Dark's Descent

by Basil Bacorn

  Mr. Sowards strolled in and slid next to Cassie. 'Whoa. He's cool!' she thought.

  Charlie watched Cassie put her elbow on the desk, and rest her head on her hand, while she was going gaga for the new dude.

  Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. The hand swirled him around. When he stopped, Stella Sanders was inches from his face. “Hello Boo,” she teased, “Looks like we're buddies now.” 'Oh no' Charlie thought as Stella held his hand. Her hair was nowhere as soft as Cassie's, not to mention she's a popular snob. Charlie tried not to enjoy the fact that a girl was flirting with him.

  He looked at Cassie, and then the door. Where was Dr. Harrison?!

  Just then Dr. Harrison burst through the door with 2 minutes left to use. “Here are the papers, take them and I'll tell you stuff tomorrow!” Dr. Harrison gasped. She just ran across the school. Who cares if your dog has a rash? She had spent eight minutes trying to get the secretary to leave her alone.

  “I'm not a vet, I don't know!” she had said, but the lady wouldn't listen.

  What was Cassie going to say? She had to say something. “Hey.” she said, acting cool. Garrett nodded. 'He knows I exist!!!!' Cassie thought. While Cassie was trying to figure out the name of their third child, she flipped her hair. What was that?! Garrett looked at her. “Nice hair, wanna hang sometime?” he said. Was he kidding? Of course! “Sure.” she replied. 'He's hot.' she thought.

  The bell snapped her from daydreaming about their retirement plan. Charlie leaped to Cassie. Stella fell forward. She was leaning on Charlie.

  “Anything new?” Charlie asked. “Tell you at lunch?” Cassie suggested. Charlie nodded, “Sure.”

  Angry Boss, Hungry Dragon

  The old principal, Mr. Bones, begged the superintendent for his job back.

  “I told you,” the superintendent insisted, “Mrs. Spencer is the principal now. You were awful. Now get out before I make a rash decision!”

  Mr. Bones laughed. “What are you going to do? Fire me?” he chuckled, “Call the cops?”

  Superintendent S. smiled, “You're right, I can't do either of those things. But I can do something.” “What?” sneered the former principal. “Mr. Bones, you make me angry.” Superintendent S. explained, “Do you know what I do when I am angry? I eat.”

  Mr. Bones laughed, “Then I'll leave you to it!” As Mr. Bones turned around, Superintendent S. pounced over his head and blocked the door. Mr. Bones fell back. “The office is big, why are you scared?” Jason S. teased, “Mr. Bones,”. Jason huffed out a cloud of smoke. “I'M HUNGRY!” he roared as the room filled with smoke. Nobody heard the old principal's screams as The Dragon scorched the ceiling and launched his gigantic mouth forward.

  The Superintendent was waiting for Edward Calski outside his office as the smoke rolled out. “What happened here?” Calski questioned. “Oh nothing, just a small fire.” Jason grinned, “Walk with me.”

  The two walked outside and through the city. “Where are we going?” Mr. Calski questioned. “Don't you like Central Park?” Jason inquired, “A nice, big place, for us to, talk.”

  They walked through the woods and sat down on a bench. “So why did you want to see me?” Calski asked. “Let's just say, I'm all fired up,” he explained, “I saw you still didn't turn in your lesson plans, which qualifies for termination. I am going to FIRE you” “I know.” Calski admitted, standing up. “SIT DOWN, MR. CALSKI!!!!” Jason roared, “NOW!!!”

  Calski sat on the ground and took a double take. Is that smoke coming from his mouth? “Wh-wh-what?” Edward Calski stuttered as his angry boss clouded up the park. Calski heard a growl from the cloud, and gasped as a dragon snout flew at him, swallowing him whole.

  Lunch And Later

  Cassie and Charlie sat down at a table near Garrett's. “I am hanging with him after school!” Cassie squealed. “I take it you like him?” Charlie asked sarcastically. Cassie looked at him and said “Duh.”

  Cassie groaned as Stella slid in the seat next to Charlie and pet his head. “Is something wrong Char-Char?” she cooed, “You wanna sit at the popular table with me and my girls?” Charlie moved to the other side of Cassie. “Nah” he rejected. Stella blew him a kiss and sashayed away. Cassie caught the kiss and ripped it in half. “Hey, that was mine!” Charlie joked, making Cassie roll her eyes.

