When the Sun Shines

When I got kicked out of Mercysthrow High School, I had no regrets at all. Mercysthrow was one of those places where everyone and everything was all so prestigious. I was forced to wear a uniform, I was forced to act, talk, eat, learn a certain way and it was too much to handle sometimes. All the students there were perfect on the outside and like little devils on the inside.

Mercysthrow High School happened to be the number one worst high school there was in my town, but slowly over the years it managed to drop itself from that position and end up being in the top ten best schools. It took them more than just a few years and all the teachers and staff were pretty uptight on you even if you were to break a single rule. They even had a little saying that was recited to the students every year, whether they were freshmen or even seniors that have been in the school for four years already.

Break the rules one,
Shame on you.
Break the rules one more time,
And you can get the hell out of our school.

That was it - immediate suspension. This little...poem, I guess you could call it, was recited every year at orientation. It was usually the vice-principal who was the one to say it at the end of his welcome back or welcome for the first time speech, depending on who it was that was in the audience in front of him. And that was why all the typical high school kids waited until either the end of the day or the weekend to start their crazy ideas of fun.

Getting into fights, getting drunk, getting into each others' pants - or skirts as it was a part of the girls' uniforms - began not after the final bell rang but as soon as they were off school grounds and at least a good ten miles from school property.

Everyone else was pretty cool with the way the whole school system worked and if you were a good enough student who got decent grades but were low on money, they'd find ways to get you a full scholarship for college. So, how the hell - you must be wondering - did I, one of Mercysthrow's best students end up getting kicked out?

"Actually, I was wondering how Mercysthrow could possibly let go such a brilliant student as yourself, Mr. Carver," Umbi joked. "But, I guess there's no real big difference between the two, huh?"

"No doubt about that, Umbi," I looked up at her and gave her a broad grin. "Well, see, I, 'Mr. Carver' as you like to put it, am no ordinary person."

"No doubt about that, Carves, but that doesn't exactly answer my question."

It was just that everyone at Mercysthrow acted like everything they were learning was perfectly ok. They taught us morals that stated that it was perfectly ok to kill someone as long as they weren't a good person and of course, not on school property. Like, I know it's a good thing to kill criminals like the superheroes do, but for teenagers to go out and fight evil? That's just insane and let's not forget the fact that it's also a sin!

No one ever spoke against their word and it wasn't just me who was always seething inside because of it, but I just happened to be the only one to ever have the nerve to speak out against the professors. We were in the middle of one of the "most important lectures of the semester" when I finally just couldn't take it anymore and just let go.

"So, you're saying that it's was basically just ok for kids to go out and murder their bullies or parents just because they got picked on a little or they got grounded?" I shouted out to my professor.

"Mr. Cantwells, just what do you do think you're doing interrupting my lecture?!" he yelled back at me.

"I think I'm interrupting your lecture!" I told him sarcastically. "What you're 'teaching' us kids is no different from what the devil's spawn could teach us about. You're not helping us at all! This isn't right!"

Professor Erst-Henway sighed patiently and pushed his thin glasses further up his nose. "Now, Carver, you happen to be one of my best students, so I'll let you leave class for the day and get some rest. I'll get the notes you missed tomorrow." he promised me.

"I don't need rest!" I went on. "What I need is for you to understand that what you're teaching is wrong not right!"

Professor Erst-Henway inhaled and exhaled with his eyes closed before looking up at me with dark eyes.

"Break the rules once, shame on you. Break the rules again," he began recited, but I cut him off before he could get to finish.

"No need," I began seething again. I lowered my head and began packing up my stuff. "I've been wanting to get out of here since the first day."

I walked past him not giving anyone a second glance back.

"So, that's it," Umbie asked me now. "You got kicked all because you decided you weren't into their little religion?"

"Yup. But, I didn't care too much, now my parents they were a bit..."

"Mad?"

"Crazy about it," I finished. "But, then again Mercysthrow was one of the best schools there was and the stupidest. I mean, we were the only school that had to wear uniforms and act as if we were some big and fancy private school."

"So, do you miss it there?" Umbie asked me next.

"Nope. Can't say I really do at all. But, they did manage to teach me one thing while I was there."

"And what's that?" she wanted to know. I watched in amazement as the sunlight hit the metal on her lip making her smile look brighter before answering her.

"I believe that even if you're the meanest person in the world, you can change. Just like Scrooge. I mean, there's gotta be at least some niceness inside of you and the thing to do is just take that niceness out of the secret place they've stuck it in, and let that overcome them," Umbie gave me a familiar look that I've seen on many other people who've heard about my hypothesis. Since I've seen it a million times before, I knew exactly what to say to her to make her believe me. "Name the meanest girl in your school."

"That's easy," she answered almost immediately. "Gloria Howe. Or as I liked to call her: Ingloria or Howe Inglorious can you be?" she laughed at her own joke and I couldn't help cracking a smile at it.

"Great. Now I bet I could change that girl from a mean little bitch into this sweet little girl she probably was when she was a kid." I told her.

"Ingloria's been a bitch since she was born."

"Okay, but I still think there's some amount of niceness in here and I bet I could just get it out of her."

"I don't think so."

"Are you saying you think I'm not capable of helping anyone?" I could feel myself getting kind of mad, but it immdiately melted when I saw Umbi's face soften.

"No way, Carver, I'm just saying that Gloria's a bit hard to handle. She's more high maintenance than a celebrity." she said.

I gave her a smile. "And I'm gonna be the one to change that about her."

I could see Umbie's face breaking out into a grin. "You're really not gonna give up on this, are you?"

"Nope. Not until I can change the world!" I replied in a dramatic voice. Umbie laughed as expected and I knew she was going to help me out in this. "Together we shall defeat all the evil in the universe!"

"How about we start with Gayeways first."

"I thought it was called Gageways." I looked up at her.

"Eh, same thing!"

She laughed and I laughed. I knew for a fact that I was going to be able to change things in this world; one step at a time, I was going to get there. As soon as I was done with this Gloria girl, I was going to go back to Mercysthrow High School and show them just what I was capable of.