#the girls started in our math teacher's class and she pranked us by tricking us into believing she'd gotten engaged with the science teacher

[agentemo]

nowhere near a cute lil boop message so I'm over it but read tags for an epic prank my class pulled in 6th grade spoilers it doesn't go well the whole time

[annoshkii]

Hades

**unedited**

Chapter 3

Layla was in a good mood as she walked to school. Finally she had something to look forward too. After school today she would take Cerberus for a walk to the reservoir and bring him to her spot, she could hardly wait. But first, she had to survive another day at Shady Oak. Plus she had her detention later today, that put a bit of a damper on her mood.

Layla waiting for a traffic light to change, when she saw something shimmer in the corner of her eye. Turning her head to look she saw a wispy, almost translucent form drifting along on the side walk towards her. Layla blinked and rub her eyes, convinced it was a trick of the light but no. The form looked like a weathered old man, wearing a tunic that was cinched at the waist. He was gazing around in awe at the buildings. More oddly, no one else seemed to notice his presence. A couple people even walked straight through him, shivered, and then kept going like nothing had happened. Layla stared in awe as the man drifted closer and closer until he was an arms distance away from her. He was just about to pass through her when he suddenly stopped. Layla was confident she hallucinated what happened next.

The ghost stared at her smiled sweetly and bowed.

“Apologies my lady.” He said in a frail voice and then stepped around her. Layla watch the ghost carry on down the road. The light changed and people began to cross. Layla cast a look over her shoulder one last time for the ghost, but he had disappeared.

She had almost convinced herself that the whole thing was a figment of her imagination, until she reached the school. As usual the various social groups were mingling on the front lawn, chatting and laughing with each other. But unlike usual, lounging under the shade of one of the old oak trees was another ghostly figure, a girl this time. She looked young, no older than Layla was, also wearing a tunic that was cinched at the waist. Layla watched as the girl tried to pick at the clovers and grass surrounding her. At one point she looked up, beamed and waved.

Layla thought that her heart had stopped. Again, no one else seemed to notice the ghost hanging among them. Layla shook her head and hurried inside. Trick of the light, that’s all it was. Despite leaving the house on time for a change Layla was almost late for her first class of the day. Mr. Nelson was not phased when Layla didn’t turn in her math homework again. At the end of class he reminded her of her detention that afternoon threatened to call her parents.

Whatever.

In Science they dissected fetal pigs. Most of the girls were all squeamish and complained about the poor piggy’s. Layla was utterly fascinated. Her teacher, Mrs. Bartlow, was shocked to be bombarded by question after question. At the end of class she even pulled Layla aside to tell her that she had done the neatest dissection job she had ever seen.

At lunch she was cooped up in a small classroom with Mr. Nelson and two other students serving her detention. Mr. Nelson had forbidden them from eating or talking or moving. Basically he wanted them to sit there like corpses for the hour. Layla didn’t find. She had completely zoned out the minute she’d sat down. Her thoughts kept wandering back to Cerberus and the two ghosts she had seen this morning. It had certainly been an eventful time. The sight of the ghosts troubled her. Maybe she was going mad? No one else seemed to be able to see them and both times they looked genuinely happy to see her.

Layla recognized both of the kids in detention with her. There was Derek Longrass and George Humphrey. She was not surprised to see Derek in here, he was always in and out of detention for some reason or another. The teachers instantly took a dislike to him. Derek always swaggered around the school with an arrogant look on his face. It seemed o be his personal mission to push the limits of what exactly was the dress code. Today he was sporting a trucker hat, ripped jeans, and an over sized shit with the words support single moms and the silhouette of a stripper on it. He took pride in being a self proclaimed ‘bad boy’. Currently he was leaning back in his chair fast asleep. Every now and then he would snort, breaking the weird silence.

George on the other hand was not a detention regular. Layla normally saw him hanging out with the likes of Kourtney, the cream of the crop. He was not as loud and obnoxious as some of the others. When ever the gangs started hazing others groups she noticed that George would always hang back. It had earned him some good points but he still did nothing to stop it and that was just as bad. He was leaning forward on his desk, absentmindedly doodling on the edge of some paper. Layla was curious what he had done to land himself in here. George never had a hair out of place, always wore a clean shirt and his jeans always had the air that they had been ironed.

