Chapter 10: Slipping out of School

I held Ashley close. There was a musical chime coming from the backpack at her feet. She giggled and looked down at it. "Mark, that's my cell phone. Can you grab my bag?"

I shifted to the left so I could use my left hand to reach the bag. My right hand Ashley held pinned against her pussy. She was rocking gently against my hand as I picked up her bag and lifted it to the table. Once it was on the table Ashley dug through a side pocket to find her phone.

"It's Mom!" she exclaimed as she swept her finger across the phone to answer the call. She raised the phone to her ear. "Mom ... Yes, I'm fine ... No, I'm not on the campus anymore ... I saw what was happening and ran to Freedom Junior High ... Yes, Mark and Jason are right here ... It was a student, Mother ... He must have hid some knives in his car ... No mother, I'm fine. He never touched me."

Ashley twisted around to look back at me. "The attack has made the news," she said. "Apparently school officials have already announced that Central High and Freedom Junior will be closed for the rest of the day, but they haven't opened the street. We can walk to the corner, or wait for the street to open," she said.

"Won't the school want to know who leaves campus?" I asked.

Ashley giggled. "The news reports that the student parking lot for Central High is almost empty. Anyone who could escape the rampage ran away. They say it will be easier to check on Monday."

"Tuesday," I said. "Monday is a planned protest. Actually this afternoon was one too, but after this, the teachers will look bad if they march on City Hall."

"You can't fight City Hall," Jessica said knowingly. "Although with the right bribes you can certainly rent the bureaucrats running it."

"Bad business girl," I said cheekily. "No soup for you."

Everyone laughed at that. Kathy and Kelsey then pulled out phones and started to make calls. Ashley put her phone back to her ear. "Sorry Mom, I was asking the others here what they want to do. It sounds like walking to the corner will work. They worry about the teachers wanting to take roll."

I could see Mrs. Greer wandering across the blacktop. I waved to her and the art teacher sped up and jogged over to us. "Mark, Jessica," she said as she got closer. "What can I help you with?"

She seemed to be trying to recognize the rest of the group. I gave Ashley one more quick grope and then pulled my right hand out of her skirt. "Well," I said casually, trying to avoid drawing attention to where my hand had been. "We've heard about the incident at the high school. We hear that school will be closed for the rest of the day."

Mrs. Greer nodded grimly. "They are worried that there might be another incident. I don't think we have anyone with as many problems as that boy who went on a rampage at the high school, but we have more than a few angry boys. Right now, several teachers are discussing how to deal with the changes."

"What about students leaving the campus now that school is done for the day?" I asked. "Is there a method to check out if we want to walk to the corner to be picked up?"

"Do you have a ride?" Mrs. Greer asked me. Her right eyebrow rose up as she stared at me.

"Jason's mother is willing to come and pick us up," I said.

"And you know this how?" Mrs. Greer said. "I don't see Jason on the phone with anyone."

I pointed at Ashley who was holding her cell phone to her ear and whispering something. "Ashley here is Jason's older sister. She's talking to their mother right now."

Mrs. Greer pulled out a clipboard she had been hiding behind her back. She immediately began looking over a printed list. "Let's see," she muttered as she looked at the papers. "Adams, Kathy. I can check her out. Feris, Kelsey. Your record shows you can be checked out. Parker, Mark, yes I can check you out. Roberts Jason. Oh, I can't check you out without parental approval."

Ashley wordlessly held out the cell phone towards Mrs. Greer. The teacher stared at it with a frown on her face before accepting it and holding it to her ear. "This is Mrs. Greer, who am I speaking to? ... Hello Mrs. Roberts ... Yes, we are trying to organize an orderly evacuation of the school ... Yes, I have Jason here asking if I can check him out ... No, I'm not at the office ... No, your children are hanging out in the back of the school ... No, they've actually been very well behaved ... The problem is that your instructions when you registered Jason indicate that a parent is supposed to be physically in the office to sign him out ... No, I don't really expect many students will be doing that today ... Yes, I'm sure a few will try to sneak out ... Yes, I can accept what you are saying ... Yes, we'll do that this time."

Mrs. Greer held the phone out for Ashley who accepted it and quickly brought it back to her ear. Our teacher made a mark on the papers. "Jason, your mother has verbally checked you out. At least I'm led to believe it's your mother. All of you can run to the corner and wait for pickup. I'm sure others will be heading that way shortly. Principal Mathews is going to organize teacher led groups, but Mark and Jessica have always been responsible. If you want to sneak out, I'll pretend I didn't notice."

"Won't that get you in trouble?" I asked as Ashley climbed out of my lap.

Mrs. Greer laughed. "Do you know how many emergency procedures Principal Mathews violated with his first announcement? He should have locked down the campus first and had the teachers close and lock their classroom doors."

"That didn't work at the high school," Ashley said with a shiver. "Bart had a master key and would just unlock a classroom and head inside to attack people. He seemed to be hunting the prettiest girls and guys he knew had high CAP scores."

"He missed the prettiest girl," I said as I stood up and wrapped my arms around Ashley. "I have the prettiest in my arms."

Jason looked worried. "But how can we just walk away from the school now? I mean, won't that violate procedure?"

Mrs. Greer held up the clipboard. "That's what the class rosters are for. I just checked that I found you, and you were safe. Give me a moment to see if I can allow you to walk to the corner."