  Cassie stood up and walked over to her pride, Garrett. “Hey,” she called, whipping her hair, “when do you wanna hang?” Cassie told Charlie they were hanging tonight, when in reality she had no idea. “Sometime,” he answered. “Cool” Cassie smiled, and went back to Charlie.

  Meanwhile, Charlie watched Cassie flirt with Garrett and sighed. When he saw the hair-whip, he almost fainted.

  Watching her sweet-cheeks, Stella realized that Charlie loves Cassie's hair. It was silky and smooth. 'Stop it!' she thought. Stella whipped out her phone and texted her dad a picture of Cassie and a message reading, 'If you love me u'll have my hair xactly like that by 2morrow!' Within seconds, she received a message saying 'whatever you want, I'll send for a hairstylist from Milan to make you better than that!' Stella smiled. Tomorrow, Chella will be what everyone is talking about.

  After lunch, it was time for gym and Charlie and Will headed to the boys’ locker room, while Cassie and Stella headed to the girls'.

  In the boys' locker room, Coach Maxwell Boyd went over the rules. “First off, boys' locker room is for boys only, and girls' locker room is for girls only.” Everyone nodded, while Charlie daydreamed about Cassie's hair.

  Even though he thought about it most of all, it wasn't his favorite feature. He loved her green eyes, and freckles, but her personality was the best. To him, if Stella Sanders wanted him, the only way would be to morph into Cassie, and make herself act like Cassie, and, well, be Cassie.

  Charlie hoped Coach Boyd wasn't saying anything important because he was not listening at all.

  To Charlie's relief, Coach ended up handing out a sheet that said everything he missed.

  On the other side, Coach Ava Boyd, Coach Maxwell's wife, went over the same things, only in her own way. She handed out the papers before starting. “First thing's first, no boys in here, and no girls over there, understood?” Everyone agreed, and Mrs. Coach went through the ins and outs of gym class while everyone listened attentively.

  Everyone except for Stella who was hoping the 'Chella' t-shirts got done before tomorrow. She'd never had any trouble getting a boy before, but Charlie was different. Apparently you can't buy everyone. She looked at Cassie's hair, studying it, trying to figure out how she got it like she did. It's no wonder why Charlie likes her, the hair is so mesmerizing!

  Just before the bell rang, Stella plucked a hair from Cassie's head and shoved it in a little bag to send to her Daddy's private lab for testing.

  Charlie was waiting for Cassie outside to go to band together. Stella scowled, Cassie had band too?!

  “Charles?” Stella called, “Wait for me!” “Faster!” he whispered, causing a snicker from Cassie.

  Stella eventually caught up to them, somehow picking up her own entourage on the way. Pushing Cassie away, Stella shoved herself under Charlie's arm to cuddle. Charlie shot a look to Cassie saying he'll just roll with it. Charlie felt bad whenever he made someone upset, and he definitely wasn't going to disappoint the audience.

  Riley and Miley were their names, the classic background entourage type. With their big eyes, and hopeful smiles, Charlie would probably cry if he let them down.

  Cassie knew this about him, and thought it was one of his more attractive features.

  They got to band just in time to grab the last few seats. Stella tried to sit on Charlie's lap, but he didn't allow it.

  Stella smiled. Wait till tomorrow when she has better hair, then he'll fall head over heels for her.

  Mrs. Mary Appleyard walked up to the front of the room. “I'm so excited to see so many new faces this year.” she announced with glee, “With all these budget cuts, I'm so excited to see any faces this year!”


  She continued to explain the situation when someone yelled “Appleyard! Move on!” Agreeing with the outspoken student, she handed out papers.

  “The band has two concerts a year, that are held in the auditorium with the orchestra and choir.” she explained, “The winter concert will be first and will be held on the tenth of December at 7:00PM. The next one is the spring concert, and will be held on May 23rd at 7:00PM. We will go over the music tomorrow, so bring your instruments. If you don't own your own, you can use one of the school's.”

  Appleyard checked her watch, and said, “That's all I got, so talk quietly amongst yourselves. If you need me, I'll be in my office.”

  Five minutes left, a lot could happen in five minutes.

