8 Chapter 7 - A (Not so) Random Chance Encounter??

"Class for those individuals who achieve a certain status in society due to (for instance) their overwhelming personal achievements, they are bestowed with the remarkable honour to be what's commonly known as being "Fashionably Late". Mr Creed who has once again ambled in at...9:17am a personal best by the way!!! Is clearly under the impression that he has in some shape or form been recently bestowed with such an honour. Well Mr Creed I'm unable to attest as to whether or not you deserve to be bestowed with this particular honour however I will provide you with the ability to be in charge of our upcoming Summer Festivities as you were typically unavailable for voting!!! Just think how astonishing a feat it will be to have an after-school meeting for a reason other than detention?? Ohhh I'm truly unable to hold in my overwhelming delight!!!! Now after the class has settled down with the incredible knowledge of being in the presence of a national hero such as yourself Mr Creed.....Perhaps we can actually get started???"

What was particularly impressive about that.....Overbearingly sarcastic praise, was Miss Valdez's undeniably impressive ability to recite that whole sermon without even taking a single breath. I guess a large….Chest provides the lung capacity necessary? Whatever the case I'm in for a longgggg day.

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After my....Well I would like to say uncharacteristically eventful morning but I'd be lying, because literally every single frigging day is just one big shit storm after another where I'm involved.....Moving on the rest of the day remained largely uneventful and therefore rather then sit wondering why Eve had to choose today of all days to forget HER STUPID PHONE!!!...I decided to just get it over with and find out what the hell these Summer Festivities are....Rant Over.

Before pressing down on the handle of Miss Valdez's classroom door, I paused momentarily wondering how one....Largely innocent boy could frequent a room so often. A deep sigh escaped my lips as I shook my head, before casually strolling inside....

"Hey Shimon!"

Narrowing my gaze towards the direction of the warmly familiar (yet wholly unexpected voice). I found Lucy beaming towards me whilst sitting cross legged on the desk above her usual chair, her skirt barely covering her mesmerising thighs.

"Lu...Lucy??? What are...What are you doing here??" Blinking my eyes a couple of times just to assure myself I wasn't hallucinating; Lucy placed her hand across her mouth whilst giggling infectiously, clearly entertained by my bemused reaction.

"Shimon...Yeah I sort of volunteered for the post before you made your grand entrance (cough).....Being class president and all I thought it might help any future endeavours.....Oh byyyy the wayyy, Miss Valdez told me she had a meeting so we should get a head start before she arrived." A mixture of Lucy's warm smile and my own surprise towards Lucy's sarcastic response caused me to chuckle; Sexy, intelligent and sarcastically imaginative...What's not to love about this girl?

"Shimon??? Yoo-Hoo any thoughts??"

"Huh?" Lucy's quizzical expression returned me to reality as I realised I had been staring blankly into space whilst she calmly awaited a reply. Sheepishly apologising I took a seat on my chair and motioned for Lucy to bring me up to speed, internally hoping I couldn't possibly embarrass myself any more than I already had.

"As you probably already know, there are two events which take place towards the end of the summer term both occurring on the same day, one for the boys and one for the girls. However this year we thought it would not only be substantially more cost effective, but may also help improve gender relations within the student body if we combined the two into one. Except.....We're not really sure what the event should be yet."

"Last year the guys went abseiling and the girls went ice skating if I remember correctly?" Wait...Why the hell am I talking so formally? Jesus I couldn't maintain a conversation if Shakespeare himself literally gave me a script and all I had to do was read it word for word.

"Yep exactly right but I would like to do something more grandiose if possible.....After all it might help my profile somewhat and I....Wouldn't mind being the Student President myself one day....I....I mean not that I don't like your sister or anything! I just thought I might try it too..."

Lucy's cheeks suddenly flared a dark shade of red as her eyes darted nervously around the room, the same anxious look present on her face as when we previously walked to school together; I guess shyness doesn't differentiate between popularity levels eh?

"You should definitely do it." Lucy's eye's widened in shock as she listened to my softly spoken words however I remained unwavering. Both my sister and Lucy shared incredible similarities (besides their gorgeous exteriors), their shared fiercely competitive nature was a world apart from my lazy modus operandi. Therefore personal progression wasn't due to malicious intent, rather it was a natural instinct to be applauded, (not to forget that Eve would both welcome and heartily accept any and all challenges).

"You wouldn't be mad? Me running against your sister?"

"Of course not.....The school could only benefit by having two incredibly talented and well-respected students striving towards improving the school for generations to come. If I'm honest the reason Eve makes such a good president is because she's the exact opposite to me...."

