“She’s from a different era.”
“She’s notthatold. She’s probably in her sixties. She’s not ninety.”
“Keep your voice down,” Maria whispers. “You don’t want her hearing us talking about her.”
“Yeah, I do. She was rude. Did you see the way she looked at me?”
“I should’ve told you to dress better. Principal Edwards commented on it as well.”
“I don’t care what Principal Edwards thinks. He can go to hell.”
“Rumor!” she whispers, looking around. “Someone might hear you.”
“Yeah? So? You think I’m the first person who doesn’t get along with the principal?”
“Let’s go sit down.” She walks over to a set of chairs that are in front of a large stone fireplace. There’s a framed picture of Principal Edwards on the mantel.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I say. “The guy’s so into himself he puts his photo on the mantel?”
“It’s tradition,” I hear Ms. Pruitt say from behind me. “A photo of the current principal is always placed on the mantel.”
“Oh,” I mutter.
“She was kidding.” Maria hurries to get up. “You know how teenagers are. I have a daughter her age and—”
“Before I forget,” Ms. Pruitt says, “I need to remind you of our uniform policy. A girl’s skirt must not be shortened beyond the allowed one inch above the knee. If we believe it’s shorter than that, we will take a measurement and send the girl home if she’s found to be in violation.”
“What if she’s sitting down and it rides up?” I say, being a smart ass.
Ms. Pruitt ignores me and continues. “Hair color can be natural colors only, meaning no pinks, purples, or other such colors.”
“Last I checked, hair wasn’t part of the uniform,” I say.
“Rumor,” Maria scolds under her breath.
“What? I’m just pointing it out.”
“Makeup is to be kept to a minimum,” Ms. Pruitt continues. “Nail polish is limited to neutral tones only. Tattoos of any kind are not allowed. Neither are piercings, outside the two allowed in the earlobes.”
“Are you sure this isn’t a military academy?” I ask. “Or a prison?”
Maria sighs. “Anything else, Ms. Pruitt?”
“Trystan’s backpack is ready. You can get it at the desk.” She turns and walks off to the back room.
Maria turns to me. “You’re only making things harder on yourself.”
“I’m just joking around. She’s so serious. This whole place needs to lighten up.” I follow her to the desk.
“Could you take this one?” Maria points to a black and green backpack with the school crest on it. “I’ll take Braden’s.”
I grab the backpack off the counter and almost drop it. I wasn’t expecting it to be so heavy. “Holy shit, what the hell’s in this thing?”
“Rumor!” Maria whispers. “You can’t curse like that at school.”
“People at my old school said a lot worse than that.”
“You can’t do that here. It’s not allowed.”