“Psst, hey.” Layla threw a confused look at George. He was holding out a piece of paper to her while keeping his gaze focused on Mr. Nelson. A futile action. Mr. Nelson was deeply engrossed in his copy of Fisherman’s Weekly. Layla took the note suspiciously and unwrapped.

On it was a doodle of Mr. Nelson as a walrus. It looked absolutely, Layla suppressed a grin and pulled out a pencil, adding a word bubble so Walrus Nelson was screaming more fish! Refolding the paper she handed it back to George. Only ten more minutes left then she was free. Layla went back to entertaining herself by tilting the chair as far back as she could. At the front of the classroom Mr. Nelson gave a great hacking cough and snort. His eyes never leaving his magazine once. Another piece of paper bounced on the desk in front of her. Layla dropped the chair onto all four legs with a bang. Everyone jumped, Derek snorted and woke up, Mr. Nelson shot them all an accusatory glare, George looked like he’d turned into a tomato. Layla unfurled the piece of paper again. This time George had written a message.

What did you do?  

Assassinated the school mascot.

Layla re folded the paper and threw it back. She listened to the paper crinkle and George scoffed. Two seconds later the crumpled paper bounced across her desk again.

What did you do with the body?

Dumpster behind the cafeteria.

“Alright, you guys can go.” Mr. Nelson said in a tired voice, not bothering to look up. Three chairs scraped against the floor as they all made a hasty exit. Layla stopped just outside the classroom to fix the safety pins she had put in to hold her bag together. Her stomach growled loudly and she cursed when one of the pins stabbed her.

“Want to grab something to eat?” Layla turned around to face George.

“What?”

“Want to go get lunch?” George was holding onto the straps of his bag, shifting slightly from foot to foot. Layla looked up and down the hallway to check if anyone was filming. Because obviously it was a prank. “You could tell me exactly how you murdered Charlie the Cheetah.”

“Um… Generic excuse?” Really smooth, way to go… Layla finished fastening the last safety pin and shrugged on her bag.

“Did you really just say generic excuse? Out loud?” George looked extremely confused. Layla nodded her head vigorously before turning tail and speed walking out of the hallway. On the scale of awkward interactions Layla had participated in, that ranked pretty high. Top of the list was the one time she had participated in a very public conversation with a person who was actually talking on the phone. This day was just weird.

Layla kept her head low as she followed the flow of students to her next class, ancient civilization. Because her detention had been held on the opposite side of the school, Layla was one of the last ones to arrive. She’d only just sat down when the period bell rang. Mr. D came marching in moments later. He beamed at the class as he set his briefcase down on.

“Good afternoon everyone.” There was a mumbling reply from everyone. “We are continuing our study on the Greek gods and I wanted to single out one of my favourites for us to study today, Aphrodite.”

Everyone, including Layla, had a puzzled expression on their face. Aphrodite? Out of all the gods his favourite was the goddess of love? Mr. D leaned casually against his desk and smiled.

“Many myths claim that she was the first Olympian. Unlike many of the others she was not a child of Rhea and Kronos. She was actually born from the sea foam that was produced from the fallen pieces of Uranus that fell into the water.”

No one was really sure where this was going. Why couldn’t they just have normal origin stories?

“But she was just the goddess of love and stuff. It’s not like she was powerful like Zeus or Ares.” It was Dylan who spoke up. All around him his friends were nodding their agreement and support.

“I disagree, I think she was extremely powerful.” Mr. D readjusted his seat before carrying on. “Love is a powerful primordial feeling. People have gone to war over love, Helen of Troy. People fought and died, homes raided, kingdoms destroyed. A decade long siege started over a woman. It is a force that has driven people insane. Arguably Love is one of the most dangerous tools a person can have. But it is also gentle and soothing, right? A mothers love, the love between a married couple.”

The philosophy of what Mr. D was imply was captivating for Layla. The idea that love was this volatile force that everyone possessed. Some thing raw to be used for good or bad? It was illuminating to say the least. Layla liked his version of the Goddess, liked that he saw her as a power primordial being not just some wishy washy giggly girl.

