#was he unnecessarily cruel? did he get mad halfway in and turn it into yelling insults? yes and yes (and you can point to the trigger)

[ladyluscinia]

This post has at least 3 threads on it that I've enjoyed and the most recent one going around is a great bit of meta work (special mention to @bromelads 🎉), but since apparently it's now generating Izzy drama (lol naturally) I want to pull a piece from one of my earlier threads that I think sums up my stance succinctly:

Izzy did not support Edward in running away to start a circus OR support Edward emotionally while shuffling the circus off the table because he's Izzy and also having a breakdown, but people will genuinely act like the first one is the greater and perhaps unforgivable crime and it's insane.

[creepynoodleheadcannons]

Creeps High School-Cruelty in the First Degree

Coach Liu was missing.

I noticed the second I stepped into the gym. Coach Woods was practically steaming with anger broiling beneath his thick skin.

“You’re late, Robertson.”

I felt my stomach drop once he addressed me, eyelids receding as I stumbled for an answer. “I’m sorry Coach Woods, I couldn’t-“

“Shut your trap kid. I don’t care.” He spat, closing in on me. The rest of the students backed up as he did, shooting me frantic glances and mouthing words I couldn’t fathom.

“You sure do make a lot of excuses, don’t you?” He glared down at me with a gaze that could cut diamonds. I wanted to throw up on sight.

“You just going to stare at me, Robertson?”

My mouth opened but no words came out. I was too worried to force any out-they might be followed by nervous bile.

“Answer me!” His voice echoed off of the walls, my muscles tensing. I wanted to curl up and die.

“Well you see sir I was just trying to-“

“The answer was yes, dumbass.” His jaw was locked in place, as were my feet. As he started to back up, the freeze frame melted.

He insulted me. And I stood there, like an idiot, and just nodded.

“Do you call all of your students dumbasses? Or just the ones who call you out?”

I felt confident enough as I spoke, yet once the words were out, I felt my stomach bottom out again.

Even Yasmin was scared. She shot me a look with eyes wide in abject horror, but I noticed a hint of a smile.

Before I could mention it, Coach Wood’s hand was gripping the front of my uniform.

“What did you just say?”

I gulped audibly, searching for any words that would come up.

“Come on, spit it out! If you want to say something, now’s the time!”

I tried to regain some self-respect in the worst way possible. My cheeks were burning with embarrassment. And to top it all off, I said:

“I just think you’re being unnecessarily cruel is all.”

Yasmin choked. A few girls squeaked in fear. Coach Woods pulled me closer. I could even smell the deep scent of coffee on his tongue.

“I’m cruel, huh?”

His fingers dug into the thin material of my shirt, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Up close, I could see the scars beside his lips. They curved up into a sort of Cheshire grin, giving him a permanent, menacing smile. He didn’t seem to have any eyelashes either. The skin around his eyes was terribly thin and seemed to stretch across his bone structure.

He looked horrible.

“Anybody else think I’m too cruel? Hm? Come on now, don’t be shy girls.”

Nobody even took a breath.

“Alright, Miss Alice. I guess it’s about time you receive thanks.”

He tossed me back, turning to the small crowd that had formed. “Go on now, thank her.”

Everybody thanked me in hesitant voices, Yasmin the only one who looked upset. She knew what was coming.

“Why are they thanking me, Coach?”

He extended his grin, eyes locked into mine.

“Because you just gave them the day off.”

He stepped out of the gym, a door down the hall opening and closing.

Yasmin immediately pulled me aside, dragging me to the water fountain.

“You’re fucking stupid. You couldn’t just shut up, could you? Do you think you’re some kind of goddamn martyr? Whatever, there’s no time. Drink.”

I looked up at her as she tossed me towards the fountain, confusion present on my face. “What? Why?”

“If you throw up, he might go easier on you. Drink enough to get water-logged.”

I looked down at the dispenser for a moment before hesitantly starting to drink.

The door opened again.

“Shit-stop, just start praying, shut up, and go.”

I pulled away quickly, making my way to the entrance before he could come back.

When he did, he had weights in his hands and a stopwatch.

“Girls, go sit on the bench, and shut up. Alice, base line.” He slammed the weights on the floor, startling me enough to get my legs moving.

I felt the water slosh within my stomach, hoping Yasmin was right.

And yet, I was still mad. He shouldn’t be allowed to talk to his students like that. He shouldn’t be able to insult us and order us around the way he does. And yet, he’d never been this upset with anybody as far as I’d seen.

“Alright, here’s how this is going to work.”

He grabbed one of the plates, scowling as he spoke.

“You’re going to hold a plank. Every time you drop, you’ll run a suicide and I’ll up the weight. If you arch your hips, the plates will slip off and hit you in the head. And if you let any of them fall, I’ll double the weight. Got it?”

Before I could nod, he shoved me to the floor.

I was about to start yelling when he pulled out the stopwatch. “Go, or I go to the office and explain what a nuisance you’ve been-“

I dropped quickly.

Nobody spoke the entire time. If anybody tried, he quickly berated them, and yet I couldn’t find the strength to care.

I had sixty pounds sitting on my back and my arms were shaking so bad I thought I might die on spot.

I’d thrown up twice by now, and each time he made me run another suicide. I’d run fourteen by now.

“Coach.”

He turned around, about to start yelling, when Yasmin interrupted. “She’s clearly learned her lesson. Please, just let her stop.”

While he was distracted, I managed to rest my knee on the ground. I felt my abs relax for a few seconds, painfully.

“I call the shots here, Yasmin. Why don’t you-“

There was a knock at the door.

