Chapter 122 – Integration – Holly Hayfield

It was still an hour before sunrise and yet I was already running late. My daily routine had transformed greatly in light of recent events. The principal recognized my potential as an asset for the school and bestowed several new benefits on me, and with it, new responsibilities.

One such benefit was the ability to alter my class attendance schedule as I saw fit. This meant I could skip a class whenever I deemed it necessary without asking permission or writing up an excuse. I wouldn’t be counted absent and the relevant teachers would simply contact my school email with any need-to-know homework information.

Part of this was because I was helping the school principal to get back into the swing of things. Beyond that, this was an evolution of my internship. I still planned on attending college after graduation, but I agreed to work at the school part-time once I was no longer officially a high school student. As such, arrangements were being made for me to integrate more with the rest of the staff.

My mom was still asleep by the time I was leaving the house. Normally she’d be the one taking me to school. This was another change that happened recently. I had a new ride to school and she was already pulling up as I walked outside. Alyssa’s schedule was lined up perfectly with mine. She was going through many improvements in her life as well, same as me.

Alyssa recently upgraded her driving permit to a full license. Her grandmother bought her a gas-powered scooter bike as a reward. It wasn’t as impressive or powerful as Val’s motorcycle, but it was enough to carry the two of us to and from school without problems.

Alyssa was more than happy to show off her new ride by taking me to school with her. I helped her pay for gas in exchange. Her grandmother gave her a weekly allowance, but it wasn’t enough to cover all the trips we were making on her scooter. The fact that I could pay for gas made things convenient for both of us.

Ever since she got the scooter we began spending far more time together, to my own surprise. The first day she got it we spent all day driving around town, checking out random shops. We didn’t stop until it was late at night and I had to return home to get some rest before school. The time we spent wandering around together gave us a lot to bond over.

“Morning,” Alyssa said casually as I climbed onto the back of the scooter.

The scooter looked a bit like a regular motorbike, just more streamlined. It was big enough to fit the both of us, but it was a close fit. It felt odd to hold onto Alyssa while sitting behind her. She didn’t feel as sturdy as Val and I was always a little nervous about riding with her. Then again, her scooter wasn’t as fast as Val’s motorcycle so that was relieving.

“Morning,” I said as I put on my helmet. “Thanks for agreeing to pick me up so early in the morning.”

Alyssa smiled proudly. She was doing that a lot more lately. She had opened up quite significantly over the course of the past week.

“It’s no problem. This is the second time this week, though. Isn’t the staff expecting too much out of a student intern?” She asked.

I snickered a bit.

“You know, I said something along those lines to the vice principal and she dodged the comment. I think the staff is just grateful to have an extra hand to boss around, details be damned.”

“That sounds like the true internship experience, at least according to what I’ve heard.”

“No matter,” I said, “I don’t expect the early morning calls to go on for too long. I’ll put up with it for now.”

Alyssa revved up the modest engine and we pushed away from my trailer.

“I wanted to pick up breakfast but I guess we don’t have that sort of time.” Alyssa said. “I’ll drop you off first. After that I’ll pick up something for both of us. Sound good?”

“Sounds good to me,” I said.

Our transition from the trailer park and onto the main road was smooth. Her scooter was far easier for me to adjust to than Val’s motorcycle. For one thing I didn’t feel sick at every sharp turn or increase in acceleration. The only real downside of the scooter was the winter weather. I was wearing a thick winter jacket, but I could still feel my face turning cold.

Due to this cold weather and my recent changes in station I haven't had many meetings with my track club. We've been trying to meet once or twice a week, but not for regular track practice. We've been focusing on building stamina and staying in shape. It was one of the big reasons that Charlotte and Min joined the club for anyways. I felt it was best to focus on that.

Alyssa was helping me with more than just rides to school. She became something of a personal assistant to me. The other members of the student council were equally busy lately. I fell into the habit of relying heavily on Alyssa. Now I was nervous about the fact that Sofi was slated to return to school soon. How would Alyssa react to that?

She was silent on the topic herself but I got the impression that she harbored a lot of mixed feelings about Sofi. I never brought it up specifically because I was worried about causing a rift in our current good relationship. Now though, I was actually worried about losing one of my close friends. Would this relationship end the moment Sofi returned?

We arrived at school and parked in the reserved parking area. Ms. Sampson knew I’d be riding to school with Alyssa and so permission for this was granted ahead of time. It was just one more perk of the recent circumstances. The parking space came with my own key to the school. We'd need it since we were the first ones to arrive.

"I still can't believe they gave you a spare key to the school." Alyssa said as I was unlocking the front doors, "The staff must really respect you."

"Maybe," I said as I pulled the door open, "But I think this is another one of those things that they'd prefer to have an extra hand for. Normally the janitorial staff arrives ahead of us. When I told them I'd be coming in early they were happy to sleep in."

