Fan Fiction ❯ The Pep Rally... OF DOOM! ❯ Evil Suspected ( Chapter 1 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Black Seventeen 
Cassie is a normal high school girl who gets noticed by the very abnormal Timothy Geist. Why is he so insistent on staying by her side? And why is he calling her Marigold?
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.12.2003 | Updated On: 10.12.2003 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.7K | Visits: 230 | Status: Completed
Cassie is a normal high school girl who gets noticed by the very abnormal Timothy Geist. Why is he so insistent on staying by her side? And why is he calling her Marigold?
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.12.2003 | Updated On: 10.12.2003 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.7K | Visits: 230 | Status: Completed
My name is Cassandra Halliwell, but everybody calls me Cassie. I’m a sophomore at Charlie Parker High School. Some people often wonder why it’s called Charlie Parker High School and not named after somebody important, like a president or something. But I think jazz musicians are pretty important, too. Besides, Rutherford B. Hayes High School sounds way too stuffy. I’d much rather go to a school named after someone who made people get up and dance rather than one named after some politician behind a desk. Rock on, Charlie.
I’m a creature of habit, and I don’t like to deviate too much from those habits if I can help it. So, when a day arrives that throws my schedule off track, I get a little flustered. The particular day I’m thinking of happened not long ago. It was the day of the pep rally, which the school holds annually on the day before Thanksgiving vacation starts. I had gone through this the previous year, and didn’t like it one bit. See, attendance at the pep rally is mandatory. It’s scheduled as a half day that ends at 12:30, but the pep rally starts at 11:00. And, of course, since the principal is required by law to keep students in school for as long as the day is scheduled, he just herds us into the gymnasium and holds us there until the buses arrive. In the meantime, all the students are expected to cheer their heads off for our team. By the way, our school’s nickname is the Saxes. That’s short for saxophones. Rock on, Charlie.
So, my first experience with the pep rally came and went. Yeah, I was bored and was whining along with my friends about how much we wanted to just go home, but nothing really bad happened. It wasn’t until this year that things got weird. Then again, it wasn’t until this year that Timothy Geist enrolled at this school.
After Chemistry class, my last period of the day, I slowly walked out of class and took my time at my locker, methodically stowing my books in my backpack. I wanted to waste as much time as possible in getting to the gym. I was even thinking of taking the back walkway, the most roundabout way across the school grounds. As I slogged down the hall, I ran into Lisa, a friend of mine since junior high.
“Hey, Cassie.”
“Hey, Lisa.”
“Guess we gotta go to the gym now, huh?”
“Yeah, I’ve been not looking forward to it all day.”
“Well, at least we get Thanksgiving break after this. I wonder if keeping us here against our will is the school’s way of making us appreciate our time off more?”
“It’s twisted logic like that that assures you a position in government someday, Lisa,” I said with a chuckle. “I have to go pee. I’ll meet you down there.”
“Bye!” Lisa called as she fell back in with the crowd of students migrating to the gymnasium. I slipped into the girl’s room and sighed heavily. I propped my arms on the sink and stared at my face in the mirror behind it.
I sighed again. “I wish they’d just send us home now.”
“Wishful thinking in this den of evil!”
My hands nearly slipped off the sink as the unsolicited reply startled me to the core. I hurriedly looked around, but saw no one else in the bathroom. I even stooped down and checked under the stall partitions. Not a soul. “Whose there?”
“Don’t be alarmed,” the masculine voice replied. “I’m on your side.”
“Where the hell are you, anyway?”
“Up here, in the vent.”
I looked straight up and saw the dim silhouette of a boy pressed down on the vent cover. “You’re... in the vent?”
“You seem surprised.”
I seethed with rage, and a hint of embarrassment. “What the hell do you think you’re doing in the vent above the girl’s room?! You’re peeping, aren’t you, you pervert?! Trying to sneak a peek at some undies, huh? Help! Pervert! PERVERT!!”
“Please, calm yourself!” the boy said. “I would never resort to something so rude! We secret agents live by a strict code of honor.”
