Continued from yesterday:
Todd was laughing along with the class soon enough as Sara described the sibling rivalry between Thane and Macbeth. The teacher eventually sobered the students by explaining the assignment for the weekend, and it was class reading on the new chapter until the bell rang. Joy. Another class. Next it was biology - Todd had that one without Sara. He wondered if he should skip it. Manny had showed up to every class he was enrolled in so far, asking questions. Todd swallowed. Definitely skip. Just like old times.
“What do you have next, yo?” He asked Sara while students got their things ready.
“Math,” Sara sighed. “Which is right next to your Biology class."
"Yo, mind if I check to see who the teacher is first? Until I see if Manny comes or goes?”
“You don’t have to ask,” Sara smiled, and kissed him gently on the cheek. Feeling better, Todd walked with her down the hall. Harley waved at them from her locker, sharing Biology with Todd. She had a posy in her hair.
“Nice flower,” Todd commented. Sara recognised it and was smiling instantly.
Harley was tucking hair behind the blossom carefully as she spoke. “Fred gave it to me. He is such a sweetheart. Everyone says he’s a bully, you know. Absolute rubbish, I’m joining him for lunch. Oooh, more good news. We *don’t* have a pop quiz today, I heard."
"Heh. Tuesday pop-quiz.” Todd smirked. It wasn’t a really a pop quiz if it came faithfully once a week on the same day, but amazingly most students failed them anyway. All one had to do was take notes at the end of class when Mr. D outlined everything he’d rambled on about. Todd thought of something. Maybe Harley could help. “Ah, Harley - I’m going to sit in with Sara for just a little bit. Tryin’ to avoid one of the teachers."
"Mr. Haufmann?” Harley asked. Todd winced. She noticed. “He’s been asking students about you, I heard. Jeez, one would think he’s your long lost uncle or something the way he’s been going on.” Todd winced again.
“Right. Can you um, sneak out for water at some point, come next door and tell me if he’s subbing Biology? Or if he visits?”
“Wow. Creep factor?”
“Times ten, yo.”
~
Manny, was it? Sara mused. She waved a cheery ‘hello’ to Jean as she sat with Todd.
_What’s he doing here?_
_Stalker trouble,_ Sara 'replied’. _'Herr Haufmann’ - if that’s his real name - is getting creepy-weird about asking after Todd Tolensky. So my friend here is Kenny Cartman._
_Aha. Riiiiggghhht._
_Has anything about a 'Manny’ turned up anywhere? I know that isn’t Haufmann’s alleged first name…_
_Sorry. All I’m getting on the subject is low-grade terror from Todd._
_I *meant*, do you remember reading anything in the papers?_
“Miss Adrien?”
Sara looked at the board. “X plus Y equals seventy-nine point three plus or minus two point four three eight recurring.”
Again, the math teacher winced. “Can we please see how you *arrived* at that solution?”
_Urgh. Not again._ On her way up to the board Tracy Argomel tripped her.
“*OW*! Stand on my foot next time?”
“Thank you, I’ll try that as a method of deterrent,” Sara growled. Now that she was maintaining her appearance, she suddenly turned up on Tracy’s Victim Radar.
“Everyone hear that? She threatened me!”
“Sara? Appologise, please.”
“I’m so sorry your feet got in the way of my walking, somehow,” Sara intoned.
Tracy gave her a smile that said, _We’ve only just begun. You’re my new hobby._
Joy.
“Appologise *properly*?”
Sigh. “Do forgive me for not watching where your feet were at all times. Rest assured I will not act on your suggestion unless under the most dire of accidents or emergencies.” She picked up the chalk and began working through the problem at hand.
Math was easy. People were complicated. Why couldn’t people just fit into a nice, rounded equation? Numbers never pretended to be anything they weren’t… they just - existed.
She underlined her answer. “Et voila.” She took a different route back to her desk.
Tracy laughed. “OmiGod! Are you *scared* of li'l ol’ *me*?”
“Just being the river to your rock,” said Sara.
“What’s *that* supposed to mean?”
“Watch a river and find out.” She pointed to the board. “If you don’t mind? Some people are trying to learn.” Not a complete victory, but a nil-all draw.
When she reached over to find Todd’s hand - he was gone.
~
Pietro was no spring chicken when it came to prank-pulling. He’d heard Haufmann call Todd 'Cartman’ earlier. Followed by Kenny. There seemed to be an elaborately popular prank going on around the school, confusing this bozo with attendance roll and if Todd was having fun messing with a teacher, Pietro wanted in. So when Haufmann asked Pietro about Todd Tolensky, Pietro had drawled that he didn’t know a *thing*. But that his good friend 'Cartman’ did. Hold on a sec. He’d go *get* him.
