Chapter 21: Audaciousness
The gang had managed to get into the auditorium without alerting the any of the few teaching and non-teaching staffs whom were already on ground.
Given it was the first day of resumption, they were required to come in earlier... especially for the freshers and their parents whom would need all the help they could get.
Due to this, it was only natural that they’d also have the auditorium opened earlier than usual as a result of the general assembly held at the first day of every new session.
That had been the tradition for as long as all five could remember.
That said, it didn’t take long before they found themselves before the door to the audio booth.
Not even a moment wasted, Casper retrieved an expired credit card from his pocket and slipped it between the door and the frame.
After tinkering around with it for a minute or so, he swiftly turned the door knob and pushed the door open.
Then he bowed slightly, and gestured with a flourish;
"Gentlemen."
"You’ve gotta teach us how to do that sometime." Benjamin remarked in genuine awe, his voice barely above a whisper as Clyde and Larry nodded in agreement whilst walking past.
No sooner were they in, Larry dialed down the speakers’ volume to its absolute lowest before giving Clyde the go-ahead to switch on the computer it was connected to.
Aiden on the other hand, was being more perceptive than usual as he looked around the auditorium, a thoughtful expression on his features.
"Hey, you coming in?" Casper cautiously asked of him, his expression a tad bit concerned.
"Here," Aiden tossed him his phone instead, one Casper effortlessly caught as the youth added;
"I’ll stay on watch,"
"And just in case someone’s coming, I’ll flip off the lights as a signal." he quietly added as he jogged up to the light switches situated on the wall close to the entrance of the auditorium’s wide doors.
’You know what? Valid concern.’ Casper internally acknowledged as he gave his buddy a thumbs up, then walked into the booth.
"Dongle?" Clyde requested to which Casper, casually dipped his hands into his pocket... only for a look for horror to surface on his features.
In sync, the trio looked to him, their expressions morphing in kind with a ’You can’t be serious’ undertone.
Then Casper pulled out the USB with an amused grin, prompting the trio to heave out relieved sighs and chuckles.
Soon enough, Clyde was installing the new Bluetooth software. No sooner was it done, the trio had it pair up with the rest of the sound system.
Only after did they then pair their own devices with it.
However, just as they rounded up the entire thing and were returning everything to the way they’d met it, the lights in the auditorium suddenly went off.
Unexpectedly, a surprise boss had cropped up.
The man himself.
Rick, the janitor.
Casually, he swung open the doors to the to the auditorium and pushed his trolley in with a mean mug. It was clear he intended to do his due diligence and mop up the place.
Luckily, his ears were plugged as he bopped his head gently to the music he was listening to.
Thankful that Aiden had opted to stay on guard, the quartet swiftly scurried out of the booth, the door gently closing behind them.
Quickly, they hid behind the chairs as they stealthily made their way up.
At the very same time, Rick switched on the lights, not really giving the action much thought as he pushed his trolley down the auditorium.
Soon enough, Aiden and the gang met up with each other, all five of them grinning in exhilaration like the lawbreakers they were as they stepped out of the auditorium.
Then, after arriving outside the school grounds, all five exchanged handshakes and then, dispersed to their respective homes in preparation for school.
...
...
...
Aiden pushed open the doors to his house, a hand removing his nose mask.
"So, how’d it go?" Richard whom was just about to leave for work, asked as he grabbed his car keys from the counter.
"A little hiccup, but we managed." Aiden replied as he gave his dad a brief hug.
Reciprocating the gesture, Richard gently ruffled his son’s hair;
"That’s good to hear,"
Then he made his way towards the door, only to twirl at the very last second before he opened the door.
"Don’t forget to get it on video," he reminded.
"I won’t!" Aiden replied, pulling off his hoodie as he made his way up the stairs.
"Also, I placed your food on the counter! Though it’s probably a bit cold by now, microwave it if you feel so inclined!" Richard called out.
"Sure thing, Pops. Thanks!" the response came from above.
"Don’t mention it! I’ll see you later, champ!" the man finally stepped out of the house as he heard his son’s response a second later;
"You too, Pops!"
Smiling to himself as he made his way down the small stairs, Richard promptly got into his car and zoomed off a couple seconds after.
The next twenty minutes following that, the house was rather quiet.
Then, Aiden came walking down the stairs freshened and dressed for school in a black jean jacket, a white undershirt, slim-fitted navy jeans and black sneakers, one strap of his backpack slung over his shoulder.
Placing the bag aside and picking up the food without even bothering to microwave it, he quietly ate his meal, his system pinging in his mind a few minutes later when he was done.
Drying his hands after doing the dishes, Aiden casually picked up his bag, closed the windows, grabbed their house key, locked the door and headed out.
...
...
...
Silverlake High had a well-known tradition of having a class-free day on the first day of resumption.
Instead, the entire day was dedicated to orienting the freshers and their parents, addressing the other students--especially the seniors in their final years about graduation and the likes, sorting out classes, course schedules, lockers and a whole lot of administrative shenanigans in general.
At the same time, it also gave the freshers the avenue to mingle freely, make new friends, form cliques and navigate the large campus together.
As for the others--sophomores, juniors and seniors--it allowed them to catch up on the things they’d done over the long summer vacation.
To that effect, the campus bubbled with life, excited chatter, conversations and the likes filling the air.
Simultaneously, most of the older students soon found their way to their various cliques, their animated gestures and laughter adding to an already lively atmosphere.