“Secret agent? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Let me introduce myself,” he said. “Secret Agent Timothy Geist, Codename: Poltergeist. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
Timothy Geist was a name that I had heard mentioned before, the subject of much gossip. He was a freshman, and the son of the mayor. I had heard that he was a real troublemaker, so everyone just passed him off as a typical child spoiled by his father’s influence. He had been summoned to the principal’s office on several occasions over the PA system. But this whole secret agent thing was a new one on me. Was he trying to insult my intelligence? Or was he just trying to talk his way out of being caught gawking at girls? “Well, that still doesn’t explain what you’re doing in the vent!”
“I was simply trying to gather as much information as possible without being seen. I was using the ventilation ducts to avoid detection. Having revealed your desire to escape this wretched place, I naturally called out to you.” Just who did this guy think he was trying to fool with a stupid story like that? He was beginning to get on my nerves.
Then, the ceiling above me began to groan and sag, the ceiling tiles splintering and raining white dust on to the floor. With a loud crash, it gave way, and Timothy fell from his perch, flat onto his stomach, motionless on the bathroom tile. He lay that way for several moments while the dust settled onto his blue jeans and olive sweatshirt like snowflakes.
Suddenly, he leapt to his feet and froze in some kind of karate-looking pose. He looked around for a couple of seconds, and then put his arms down. “A clever trap! Obviously, Principal Reynolds has anticipated my countermeasures against his heinous plot. I will not be so careless next time.”
I blinked a few times, unsure of just what to say. Not only was this boy an idiot, but a clumsy idiot to boot. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And I’m not too sure I want to know.”
The surreal confusion of the moment was pierced by the sound of footsteps outside. The sharp clip-clop could only be the sound of high heels, meaning someone was coming to the girl’s room! “Shit, someone’s coming! Hide somewhere!” I wasn’t concerned for his sake, but if someone saw me and him alone together in the bathroom after classes, she would definitely get the wrong idea. “Quick, get in the stall!”
I shoved Timothy into the nearest stall and closed the door. “Don’t make a sound!” Just as I repositioned myself in front of the mirror, all natural-like, in walked Miss Bernstein, my chemistry teacher.
“Oh, Cassie, it’s you. I heard some yelling in here. What’s going on?”
“Nothing, Miss Bernstein. Just, umm... talking to myself.”
“Really? Well, you were quite loud.” Just then she noticed the busted ceiling tiles on the floor. “My goodness, what happened here?”
“Er, it was like that when I got here!” I blurted. “You know, the janitor really should do something about this.” I surprised myself. I was lying like an old pro. To a teacher, no less! Maybe I would end up joining Lisa in her future in government.
“You’re right. I’ll call the janitor right away. And the pep rally should be starting in a few minutes. Make sure you’re not late.”
“Right, Miss Bernstein, I won’t.” I waved as she left the girl’s room.
No sooner had she left than Timothy burst from the stall and approached me. “I am impressed. You handled that situation very well. I suppose I owe you.”
“Yeah, well you can pay me back by leaving the girl’s room! You’re lucky Miss Bernstein didn’t see you in there, or we both would’ve been in trouble!”
“Yes, we would have been,” he replied, resting his chin in his hand. “For some reason, my normal stealth tactics aren’t working as well. This must mean that Principal Reynolds is on to me. I suppose that’s why you were sent as my backup.”
Huh? Backup? Was this guy for real? “What backup? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You needn’t hide anything from me, agent. After all, we’re on the same side.”
“Agent? Side? Were you smoking pot up in that vent, or what? Let me check your eyes and see if they’re bloodshot.”
“I already passed my physical examination when I became an agent,” he said. “We should leave this room and focus on our next move.”
“Well, I know my next move is going to be as far away from you as possible.”
“No, we shouldn’t be separated,” he quickly replied. “You seem like a reliable agent, but I can’t risk you telling Principal Reynolds what you know should I allow you to be captured and tortured.”
Too late. I was already being tortured.
“By the way, agent, let us refer to each other by code names from now on. You call me Poltergeist, and I shall call you Marigold.”