  Stella rubbed Charlie's back, and Charlie once again tried not to enjoy it. He didn't want Stella to know, but she was actually getting through to him. He was warming up to all of the touches and such, but he resisted, for Cassie.

  Cassie was investigating what Stella saw in Charlie. He wasn't that bad looking, but he was no Garrett Sowards. And he did have a killer personality. With his side-swish black hair-do and his big bright blue eyes that Cassie used to dream of for hours, okay, maybe he did have a nice face. Cassie wasn't going to admit he was attractive, but Stella did.

  Anyway, Charlie didn't like her as anything more than a friend, even if Stella was making her curious.

  Stella hugged Charlie. How come Cassie hasn't claimed him yet, it's obvious he likes her! Stella knew all the girls were checking him out, so she made her move. No one will mess with a boy that Stella has her sights on. Stella still couldn't believe how cute he was, OMG, his eyes! Bright blue and adorable!

  As Stella tousled his hair, Charlie wondered what it would be like to call her his girlfriend. She has long blonde hair, pretty blue eyes, like his, and was very stylish. Today she wore a loose black shirt with the word 'POP' written on it in big colorful block letters, a rainbow skirt, and leggings that lead straight down to a pair of black boots. Definitely trendy.

  Stella held Charlie's hand, and he didn't pull away! Either she was breaking through, or he gave up trying. She didn't care.

  Cassie saw Stella and Charlie holding hands and fumed inside.

  Seeing the look on his friend's face, he pulled away.

  Seeing Cassie as the reason for the pull back, Stella flew into a rage, inside her head. SHE KNEW THERE WAS NO WAY ANY GIRL COULD RESIST CHARLIE!!! CASSIE WAS TOTS JELLY AND THERE IS NO WAY THAT SHE WAS GOING TO STEAL CHARLIE FROM HER!!!

  The bell rang, snapping all three back to reality. “Come on Charlie,” Cassie beckoned, “time for study hall with Mr. Braddock.” Stella perked up, “I have that too! We can all walk together!” “Yay...” Cassie sighed. Stella grinned and sighed, Charlie would be hers.

  They arrived to Mr. Braddock's room in the nick of time. Stella kept stopping in the hallways to take selfies with Charlie. Cassie would sometimes photobomb them out of spite.

  There were ten people in the mini study hall, four of which were Will, Cassie, Stella, and Charlie. Mr. Braddock tried to ignore the fact that the friend of Cassie was now being snuggled to death by her sworn enemy. Children. “No touchy!” Mr. Braddock reminded Stella as if she was going to listen. Instead she handed him a fifty. “Yeah, okay.” he muttered.

  Mr. Braddock shoved Cassie in between Stella and Charlie so they could pay attention and not start making-out or doing something else against school policy.

  “This class is for studying,” Mr. Braddock announced, “So always bring work.” Since that was all he had, he gave about 9 minutes as free time. Hey, what could possibly go wrong in 9 minutes.

  Cassie glanced at Charlie from time to time. She did, anyway, until she saw Garrett Sowards. Then she just rested her head and stared.

  Garrett had short, blonde hair, and brown eyes. He wore a grey jacket over a white shirt, jeans, and some really expensive looking shoes. He also had some stylish sunglasses on his head that made Cassie weak in the knees. She knew it was weird, but she had a thing for trendy eyewear.

  While Cassie was going loony over Garrett's glasses, Charlie was studying everything he loved about her. What he didn't love was her obsession with Mr. Cool Guy. Sure, he was trendy like Stella, but he was probably the bran from Charlie's breakfast cereal.

  During this time period, Stella was still wondering when Charlie would come through. He was sups hot, and tots adorbs. Yeah, his style could use an update, but she could fix that with a couple thousand from Daddy's private vault. Oh she loved being spoiled!

  After some time in their thoughts, the last bell rang, and they got to spend the rest of their time in homeroom chatting with friends. This was a simple 'catch-up with your friends after summer break' thing.

  Charlie got a cell phone a few weeks ago, so it was no surprise to Cassie when he pulled it out to check his hair. When Stella saw it, she slid really close and without taking it from his hands, put her number in his phone. To top it off, she did something that left everyone speechless. She let go of the phone, and kissed Charlie right on the cheek!