Haufmann was waiting right where Pietro had left him. In the give and take rush of high school and with the spectacle Adriens was making of herself at the board, it had been all too easy to dash in and snatch Todd by the arm, then drag him clear across the school near an empty row of lockers where Haufmann waited. Pietro couldn’t let the man see his powers.
Once Todd caught his breath, he looked at Pietro and glared. “What the hell?” He panted. Pietro grinned.
“Sitting in on math classes now? Sheesh, if it weren’t for this prank you’ve got going on I’d almost say you were turning nerd. Go get 'im, Cartman.” Pietro shoved Todd out from behind the lockers and nearly into Mr. Haufmann. Todd stumbled, caught himself and looked up in mute terror. Mr. Haufmann smiled in what he thought was the kindest version of the expression. It turned Todd’s stomach.
“Hey, Kenny. Pietro tells me you had free period,” He oozed, running a hand through his greasy hair. “So you mind answering a few questions of mine? Bout Todd Tolensky? Pietro says you’re real good friends with him and Sara. So you probably know where he lives?"
Pietro, who’d stuck around after all, was frowning in mild confusion. He’d thought Mr. Haufmann was just confused about roll. Why the hell would Mr. Haufmann be asking where Todd *lived*? And on second thought, where all of a sudden was Mr. Haufmann’s accent?
"Ngk,” Todd managed, trying to keep standing. From experience, Pietro knew no time was a good time to start choking on a prank. What was going on?
Mr. Haufmann noticed him. “Ah, Pietro, mind leaving us for a moment?"
Todd shot him a desperate glance. Don’t leave me, don’t betray me, no, no, not again, not to him… his eyes begged. Pietro felt a sharp stab. Todd had never looked at him like that before. Not ever.
"Ah… no, actually. I think I’ll stay. I need him to tutor me before the rest of free period’s over. That’s not a problem is it?” Pietro said smoothly. Mr. Haufmann looked rumpled, but didn’t say anything. He couldn’t say anything. He turned back to Todd.
“Do you know the boy?” He asked Todd. “I don’t have a recent picture, unfortunately. But if he’s Miss Adrien’s boyfriend, you must see him regularly. Is he present today? Or skipping school in general? Come on, Mr. Cartman. It’s for his own safety you know - he shouldn’t be out on the streets doing heaven knows what. He won’t be getting into any trouble. The school is responsible for his safety. What would his parents say if anything happened to him?” Manny was saying, trying to soothe whatever fear had gripped Todd.
“He doesn’t h-have parents,” Todd rasped harshly, looking away. Manny’s face seemed to shift for a moment, but settled back into a smile.
“Really now? How sad. And he’s only fifteen? Who’s taking care of him?”
“T-Taking care of himself nowadays,” Todd lied desperately. “Dunno where he lives. Can I go now?”
“Why so nervous?” Manny asked, clapping a hand on Todd’s shoulders. Todd jumped and tried to brush them off, but Manny’s grip was firm. Todd squeaked and tried to squirm violently away, but his sneakers slipped on the smooth tile and he fell at Manny’s feet. Years of conditioning taught him to do only one thing when down in front of a grownup’s legs. Curl up, cover your head and beg mercy if you thought it would help. Todd had clearly regressed back to those years, forgetting all the other useful things he’d learned about trapping ankles and knocking attackers down on their asses. “Nyaaah-goaway!” Todd shrieked, shaking uncontrollably as Manny tried to pick him back up to his feet. “Goawaygoawayfuckinggoaway!”
Pietro backpedalled, eyes wide as saucers. “Whoa."
Manny got the same idea and backed off. Curled over, Todd continued to twitch and make noise, waiting for someone to hurt him and too scared to look up and see that they’d backed off. "Go away!” he sobbed, over and over, a pleading devastated mantra. People were starting to come out of the classrooms to see what was going on.
This looked bad for Manny. Who unfortunately for Pietro, as the speed-demon cautiously inched forward to try coaxing Todd out of his panic, thought very fast. As the first teacher rounded the bend, Manny seized Pietro’s arm. “What have I told you about zis bullying, Maximoff?!” Mr. Haufmann yelled. Pietro gaped, not only at the betrayal but at the fact that the teacher had grabbed his arm. People generally weren’t able to detain him on the first try - Lance was the most experienced and good at it only when Pietro was drunk or too sugar-high to care. But now Manny had and Pietro was going to be in *trouble*.
“WHAT?” Pietro yawped at him. “But you – he – I was–!”
“Zat’s enough! The poor boy has enough bullies after him as it is! You leave him alone!”
“Ahem - Mr. Haufmann,” whispered another teacher, wincing at the thought of lawsuits for student mishandling, “Let Mr. Maximoff go. We’re not allowed to use physical force of any kind. You have to give him detention."
"But I didn’t –!!!”
“DETENTION! Now go!”
Pietro stood his ground. “I will not 'go’! You were the one scaring the hell out of him!”
