From the prompt: "Can't stop being me..."
The Way I Am
"Mr. O'Connor," Master Brennan growled.
A pair of laughing blue eyes was lowered meekly, watching hands playing with the bottom end of a
navy-blue tie. "Sir?"
"How nice to see you again." The words were drenched with sarcasm.
Keith bit his lip to hide a grin, long nimble fingers still kneading the fabric of his tie. "The
pleasure is all mine, sir."
"What was it this time, lad?" Master Brennan shuffled the papers on his desk, searching for the
latest complaint against the wayward student.
"I was taking a mock-GCSE in Chemistry, sir," Keith answered, feigning a demure tone. "The lab
was on the flammability of substances."
Master Brennan tapped his pen on the desktop, sighing. "Ah. That would explain why the floor of
the S-wing is wet then, eh?"
"Probably, sir," Keith said quietly. "The, you know, fire sprinklers went off."
Master Brennan sighed and uncapped his pen, beginning to write. "I suppose you'll have to spend
Saturday in supervision again."
Keith nodded humbly. "Yes, sir. I'll be there." He reached out to accept the paper. As he rose
up he slipped a shiny thumbtack onto the chair before leaving the room. He smiled innocently up
at the Form 5 prefect that was heading to the office. He scampered down the corridor towards
Master Wright's geography class, allowing himself a satisfied smirk when there was a yelp of pain
from Master Brennan's office.
"Where've you been during lunch?" Holly asked when Keith strolled across the quads, hands in
pockets, whistled idly.
He smiled. "We were making honey cakes in home ec," he answered. "I thought I could make good use
of the stuff."
Holly leaned in for a kiss. "Tastes sweet, that honey," she murmured when she pulled back.
Shannon rolled his eyes.
Keith slipped an arm around his girlfriend's waist. "Come on. Lunch is nearly over."
A few heads turned when the bell began to toll. More heads turned when a voice rang out from the
bell tower.
"Oy! Who put this sticky stuff on the ropes?!"
Duffy and Ste gaped, but Keith merely smiled innocently and guided Holly into the nearest
corridor.
"Matt Charleston to the office, Matt Charleston to the office."
The voice crackled over the PA system, causing the red-haired boy loping down the hallway to grin.
He stepped into the principal's office and waved at the secretary, plopping down on the bench just
outside the principal's door.
"What are you here for?" he asked, flashing a friendly smile at the boy sitting next to him.
The boy was slouched down on the bench, chin buried in the collar of his black jacket. "The
principal doesn't like my artwork."
Matt raised his eyebrows. "The anarchy symbol on the lunchroom wall?"
The boy nodded sullenly with a mumble of, "Yeah."
"That's too bad," Matt sympathised. "The detail was fantastic."
"Tell that to the principal." The boy snorted.
The principal's door loomed ominously before them.
"What did you do?" the boy asked.
"Set the chem teacher's toupee on fire," Matt answered amicably.
The boy arched an eyebrow. "You don't look the type."
Matt smirked. "Do they ever?"
The principal's door swung open. "Matt Charleston?"
Matt rose up, smiling innocently at the man. "That's me." He stepped into the principal's office,
and the door swung shut, the sound a strange finality.
There was no yelling from the office, the silence foreboding. The boy watched the door
curiously.
A few minutes later, Matt came scooting out the door as the fire sprinklers went off.
The boy gaped.
Matt called over his shoulder, "Mr. Farber has a toupee, too!"
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