Mrs. Greer pulled out a cell phone. As she turned away to talk Ashley spun around in my arms. She wrapped her legs around my waist and pressed her body to mine. I pulled her breasts to my chest. She giggled as her head rested against my shoulder. "Tonight I want to do this naked," she whispered.

I snorted. "Let's first wait to see if we can leave the school."

Mrs. Greer turned back to the table and put her cell phone back into her purse. "I just spoke to Principal Mathews. He's currently being berated by the police for how he handled the situation. I've been asked to walk with you to the corner to make sure you arrive safely."

"Is Bart still creating havoc?" I asked.

"No," Mrs. Greer said. "That much I did hear before teachers were sent to gather up students and verify that everyone was fine. Bart was subdued by Officer Lynch ten minutes ago."

"Subdued?" I asked.

"That's what the liaison officer told us," Mrs. Greer said. "Now do you want to walk to the corner? It sounded like they are starting to check out students from the courtyard, so it will be crowded shortly."

I looked at my friends. They all immediately stood up and started to gather up backpacks. Ashley slid from my arms and stood up next to the table before grabbing her pack from the table and allowing me to stand.

"Ready to go!" Jason chirped as I reached under the table to pick up my own pack.

The girls all giggled as we turned to start walking toward the street corner. Mrs. Greer ran to catch up. "Wait! Do you all have rides?" she asked.

Jessica smiled. "My father is sending a van to collect me. The driver will make sure everyone gets home. Or are you saying you don't trust my father?"

The blatant hint in Jessica's final sentence caused Kathy to giggle. I shook my head as Mrs. Greer nodded. Our teacher settled for walking alongside us. She kept her eyes oriented on the many police cars blocking the road between the two schools.

I glanced over and could see that the officers were still on the alert as they guided several ambulances into the drop off circle at the high school. As soon as an ambulance stopped a teacher or student would run up to guide the EMTs into the school grounds. Ashley shivered as we watched the frantic scurrying.

Jason noticed her shiver and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're safe," he said.

"It's just ... I never thought I'd see something like that. You know people will blame his CAP score," Ashley said.

"It wasn't his score," I said as I put my arm around Ashley and pulled her against my chest. Jessica and Kathy turned to listen as I continued. "He's been an angry man for at least two years. Last year he did all he could to star on the football team despite being undersized. He was voted most inspirational, but I remember hearing that he was still being snubbed by all of the cheerleaders."

"He stank," Ashley said. "The boy remembers to bathe maybe once a week. Even the coach couldn't get him to shower after practice, although he did shower before games."

Jason laughed. "I heard about that. He was told that no one wanted to line up next to him on offense unless he smelled less offensive."

"That's Baaaaaaddd," I brayed out. Kelsey and Kathy giggled at my imitation of a sheep.

Ashley squeezed my arm again. "It wasn't just that though. Bart was always swearing. He got in trouble at least three times a week for cursing at a teacher during class. Everyone knew him as this massive jerk. The girls who knew him well also said he never had something nice to say."

"Angry, dumb and antisocial," I mused. "Add in some drugs, and you have a volcano ready to explode. Sadly, it happened here."

Mrs. Greer slapped a hand against her clipboard. "It didn't need to happen here!" she snapped. "Teachers are supposed to recognize when a student needs help. Did no one ever counsel the boy and try to get him on a more productive path?"

I shrugged as we continued to walk. Behind us someone shouted. We did not slow, but I looked back over my shoulder to see another group of students being escorted in the same direction we were walking. I could see one of the schools two uniformed security guards leading the crowd following us.

"Damn," Kathy moaned. "It will be a mob at the corner."

"Not really," Jessica said pointing toward the corner. "I believe that minivan is the one belonging to Jason's mom."

"It's the right color," Jason said after looking at the maroon vehicle. "I can't tell if Mom is driving though."

A black SUV pulled up and parked behind the minivan. Kathy started to giggle. "Oh, your father sent the armored car," she gasped out between giggles. "He's serious."

"About my safety he is," Jessica said saucily. "He loves me and only wants the best for me. Mark, do you think we can meet over the weekend to chat?"

"About?" I asked.

Jessica looked over at Mrs. Greer. I could see the unspoken question that Jessica was implying. "Ah, about that. Well, I expect my parents to ask me to help make signs and banners for the big protest on Monday."

"You know about that?" Mrs. Greer said with a gasp. "We were told it would be kept secret. Technically it's a violation of state law for teachers to stage a walkout."

"My father is part of the union's enforcement and action arm," I said. "He's dragged me into protests for years. And even if he had not directly told me, it's the best day to hold a protest."

"Do you think it will work?" Kelsey asked nervously.

"The protest will be like the finale of a Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta," I said quietly.

Jessica laughed. "A thing of sound and fury, but signifying nothing?" she asked.

"Most likely," I said. "If this whole CAP thing was some new political policy there might be a chance for the protest to generate a backlash. However, elected officials aren't making this decision. In a way, the planet surrendered to the aliens, and this is part of the terms we agreed to."

"But no one invaded Earth," Jason protested. He turned around to look at me. We continued to walk, so he staggered backwards so he could maintain eye contact with me.

"Yet," I pointed out as I gave Ashley a squeeze and then held my left arm out so Kelsey could walk next to me. "That's the other part my father and the unions aren't considering. We've basically been told we have a choice of doing nothing and getting invaded when we will likely be very unprepared, or we can send humans into space to try to slow down the Sa'arm. The lady working at the testing site pointed that out to me. I wondered if it was cowardly to run away from Earth as a volunteer to this new military."