NaNoWriMo, Part 8: "I Almost Didn't Get My Daily Quota" Edition

Today's word count: 1,785 words
Running total: 14,380 words
Summary: Basically Scarlett's character is explored a little more as I artificially pad out Brian's chapter.

Also, there is some slightly subtler foreshadowing.

    “We can’t show that part with the tape.”
    I’m pretty pissed right about now.  Scarlett, Williams and I are all in the principal’s office, trying to get our show approved for tomorrow morning.  I just spent an hour putting the final ghost footage together, and now our principal is telling us that we can’t broadcast an integrap part of the story.
    He sighs heavily and puts his hands together, trying to look sympathetic.  “In all honesty, I don’t feel comfortable broadcasting this show at all.  I don’t think it will end well.  What if one of those boys dies?  The school’s reputation will be permanently tarnished.”
    “So you just want us to shut up about this?  Are you just going to let everything that Chase and Kenny do go to waste?”
    “We must consider the image of the school first.  What if our students don’t feel safe?”
    I take a step forward and try and keep my voice level.  I know how to fight with words.  “They aren’t safe.  Why should we feel that that way?”  I know precisely why he wants students to feel safe, of course; if students don’t feel safe, one way or another the school is going to be shut down, and if the school is shut down then he doesn’t get any more money.  Rich bastard.  Although I can’t think he’s making that much money unless he’s embezzling it, which he could be for all I know.
    When I refocus my thoughts on the task I hand, I continue.  “The ghost is a very avoidable foe.  All you have to do is be smart and know where to go.  This video could keep people safe, and we’ll never end up with other students like Chase and Kenny.”
    “But—“
    Shut up, I’m not done yet.  “I mean, what if Chase or Kenny’s parents get mad about this?  They could sue the school.  And if you’re lucky, and they don’t, you can’t guarantee no one else will file a lawsuit if a ghost hurts Suzie or Johnny.”
    The principal eyes me quizzically.  “Who are Suzie and Johnny?  Do they—“
    At this point I hit my forehead it frustration.  “Look, I just made up names, okay!?  My point is, we show this, we can make students feel safer.”
    The principal dramatically swivels his chair away from us and contemplates my offer.  He looks like a super villain, and even though super villains never take other people’s offers, I know I made one he can’t refuse.  I’m just good like that.
    He dramatically swivels back to us with his hands folded.  “All right.  You can show it.  But I still don’t want to show the part with the tape.  What if it makes students afraid of the injured student?  That’s what the message your ‘ghost’ gives us.  I don’t want to send communistic fear throughout my school.”
    I think.  My mind has been basically blown.  I never thought of that.  Now I feel kind of stupid for not thinking it, and wonder if maybe Chase is really right about my drug habit.  Well screw him now I guess, he’s in the hospital.
    “Whoa.  I totally see your point,” I say, my mind still totally blown.  “Fine, we’ll take that out.  But promise you’ll let us show it if we do?”
    “I promise,” he says grudgingly.  “And one more thing.  Jim?”
    Williams straightens up.  “Hrm?”
    “I don’t want any other students to hear that tape, ever.  You understand?  We don’t need anyone to hear that.  If I hear so much as a whisper about its contents in the hall—“
    “I understand, I understand,” Williams says dismissively.  “You can trust me on this.”  He doesn’t sound too trustworthy about this, but what the hell do I care?  I think everyone should hear it.  Whatever.
    “All right.  You may go.  Edit the footage for tomorrow’s show.”
    Scarlett, Williams and I all leave the office.  Scarlett speaks first.  “Wow, Brian, that was… actually kind of intelligent.”
    I laugh.  “What, you think I don’t have it in me?”  I sigh.  “You know, people underestimate me.  I can be awesome.  I just choose not to be.”
    Mr. Williams sighs.  “Well, good job, Brian.  I feared for the show for a minute.”
    “No problemo, Williams.  I’ve got this all under control.”
    We walk in silence for a few minutes.
    I say, “So I got these texts from Chase like fifteen minutes ago.”
    They both snap their heads towards me.  I have their attention now.  I relish the moment before finally speaking up.
    “He’s doing fine.  Never blacked out.  The hospital’s being a bitch, though.  They don’t want to let him out.  He got stitches and stuff last night but they want him to stay a couple more days.”  I rub the back of my head.
    “He’s been asking around about Kenneth.  He was put in intensive care, apparently.”  I stop again.  “He’s still alive.”
    “Oh, thank god,” Scarlett whispers.  I don’t think I was supposed to hear that, but I did.  Oh, what now.
    Anyway.