“Love and war.” Layla muttered.

“What’s that?” Mr. D asked. Layla blushed and cleared her throat.

“I just mean, with that thinking, it makes sense that love and war go together, you know? Love drives us to fight and protect what we believe in. I mean, it’s always the people who are fighting for something that fight the hardest, right?”

“Excellent point.” Layla blushed a brighter red. “And in fact, even though Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, the god of the forge, she would frequently have affairs with Ares, the god of war. Further adding to the point that love and war are closely intermingled.”

There was a quiet murmuring of acknowledgement, accompanied by several slow nods. These kinds of lessons were always interesting. Layla thoroughly enjoyed listening to Mr. D talk about the old gods. He always made them seem real and personable. Beings with feelings and motives, not just almighty powers who sat on top of the world. Sadly though the last half of the lesson was spent reading quietly from their text books. Ten minutes before the bell rang, Mr. D went around the class collecting last nights homework assignments. As soon as the bell rang there was a mad rush to the door. Layla power walked down the hallway and headed towards the closest open door. If she got home quickly she could take Cerberus to the reservoir. Students were already spilling onto the grass outside. Some were milling around waiting for buses to arrive and others were just chatting. To Laylas relief there were no ghosts to be seen anywhere. But more importantly, no one out of the ordinary tried to talk to her again.

The day had turned overcast and cloudy. Layla wondered if it was going to rain tonight and if so, whether she could sneak Cerberus inside.

“He’s coming.” A voice so delicate and faint whispered in Laylas ear. She jump and spun around. To her dismay, Layla saw another ghost floating inches away from her. It was the girl Layla had seen under the tree earlier. Up close, Layla could see that her face was covered in faint freckles. Her limbs hung at her sides limply, the tunic shapelessly covered her body.

“Who?” Layla looked around wildly, checking to make sure no one else was watching.

“We do not speak his name.”

“Well that’s not very helpful now is it?” The ghost shivered, hit by a wind that only she could feel.

“The night approaches quickly. If we are ever to see the dawn again he must be stopped.” Layla just stared at the ghost feeling half amused and half bewildered.

“Right well I’m just going to go home now and forget about all of this weirdness. Sound good? You can just go back to whatever it is you do.” Hitching her bag higher on her shoulders, Layla turned her back to the ghost and started walking away.

“You must help us!” The ghost shouted a Laylas back.

“You don’t exist!” Layla yelled back, earning her a few confused looks from students standing close by. Great, now everyone would think she was going crazy as well.

The further Layla got away from school, the more she started to relax. She just hadn’t eaten enough today. A loud grumble from her stomach confirmed this suspicion. Her mind had just been playing tricks on her because she was hungry. Once she got home she would eat something then go with Cerberus to the reservoir.

Much to Laylas annoyance, she saw two more ghosts on her walk home. They were hovering together near the local drug store. Both wearing the same plain tunic that was cinched at the waist like the others. Layla resolutely kept her head down and trudged on past, not waiting to see if they tried to talk to her as well.

Rounding the corner so that the house came into view, Layla noticed that there was an extra car in the driveway. A sleek black Astien Martin, with a deep crimson trim. Layla groaned and rolled her eyes as she dragged her feet to the front door. Todd’s boss was here, Mr. Donnelly. The man was disgusting and boarder line sexist. Every time he was over Layla would either leave the house or hide away in her room. On the occasion that she was unable to escape, her mother would force her to clean up and act as the perfect hostess daughter. Mr. Donnelly would sit around and drink all the liquor they had with Todd. Any time she or her mother got to close he would try to slap them on the butt. Her mother played along for Todd’s sake. But the first time it had happened to Layla she thought it was an accident. When it happened again in the same night she glared at Mr. Donnelly with as much anger as she could muster. Everyone just laughed it off. From then on Layla had learned to keep a safe distance away from Mr. Donnelly and to stay on Todd’s side of the table.

Quietly as possible, Layla snuck around to the back yard. If she was careful she could sneak away with Cerberus and no one would notice. The back gate creaked a little as Layla pushed it open.

“Cerberus?” Layla whispered as she dropped her bag on the ground. She had expected the great black dog to be at the gate, tail wagging, happy to see her. Maybe he was sleeping.