Why did this kid insist on going on with this stupid game? I grabbed his collar and all but dragged him out of the girl’s room, an easy task seeing as how he was quite a bit smaller than myself. I held him against a locker as I gave him the most piercing glare that I could. “Listen, weirdo. I don’t know what mental institution you escaped from, but whatever stupid little fantasy world you’re living in, you just keep it to yourself! If you want to start climbing around like a monkey playing James Bond, that’s fine. But leave me the hell out of it!”
Timothy had a shocked expression on his face, and for once didn’t say anything. Apparently, I had finally gotten something through his thick head. “I’m glad we’re seeing eye-to-eye on this,” I said. “So just leave me alone.”
As I took my hands away, he smiled slyly. He leaned in and whispered, “Great performance, Agent Marigold! If we are under surveillance, our observers must think by now that we aren’t working together. Your skill at counterintelligence is masterful!”
It took every ounce of my willpower to keep myself from strangling him. “Are you from this planet, creature?! Have you even listened to a word I’ve said? I am not a secret agent! You are not a secret agent! This is a high school! There are no terrorists here! There are no spies here! There are no evil plots here! There are only students and teachers! Do you get it now, you... you... you ass?!” I must have been angry. If someone annoys me, I call him an asshole. But if someone really gets on my nerves, I don’t even make the extra effort and shorten it to ass. It signifies that, in my opinion, you are not worth any effort on my part.
The smile had not disappeared from Timothy’s face. “I’m sure that did it,” he whispered. “Any thought our observers had that we might be working together has now been dispelled by your clever disinformation. I can see now why you were entrusted to assist me in this mission.”
I had no choice at that point but to give in to my baser instincts, so I punched him in the gut. Even in doing so, I restrained myself, not grinding my fist into him nearly as hard as I truly wanted to. He hunched over on one knee, trying to catch his breath. I stood over him, my fist still clenched. “Do you get it now? Stay away!”
He slowly got to his feet, but that annoying smile refused to leave his face. “Amazing performance, Agent Marigold! It’s almost as if you really wanted to hurt me just then! But I believe that our enemy has been successfully deceived. Now we should focus our attention on the mission at hand.”
I debated at that point whether or not to kill him. I mean, the term “justifiable homicide” exists for a reason, right? But, on the other hand, this guy just had to be crazy, and it wouldn’t be right to kill a crazy person; after all, they’re not responsible for their actions, right? Besides, how would it look to a college if “homicide” appeared on my transcripts? Still, I could not suppress my rage. Through gritted teeth I hissed, “If you call me Agent Marigold one more time I’ll kick your teeth out!”
“But the name suits you so well,” he said coolly. “You reminded me instantly of a marigold. Common and cheap, yet roughishly beautiful.”
It felt as though flames were shooting up the sides of my face. I shook with anger, and felt every muscle in my body tense, nearly surrendering to my animalistic urge to rend his skinny body asunder, my college transcripts be damned! But, before I could act, he sauntered over to a nearby janitor’s closet and went inside. My anger was momentarily replaced by confusion. What possible business could he have in a closet? Against my better judgment, I decided to ask. “Umm... what are you doing?”
“Please give me just a moment. I have to change into my work clothes.”
Work clothes? What the hell was this kid up to, now? Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more whacked-out, he emerged from the closet clad in a black tuxedo, complete with matching bowtie. Even the sneakers he wore before were now replaced by polished black dress shoes.
“Sorry I took so long, but I insist on dressing so to avoid calling attention to myself.”
He was wearing a tuxedo. In a high school. On a day other than the prom. And he expected not to be noticed? At this point, I really started wishing that this was all some bad dream, and that I would wake up and discover that I had just fallen asleep in algebra class again. I rhythmically began thumping my head against the nearest locker to release myself from this nightmare. After the seventeenth time my forehead reverberated off the metal, I knew I wasn’t going to wake up. Then, I started thumping my head against the locker again, simply out of frustration.
