Day 25: 46,521 Words

Things are plugging along. I think everything is going to come to a head during Saturday detention. 

“Even I know that the administration at the high school is up to something extremely shady,” Jeremy Roenick noted. “Pardon my French, but it’s a fucking gong show.” Cass was shocked that none of the teachers corrected Jeremy Roenick that gong show was not a French word. Teachers notoriously love correcting people. Perhaps they were afraid it would be misconstrued as flirting. Sylvester Stallone chose that moment to speak.

“I agree with Jeremy. As you all know, my masterpiece film, Demolition Man, was dismissed as just a stupid action flick with ‘excessive explosions,’” he said, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Except that it smartly predicted and joked about toxic masculinity, racial bias, and the consequences of stifling individual freedom and critical thinking. By now, it’s obvious that the movie was brilliant. But it still doesn’t get enough credit.”

Everyone looked stunned but quickly moved on. Sylvester Stallone was aggrieved that James Van Der Beek did not write down what he said, but understood that it wasn’t about him. It was about the kids. Children are the future, he murmured to himself in an attempt to regulate his nervous system. Luckily for everyone, it worked. The last thing anyone needed was for a new celebrity feud to break out.

[other stuff is explained]

“I think she’s still at the school, somewhere.” Cass said. “And… I know this might sound crazy, but I think the Mini Militia has been trying to tell us that all along.”

“No crazier than what Sylvester Stallone just said,” Cody Simpson said helpfully. Sylvester Stallone scowled, but had to agree.

“When I saw that little girl in the hallway outside of Chadwick Penneyworth’s office… yes it was extremely creepy, but she lured me there. I feel like she was trying to tell me something. I feel like she was trying to help,” Cass said.

“That’s crazy, Cassie,” Tanner said. “I told you, the Mini Militia is unpredictable. They can’t be trusted. She could just as easily have been luring you into a trap!”

“I know, but… I don’t think we have a choice. If trusting the Mini Militia means we can save Iesha, I think we have to try,” Cass concluded. The celebrities and teachers agreed. “So tomorrow, we’re going in. We’re going to search the school top to bottom, and we’re not going to stop until we find Iesha.”

And finally, we meet the students.

The morning of Saturday, October 25 was a bright, crisp fall morning. One of those beautiful days that made Fall Riley Montgomery’s favourite season. Too bad the day was going to be wasted on stupid, boring, mandatory detention. Up until now, she had avoided it, and assumed that she would be able to avoid it altogether. Popular, rich kids like her often got unearned perks. She had come to expect them, to believe she deserved them. It wasn’t her best trait.

She was dropped off at the school by her father. He drove the classic Beemer, which she found mortifying for reasons she couldn’t articulate and didn’t want to. But then, she found everything her father did mortifying, so really, it was just another day of wanting to crawl into a hole and die from embarrassment. 

She watched as that weirdo, Kye Anderson, who everyone knew was a criminal, walked toward to school, wearing grungy layers of clothing and a weird, long grey jacket that he probably got at a thrift store. Gross. She nodded as her friend, Jagger Allen, got out of his dad’s truck and slammed the door. His dad was mean, and probably thought it was Jagger’s fault that he was serving detention. It wasn’t. Chadwick Penneyworth was just some loser who forced kids to spend Saturdays at school so he could feel powerful and important. It was gross.

The nerdy student, whose name Riley did *not* know, got dropped off by someone driving a station wagon. A station wagon! How embarrassing. But anyway, everyone felt sorry for the Mormon, who emerged from the backseat of some weird old sedan. Because she was probably like a child bride or something. Maybe it was her geriatric, 40 year old husband that dropped her off or something gross like that. Riley rolled her pretty eyes and walked into the school, ready for whatever crazy ass shit the day had in store. She had no idea how crazy shit was about to get.