"Your not as different as you think." I wasn't allowed any time to ponder over Lucy's completely unexpected hushed reply as the door suddenly slammed shut causing us both to jump in surprise. Miss Valdez hurriedly marched towards her desk as Lucy gracefully climbed off the desk and onto her regular seat.

"Sorry I'm late folks my meeting ran a touch late....So Lucy have you brought Mr Creed up to speed?"

"Ye.....Yes Miss I have."

Miss Valdez's ears perked upon hearing the unusually nervous tone present in Lucy's voice, a questioning look on her face as Lucy quickly averted her gaze towards her desk.

"Did Shimon do something typically incredulous Lucy? Because were such a transgression to occur I'm positive Mr Creed will know the consequences of his actions....Isn't that right Mr Creed?"

Miss Valdez's menacing grin not withstanding, I began pondering over the ludicrous decision to always consider Shimon Creed the antagonist in any....Negative situation. I'm the victim here damn it!!!! Well to be fair I'd probably trust Lucy's opinion over my own, but regardless can't I plead the fifth amendment or something??? Or whatever it is that Yanks always do.

"No Miss Valdez, Shimon has been perfectly hospitable towards me."

"Hmm is that so.....Well Mister Creed it seems I may have been slightly rash with my initial presumptions, please forgive my judgmental behaviour in regards to your supposed guilt." Now I don't consider myself an expert on apologies....Or on anything else for that matter, however are you supposed to smile like your on the verge of committing a religious sacrifice whilst apologising??? Holy shit how can a woman be this sexy and scary at the same time???

"Moving swiftly on....Have you finally been able to put your typically ostentatious attitude to good use and come up with a useful idea?" Yeah....So Miss Valdez definitely wasn't being genuine with her so called "apology."

"Ummm.....How about a class trip?" My quite feeble suggestion was met with an exaggerated incredulity as Miss Valdez and Lucy stared towards me in amazement.

"Do go on Mister Creed."

"Well Lucy said that the purpose of the Summer Festivities was to improve gender relations between students. By everyone going away together, we can increase student-body connections and insist on bonding activities to achieve this goal. Furthermore by visiting historical sites and providing historical information, the trip could also be considered educational.....Possibly."

The shocked amazement clearly visible in Lucy's and Miss Valdez's reaction felt somewhat demeaning. Was my reputation so bad that coming up with a good idea was treated with the same baffling disbelief as Hitler being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize??? Judging by the intense levels of scepticism in the air.....I'd have to say yes.

"Any suggestions for the destination?" Though clearly asking both myself and Lucy, guess who Miss Valdez's gaze typically fell upon?? I imagine she's wondering if two miracles could occur in as many minutes...Staring idly towards the stratosphere (doing my best to avoid any eye contact), I'd say that particular miracle may require a rain check.

"How about Barcelona? We could get a hotel for all the students and helpers, however we can cut our expenses by having everyone help out with the cooking. There's plenty of historical sites to visit and we can relax on the beach during our free time. Furthermore off-peak flights to Europe when booked (particularly in bulk) via budget airlines would be very cheap and any students unable to afford the costs could be subsidized quite easily via our remaining budget."

Wow....Lucy's unerring ability to meticulously consider and solve all possible issues whilst providing such an eloquent response was extremely impressive.....Though the mental image of Lucy in a sexy bikini on the beach may just one up that response. Whilst I was....Somewhat preoccupied internally, Miss Valdez was silently nodding away her approval whilst hurriedly jotting down notes.

"OK good work guys, however I will require all of the costs, details of the trip and also parental consent letters to be drafted and on my desk by the end of the week...Mr Creed that includes you not just Miss Hardy.....You can both be on your way home now it's getting late."

"Yes Miss, We'll get right on it." Lucy hurriedly packed up her things and left without even providing her customary wave, the mental image of being on the beach with Lucy in her bikini began feeling like a far-fetched unachievable reality. I suddenly felt the familiar vibrations of my phone in my pocket but decided to ignore it as I respectfully said goodbye to Miss Valdez and strolled towards the exit with a heavy sigh.

"Shimon over here!" Lucy was standing just outside the school gates, anxiously awaiting someone.....God help me, I'm not in the mood for hearing about her hot boyfriend right now.

"Lucy.....I thought you already left?"

"Miss Valdez didn't leave us much time to organise everything for the trip and I thought since we're walking in the same direction...We might have some time to discuss the details."

Ah those fabled "Habitualisms." A roughly 8 minute walk clearly wasn't enough time to discuss anything even remotely useful, however having a second chance to walk home with Lucy occupied my thoughts enough for me to completely overlook that little detail.

"Sounds good....After you Lucy."