WARNING: UPSETTING CONTENT.
Mentions of illness.
Hardened chunks of food were stuck on the walls, and the paint was starting to peel off.
The carpet needed fitting again, but a brand new one, because this one looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months.
"This wall is disgusting", frowned Eloise.
"Food should not be stuck to walls", said Spencer.
"What even happened here?", asked Atlas.
"The Mosque committee held a meeting here.
They were thinking about reserving a room to use for praying.
A bunch of racists got their kids to trash the place", explained Zee.
Eloise frowned.
"That's horrible!
Why couldn't they just mind their own business?
A prayer room isn't going to hurt anyone."
Elliott turned to Aahan.
"Was Marleyport like this when you were our age?", he asked.
Aahan nodded.
"Afraid so.
People were just confused, that's all.
We were different, you know?"
"We've got brown and black skin, believe in a different God, and have different cultures.
We're not aliens.
They act as if they'll grow a second head just by talking to us", said Zee.
"She's right", said Eloise.
"I've been to a lot of foster families, and not one of them tried to embrace my Indian background."
Eloise never felt tied to her Indian background.
She liked it, because it was her only connection to her mother, but she never really got to experience her culture.
She would've been grateful if even one of her foster family's would've read up on her history, or tried to cook an Indian dish.
That didn't make them bad foster parents.
Not in the slightest.
It just meant that it was another thing she missed out on.
Atlas watched as Aahan walked to another room, paint bucket in his hands.
He turned back to see a pensive Eloise. Her brush was squashed against the wall, and her eyes were looking at the ground.
Atlas looked at his own paintbrush, a mischievous smirk appearing on his face.
He reached over and swiped the paintbrush against Eloise's forehead.
The older girl froze, or started buffering, as Atlas would say.
Atlas' laugh seemed to pull her back to reality, and she used her brush to scoop up a large blob of paint.
She flicked it, sending it flying onto Atlas' face.
"Hey!"
"You started it!"
As if the pair attacking each other with paint wasn't chaotic enough, a bored Spencer decided to get in on the action.
He wiped his paintbrush on Atlas' arm, making Eloise laugh.
"Yes!
It's two against one!", she exclaimed.
Spencer shook his head.
"Nope!
I work alone", he said.
He snatched Eloise's brush and flicked paint at her as well.
"Oh, you sneaky motherf–"
Eloise was cut off by Atlas flicking more paint at her.
Elliott and Rowan joined in, the fun being too irresistible.
Irene and Zee stood to the side, watching the havoc.
"Not your kind of thing?", asked Zee.
"We've got a job to do.
I don't know why we can't just do it and not mess around", said Irene.
She turned her attention back to the chaos.
Her eyes landed on Rowan, who was running away from Elliott.
She cocked her head to the side as she watched him having genuine fun.
She couldn't help but smile.
"It does look fun though."
Suddenly, a paintbrush went flying through the air, smacking Zee in the face.
The laughter and the shouting stopped, almost instantly.
Elliott felt time move in slow-motion, and when Zee started walking towards him, he wanted time to freeze altogether.
"Zee?
Hey, I didn't mean–"
Zee grabbed his paintbrush and painted a thick grey line across his mouth, painting eye contact with him the whole time.
She paused for dramatic effect, before placing the brush back in his hand.
The faintest smile appeared on her face.
"You got a little somethin' on your face", she said, making the others laugh.
"What the heck is going on here?", shouted Aahan.
The group dropped their paintbrushes and quickly turned to face him.
His face was riddled with anger.
The students had never seen him this angry.
"Is someone going to answer me?"
"Uh, w-we were just having fun, S–", started Eloise.
"Fun?
Is that why we're here?
To have fun?
Do I need to remind you what's at stake here?
Or should I just book an appointment with your Head Teacher and tell him all about your fight?"
"That's not fair, man", said Spencer.
"That's 'Sir' or 'Mr. Patel' to you!"
"We didn't ask for this!", said Elliott.
"Well you should've thought about that before starting a fight then, shouldn't you?"
Eloise frowned.
"But Mr. Patel, that's not the whole–"
"And do you know what?
I know you didn't ask for this, but here's a lesson for you—life isn't fair."
