PB High-
Jack B. Badd walked through the front doors of PB High, clutching her notebook and trying to look tough. She’d just transferred from Slam City High, which had been easy compared to what she’d heard about PB High. She figured it would just be better if everyone took her for a guy, and so had registered under a pseudonym.
Her first stop was the main office. New students were required to stop by and sign in. So far, so good. The woman behind the counter looked nice. She smiled sweetly and beckoned her over.
“Hi! I’m Miss Shazza.”
“I’m Jack B. Badd. I need to get my class schedule.”
“I’ll pull that right up for you.”
Miss Shazza punched several keys on her computer, frowned, and punched some more keys.
“So, something went wrong?” Jack asked.
“No, here it is.”
Miss Shazza hit print and handed her a schedule.
“First you need to go to the Hunter-Gratzner Auditorium. They’re having freshman orientation there. Just go straight down the hall, to your right.”
Jack thought that maybe the rumors about PB High weren’t accurate. Miss Shazza sure seemed nice. But as she turned the corner, she realized the rumors could be true. The hallway was very dim and she could hear creepy clicking sounds from behind the closed doors she passed. She quickly jogged to the auditorium, which was packed with students. She sat next to some Muslim kids and glanced at her schedule. It said:
English: Mr. Lawrence Johns
Astronomy: Mr. Greg Owens
Drivers Education: Ms. Carolyn Fry
Shop: Mr. E. “Zeke” Ezekial
Home Economics: Mr. Paris P. Ogilvie
Religious Studies: Imam
Yuck! School sucked. Jack looked around at the other students in the auditorium. Most of them looked mean and surly and were checking her out. She knew she’d need to do something to get a reputation; if she showed any weakness, they’d never leave her alone. Just like Slam.
The lights in the auditorium flicked off and a big man with a shaved head strode out onto the stage. His eyes glowed eerily in the dim spotlight shining down on him.
“I am Principal Richard B. Riddick.” The man’s deep voice echoed through the auditorium. Everyone immediately shut up. “I am in charge here. I want you to remember this moment, and what I tell you today. If you want to survive your stay at PB High, there is only one rule to follow. Stay in the light. The darkened areas are for non-human students only. If you venture too far away from the lighted areas, you will die. That’s all.”
Principal Riddick obviously was a man of few words. An idea suddenly popped into Jack’s head for how she could impress the other students. She stood up and yelled to Principal Riddick on the stage.
“Hey, where the hell can I get eyes like that?”
Principal Riddick stared at her, clearly annoyed by her outburst. He hadn’t asked if anyone had any questions.
“You have to kill a few seniors first.”
“No problem, I can do it. I have a shiv and everything!”
“Cute, kid. Shut up and sit down.”
Jack knew she’d scored some points with the other freshman. Principal Riddick looked mean and tough and no one else had the guts to say anything to him. With a parting glance, Principal Riddick strode back off the stage, and the lights came up. The student sitting next to her introduced himself.
“I’m Suliman.”
“I’m Jack. Nice to meet you.”
“What classes do you have?”
Jack showed him her schedule. He shook his head in dismay.
“My older brothers go to school here too. I’ve heard all about these teachers. Ms. Fry always ends up crashing cars; I’m surprised they haven’t fired her. And Mr. Owens couldn’t find the moon even if he had a starmap!”
“Sounds like some of my teachers from Slam. They sucked!”
“It’s not much better here. But you got Johns for English. That’s good. The man is always high! He doesn’t care what’s going on. You can get an easy A in that class.”
“What about Shop?”
“Zeke is cool. My brothers told me he lets students use blow torches and lets them make things like pick-axes.”
“That sounds like fun. You think I can make a shiv?”
“He’ll probably let ya. Principal Riddick likes to collect shivs, and Zeke makes a lot for him.”
Jack thought that maybe PB High wouldn’t be so bad after all. At least Shop sounded like fun. Suliman walked beside her as they followed the other students down the hall.
“I have home ec first,” Jack said.
“Me too. But we can’t go up those stairs. We have to go some other way.”
“Why?”
“That’s senior hall up there. Any freshman who walks up there gets stuffed into a cryo-locker. I hear there’s still some freshmen there from twenty years ago.”
“I’m not scared of no seniors.”
Jack turned to the left and stepped up on the first stair, only to stop. The stairs disappeared into pitch blackness, and Principal Riddick’s rule echoed in her mind. She stepped back down and followed Suliman to class. She’d find some other way to senior hall one of these days. She was definitely going to check it out.