    “He’s in a coma though.  He hasn’t woken up yet.  They can’t stitch up his back, and it’s going be this huge nasty scar and stuff.  If he wakes up.  He’s in intensive and all, anyway.  Last Chase heard, doctors thought he was going to get better, but they could just be saying that or something.”  I shrug.  We walk in silence for the rest of the way to the editing room.  When we arrive at our destination, I flick the lights on, sit down, and get back to work.  “Hey Scarlett, can you film a new ending without me?”
    “As long as Mr. Williams can make sure the camera is hitting me when I talk.  I’ll write a new outro.  Mr. Williams, can you do that for me?”
    “Yeah, I don’t have anywhere else to be tonight.”  He stands there for a while.  I hear him shift his weight from one foot to another (yeah, I have mad good hearing—I get that from the acid, I think), and then he says, “So, where’s Mr. Harris?”
    Mr. Harris was the group supervisor.  Or at least, he was supposed to be.
    “Well…” Scarlett starts.  You see, she and Mr. Harris got in the huge fight.  He said she was a failure and the whole reason that the group could no longer pull out a good show.  She told him that he can go to hell and he said he was giving up the group let’s see how long you last without a supervisor.  Then he just stopped showing up.  We waited for him a few days, but he never showed.  We goofed off the first few days but eventually Scarlett decided we were going to continue with the club.  That’s really when she became a bit of a bitch.
    You know, when I think about it, I saw her crying in the hall after the conversation with Mr. Harris.  I think he really hurt her, but I didn’t go to comfort her.  In hindsight, I really should have said something.  But now’s not the time for regrets.  Now we’re in the present, and we somehow managed to keep this club going without Harris.  I’m proud of Scarlett; we would have all given up long ago if she hadn’t pulled us together.  Maybe I should congratulate her on that feat.  You know what?  I’m going to do that when we get out of this.
    Scarlett gives an ultra-condensed version of this story to Williams.
    “Ah.  Unfortunate,” he replies.  I hear the scrape of chair as Williams sits down.  “How long ago was that?”
    “That was… in November, I think?”  Scarlett doesn’t want to remember, I can tell, but she’s keeping a pretty level head about it.
    “Wow.  You’ve done a good job.  Most kids would just give up.”
    Dammit.  Now I can’t congratulate her, I’ll seem like I’m just copying off of Mr. Williams.
    “T-thanks…”
    “So why did you do it?”
    “…What?”
    “Why did you continue the club?  You have to have some sort of motivation for keeping it going on.”
    I hear a pencil on paper.  Scarlett’s thinking of an answer as she writes a new outro.  I insert a comment now.
    “Okay, I’m cutting it off right when I turn on the tape recorder for the second time.  You can’t hear what James is saying the first time I turn it on, so the head honcho can’t complain.”  I half turn my chair and smile at Scarlett and Williams.  “Besides, there’s more suspense.  Everyone’s always going to wonder:  what did the tape say that was so horrific?  And then the incredulous kids will think that it’s just one of us saying ‘PUNKED!’  But the believers will be scared pantsless.  Hee hee hee.  Pantsless.”
    Scarlett manages a little smile in my direction, then turns back to Williams.  “Hey, if I tell you why I’m doing this, can you promise not to tell anyone?”  Then she looks back at me.  “You too, Brian?”
    “Yeah, I’m cool with that.”  I’m good at keeping secrets.  I’d say that, but then I’d feel obligated to give examples, and that’d let it slip and it would defeat the purpose, you know?  But people tell me all kinds of things, and since I just tend to go a little crazy when I’m high I don’t even tell secrets then.  Damn, I’m good.
    “I can keep a secret, too,” Williams says with a chuckle.  “So what is it?”
    Scarlett relaxes and takes a deep breath.  Then, “It’s Patricia.”
    So that’s it.  Patricia is Dean’s girlfriend, and Dean is the Dean of Students kid (and the humor of that is completely lost on him).  Patricia’s the one who technically runs the newspaper, although everyone knows that it’s really Dean who’s pulling the strings.  They have this little agreement or something, where he gives her sex, and she gets his power and rep.  Disgusting, but I try not to be that judgmental.
    Scarlett continues, “We’ve known each other since we were in second grade.  We used to be friends, but then she fell in the cliques and stuff.”  She wrinkles her nose like a grade student.  It’s cute, but not cute enough to make me dump my girlfriend.  “She’s always been better than me and she always makes sure I feel terrible about that.  You could say we’re rivals.  I don’t really care about journalism at all, but I just want to be better than her.  Just for once.  So I thought I could do that if I joined the news casting club.  When the position opened up for president, I was so happy… then Mr. Harris called me a failure.  Then it wasn’t so much about her.  I had to prove to Patricia that I could do something right, and to Mr. Harris.”
    “Wait, he called you a failure?”  Mr. Williams is aghast.  “That—Jesus, what we