◆◆◆
Irene watched her Dad sleep.
It was something that brought her peace.
Her Dad's illness really shocked them both, so any moment where her Dad gets to be at peace is one she welcomes.
The scariest thing is probably the tremours.
His arm will just start shaking, or his legs.
She's gotten used to seeing it, but she still feels that initial wave of panic when it first happens.
Honestly the worst thing is probably the lack of sleep.
Atleast, with worry, she knew what she was getting.
But the lack of sleep... it just left her so drained.
She could barely walk to school let alone focus in the classes.
She left her Dad's bedroom door slightly ajar, and quietly walked down the stairs.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her contacts, looking for someone to text.
IRENE
Hey Rowan
ROWAN
Hey.
How are you?
IRENE
Good thanks.
You?
ROWAN
I'm good.
Been studying for the last hour.
IRENE
Do you want to get some ice cream with me?
There's an ice cream place near mine that's open till late.
ROWAN
Yeah sure!
Sounds great.
Where do you want to meet?
IRENE
I'll send you the address and we'll meet there in 10?
ROWAN
Perfect, I'll be there.
◆◆◆
"Wait, wait, let me try that one", said Rowan, before grabbing a clean spoon and scooping some of the mango ice cream up.
"I'm telling you, this is the best one."
"Ohmygoshmhmmm!"
Irene giggled at the odd noise Rowan made.
"What was that?"
"That was my taste buds thanking me for the experience."
Irene giggled, shaking her head.
"Passionfruit is still my favourite though."
"Oh my gosh, how?"
"Here, try some", he said.
He grabbed her spoon and scooped up a good amount of it.
He held the spoon out, and Irene moved her face closer.
He placed his free hand under her chin, to stop any ice cream from dripping.
She made eye contact with him before eating the ice cream, making the boy blush.
He looked down to hide his red face.
"What the heck?
That's amazing!"
Rowan grinned.
"I told you!"
Their phones buzzed, which worried Irene.
She quickly checked hers, but relaxed when she saw that it wasn't from her Dad.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
Group chat
ELOISE
Guys we need to do something about Mr. Patel
ELLIOTT
What do you mean 'do something'?
ZEE
Why am I in this??
ATLAS
Uhh let's get back on track here. What were you saying my darling Eloise?
ELOISE
Dude seriously, grow a backbone
ZEE
Yes, grow a backbone so I can break it
IRENE
Sorry, is there a point to this?
ELOISE
Right yes. We can't keep letting Mr. Patel use us like this.
ROWAN
What do you suggest?
ELOISE
I don't know. Maybe we'll never get through to him. But I want to atleast know why he's so bothered about this award.
SPENCER
But how are we going to find that out? It's not like he'll open up to us.
ELOISE
I... hadn't really thought that far yet.
SPENCER
What now then?
ELOISE
WAIT
ELOISE
AHHH
ROWAN
WHAT'S WRONG?
ATLAS
ARE YOU DYING?
ELOISE
I HAVE IT!
ELOISE
Why don't we go visit his house tomorrow?
ZEE
You're crazy
ELLIOTT
I'm with Zee on this one.
ROWAN
Yes, that sounds illegal
ELOISE
No listen, he's gonna be working late anyway. All the teachers stay until like 6. So why don't we come up with an excuse to pop in, see what his family's like, and then atleast we'll know why he's acting so crazy?
IRENE
So your idea to find out why he's acting so crazy is to... act crazy?
ELOISE
Yes
ELOISE
Alright there are a few details to iron out, but we'll work on those tomorrow.
__________
Hi.
I'm excited to share the next couple of chapters! School is starting again for me, so updated might be scarce for a while.
Out of curiosity, what are your schedules like?
Aahan is putting a lot of pressure on these teenagers, and they've already got enough to deal with!
Irene is dealing with a lot, but she's got Rowan to help keep her relaxed. Will he get the wrong idea about her feelings though?
Also, it goes without saying that visiting a teacher's house isn't a good idea, and is a violation of their privacy. This is purely for the plot.
Any thoughts/theories?
What plan will the group come up with? And will Aahan catch them?
What are your thoughts on this chapter?
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