Back to Hell
October 9, 2023
Dwight Private Learning Institute, Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City
School had never been something Kate particularly enjoyed. It was something she was good at (not as good as her sister though) but could completely go without. It’s not like school taught you anything useful. Useful as in how to file taxes, how to get a good job, math that you would need to use in everyday life. Instead, the American education system chose to teach what angle is equal to angle ABC, what is the area of this quadrilateral. Complete and utter bullshit.
Yet here she was, on a Monday, getting dropped off at the Dwight School. The Dwight school was exactly the kind of school that she might have applied to two years ago before her father lost all his money. Then public school happened. And Dwight Private Learning Institution on the Upper East Side of Manhatten seemed to fit every snide comment made at Pace High School from the uniforms to the literal Cadillacs and BMWs the other kids took to school.
Her navy blue cardigan was itchy, the tie at her throat was choking her, and her skirt was an absolute abomination. The day hadn’t even started yet and she already felt like digging her own grave and lying in it. That has to be a new personal record.
She got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind her. The driver (not her father but his personal driver) wasted no time in making his getaway. Her fastest and easiest escape plan gone with her last sighting of the Audi.
Kate crossed the street almost getting hit by no more than 3 cars. She didn’t really care though did she. If she died now, it would just save her the trouble of doing it herself later when she would inevitably get so sick of school and life it could be considered a mercy.
(I don't really mean that, of course. It’s just my broken sense of humor and the only way for me to survive the rest of the day without screaming.)
Walking in through the doors with gold-colored handles (of course, it’s gold, rich people always want fucking gold) she mentally prepared herself for getting lost and being late to homeroom and then every period after that because that’s what has happened to her every first day of school that she had had to endure throughout her life.
(First day of sophomore year, yay. I hope you can hear the enthusiasm in my voice. Who am I kidding, I’m talking to myself again.)
Technically, she should be repeating her freshman year of high school. But, dear old dad pulled some strings to get her into this place, and because she’s smart and apparently knows everything (no I don’t) convinced them to let her move up to the next grade.
She eventually found her homeroom (second floor, 7th door on the right) and was only 18 minutes late (woohoo) . Not as late as she thought she would be but the staring didn’t make her feel any prouder.
“What’s your name, Miss?”
An older woman with wisps of white hair framing her face looked at her expectantly over her clipboard.
“Uh, Katherine Bishop?”
Her eyes scanned her clipboard before she checked something off with her pen.
“You’re on here Miss Bishop. Is this your first day?”
“Yes.”
“Take a seat over there next to Miss Albrecht.” She tilted her head towards a blond girl sitting by the window. “And maybe ask someone for directions. It doesn’t look good to be late on your first day.”
Yeah, she seemed exactly like every stuck-up private school teacher the kids at her old school talked about.
Kate sat in the seat across from the blond girl and took out the phone her father got for her last week. Sometimes being rich had its perks. Like the newest model smartphone that hadn’t even been released yet.
There was still another 15 minutes left of homeroom so she scrolled on Instagram for about 5 minutes before she was so rudely interrupted by Miss Blondie. Couldn’t she see Kate was trying to seem like she didn’t care that she was late and outed as the new kid by the teacher?
“Hey. You’re new right? I’m Isadora but people just call me Isa. You’re Katherine?”
Kate studied her for a moment.
“Kate, actually.”
Isa smiled warmly.
“If you need someone to help you find your classes I’d be happy to help. This place is kind of a maze if you aren’t used to it.”
“Yeah. That sounds great.”
Kate smiled back.
Maybe school wouldn’t be that bad after all.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 30, 2023
It had been precisely two weeks. Two weeks in which Isa had introduced her to her group of friends that then became Kate’s friends, in which Kate had not missed any assignments, and things were looking up.
Her father, the liar, had said that things would be different from then on. Yet he still went on business trips, never called, just texted her that he wouldn’t be home for the next couple of nights or so. That was fine though. Nothing she wasn’t already used to. So yes, things were looking up. Friends, good grades (so far) , and a crush.
Yes, Kate had a crush. A crush on the absolute hottest guy at Dwight. Everything from his name down to his socks was perfect. Liam McKinsey. Curly brown hair, deep green eyes that sparkled whenever the light hit them, the most adorable smile. He was on the school basketball team and when Isa dragged her to one of their games Liam lifted his shirt to wipe his brow. Holy shit this guy had abs . Textbook definition of perfect for Kate Bishop.
Isa, the good friend she was, noticed Kate’s goo-goo eyes for Liam almost immediately.
Spill, she said.
And spill Kate did.
The cutest little nose and he has the most gorgeous eyes and the most beautiful smile.
Kate Bishop, waxing poetic about a guy. This was serious. Kate Bishop does not wax poetic. Especially not about a guy. So, the logical explanation was that Kate was in love. Or stalker level obsessed. Either way, it was more than a crush, and she liked it.
She liked feeling like she was walking on air whenever he looked in her direction. (Holy fuckballs Liam just looked at me.) She liked looking forward to going to school even when it was just to see a boy (the hottest boy ever) . It made it that much easier to get out of bed and get her homework done. Because she finally looked forward to something.
Isa and the rest of their friends thought it was cute. There was even this whole plan to set her up with Liam by locking them in a broom closet to force them to confess their feelings for each other. According to Jess, Liam was obviously crushing on her because whenever he looked at her he smiled.
(That plan ended up falling through because of ethical reasons but it was still fun to talk and scheme about.)
So, when Isa said that she was invited to Brady Donnelley’s Halloween party tomorrow night and that she needed a plus one, Kate said no. Then Isa told her that Liam would be there. And that since they were sophomores they needed to dress hot for the party.
This was their plan, dress hot, seduce, make out, have a sleepover, then show up to school the next day with boyfriends. (Isa happened to have a crush on Liam’s friend Nate Goldman so they were going to be each other’s wing-woman for the night.)
They were in class when they made this plan, extremely excited for the next night, forgetting they still had to endure one later filled with homework instead of partying and candy.
(Forget back to school, more like back to hell.)
This was what Kate thought when their teacher gave them 19 word problems that they somehow had to turn into quadratic equations for homework.
That night, her homework was annoying but not nearly as hellish as she thought it would be.
Hell, what a strange concept.
It wouldn’t be strange to Kate for long.