Three times fast, three times slow, and three times fast again.

Both of them stopped, and Woods immediately stopped his timer. “Deal with her, Yas.”

He bolted from the room.

Yasmin came up to me quickly, practically throwing the weights off. I let myself collapse onto the gym floor flooded with my sweat.

She rested a cold hand on the back of my neck, speaking quietly. “You’re lucky. He ends his punishments with burpees.”

I coughed as I nodded, pressing my scaling skin into the warm floor.

I knocked before stumbling into the classroom, watching as Mr. Drew looked up from his screen. “Yeah Y-oh, it’s just you.”

He took a minute to fully gauge my appearance, grimacing after he did. “You look like you were hit by a bus.”

“I feel like it, too.”

He gave a curt laugh, nodding towards the desk. “Sit down, I’ll get you some water. And if Sleuth asks, I’m getting worksheets.”

I followed his directions, my legs throbbing once the weight was lifted. The desk was painfully warm.

He came back a minute later with a water bottle and some soda crackers, placing them in front of me. “Normally I’d just tell you to suck it up, but I know how bad he can be. Also, those twits deserved it.”

I let myself smile as I pressed the water bottle to my forehead.

Within ten minutes, I’d managed to recover enough to find myself catching up on my homework for the week. Mr. Drew didn’t speak much, only occasionally checking to see if I had died. He kept himself occupied on his computer and occasionally writing in a leather-bound journal. He wrote fast and closed it each time, shooting me a glance.

At first, I didn’t mind, but not too long after, I heard the beginning of a video. He’d simply forgotten to mute it.

“We’re here with Sergeant Jackson-“

He quickly stopped it before laughing awkwardly. “Sorry about that, can’t seem to find the mute button when I need it. Didn’t disturb you, did I?”

I shook my head in response, shoving out a response.

“Not at all, sir.”

He nodded quickly before returning to his journal.

Sergeant Jackson.

I knew the name, I’d known that name. I heard that name at the dinner table. I heard that name in passing conversations. I’d met him myself when he came to our doorstep.

He was my mother’s boss.

I spent the next twenty minutes trying to work through every possibility. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe it was another Sergeant Jackson. Maybe I’d misheard the video. Maybe I was just being paranoid.

And yet, I found myself itching to find out what was in that journal.

I waited and waited for him to leave the room, yet he never budged. He sat there the entire time, keeping a close hold on his journal.

I knew what would happen if he caught me snooping. He’d report me to Dr. Sleuth, and I was too scared to find out what was next. I’d be expelled on sight, or worse. I had to find out what the hell was in that journal, but if anybody found out, I’d be screwed.

I finally found an opening when Coach Woods came in.

I jumped in my seat once I heard the door slam open. Coach Woods ran in promptly, out of breath and face flushed with exertion.

“Ben, we have to-I was just-and he came in and-“

Mr. Drew leapt out of his chair, grabbing a set of keys. “Calm down, man. Breathe, please. Alice!”

I looked up from my homework, which I’d been intently staring at to avoid Coach Wood’s scowl.

“Don’t touch anything, or you’ll fail the whole semester.”

I nodded quickly, watching as he ran from the room. I listened to his footsteps echo down the steps and a door slam.

I immediately rushed to his desk, staring at the journal.

The leather was worn. It looked old and worn, some of the pages crumpled. The pencil next to it had bite marks on it, unlike any other writing utensil on his desk.

I slowly pulled back the leather cover, seeing the first page. It was covered in various calculations, ranging from complex arithmetic to simple geometry.

The first few pages were covered front and back, and none of them were consistent. They were scratches over the years at best.

After ten pages of nonsense, I finally saw a timeline.

The first date on it was December 23rd, 2015.

-First Report Filed, inconclusive

It was a CPS report. It had been copied down and sections were highlighted. I had seen a few on my mom’s desk when I was a kid. This looked exactly like a CPS report filed at the police station.

As I turned the pages, I saw at least five reports following soon after, each one labeled as inconclusive. All of the names were marked out, up until the last report.

“Oldest had to be restrained, K. V-“

I jerked up halfway through, hearing soft footsteps.

I slammed the notebook shut, scrambling back to my desk and falling onto it. I hoped that my lousy attempt of looking asleep was enough.

“You know where I keep the box, and he doesn’t. It’ll be fine.”

A long sigh from Coach Woods.

“I know, but-hey, your brat’s asleep.”

“Figured she would be. What did she do that was so bad? You almost killed her.”

He scoffed lightly, groaning quietly. “She mouthed off. Said I was being cruel.”

“Aww, did she hurt your precious ego, Jeffrey?”

“Shut your trap, Ben. I’m not cruel with my students.”

A light laugh from Mr. Drew ensued. I felt my chest shaking.

“You can be. Why don’t you take out some of that cruelty on me tonight-“

“Hey, kid, right there.”

“She’s knocked out cold, Coach. I’ll see you tonight, nine o’clock. Wear something nice.”

He laughed again, a door shutting promptly.

After a few minutes and a long sigh, I heard Mr. Drew hit his desk.

“Hey, time’s up kiddo. I want to go home, so scram.”

I managed to push myself up from the desk, groaning lightly. “Sorry sir, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It’s fine, I would’ve too. Oh, and for future reference, watch your mouth around Coach Woods. He’s not all bad, but likes respect.”

I nodded gently, offering him a smile.

I could practically hear the plastic crinkle in his cheeks as he forced himself to mirror me.

“Have a good night, Robertson.”

I waved as I left, a sick feeling settling in my stomach.

I had to get that journal.