquent, not like he was a famous actor, but like a perfectly normal father and daughter.
That's it, Piper thought. I'm not a delinquent. I'm normal.
Normal.
Normal.
Normal.
The word echoed through Piper's head. All her life, she'd never felt normal. She was always the freak, the mixed-race one, the popular girl who wasn't popular, the girl without a mother, the girl with the disabilities, the tomboy. Meeting Leo and Tanya was one of the best days of her life. Meeting Jason was even better. She'd never really had friends besides them. All her life, she'd never known what the definition of "normal" was. Really, she still didn't know. What she did know, though, was that she was normal in her own way. And not even Coach Hedge, or Jason, could take that away from her.
Sounding like a bumper sticker tended to make her feel a lot better.
Piper got up, with newfound confidence, to go talk to Coach and Jason.
"Are you sure?" Piper distinctively heard Jason's voice.
"Why would I lie about this?" Hedge.
"Mhm, I guess you're right…Still, you sure it wasn't an accident? Piper really does hate me?"
"Yes, cupcake! How many times do I gotta tell you?"
"Okay, okay! Bye, Coach,"
Hedge grunted.
Piper widened her eyes. She could not believe what she was hearing. She didn't hate Jason! Why was Hedge lying to the both of them? Did he want drama?
Nah, he obviously wanted a hate-fest, which in his mind would most likely lead to war.
Piper was pulled out of her jumbling thoughts when Jason walked swiftly past her. "Jason! Jason, wait!"
"What do you want?" Jason asked coldly.
Piper was a bit taken aback. "Hedge is lying,"
"About what?" Jason started walking back to his dorm. Piper rushed to follow him.
"You know what!" she crossed her arms like a child and stepped in front of Jason. "Listen, I threw the ball on accident, Hedge is trying to get us to hate each other so we would start a war, and I have a revenge plan,"
"How can I believe you?" Jason asked dubiously.
"Just trust me," Piper sighed. Jason blinked as if in a trance, and then nodded eagerly.
"Okay! When do we start?"
"Tomorrow—I'm tired,"
"Leo. Leo. Leeee-o. LEO, WAKE UP!"
"Gah!" Leo shot up, rubbing his eyes. "Ugg…what do you want from me?"
"An idea for a prank," Piper said.
He perked up. "Well, color me intrigued,"
Piper smirked. "I thought so. Thanks for agreeing to help!"
"Sure. Wait, what are you doing in the boys' dorm?"
"…"
"So basically, you want to get Hedge back for spreading all this hate and being a liar?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Piper looked at Jason, who simply nodded in agreement.
Leo stroked an imaginary beard. "I see," After a few more seconds of stroking, Leo blurted, "I have the answer!"
"What?" Jason asked.
"Put his pants on fire,"
"Say what?!"
"Leo!" Piper tried to reason with him. "We can't do that. Put a teacher's pants on fire? Are you insane?"
"Why yes. Yes I am,"
She sighed. "Not the point. Do you know how much trouble we'd get into if we did that? How would we, anyway? Why would you think of that in particular?"
"Relax, Pipes," Leo said. "We go to a school for freaking juvenile delinquents, and you're scared we could get in trouble? Besides, it won't be as hard as stealing a BMW,"
"I didn't steal it!"
"Sure, sure. Anyway, all we gotta do is sneak up to him when no one's looking, put a lighted match near his pants, and—KABLAMMO!—those pants will ignite like…like…I can't think of a good simile for this…" Leo scratched his head.
"A firecracker?" Jason suggested.
"Meh, good enough. What I'm trying to tell you is, it's like 'Liar, liar, pants on fire.' You know that thing?"
"Oh yeah!" Jason exclaimed. "I get it! Smart, Leo," Leo grinned.
"Guys, are you sure we can do this, or rather, should do this?" Piper asked uncertainly.
"I'm up for it," Jason vouched. "I'm sure it'll be hilarious,"
"I second that," Leo intervened.
"You came up with it!"