“Cerberus?” Layla called, a little louder this time, keeping an eye on the back door. But Cerberus was gone. Layla’s heart fell as she did a scan of the back yard and did not see the big black dog anywhere. He must have escaped or his owner had come for him while she was at school. Her arms felt heavy as she picked up her bag again and dragged her feet up the stairs to the back door.

Layla could hear Mr. Donnelly speaking very loudly in the kitchen. One discreet look around the corner showed that he was sitting with his back to the doorway. He and Todd had clearly just come from the office. Both were still dressed in a dress shirt and tie. Todd was standing, leaning against the table just to the right of the table. Layla saw that her mom was also busy in the kitchen. No doubt she was wearing her small, frilly little apron that she always wore then guests were over. Now was her one chance to sneak across to the stair case unnoticed. Then she could hopefully spend the rest of the night quietly in her room, ignoring the debauchery going on downstairs.

“Layla, there you are. Come over and greet Mr. Donnelly.” Caught just as she had put her foot on the first stair. Layla clutched the straps on her bag and grudgingly turned around and went into the kitchen. Mr. Donnelly looked like the Michelin man if he had been over inflated and rolled in the mud. His hands looks like little balls of ham and his fingers were so fat that it was a miracle he could use them. Every time he breathed it sounded like a small bird was stuck in his throat, slowly being crushed.  

Layla stood in the doorway, only inching inside when she was shot a murderous glare by her mother. Mr. Donnelly turned in his chair and gave her a wide shark like smile. The man was just utterly revolting, the only reason he came around to the house as often as he did was because he was highly connected. Todd was an extremely ambitious person and was not below using such vain flattery.

“Hello little girl. My she has grown into a looker hasn’t she Todd?” Layla stared at Mr. Donnelly with a hard expression. “You should smile more sweet cheeks. You’d look even prettier.”

“Layla, smile for Mr. Donnelly.” Her mother whispered in a dangerous honey sweet voice.

“Hello Mr. Donnelly.” Layla replied, twisting her mouth into a forced smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Mom where is Cerberus?”

“He’s owner came by to get him after you left for school.” Todd replied before smiling at Mr. Donnelly. “Layla rescued a poor little puppy last night.”

“Of course she did. Women have such gentle hearts, that’s what makes them such excellent home makers.”

Layla clenched her fists. How her mother could stand listening to such comments and still smile was beyond her. All she could think about was sinking a fist in Mr. Donnelly’s smug face. It probably wouldn’t do much and she’d be in so much trouble after, but it would be so satisfying.

Her mother caught her trying to sneak back out of the kitchen and enlisted her to set the table. Layla tried to escape saying she had lots of homework to do but her mother would not listen. Insisting the she sit down and have dinner with them. Grabbing fist full of cutlery and plates, Layla hastily set the table for four, being sure to set her on the opposite side of the table from Mr. Donnelly. Her mother came wafting over every now and then to add steaming plates and frilly decorations to the table. Soon the center was laced with candles and delectable smelling dishes. By the time they were all seated around the table it was nearly seven. Layla determinedly stuffed food in her mouth, hoping to finish soon and leave. But no one had any intentions on letting her leave.

“How was school today Layla?” Her mother asked conversationally.

“Fine.”

“Anything interesting happen?” Too interesting would be more accurate. But Layla wasn’t about to say aloud that she spent the day seeing and talking to ghosts so she just shook her head and continued munching on a roll of bread.

“Teenagers these days have no direction.” Mr. Donnelly said importantly, pushing out his fat chest as he spoke. “You should make her sign up for the new office intern program. We always need new meat in the office and who knows? She might actually be good at it.”

Layla threw him an openly disgusted and confused look.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Todd and her mother both shot her a warning look. Mr. Donnelly just sat forward and pressed his sausage fingers together. The chair beneath him groaning with effort.

“Well in the past, young women aren’t usually intellectually advanced enough to fully comprehend the work that we do at the corporation. But it’s a new time now and we are willing to give an attractive young lady like yourself a shot.”

“I wouldn’t work for you even if it meant I would starve.”