Alyssa chuckled.

"When you put it that way it really does sound like free labor."

I shrugged.

"They'll still be helping me with college admission and supplies. So not totally free, I guess.”

"True," She said before turning away, "I'll meet you in your office. I know a donut place that should be opening up right about now."

"Okay, I'll see you soon. I'm going to get started on some work."

The office given to me by the principal was another one of the big benefits I received. It wasn’t some out of the way unused classroom either. It was the office of a recently retired school administrator near the heart of the school, not far from the principal’s office. The office would now serve as my main counseling facility, replacing the student council room in that regard.

The work that I was arriving so early to work on was an information request from the local board of education. All the alternative schools in the district had to fill out reports regarding the state of the school on a quarterly basis. It was mostly a formality but apparently someone read Ms. Sampson’s last report and was disappointed with it.

Ms. Sampson and the principal asked me to handle it since I knew the state of the school better than anyone else. As a member of both the staff and student body I was in a unique position to observe things from both sides. Not only that, but I had a guiding hand in many of the reforms going on throughout the school. I was probably the best person for the job for that reason alone.

This report wasn’t going to be a self-satisfied highlight reel of the reforms we made. I could use this opportunity to officially report on any criticisms I had of the school, and I still had a lot. We were making progress, but there were areas that felt stagnant. The most obvious was the school’s ongoing maintenance problems.

Alyssa returned while I was typing up the report at my desk. The computer and desk came with the room, along with two chairs across from the chair I was sitting in. There was also a couch on the opposite side of the room meant for counseling sessions. We started decorating the place a little already. I put that project on hold when Alyssa began bringing in decorations from the occult hall.

Alyssa worked on her homework as I worked on my report. She bought a bag of glazed donuts and left it on the table between us. It was so quiet in the room that I could hear people walking in the hallway outside. Time flew by so fast that I didn’t realize how close it was to first period now.

I leaned back in my chair and stretched.

“I should be able to finish this report by the end of this weekend.” I said.

Alyssa looked up from her homework, somewhat surprised.

“Oh?” She said sheepishly, “I thought you’d want to hang out this weekend. It’ll be my first weekend with the scooter after all. Will you be too busy?”

“I can make time. Hopefully we’re not investigating another haunted building…”

“That’s a good idea,” Alyssa said. “Maybe I should ask Lilith if there are any haunted places we can check out.”

“Please don’t,” I said flatly. “Since we’re on the topic of haunted places, what are your plans for the Occult Club when Sofi comes back to school on Monday?”

Alyssa flinched back at this. Perhaps she had been purposely avoiding the topic as well? I bit my lip. Maybe it sounded like I was trying to get rid of her?

“I wanted to clear the air around this.” I explained further, “I don’t know what you’re planning to do and I’m a little concerned. I understand that she was your best friend so I’m aware this is a sensitive topic. I’m worried that you’ll stop hanging out with me and the rest of the student council.”

Alyssa laid her pen down on the table and leaned back into her seat. She looked away from me and stared blankly into the distance, lost in her thoughts.

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot myself. I was afraid that you were just ‘baby-sitting’ me until Sofi came back.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” I said almost accusingly, “What in the world would make you think that.”

She shrunk into her seat at the admonishment and ruefully shrugged her shoulders.

“I mean… You were suddenly really nice to me after I tried to burn down Ms. Sampson’s office. I thought that maybe you just wanted to keep a leash on me until things returned to normal.”

I ran my hands through my hair.

“Alyssa…” I said carefully, “I’m not going to lie and say there’s no truth in that, but you have to put things into perspective. I was worried about you as an individual. I was worried that maybe you couldn’t go on without Sofi. That was just at the start. Surely you’ve seen how things have changed by now, right?”

“Right…” She said, sitting up straight in her chair. “It’s just that you’re so busy and…”

“You think that means I’d throw you by the wayside?” I asked, unable to hold back an incredulous laugh. “Like I said, don’t be ridiculous. We’re good friends now, regardless of how things started out between us. The only reason I’m bringing this up now is because I’m hoping that you won’t suddenly lose interest in me.”

Alyssa smiled shyly.

“Maybe I was overthinking things a bit…” She said lightly.

“A bit,” I teased.

The office door swung open, interrupting our little heart-to-heart. Our new guest stumbled in and practically flung herself at the edge of my desk, clinging onto it as if it were a lifeboat in the middle of the sea.

“Holly…!” Helga croaked out slowly as if she were in excruciating pain, “Help me!”

“Oh brother,” I said to myself, feeling a headache coming on. “What is it this time?”

Helga picked herself up off the floor and pulled herself into the seat beside Alyssa. Alyssa helped her up somewhat unnecessarily. It wasn’t like she was in any real pain. She was just being as melodramatic as usual.

“I’m behind on the homework I was supposed to grade!” She cried.