"I'll go with it, I guess," Piper said. "I mean, I don't exactly trust you people"—"Hey!"—"but I suppose it's worth the risk,"
"Should we let Tanya in on it?" Jason wondered.
"No!" Leo said a little too quickly. Jason and Piper looked at him strangely. "I—I mean, Tanya's been avoiding me for some reason, and we aren't exactly on speaking terms, and I really don't want to, um, collaborate with her right this moment." His eyes darted around nervously. "'Kay?"
"Sure, Leo," Piper replied, still a trifle suspicious. "Anyway, we need a good plan. Delinquent or not, I really don't want to get caught,"
The trio worked long and hard to perfect a plan for the very prank they were sure they'd never forget.
"Leo! Hold the match!"
"You hold the match!"
"It's the part of the plan!"
"I don't care!"
"Will you just hold the stinking match already?"
"Unless you want me to screw this up,"
"I'll be your best friend."
"You are my best friend. And I am not holding that match!"
"Fine! Grr, you're so stubborn,"
Piper could barely hear Leo and Jason's stupid match argument as she took a lookout for Coach Hedge. Where was the guy? Piper was on the verge of reporting Hedge's absence to the boys when Hedge's angry voice blared out of his megaphone: "Cupcakes! We're gonna be playin' a fiery game of dodge-ball today! Get ready!"
"Oh, it'll be fiery all right," Piper heard Leo mumble to Jason.
"You're funny," he responded. Piper could almost hear him rolling his eyes.
She got herself ready at her place under the bleachers. "You guys remember the signal?"
"Bird calls, right?" Jason checked Piper nodded.
"What if a pigeon gets in and we think it's you and we get his pants at the wrong time?" Leo said.
"Trust me," Piper muttered. "I sound nothing like a pigeon,"
Hedge resumed to his normal place in front of the bleachers Piper, Jason, and Leo hid under. His short stature stood straight, interested in the high school war raging before him. The children paid no attention to him or the bleachers behind him.
"Coo-coo," Piper called seconds later, sure her timing was right. Hedge didn't so much as look back. Jason crept soundlessly forward and set fire to the match. It burst into a tiny blue flame, reflecting its short bright light against Jason's face. He held it close to Hedge's workout pants, careful to touch the fabric but not burn Hedge's leg. The match blew out and Jason retreated back into the safety of the bleachers.
The nylon caught the flame quickly. Hedge seemed to feel the heat, because he whirled around to investigate. "What the—AHHH! MY PANTS! THEY'RE ON FIRE!"
Hedge ran around wildly in a circle and the kids stopped throwing around balls so they could see Hedge and laugh.
Jason, Piper, and Leo couldn't contain themselves from their hiding spot. They rolled out giggling, splitting their sides with laughter. Some of the kids stared at them, either wondering how they managed to ignite Hedge's pants or wondering what the heck they were doing down there.
Hedge ran outside, yelling and causing a scene. Leo high-fived Jason and Piper, and she thought she couldn't have dreamed of a better way of revenge.
"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" she sing-songed as the threesome went over to celebrate their successful prank.
Piper twiddled her thumbs as the principal glared at her with ferocity. She fought the urge to yawn, but detention was immensely boring. Listening to the principal lecture her was even more so.
"You will start in-school suspension soon, young lady, as will your friends! I will spare your dad a call, for this is the first time in a while you've acquired trouble, but regret what you've done, Piper McLean! Coach Hedge is extremely upset with you, as am I. Humiliating a teacher with such dangerous acts as those! Are you even listening?" he barked.
"Yes sir," Piper said, stifling a laugh at the sweet memory.
"Now leave, Ms. McLean, to in-school suspension. I shall talk to you later," he ordered. Piper inwardly groaned.
She left the principal's office to find Leo waiting to enter. She mouthed 'good luck' at him and he rolled his eyes. Piper walked to her in-school suspension, wherever that was held.
All she knew, was that prank was so worth the trouble.
Sorry for the suckish ending. I still need suggestions on what to write, people! I don't have enough ideas. Thank you for your cooperation.
Review or Piper will come to burn your pants!
Giraffe out!