Surprisingly, Archer strayed away from his usual morning routine. For once, his attire was neat. It was not wrinkled nor discoloured. He actually looked like someone students would want to look up to. Meanwhile, Clyde did nothing differently. He only changed the colour of his tie. From black to midnight blue. It was very subtle that no one would even notice.
Wednesday was a different beast for Archer. His colleagues seemed more unbearable than usual. Louis was talking about his trip to the salon. Not to have his hair cut, but just to listen to the latest neighbourhood gossip. Apparently, someone brought stale cookies to the school's bake sale. It was the most useless gossip he ever heard. His students felt more stupid with the way they were acting in class. Half of them were talking about how some people did surgery on a grape. While the others were singing terrible songs. A part of him lost hope with this current generation's state of mind. He was mentally drained, and it has only been half a day.
On the other hand, Clyde was almost done with his work. He only needed to prepare the briefings he'd give his colleagues tomorrow. He took a swig of dark coffee and continued to type with ease. Everything seemed to go smoothly. As if his hands were gliding on silk. An hour passed, and he actually finished early. The only thing he needed to do was pay Nolan a visit. After that, he can leave and enjoy the remainder of the day.
Nolan's office was made of glass, and the blinds were open. Clyde saw him sleeping on top of his keyboard. He didn't bother to knock on his door and entered the room. He slammed his hands on the table which quickly woke him up.
Nolan's eyes were wide open, his heart was beating fast, he looked at him, and saw his angry subordinate. "H-hey you." He awkwardly spoke as he throws finger guns at him.
Clyde gritted his teeth. " Don't Hey-you me, How am I supposed to leave when you're like this?" He pointed at him and the entirety of his messy office.
He avoided his eyes and bit his cheek. "I was just tired from working. Yeah, I was working." He scrambled and clawed papers within his reach. He pretended to be reading what was on the paper despite it being upside down.
"What were you doing to be this tired?"
" Nothing, I really am just tired. I have a lot of backlogs, you know?" He spoke and glanced at the stack of folders sitting on his desk.
"So you are doing your job."
"Yes, I would like to keep my job and this city safe." He motioned for him to go, still pretending to be very busy reading reports and cases.
"How will I know you won't do something else?"
" Trust me, when have I ever let you down?" He positively asked.
He menacingly looked at him. "Keep your word. I know when you lie." His voice was still and low. Whenever Nolan lies, he'll keep eye contact but there'd always be a smile on the corner of his lips.
Nolan smiled and gave a thumbs up. " Believe me, Clyde!" He thumped on his chest.
He shook his head in response and headed out the door. He grabbed his things and without a second's waste, he went straight to the station. The train was not packed since it wasn't rush hour yet. He was able to find a seat and sat next to a dog. He was a golden retriever. Softly napping near his owner. He wanted to pet it, but he didn't want to bother the owner or the dog. One thing was for sure, it was a good dog. The train ride lasted for 15 minutes, and from there will be a five-minute walk to the school. He reached the gate and grabbed his phone from his pocket. He searched for Archer's contact. He couldn't find it.
"Shoot. We didn't exchange numbers" He whispered.
He had no choice but to enter the school grounds. The school was noisy, rowdy and full of youth. He disliked the lack of discipline and the abundance of them. He was never fond of teenagers. They're mostly the reason why he has tons of paperwork to do. Stupid teenagers doing stupid things, thinking that they're invincible, that they can take over the world.
Well, guess what, you can't. He thought as he walked past the students goofing around.
He does not need to ask them where the faculty room is. He knows this place very well. He used to study here with Nolan. During his High school days, he was part of the Judo club. He'd go to tournaments, hear his teammates cheer for him- win or lose, it did not matter to him. He had fun. He never has fun these days. He was calm, reserved, and respected. He never showed any hostility or anger towards someone. Despite that, he was not popular; he never wanted to be. He liked blending in with the crowd.
However, he stood out once. He fought with someone over something he has long forgotten. They even damaged school property. He got an earful of a lecture from their Homeroom teacher and Guidance Counselor. Nothing much changed, they still use chalkboards instead of whiteboards, they still have the same old tables and rickety chairs.
He knocked on the door before sliding it open. There were only two people inside, their eyes fixated on him. One of them had long black hair and a clean-shaven face while the other had short brown hair and a soul patch. He recognized both of them. They both had a run-in with the law.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Archer, he teaches here." He spoke.
"Oh my, did that idiot get in trouble with the law?"
" Hahahaha He probably did! " Laughed the long-haired one.
" But he didn't. You two did. I remember you guys. Both of you got fined for trespassing." He pointed at Richie and Louis respectively.
Richie and Louis quickly looked at each other in shock.
" We were enjoying the nightlife this beautiful city has to offer." Richie defended. He remembered that night as clear as day. He was out partying with Louis. They just received their salary and after weeks of starving themselves to death, they decided to have some fun. They both drank like crazy. Went from club to club until they can not take it anymore. Apparently, they were too loud and didn't leave the club when they were asked to. Police got involved and from there, everything else was a haze.
" We were paying customers," Louis explained.
"What is wrong with this school's teachers? Look, I don't need your explanations. All I need you to do is tell me where Archer is. "
" I just texted him. He'll be here in a couple of seconds. " Louis replied.
Within a matter of seconds, Archer did arrive. He was scratching his head when he entered the room."What is this important thing, Lo--." He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Clyde.
"Hey Archer, heard you got in trouble with the law." Richie spoke. Archer didn't mind him. His eyes were only fixated on Clyde. He walked towards him and grabbed his arm. He dragged him away from the faculty room and brought him to a rarely used classroom.
"What are you doing here? I thought we agreed on you waiting for me by the gate?! " He whispered angrily.
"News flash idiot, you didn't give me your number." He irritatingly spoke as he yanked his arm away from Archer.
"Forgot about that detail. " He idiotically smiled.
Clyde pushed his phone into Archer's chest. " Put your contact information."
"No need to be aggressive." He took Clyde's phone and gave him his. He typed in his name and added a heart symbol next to it. He thought it would be a good idea to mess with his roommate. After he typed in his information, he gave it back to him hoping for a reaction. Clyde did not react since he didn't bother looking at what Archer typed.
I guess that's a prank for another day.
Clyde looked at Archer's contact list, and there were about at least 45 names. He shook his head and typed in his information.
You really are weirdly popular, huh?
Clyde handed him back his phone. He looked at it just in case he put something too, but he did not. They walked out of the campus without telling any of his co-workers that he was leaving. He made sure no one else in school sees them.
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