“Layla! Apologize to Mr. Donnelly.” Todd was glaring at her.

“Fine!” Layla threw down her knife and fork. “I’m sorry that you head is so fat that it got stuck living in the fifties! I’m sorry that your mother didn’t abort you!”

“Layla how dare you!” But she had already jumped up from her seat and sprinted out the front door. She was in deep trouble, that much was obvious. But at the moment she did not care. All that mattered was that she got as far away from the house as possible. She would deal with the consequences later. Half way down the side walk Layla collided with a stranger going the other way, and fell over.

“Sorry.” Layla said as she pushed herself up off the ground.

“Are you alright?” The stranger offered her a hand getting up.

“Yes I just wasn’t looking where I was going.” Taking one good look at him it was no wonder she hadn’t seen him. The man was dressed in black from head to toe. She could just make out his silhouette in the dying sunlight. He had a tall powerful frame with shoulder length black hair. In an odd way, Layla felt like he was emitting an aura of power, not physical power but magical. Layla just shook her head, that was just ridiculous.

“You need to wear a reflective strip. Your practically invisible.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He was staring at her with a piercing gaze. Layla met his dark grey eyes and did not waiver. “What are you doing out this late?”

“Clearing my head. Why are you going to abduct me? Because I should warn you, I have a mean left hook.” He actually broke into a small smile and chuckled to himself.

“I’m sure you do little one.” He walked away without another word. Layla stared after him for a while. He seemed to shimmer and fade with the night as he walked, like a perpetual fog went with him, obscuring his silhouette. It was the weirdest thing to watch, after all it was a perfectly clear evening.

He quite obviously was not from the neighbourhood. No one with any decency would dare besmirch this fine community with such outlandish and crude fashion. There for Layla felt extremely drawn towards him. She watched him until he walked under a large maple tree that was casting a long shadow across the street and disappeared. Layla’s mouth fell open in disbelief. Hands down the weirdest day of her life.

 Layla had walked all night and finally settling down in her spot at the reservoir. Thankfully the night was mild, with the occasional breeze ruffling the trees. Pulling her hood over her head and pulling the string tight, Layla nestled into the comfy crook of the tree roots. She would be in serious trouble when she went home. If she went home that is. She could very well just run away. Todd would be happy of she did and her mother, well her mother would be relieved. She could hide in the school locker rooms and steal food from the cafeteria or something. Or come morning she could march to the bus station and leave for good.

While Layla lay there contemplating what the rest of her life was going to look like as a homeless, run away teen, the night grew darker and the stars became brighter. The little clearing had a perfect, unobstructed view of the night sky. From her spot Layla could see Orion and the big dipper. Every so often a satellite would wander across, blinking and flashing as it went. When a shooting star blazed a path through the sky, Layla found herself wishing that Cerberus was with her. It had been nice to have him around. She wondered if his owner had really come to get him and if he was happy with them.

A low growl punctured the still night. Layla instantly shot up and hid behind the tree. Painfully aware that she had absolutely nothing to protect herself with. Something large cracked through branches and stepped into the clearing. Maybe a bear or a coyote or even a wolf. Did those kind of things live nearby? Logic would dictate that she should climb a tree to get away. But if it was a bear they could still climb up and get her. Just as Layla decided her best option was running for it, a loud whine came from the center of the clearing.

“Cerberus?” Layla poked her head around the tree trunk. Sure enough, the great black dog was standing in the clearing, his tail waving madly, slobber dripping out of his massive jaw. He barked loudly and bounded over to her, nearly knocking her over in his attempt to lick her face.

“Good to see you too, calm down.” Layla pushed him off and Cerberus sat down on the grass in front of her, his tail still thumping wildly against the ground.

“What are you doing here? Todd said you went home.” But Cerberus just whined again. Layla crouched down beside him and started scratching both his ears. Instantly his eyes shut and let out a low huff. After a second he dropped to the ground and rolled on his back, clearly wanting a belly rub. Layla laughed as she scratched his exposed tummy hitting the sweet spot and making him flail his legs around.

“Well you can stay with me now. We’ll go on so many adventures together, would you like that?” Cerberus opened his mouth and started panting, his long pink tongue lolling onto the ground. “Just you and me.”