And Then We Will Destroy Our Bodies

Sent home with a note.
Great.

Mr. Simmons hadn’t believed for a second that Frank kicking him was an accident.

Even in the nurses office and then the principles office Frank had tried to explain that he thought he was being attacked, all he really managed was a small hidden smile out of the nurse and an outright smirk from the secretary.

Mr. Simmons obviously wasn’t well liked around the office, it could be his awful brown sweat stained suits and the fact that he hit on every girl over the age of 15, but hey, you never know.

Either way Frank wasn’t able to get out of at least a note to his parents, Frank dropped trudged up the stairs to his room dropping his bag by his door.

At least there won’t be a huge fight though,

But Frank knew from the grimace of a smile on Mr. Simmons’s face when he handed Frank the envelope he fudged on the story, probably making it out to be Frank attacking him with nun chucks or something. Which was ridiculous, if he wasn’t made to stay after class in the first place…

No, if everyone at his school weren’t homophobic DICKHEADS then he wouldn’t have to be in fear for his life and end up accidentally attacking the assistant principal in the first damn place!

There might not be a fight but it could result in grounding, being made to spend every weekday afternoon in his room doing absolutely nothing, no music, no phone calls, no computer and not allowed out on the weekends. For someone like Frank, it was close to spiritual death.

Frank couldn’t help but think of what his dad would say if he knew Frank had kicked someone in the balls. In his eyes it was below the belt and dishonorable, He once told Frank that if you can’t fight back honorably, then you deserve to be beat up. Which was bullshit because it worked great.

Frank looked over the envelope he held in his hands and knew what he had to do.

Digging through the drawer of his desk till he found a lighter he snatched it up and headed for the bathroom. Frank clicked a flame he watched it a moment before touching a corner of the envelope to it, the paper quickly browned and caught fire.

Watching enthralled as the flames as the envelope burned, the flames soon touching the paper inside and racing through it without a pause. Frank was so enraptured he didn’t notice the flames had reached his hand, with a yelp he dropped the burning papers and rushed to the sink, running cool water over his burnt palm.

Swearing and coughing he looked up into the mirror to see the bath towel on the floor behind him in flames.

SHIT THE FUCK!

Quickly stamping out the fire a loud beeping started in the hallway, Fuck!

Frank rushed out of the bathroom with the blackened towel bunched in his arms, pretty sure he was going to be in much more trouble he would have been in before if his mom came home to this.

Pausing in the hallway he looked up at the device responsible for the hideous screeching noise, he realized there was no way he could possibly reach it in order to make it shut the fuck up!

Standing on his tiptoes and jumping he still couldn’t reach the round plastic box, Frank ran into his room, looking around everywhere…

First, he jumped onto his bed and stuffed the burnt towel in the crack between the bed and the wall, then seat belting off his bed he dragged his desk chair into the hallway. Knocking over his red Fender guitar in the process…with a curse he ignored it and kept on towards the beeping.

Standing on the seat of his chair now he was much closer to the deafening noise, he frantically reached for the small button to turn off the stupid noise maker.

Little closer, little higher The chair tipped sending Frank to the floor, his head hitting against the wall just as beeping miraculously stopped.
Frank heard his mothers voice from the front hall.

“Frank, are you home?”

Oh shit.

Frank quickly jumped up and ran into the bath room, scooping up the ashes and little bits of paper on the floor he flushed them down the toilet, taking another bath towel from the rack he threw it on the floor to cover the black ashy stain on the blue tile.

“Frank, Why is your chair in the hallway?” Frank heard from the hallway, then “Have you been smoking up here?!”

There was a knock on the bathroom door just then, and Frank opened it, peeking out to see his mother standing in the hallway. Trying hard to cover his heavy breathing from being frantic for the last 5 minutes he spoke…

“What?”

“I said I smell smoke, have you been smoking up here?” His mother fairly glaring at him, her arm crossed over her chest, she meant business.

Frank allowed his mouth to drop open “No! I was…I burnt some toast.” He lied

“Frank, do I look that stupid?”

“I was working on a project,” Frank rushed ”it’s a secret! So I can’t tell you. But it wasn’t dangerous and it had nothing to do with cigarettes, I promise. Everything’s fine.”

His mother looked at him skeptically for more than a moment before she uncrossed her arms and sighed,

“Fine, but in the future if your projects have anything to do with smoke or explosives or fire will you take them outside please, I don’t want to come home to find the house burnt down.”

“Sure, yeah, that would suck.” Frank agreed.

His mother gave him one last look before she turned and headed to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her…

Frank leaned on the doorway frame and gave himself a second to catch his breath for real, wondering if he had really gotten away with that.

Was he really just that good?