“No surprise,” I said unsympathetically. “I actually find it a little funny that you’re already behind.”

She glared at me in mock anger.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? How is any of this funny to you?” She asked.

“It’s the fact that you’ve taken over Ms. Logan’s class and you’re already pulling a page out of her book. I think you would’ve liked her… On second thought, never mind. Something tells me you two would be too similar to get along.”

“Rude!” She accused. “Anyways, I’ve come to ask for some more help. You were the one that talked my gramps into giving me this position! Help me keep it!”

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. Back when I helped her get the job I thought I was doing something good by helping her reconnect with her grandfather and giving her steady employment. Now, her constant antics were making me second-guess that decision. After working out things between her and the substitute teachers, Helga was already falling behind in her responsibilities.

“I’ll help her out until class starts.” Alyssa said. “You can continue working on your report.”

“Thank you, Alyssa.” I said. “We’ll finish talking at lunch.”

“Yeah, thanks Alyssa!” Helga said.

They got up together, with Alyssa giving Helga more unnecessary support by helping her out of her seat. Helga was sure to take a couple of donuts out of the bag on the desk before making her way out of the room. When Alyssa opened the office door someone was already standing there, preparing to knock.

“There you are!” Ms. Sampson shouted at Helga, “Why the hell have you been dodging my calls!”

“Sorry, we’ve got some important work to finish!” Helga said as she ran off. Alyssa followed close behind.

Ms. Sampson sighed and walked into my office. She sat down in one of the chairs across from me and reached for the bag of donuts. I didn’t try to stop her. I found the situation amusing. I personally hadn’t eaten a single donut yet since I was so busy and now they were almost gone.

“I still can’t believe you brought that woman back from the dead.” Ms. Sampson said after taking a bite out of her donut, “I was certain that she was living under a bridge somewhere. Her credentials for the job are a little dubious and mostly hinge on the fact that she’s the principal’s granddaughter.”

I returned my vision back to my computer monitor as she spoke.

“Perhaps, but we’ve needed a permanent replacement for Ms. Logan for some time now. This is probably better than letting the position be filled by a constantly changing roulette of substitutes like before. Probably…”

“I hope you’re right. Helga is another headache I really don’t want to deal with, along with this whole ‘brawl’ fiasco... I’m guessing you’ve heard the news about Leigha?”

“I have…” I said, pausing to look at her, “And…?”

“And let’s count ourselves lucky that this fight didn’t happen at our school. There were enough non-students and adults at that warehouse party that the police have firmly established this as an unplanned act of gang violence. They questioned a few of our girls but it looks like the school hasn’t been implicated in any way. We got out of this completely unscathed.”

“Other than a student dying…” I reminded her.

“Other than that,” She agreed. “I’m assuming you have something planned for that?”

“I’m in contact with Leigha’s parents and they agreed to hold the funeral as a somewhat public event. Lilith and Jay created some flyers for the event that will be handed out at lunch. Val plans to give a memorial speech at the funeral. After that, I’ll talk with Zoe about setting up something special for her in the yearbook.”

“And that will be the end of that?” She asked.

“I can’t make any promises.”

She exhaled deeply.

“When I first heard about that fight breaking out I was certain this would be another disaster but it seems like you have things fully under control. I’ll just need to find a way to deal with Brittney Jakeman and Naomi Su. This is the second brawl they’ve been involved in. This one ended up with someone dead. If something like that were to happen at school…”

“You don’t think suspending them was enough?” I asked. “I can’t speak for Brittney, but I know Naomi’s guardians have cracked down on her pretty hard. She’s no longer able to stay at Sam’s place.”

“They have so little control over their own daughter that I can’t take that seriously. I’ve talked to her parents enough to know that they don’t have the spine to handle her. If she was my daughter…”

“What are your plans for preventing these types of fights in the future?” I asked quickly to keep her focused on the subject.

She rolled her shoulders and shook her head.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I was kind of hoping you had something to deal with them.”

“Me…?” I asked in disbelief.

She gave me a challenging look.

“What? This type of thing will be part of your job! This is what counselors are supposed to help deal with.”

I had half a mind to point out that there was another counselor that was supposed to be doing this type of thing, but I decided to let it slide. Drawing attention to Mrs. Douglass would only weaken my current position, especially since Mrs. Douglass was critical of my recent rise in status.

“I probably can’t influence Brittney much, but maybe I can talk to Naomi…”

Ms. Sampson stood up out of her seat.

“That works for me. I’d like a list of known members of their little cliques. I want to see how involved they were with this brawl.”

“I’ll try, but I don’t know every single member...” I said.

“Well, if you need anything just give me a call.” She said and started to walk away.

“There’s one thing, actually.”

She stopped with her hand on the door handle and turned to look back at me.

“What is it?”

“I’d like to create an extra seat on the student council. I’m going to have Alyssa join us as an official member.”