A much-needed break (Paul)

[Josie Raines]

Smoking was banned on school grounds. Josie knew that. She'd known it several years ago, too, when she was a student sneaking outside for a quick cigarette after class. Nowadays, that was a little trickier - it was easier to be fired from Hammel than it was to be expelled.

But damn, if she wasn't tempted today.

First has been the two, maybe two and a half hours of sleep she'd gotten, setting her up for just a wonderful day at work. Then was the discovery that while she was in the shower, Princess had knocked a mostly full beer - left over from the previous night - off of the coffee table onto the carpet. Add a downright heinous clog in the second floor boys' room and Josie had some serious nicotine cravings.

Instead, she was catching a breather in the courtyard, nursing a can of soda from the caf. Her shift was mostly over; she could do this. But god help the next kid she caught littering.

[Paul Wilkerson]

Paul had walked past the courtyard many times before, but he never been in the courtyard. There were some places in Hammel that Paul would past but never been or he simply forgotten about them.

He walked out into the courtyard. The fresh air greeted him when he stepped out. Paul could take a quick walk around. The fresh air wouldn’t do him any harm. There were some other students mingling. Paul didn’t recognize the students. Maybe they were upper classmen. Paul did noticed one person he knew.

He made his way over to the familiar face. “Found any extra arms laying around?”

[Josie Raines]

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Josie was prepared to bolt, hardly being in the mood for some kid or other to tell her about a mess in this room or that. But it wasn't just some kid approaching, and that wasn't what he had to say.

"I found one in the wood chipper last week," she replied with a grin, "but it was already half rancid by then. Useless."

Out of the corner of her eye, Josie caught a grimace on the face of one of the students within earshot, and she laughed. Without proper context, Paul's question and her response probably sounded pretty gruesome.

"How 'bout you, kid? Anybody slip and fall on your tang yet?"

[Paul Wilkerson]

“If I find any I’ll let you know.” It was a weird conversation. The conversation didn’t start with a simply “hi.” Nope, it just started in with weird looks from the other students.

“Don’t know. If you been doing your job, then no. No one slipped and fell in my ‘tang’.” Paul did his best impression of Josie when he said 'tang'.  He grinned. Paul was quite proud of himself. Antagonizing a Hammel staff member was probably not one of Paul’s best ideas, but it was Josie. Josie seemed liked the kind of person Paul could antagonize and not be taken the wrong.

[Josie Raines]

"Lucky for you I'm such a hard worker then." And lucky for Paul that Josie wasn't opposed to a little joshing. She'd both dished out and received more than her fair share of malicious bullshit in her time. Goofing around with a kid who clearly didn't mean any harm was worlds different.

"I was in the art wing earlier today," Josie went on, after taking another swig from her soda. "It looks like Picasso throw up everywhere, or was that you?"

[Paul Wilkerson]

Paul burst into laughter at the Josie’s Picasso comment. He was trying to picture what it would look like if Picasso threw up. “That ain’t me. I’m not one with artistic skill.” Then again Josie did say Picasso threw up, so it could have been Paul, but he wasn’t in the art wing. “Wasn’t me.”

Paul sat down next to Josie. Who would of ever thought that Paul would befriend a janitor? Certainly Paul never thought he would, but there he was.

[Josie Raines]

It wasn't like in the eight months that Josie had been working at Hammel she had never gotten along with any of the students. Sure, sometimes they pissed her off, but mainly she just didn't talk to them, or they to her.

But Paul had responded well to her bullshit, so that was kinda nice.

"So which class you headed to next?" she asked him, once he'd parked himself next to her. Josie had expected him to move along after greeting, but apparently not.

[Paul Wilkerson]

“Science,” Paul curled his lip, “I don’t like science.” Paul and science didn’t get along. Paul’s grade proved it. And on top of that he did have a tutor for science. He sat there watched the other students head off to their next class.

He knew he should be off to go to class. Being a minute or two late every now and again wouldn’t hurt, right? Besides what student would hang out with a janitor?

Paul glared at Josie. “Don’t even think about it. I’m going,” He didn’t need a janitor telling him to get his butt to class, “slowly.”

[Josie Raines]

“Calm your shit, I'm not makin' you go anywhere.” Yeah, Josie knew it'd be irresponsible of him to skip class, and ever more irresponsible for her to outright encourage him to do so. But scolding him felt hypocritical. She hadn't been a student that long ago, certainly not long enough to forget how often she skipped class herself.

Although on the other hand, she did need to get back to work, so Josie downed the las tof her soda in one go and tossed it into a nearby trashcan.

“I gotta get goin' though,” she told Paul. “It's not science class but at least I'm getting' paid.”

[Paul Wilkerson]

“Well at least you get paid. I don’t. All I get is to sit in classrooms all day.” Even if Paul wasn’t a meta he would still be sitting in classrooms all day.

Paul guessed he should be going to class because the bell just rang. He could avoid his teacher and class only for so long. But trying to avoid his parents would be pointless. Might as well go to class to keep his parents happy.

“I guess I should go to class.”