Us and Everybody Else [Part One]

Monday, September 22nd

“I don't know why we're here.” Donny Ferroli glanced to his left, frowning at his best friend. They were both waiting for a scheduled appointment with the guidance counselor. “We had to do something, right?” He and Theo Williamson skipped classes on a regular basis, but in Donny's opinion, not often enough for administrative interference. What was the problem?

Slouched in an uncomfortable plastic chair, Theo stared at the beige wall opposite them. “Yeah, I'm sure we did,” he answered. He did not share Donny's inclination to solve the mystery. “You know, we got in trouble a lot last year. Maybe there's some carry-over punishment we need to catch up on.”

“September's almost over,” Donny reminded him. “Wouldn't she have told us sooner?”

Theo shrugged. “Maybe she was busy.” Finally he looked over at Donny, his forehead wrinkled. “Didn't you help last year's seniors with their prank? And didn't some of them get caught?”

“Yeah, but I only got the fire extinguishers so –”

“Did you now?”

Suppressing a groan, Donny turned towards the waiting room entrance. Five-foot-zero Mrs. Vera Napolitano stood in the doorway, a hand on her hip as she stared down at him over the top of her glasses. The element of surprise was her superpower. While many teachers at Perry Valley could be detected by the clacking of heels, Mrs. Napolitano always chose flats despite her petite frame for the sole purpose of moving soundlessly. The middle-aged blond did not need a false sense of height to appear intimidating.

Donny regretted ever sitting in the chair. The way she had them cornered, they were stuck there until he thought of an explanation. He should've guessed that she would use any height advantage she could get. “Um...they were for the senior bonfire,” Donny said. “Can't be too careful. Safety first and all that.” He tried to make eye contact, but instead wound up staring at the door behind her.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Mrs. Napolitano decided to ignore his pitiful excuse for a cover story. “It's in the past, Mr. Ferroli. Fortunately for you, I'm looking towards the future today.” She then opened the door to her office, pointing to the two chairs in front of her desk.

Donny couldn't believe that luck was on his side for this meeting. Or the consequences of whatever we did are so awful, even she would feel bad about adding to them. “Thanks, Napoleon...”

“Napolitano,” she corrected sharply. “Mrs. Napolitano.” As Donny and Theo took their seats, she muttered to herself on the way to her chair. “It's not even that clever!” she insisted. “Yes, let's call the short teacher 'Napoleon.' I despise nicknames, but if you must choose one, at least have the courtesy to show some ingenuity.” Sitting in her desk chair, she glared at the two students. “Every year I hope it will go away over the summer, but somehow, it never does.”

With his teeth clenched and his lips pressed together, Donny managed to hold back laughter – probably a sarcastic reply too. Don't laugh, he thought. Don't laugh, don't laugh... He dared to glance at Theo. As expected, the lanky senior was gripping the arms of his chair, his head down so he could concentrate on the floor between his feet. Lucky for him, shaggy light-brown hair fell in front of his narrow, surely-readable face.

Mrs. Napolitano rolled her eyes at their transparency. “Now, I did schedule this meeting for a reason.” She waited for them to regain their composure, then continued. “Neither of you have met your extra-curricular requirement to graduate. This means that if you do not participate in a school activity before May, the school is within its rights to make you repeat senior year.” She smirked at their pale, panicked expressions. “You were both told during freshman orientation that Perry Valley High School students must pursue an extra-curricular. Neither of you have done anything in the three years you've been here. If you do not take action this year, you will be given another chance to make up for it.” She then added, “Which means, you will not graduate with your class.”

Before Donny could process Mrs. Napolitano's news, Theo made a case for their defense.

“But it's not fair!” he exclaimed, glaring at her. Knowing how much his best friend wanted to leave Perry Valley, Donny didn't blame him for being a little angry. “There are try-outs and auditions for everything. The school can't hold us back just because we're not 'good enough' to make it. How can they expect everyone to have a certain level of talent?”

Donny was impressed by the impromptu speech. If the they bothered with any after-school activity, debate team would be perfect for Theo.

Not at all impressed and very annoyed, Mrs. Napolitano leaned back in her cushioned chair. Donny recognized the look she directed towards Theo – her patented “don't be an idiot” warning glance. “Perry Valley has a variety of activities, Mr. Williamson. There has to be one that suits you.”

“We can't join anything now,” Theo argued. “The only people here who join stuff are freshman. If we did find an activity, we would be a newbie and grouped with them. Seniors either have their clubs already, or they do a few hours of community service to fulfill the requirement.” He grinned at her. “We'll volunteer.”