“Good, Agent Marigold, you continue to clear your head. Your mental faculties must be sharp to accomplish this mission. For we now must stop the greatest evil we have yet faced, in the visage of Principal Reynolds and his evil scheme. We must not waiver in our determination, and be unflagging in upholding justice. For righteousness always triumphs over evil, and I am a soldier of righteousness! I am Secret Agent Timothy Geist, Codename: Poltergeist!”
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
What evil scheme awaits the agents at the pep rally? Will Poltergeist and Marigold thwart the vile machinations of Principal Reynolds? Stay tuned for the next thrilling adventure of TIMOTHY GEIST, CODENAME: POLTERGEIST!
I’m a creature of habit, and I don’t like to deviate too much from those habits if I can help it. So, when a day arrives that throws my schedule off track, I get a little flustered. The particular day I’m thinking of happened not long ago. It was the day of the pep rally, which the school holds annually on the day before Thanksgiving vacation starts. I had gone through this the previous year, and didn’t like it one bit. See, attendance at the pep rally is mandatory. It’s scheduled as a half day that ends at 12:30, but the pep rally starts at 11:00. And, of course, since the principal is required by law to keep students in school for as long as the day is scheduled, he just herds us into the gymnasium and holds us there until the buses arrive. In the meantime, all the students are expected to cheer their heads off for our team. By the way, our school’s nickname is the Saxes. That’s short for saxophones. Rock on, Charlie.
So, my first experience with the pep rally came and went. Yeah, I was bored and was whining along with my friends about how much we wanted to just go home, but nothing really bad happened. It wasn’t until this year that things got weird. Then again, it wasn’t until this year that Timothy Geist enrolled at this school.
After Chemistry class, my last period of the day, I slowly walked out of class and took my time at my locker, methodically stowing my books in my backpack. I wanted to waste as much time as possible in getting to the gym. I was even thinking of taking the back walkway, the most roundabout way across the school grounds. As I slogged down the hall, I ran into Lisa, a friend of mine since junior high.
“Hey, Cassie.”
“Hey, Lisa.”
“Guess we gotta go to the gym now, huh?”
“Yeah, I’ve been not looking forward to it all day.”
“Well, at least we get Thanksgiving break after this. I wonder if keeping us here against our will is the school’s way of making us appreciate our time off more?”
“It’s twisted logic like that that assures you a position in government someday, Lisa,” I said with a chuckle. “I have to go pee. I’ll meet you down there.”
“Bye!” Lisa called as she fell back in with the crowd of students migrating to the gymnasium. I slipped into the girl’s room and sighed heavily. I propped my arms on the sink and stared at my face in the mirror behind it.
I sighed again. “I wish they’d just send us home now.”
“Wishful thinking in this den of evil!”
My hands nearly slipped off the sink as the unsolicited reply startled me to the core. I hurriedly looked around, but saw no one else in the bathroom. I even stooped down and checked under the stall partitions. Not a soul. “Whose there?”
“Don’t be alarmed,” the masculine voice replied. “I’m on your side.”
“Where the hell are you, anyway?”
“Up here, in the vent.”
I looked straight up and saw the dim silhouette of a boy pressed down on the vent cover. “You’re... in the vent?”
“You seem surprised.”
I seethed with rage, and a hint of embarrassment. “What the hell do you think you’re doing in the vent above the girl’s room?! You’re peeping, aren’t you, you pervert?! Trying to sneak a peek at some undies, huh? Help! Pervert! PERVERT!!”
“Please, calm yourself!” the boy said. “I would never resort to something so rude! We secret agents live by a strict code of honor.”
“Secret agent? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Let me introduce myself,” he said. “Secret Agent Timothy Geist, Codename: Poltergeist. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
Timothy Geist was a name that I had heard mentioned before, the subject of much gossip. He was a freshman, and the son of the mayor. I had heard that he was a real troublemaker, so everyone just passed him off as a typical child spoiled by his father’s influence. He had been summoned to the principal’s office on several occasions over the PA system. But this whole secret agent thing was a new one on me. Was he trying to insult my intelligence? Or was he just trying to talk his way out of being caught gawking at girls? “Well, that still doesn’t explain what you’re doing in the vent!”