Mr. Haufmann looked scared shitless. But Murphy’s Law still frowned upon the unfortunate speed-demon.
“Mr. Maximoff, unless you’d like double detention, you will go back to class now,” the teacher snapped and bent to gather Todd who cringed away.
Pietro snorted, glaring at Manny venemously before walking away. You try to do the right thing… and look where it gets you, he thought.
~
“Come now, Herr Cartman,” said Manny, back in his accent.
Todd did the only thing that saved his life. He screamed like he was being murdered and kicked the grasping hand away. “Don'tyoufuckingtouchme!” A spasmodic lurch, and he dashed away.
Someone caught him, wrapped him in their arms. Red letter jacket.
“I got 'im for you, sir.” Duncan.
Fuck.
Trapped rats, it is said, are prone to bite. So did Todd. He tasted blood as he ran away, panicked, down the halls. Had to run. Had to run fast. Had to get away.
The halls were down a long, dark tunnel, but he had to keep running.
Get away. Get away. Get *away*.
He ran into something soft and squishy.
+
“Nononono*NOOOOO*.”
“Todd… Todd…” Harley tried to gently shake some sense back into him. “It’s me, Harley.”
His pupils were pinpricks. He was hyperventilating and there was blood around his mouth. He looked, as Gra'ma was apt to say, like he’d just run straight out of Hell.
“Get away! Getawaygetaway… oGodoGodoGodoGod…”
A hand came out of her peripheral vision and slapped him. A long, slender hand.
“Unf?” said Todd.
“Breathe, dear,” Sara counselled. “Deep breaths, now. You were panicking.”
He fell out of Harley’s arms and into hers. Shaking like a wet dog in winter.
Sara soothed his hair. “There, now. Shh-shh… You’re among friends.”
“What happened?” said Jean.
“Manny happened, I suspect. Alert security. There’s a stalker on campus. Tell them to avoid giving out any information at all about Todd Tolensky.”
Todd wept into Sara’s shirt.
“There’s a stalker after *Toad*?” blurted Tracy. “Why aren’t they after *me*?”
_Perhaps they have more refined tastes,_ thought Sara. “I don’t know. Why don’t you go *ask* them?”
The bell rang. Lunch. The nurse’s office would be closed unless one was bleeding or had a broken bone. Just great. Sara waited until the gawkers were gone before collecting both her and Todd’s things. Then, under the supervision of Jean, Harley and Scott, she escorted Todd to a table.
+
The whole school was buzzing about the stalker by the time they found a table in a corner by a door. Speculation and rumour was rife. There were even campus renta-cops at all the doors.
Kelly may not have had a generous view of certain students, but he *did* take the talk of a stalker seriously. He had to. People could sue if he didn’t.
Kurt bought a well-packed lunch tray for the both of them. Sara was eternally grateful to him in an instant. The mere logistics of buying lunch in the middle of a gossip-hungry crowd was just… *brrrr*.
Freddy- bless him forever - positioned himself so that he acted like a bouncer, brooking no admittance. Lance even backed him up.
“Anything?” Scott asked Jean for the umpty-umpth time.
“Just crowd static,” said Jean. “I couldn’t pick him out of this lot even if he was right next to me.”
Kurt, who *was* right next to her, said, “Oh no! My secret is out!”
It was innapropriate, but they laughed nonetheless.
“Not terribly funny, Kurt, dear.”
“Ja… but it was such a good straight line.”
A renta-cop appeared by Sara’s elbow. “Ma'am? You reported the possible stalker?”
“Yes. The very real stalker who may still be on this campus.”
“If there was one, he’s probably gone by now. We’ve found no unauthorised personnel on campus.”
“Said the bee guard to the wasp,” Sara rolled her eyes. “Has it occurred to you that this individual might be masquerading as authorised personnel? Under an… assumed… name…” The pieces fit so neatly. It very well *could* be him… but no. Just because she didn’t like him or his assumed identity, didn’t mean he was automatically a suspect. For all she knew, there could be a baker’s dozen worth of Bayville High Employees who were working under assumed identities. “Please tell Mr Kelly it would be a good idea to perform *thorough* background checks on all recent hires. I have my suspicions, but no true evidence beyond lingering after-effects.”
“Yes, ma'am.” He took notes and melted into the crowd.
Todd still clung to her, half in a haze. He would eat and drink, but only if Sara fed him. It was as if he didn’t trust anything that wasn’t from a source of trust.
“It’s all right, dear,” she soothed. “Tonight, when we’re home, I’ll perform some background checks of my own. Whoever’s doing this will be incarcerated. And exposed. Who knows? You might be able to file a lawsuit against Kelly for hiring him. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“Mmh,” Todd managed.
He didn’t even smile.
“We’ll get him,” she said. “You rescued me from my Dragon. It’s only fair that I help you with yours.”
~