Which was why,
"Who, are you?" Casper demanded of Aiden, his bewilderment crystal.
Larry, Benjamin and even the usually unruffled Clyde were much the same as they kept staring at their buddy who was not only taller, but was looking far, far better than they’d remembered.
And although they probably would’ve noticed earlier in the day when they’d gotten up to no good, Aiden’s features had been masked by his get-up.
Opting to troll them though,
"Buddy," Aiden placed a palm on Casper’s shoulder, an amused grin on his lips.
"I am, the dragon warrior--"
Aiden hadn’t gotten the chance to complete that statement when one of his female peers walked past him and complimented, a flirty smile on her lips;
"Looking good, Aiden~."
Stunned beyond measure, Aiden’s pupils dilated, as did his buddies.
Before they could react though, their principal’s voice boomed through the speakers;
Attention, students. Orientation is about to commence. All students are to proceed to the main auditorium immediately.
Freshmen and their parents, please take your designated seats upon arrival. Returning students are expected to be seated with their respective year groups.
Thank you for your cooperation.
No sooner had the gang heard that, whatever surprise previously etched onto their features, morphed into genuine mischief as they grinned to themselves.
Slowly, they moved with the crowd as they made their way towards the hall on the far end of the campus grounds.
Upon reaching the hall, they looked around, scouting the best seat to watch the entire thing unfold.
The hall itself was rather expansive, its broad, semi-circular layout designed to give every occupant a clear view of the elevated stage at the front.
Ten neatly arranged sections of chairs stretched from the left wing, through the center, and across to the right.
Left for the seniors, center for freshmen and their parents, right for the juniors and sophomores.
There was also a natural elevation to the interior décor, the seats in front lower, each progressively rising with every row till it reached its peak at the back.
Soon enough, they settled around the middle section, each of them waiting in impish anticipation as the hall gradually filled up, murmurs, chatters and buzzing conversations permeating every corner of the hall.
As for the teachers, they simply lingered around, monitoring the students and directing the freshers and parents to their seats.
Then, roughly five minutes later, Principal Walter walked onto the stage, adjusting his glasses as he stood before the podium.
He was a rather tall man, his frame not too lean, but also not too fat. He had a sharp look to him that immediately gave off the vibe that he always meant business and his hair was neat and quiffed.
Then, leaning slightly over the podium, he spoke into the mic;
"Good morning, everyone,"
No sooner had the man’s surprisingly thick voice cascaded through the speakers, the noise in the hall immediately dipped as all eyes turned to him.
Retrieving their phones immediately after that, Aiden and his buddies looked to one another as Casper whispered, his ocean-blue irises glinting with mischief;
"May the best smartphone win."
Immediately after, they all switched on their Bluetooth.
Seeing that he had gotten everyone’s attention though, Walter nodded and then proceeded to speak;
"Today marks the--"
The poor man hadn’t gotten the chance to complete his sentence when something else boomed through the speakers;
Ze bluetooth dewise iz connected-uh succesfoullay...
Walter looked utterly baffled, as did most in the auditorium.
Yet, as Clyde, Benjamin, Larry and Casper stared at their phone screens, their devices having failed to connect, they looked to Aiden whose grin was only widening by the second.
Still perplexed, Walter whom was on stage gestured to his staffs, wondering if they had anything to do with it as the murmurs began to increase in the hall.
Yet, without a moment wasted, Aiden had navigated over to his music app, his buddies doing their best to suppress their laughter upon seeing the song he chose to play.
For a hot second, the murmurs in the auditorium were all anyone could hear.
Then,
A familiar beat played, followed by an energetic tune and rather familiar lyrics.
We’re no strangers to love,
You know the rules and so do I,
A full commitment’s what I’m thinking of,
You wouldn’t get this from any other guy,
I just wanna tell you how I’m feeling,
Gotta make you understand...
Within seconds, the atmosphere in the hall shifted from confused to amused, a few chuckles already seeping through the air.
Never gonna give you up,
Never gonna let you down,
Never gonna run around and desert you,
Never gonna make you cry,
Never gonna say goodbye,
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you...
By the time that particular part had played, the hall was in utter shambles, mirthful laughter mixed a group of mischievous students whom had begun clapping to the beat as they sang along.
It didn’t take long before everyone figured out what was going on as they watched Aiden and his buddies imitate the familiar dance from the popular music video.
At this point, they simply found it funnier to take advantage of the situation to its fullest, even if it might as well mean they’d be labelled the culprits.
To that effect, practically everyone in the hall began clapping and singing along, their laughter and actions serving to fuel the audaciousness of the five youths even more.
As for Principal Walter and a couple of the teachers who really didn’t find it amusing at all...
Well...
What could they do at the moment, really? Even the parents whom they’d expected to side with them had joined in on the fun.
To that effect, they could only watch with genuine resignation on their features as all five completely turned the assembly into a mini-concert of their own.
-
[Ding!]
[Skills updated!]
-
By the time they were done though, their audience giving them a standing ovation as they took sweeping bows, their eyes soon met with Walter whose inky-black eyes bore into all five of them.
Then he leaned into the mic and spoke, his words every bit as cool as it was cold;
"I’ll see all five of you in my office later."
Looking to each other, all five shrugged and simply returned to their seats, fulfilled smiles on their features.
Afterall, the worst they could get was detention.
Right?
