Chapter Text
A gentle breeze blew through crisp, Saturday morning air. Soft raindrops fell from the sky, just enough for it to be noticeable, but not enough to be a disturbance. Leaves on the trees were starting to regrow; it was that weird middle ground between winter and spring. Some brown piles of snow had accumulated at the edges of the parking lot, adding an eyesore to the terrain.
A bougie, white luxury car splashed through one of the numerous puddles scattered in the dips of Elmore High’s parking lot.
“Why couldn’t you just bail me out of this?” A white cloud in the passenger seat complained.
“You heard your mother, Masami. I think it's time you face the consequences of your actions.” Mr. Yoshida reminded her.
“It's not fair, though! You paid them off last time!” Masami snapped, furrowing her brow.
“I did not ‘pay them off.’ You didn’t even tell me you had detention until well after the fact.” Mr. Yoshida explained.
“Well, it worked that time!” She argued.
“I’m not going to bail you out of detention because you decided to skip school to screw off at the mall.” Mr. Yoshida finalized, sealing Masami’s fate.
Masami released an exaggerated sigh of defeat.
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” Mr. Yoshida promised.
“Yeah, sure.” She rolled her eyes before hastily exiting the vehicle. While approaching the school, a look of disdain grew on her face as she grew closer to the front doors.
{-}
“Don’t let this happen again, Colin.” Colin’s mother warned one of her sons, who occupied the backseat.
“It won’t…” Colin mumbled, adjusting his glasses.
He’d been dreading this day all week; this was easily the worst thing that’d ever happened to him. Colin was never one to get into trouble, so being thrown into a Saturday detention was a giant leap outside of his comfort zone.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the smug smirk his brother, Felix, was throwing at him. A smirk that said a thousand words.
Not wanting to engage any further, Colin exited the minivan and hurried to the front doors.
{-}
“Listen, son, I messed around a lot when I was your age,” Harold started, “Still do from time to time,” He added with a little chuckle.
Tobias turned to face his father, his head hung lower than usual out of shame.
“Just don’t get caught next time,” advised Harold.
“Mom said the same thing. And I won’t, Dad.” Tobias spoke up.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Harold proudly patted his son on the shoulder.
Tobias sharply exhaled and got out of the car, forcefully slamming the door behind him. He looked back at the car one last time, his shameful expression turned almost resentful.
Harold watched as his son entered the school building. And once he did, he shifted the car out of park and into drive, lightly pressing his foot on the accelerator while turning to face the parking lot ahead.
Almost in an instant, he slammed on the brakes and blared the horn; the sound echoed in the dead lot. The subject he nearly hit hardly flinched.
“Look both ways before crossing, jerk!” shouted Harold.
The blue feline traversing through the parking lot paid no mind towards the disgruntled man. His stride implied he’d walked this route thousands of times by now. He hopped up the curb and continued his stride into the school.
Suddenly, a ghost zapped out of thin air, the rain parted ways for a brief moment at her arrival. Raindrops fall through her and splatter onto the concrete below. She blew her hair out of her face while floating up to the doors and phasing through them.