After Dark

After Dark — page 3 — extraction A drop of sweat slipped down my left temple A hush fell over the room The patient’s heart was more than halfway out when the door flew open and the lights came on What is going on in here My hand twitched an electronic buzzer sounded and the patient’s red nose lit up The operation was a failure I let go of the heart threw the tweezers down and fell back in my chair Stanley Peck was standing in the doorway with his finger still on the light switch Peck is the senior monitor of Weaver Hall dormitory one of three dormitories at Choke Academy where I live for 272 days of the year What is going on in here he repeated Even though it was only 7 02 in the morning Peck was already wearing his school uniform and his blond hair was parted perfectly not a single strand out of place O’Rourke leaped out of his chair and marched over to Peck O’Rourke was a wreck He’d been awake for almost three days His hair which was usually slicked back with some kind of gel straight out of the 1950s was hanging down in his eyes and his skin was a pale shade of green Get out Peck he roared These are private quarters Not for me they’re not Peck said glaring at me and

After Dark — page 4 — Harker’s in violation of Rule 1 4 of the Choke Academy Student Handbook which clearly states that students are not permitted to have guests in their rooms between the hours of 9 00 p m and 9 00 a m You’ve just disrupted a very important operation O’Rourke screamed This patient is going to have to live with a broken heart for the rest of the summer thanks to you That’s a game Peck said and your patient has a lightbulb for a nose Plus you’ve been gambling he added pointing at a pile of cash sitting on the coffee table in front of me That’s going to get you all expelled The crowd which was made up of six other sleep deprived sweat-hogs from the Weaver Hall dorm slunk back into a corner of the room The cash is mine Stanley Wagner said scooping up the money I was just airing it out Not so fast Wagbag I said grabbing his wrist Not the smartest move Bryce Wagner was more than a few inches over six feet tall and spent most of his time sipping protein shakes and getting ripped in the school gym You blew it Sweaty he grumbled The money’s mine Speaking of sweaty I said why are you so dry Is it a

After Dark — page 5 — disease or are you actually some kind of huge plastic toy That does it Wagner yelled leaping over the table and plowing into me I tipped over backward in my chair and came down with a crunch I had a sinking feeling that crunch was the sound of my phone being crushed Wagner attempted to tie me into a pretzel while the rest of the crowd made a break for the door He was just about to dislocate my left arm when O’Rourke threw himself across the room and they both went crashing into the corner I scrambled up and jumped onto Wagner’s back before he could pound O’Rourke into a pile of dust While Wagner twirled around the room slamming me into every wall Peck stood by the door blowing his orange panic whistle Eventually Mr Blatz our math teacher and Weaver Hall faculty advisor arrived and dragged us all across campus to Headmaster Sterling’s office On our way I picked the remnants of my phone out of my pocket and tossed them in the trash Friday 8 00 a m Sterling is a short man with a thick red mustache and hair that floats in wisps above his head When he arrived he was wearing a navy blue suit and chomping on the end of a

After Dark — page 6 — pipe that wasn’t lit Please fix your tie Mr Harker he said sitting down behind an enormous desk I looked down My shirt was hanging out I had grass stains on both elbows there was a long tear in one of the knees of my pants and I couldn’t remember where I’d left my blazer I figured the least I could do was straighten my tie Mr Peck could you explain why I’m sitting here at eight in the morning instead of eating my breakfast Well sir Peck said standing at attention I was doing an early-morning floor inspection when I heard voices in Charlie Harker’s room This was in direct violation of Rule 1 4 of the student handbook so I investigated When I entered Mr Harker’s room I discovered that a number of students had gathered in order to play a game called Operation and that they were gambling on the results an offense which could and really should result in their immediate expulsion I made them aware of this and that is approximately when a fight broke out Luckily I was able to round them up with a little help from Mr Blatz and bring them to see you sir Sterling sighed Thank you Stanley he muttered shuffling a few papers on his desk It’s admirable of you to

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