  The Charlie Competition Begins

  “I want a cell phone!” Cassie blurted out at dinner. Susan and James shot each other a look. “What's this sudden interest in a phone?” Mr. Smith asked. “I wanna keep in touch with my friends.” Cassie answered innocently. It seemed like everyone in her grade had a phone but her.

  The only reason she hadn't gotten a phone yet was because her parents had assumed that she didn't want one, because she never asked. In order to act parent-like, Susan looked at her daughter, “Are you responsible enough for a phone?” Cassie nodded excitedly.

  “Okay, then, let's go!” Susan exclaimed, getting up from the table. In all honesty, she really wanted Cassie to have a phone. That way, Susan could lengthen the leash without losing control. Susan was heading out the door, when Cassie stood up.

  They decided to take a cab to the local electronic store. There, they picked out a phone with ease, and had Cassie on the Smiths' phone plan in two minutes flat. The first thing they did afterwards was visit the Myers house. Cassie popped in and ran up to Charlie's room. Charlie was lying on his bed when she ran in and scared the living daylights out of him. “Guess what?!” she yelled, making Charlie roll out of bed. “Ooh, are you okay?” Cassie giggled. Charlie nodded and stood up. “What's so important?” he asked, rubbing his head. Cassie held up her phone and smiled.

  Charlie grabbed his phone. He couldn't wait for the day when he could have Cassie in his contact list. Taking a picture of Cassie, he made a new contact and gave her the phone for her number. Cassie eagerly typed in the digits. Cassie then gave her phone to Charlie.

  “It's off.” Charlie stated. Cassie looked at her feet, “They never told me how to turn it on.” Charlie laughed and showed her how. He then put his number in her phone and took a selfie for the picture. Cassie sniggered when Charlie took more selfies, admiring the camera quality.

  Cassie was secretly saddened when Charlie stopped filling up her phone's memory.

  While Cassie and Charlie were hanging out, Stella was in the middle of her hair appointment with the famous hairstylist, Devé Déon. “Is it as smooth as silk?” Stella questioned. “I know I'm a world-renowned stylist,” Déon admitted, “but hair takes time!” Stella groaned and had her assistant check to see if the lab got anything with Cassie's hair.

  “Good news, Miss Sanders,” Mr. Celtics snipped, “the cosmetic company came up with an overnight hair remedy with that sample that can be sold to make millions!” Stella squealed, “Good, now gimme some!” Stella jumped down and followed her butler, leaving Ms. Déon alone with her thoughts.

  An hour later, Stella had Cassie Hair Treatment thoroughly rubbed into her hair. This will have Charlie grappling at her feet! The treatment was a liquid, gold in color that shined in the light. The cosmetic team scraped dried hair products residue from the very bottom of the hair. That's when they saw the DNA. They took the hair products and made
an exact copy using a secret technique. By doing so, they were able to produce a whole gallon of hair liquid. Geneticists then took the DNA, and replicated it as well. The sample was unique, with extra instructions for hair-coding. By amplifying the instructions, and mixing it with the hair liquid, they made Miracle Hair. In order to test it and still get it to Stella in time, they used experimental time travel technology to go forward and test the product for ten years. They then went back to 2011, with the finished product. Unfortunately, the tech burnt out on the way back, so no more timely manner.

  Stella went to bed that night with happy thoughts.

  The next morning, Cassie got up to a text message from Charlie that read, 'C u @ scool'. Cassie giggled, and texted 'C u soon!'. Cassie skipped around to get ready for all of the learning. She got ready, grabbed her cardboard cutout of the number 6, and ran out the door.

  Stella woke up with a smile. She felt her hair. Luscious. She had breakfast in bed and went to the bathroom to get ready. If she was going to see Charlie before Cassie, she was going to have to be fast.

  Charlie dawdled outside the school, waiting for Cassie. Then, he saw it, a big, pink glittery cardboard cutout of the number 1 flying towards him. Stella dropped it down, revealing the most beautiful, blonde hair he'd ever seen. Hair-whip, hair-whip she went, showing it off. Charlie just stared, and stared, and stared.

  Twenty minutes later, Cassie ran up to Charlie, still mesmerized by Stella's stellar hair. By now, Stella had been holding Charlie's hand for about nineteen minutes. Proud as a peacock, Stella turned to Cassie and teased, “Hi Cassie! How was your morning?”