Mrs. Napolitano raised an eyebrow at both of them. “You two are going to volunteer?”

Realizing he should speak for himself, Donny voiced his support of Theo's plan. “Yeah. Is there a sign-up sheet?” Since their problem now had a solution, he and Theo were ready to get out of there. Donny wanted to run from the room as soon as she answered him. Even though she'd moved on from the fire extinguisher incident, he worried that it would cross her mind again.

Her silence made him even more nervous. Without even acknowledging his question, she frowned with disapproval as she folded her hands on top of the desk. “Three years. I've known you two for three years, and you've never challenged yourselves,” she said. “Aren't you tired? Isn't it more exhausting now to make excuses and choose the 'easier' route, when a more rewarding option is right in front of your faces? Don't you want to create memories for yourselves before you graduate?”

Totally unfazed, impatient Theo sunk back into his chair. “I sense that you're going somewhere with this, Mrs. Napolitano.”

“Of course I am!” she exclaimed, slamming the desktop with the palm of her hand. “I'm not waiting for you two to decide on an activity, or weasel your way out of community service. You're both going to do something. You're going to move your lazy selves and prove to me that you are capable of surviving post-graduation.”

“Um...that sounds...fair...” Donny hesitated, unsure of what to say. Honestly he was amazed the guidance counselor cared so much. “How are we supposed to do that, exactly?”

“The Perry Valley High School radio station.”

Both Donny and Theo stared at her, bewildered by the odd reply. Theo seemed even more surprised than Donny. “Is it new? If we had a radio station, I would've heard about it,” he said.

Mrs. Napolitano smiled. For her, it must have been a small victory that they were even interested in the program. “WPHS 95.7. We've had it for twenty years, and it was popular back then, but the entire program is practically non-existent now. With so many choices available on smartphones and laptops, students can listen to anything they want at any time. They're not going to choose talk radio censored by their high school.”

“Not when there's online streaming,” Theo pointed out.

Nodding in agreement, Donny added, “If students want to hear their classmates' opinion on something, they can just go to social media. I'm sure the station was popular twenty years ago, but now, you would need some really great hosts.”

He froze, his eyes wide. Theo caught on too. They slowly turned to each other in unison.

Oh, crud.

Aware of their reactions, Mrs. Napolitano quickly continued before they could protest. “We used to have a radio department, but our sole remaining teacher just retired last year. There weren't enough students for a whole class. I think, if you two brought energy to a new and innovative show, your classmates would listen.”

“How would we do that without a teacher?” Donny demanded, already panicking. He didn't know anything about hosting a radio show. He didn't even listen to regular radio unless he was in a car.

“Well, I'll help, and some members of the faculty said they would take turns mentoring you.”

“Wait a minute...you're giving us responsibility?” Theo asked, skeptical. “This really must be thankless if no one else wants to take it on.”

Mrs. Napolitano shook her head. “This may sound difficult to believe, but you two are my first choice. I have always thought that you would excel if you were given the opportunity.” She smirked slightly. “Besides, it's a no-risk situation. Worst that happens is the station goes under...which is what will happen anyway if you choose community service instead.”

Since Theo actually stayed quiet, Donny sorted through his thoughts. He didn't hate the idea of hosting a radio show. It could be fun, and easier than whatever drudgery the school assigned to volunteers. There was no pressure to succeed or even make it to the second show. A few hours' worth of work, and an afternoon speaking into a microphone, would be a small price to pay for the assurance that they could graduate. He wouldn't feel bad if the station faded into oblivion after that. Did it matter anyway? Mrs. Napolitano would be disappointed, again, but she even said that she wasn't counting on them. She probably just wanted to ensure they did what they were supposed to do for the activity requirement.

Shifting his gaze to Theo, he saw that his best friend was also smiling. This was their “get out of jail free” card. Turning back to Mrs. Napolitano, Donny remembered to frown and sound more neutral when he did answer. This wasn't technically punishment, but still, any atypical enthusiasm would cause suspicion. “We'll, uh, think about it,” he said.

“You will, really?“ Mrs. Napolitano was stunned, though she did her best to recover. “That's wonderful! Meet me outside the recording studio after school.”

Theo blinked. “There's a recording studio? Why does no one tell me this stuff?”

“It's mainly for our music program,” she explained.

As he and Theo stood up to leave, Donny searched his memory. He recalled an inconspicuous door near a class he had the previous semester. “Wait...recording studio...third floor, next to the science lab?” When the guidance counselor nodded, he paused at the office door. “Great. Thanks, Napoleon!”

He then ran from the office to escape her infamous glare. Sometimes it was just worth it.