“I was simply trying to gather as much information as possible without being seen. I was using the ventilation ducts to avoid detection. Having revealed your desire to escape this wretched place, I naturally called out to you.” Just who did this guy think he was trying to fool with a stupid story like that? He was beginning to get on my nerves.
Then, the ceiling above me began to groan and sag, the ceiling tiles splintering and raining white dust on to the floor. With a loud crash, it gave way, and Timothy fell from his perch, flat onto his stomach, motionless on the bathroom tile. He lay that way for several moments while the dust settled onto his blue jeans and olive sweatshirt like snowflakes.
Suddenly, he leapt to his feet and froze in some kind of karate-looking pose. He looked around for a couple of seconds, and then put his arms down. “A clever trap! Obviously, Principal Reynolds has anticipated my countermeasures against his heinous plot. I will not be so careless next time.”
I blinked a few times, unsure of just what to say. Not only was this boy an idiot, but a clumsy idiot to boot. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And I’m not too sure I want to know.”
The surreal confusion of the moment was pierced by the sound of footsteps outside. The sharp clip-clop could only be the sound of high heels, meaning someone was coming to the girl’s room! “Shit, someone’s coming! Hide somewhere!” I wasn’t concerned for his sake, but if someone saw me and him alone together in the bathroom after classes, she would definitely get the wrong idea. “Quick, get in the stall!”
I shoved Timothy into the nearest stall and closed the door. “Don’t make a sound!” Just as I repositioned myself in front of the mirror, all natural-like, in walked Miss Bernstein, my chemistry teacher.
“Oh, Cassie, it’s you. I heard some yelling in here. What’s going on?”
“Nothing, Miss Bernstein. Just, umm... talking to myself.”
“Really? Well, you were quite loud.” Just then she noticed the busted ceiling tiles on the floor. “My goodness, what happened here?”
“Er, it was like that when I got here!” I blurted. “You know, the janitor really should do something about this.” I surprised myself. I was lying like an old pro. To a teacher, no less! Maybe I would end up joining Lisa in her future in government.
“You’re right. I’ll call the janitor right away. And the pep rally should be starting in a few minutes. Make sure you’re not late.”
“Right, Miss Bernstein, I won’t.” I waved as she left the girl’s room.
No sooner had she left than Timothy burst from the stall and approached me. “I am impressed. You handled that situation very well. I suppose I owe you.”
“Yeah, well you can pay me back by leaving the girl’s room! You’re lucky Miss Bernstein didn’t see you in there, or we both would’ve been in trouble!”
“Yes, we would have been,” he replied, resting his chin in his hand. “For some reason, my normal stealth tactics aren’t working as well. This must mean that Principal Reynolds is on to me. I suppose that’s why you were sent as my backup.”
Huh? Backup? Was this guy for real? “What backup? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You needn’t hide anything from me, agent. After all, we’re on the same side.”
“Agent? Side? Were you smoking pot up in that vent, or what? Let me check your eyes and see if they’re bloodshot.”
“I already passed my physical examination when I became an agent,” he said. “We should leave this room and focus on our next move.”
“Well, I know my next move is going to be as far away from you as possible.”
“No, we shouldn’t be separated,” he quickly replied. “You seem like a reliable agent, but I can’t risk you telling Principal Reynolds what you know should I allow you to be captured and tortured.”
Too late. I was already being tortured.
“By the way, agent, let us refer to each other by code names from now on. You call me Poltergeist, and I shall call you Marigold.”
Why did this kid insist on going on with this stupid game? I grabbed his collar and all but dragged him out of the girl’s room, an easy task seeing as how he was quite a bit smaller than myself. I held him against a locker as I gave him the most piercing glare that I could. “Listen, weirdo. I don’t know what mental institution you escaped from, but whatever stupid little fantasy world you’re living in, you just keep it to yourself! If you want to start climbing around like a monkey playing James Bond, that’s fine. But leave me the hell out of it!”
Timothy had a shocked expression on his face, and for once didn’t say anything. Apparently, I had finally gotten something through his thick head. “I’m glad we’re seeing eye-to-eye on this,” I said. “So just leave me alone.”
As I took my hands away, he smiled slyly. He leaned in and whispered, “Great performance, Agent Marigold! If we are under surveillance, our observers must think by now that we aren’t working together. Your skill at counterintelligence is masterful!”
It took every ounce of my willpower to keep myself from strangling him. “Are you from this planet, creature?! Have you even listened to a word I’ve said? I am not a secret agent! You are not a secret agent! This is a high school! There are no terrorists here! There are no spies here! There are no evil plots here! There are only students and teachers! Do you get it now, you... you... you ass?!” I must have been angry. If someone annoys me, I call him an asshole. But if someone really gets on my nerves, I don’t even make the extra effort and shorten it to ass. It signifies that, in my opinion, you are not worth any effort on my part.
The smile had not disappeared from Timothy’s face. “I’m sure that did it,” he whispered. “Any thought our observers had that we might be working together has now been dispelled by your clever disinformation. I can see now why you were entrusted to assist me in this mission.”
I had no choice at that point but to give in to my baser instincts, so I punched him in the gut. Even in doing so, I restrained myself, not grinding my fist into him nearly as hard as I truly wanted to. He hunched over on one knee, trying to catch his breath. I stood over him, my fist still clenched. “Do you get it now? Stay away!”
He slowly got to his feet, but that annoying smile refused to leave his face. “Amazing performance, Agent Marigold! It’s almost as if you really wanted to hurt me just then! But I believe that our enemy has been successfully deceived. Now we should focus our attention on the mission at hand.”
I debated at that point whether or not to kill him. I mean, the term “justifiable homicide” exists for a reason, right? But, on the other hand, this guy just had to be crazy, and it wouldn’t be right to kill a crazy person; after all, they’re not responsible for their actions, right? Besides, how would it look to a college if “homicide” appeared on my transcripts? Still, I could not suppress my rage. Through gritted teeth I hissed, “If you call me Agent Marigold one more time I’ll kick your teeth out!”
“But the name suits you so well,” he said coolly. “You reminded me instantly of a marigold. Common and cheap, yet roughishly beautiful.”
It felt as though flames were shooting up the sides of my face. I shook with anger, and felt every muscle in my body tense, nearly surrendering to my animalistic urge to rend his skinny body asunder, my college transcripts be damned! But, before I could act, he sauntered over to a nearby janitor’s closet and went inside. My anger was momentarily replaced by confusion. What possible business could he have in a closet? Against my better judgment, I decided to ask. “Umm... what are you doing?”
“Please give me just a moment. I have to change into my work clothes.”
Work clothes? What the hell was this kid up to, now? Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more whacked-out, he emerged from the closet clad in a black tuxedo, complete with matching bowtie. Even the sneakers he wore before were now replaced by polished black dress shoes.
“Sorry I took so long, but I insist on dressing so to avoid calling attention to myself.”
He was wearing a tuxedo. In a high school. On a day other than the prom. And he expected not to be noticed? At this point, I really started wishing that this was all some bad dream, and that I would wake up and discover that I had just fallen asleep in algebra class again. I rhythmically began thumping my head against the nearest locker to release myself from this nightmare. After the seventeenth time my forehead reverberated off the metal, I knew I wasn’t going to wake up. Then, I started thumping my head against the locker again, simply out of frustration.
“Good, Agent Marigold, you continue to clear your head. Your mental faculties must be sharp to accomplish this mission. For we now must stop the greatest evil we have yet faced, in the visage of Principal Reynolds and his evil scheme. We must not waiver in our determination, and be unflagging in upholding justice. For righteousness always triumphs over evil, and I am a soldier of righteousness! I am Secret Agent Timothy Geist, Codename: Poltergeist!”
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
What evil scheme awaits the agents at the pep rally? Will Poltergeist and Marigold thwart the vile machinations of Principal Reynolds? Stay tuned for the next thrilling adventure of TIMOTHY GEIST, CODENAME: POLTERGEIST!