Respect the Gong Sound Effects

Peri crouched with her head between her knees like a crazy person, like it wasn't Seth who was actually going to deliver the presentation on the Indus Valley civilization and she only swiping through the slides.

"You're crazy," Seth stated matter-of-factly.

Peri unleashed a prolonged and guttural whine as she was wont to do, and blabbered, "You're going to screw up, screw up badly. Oh, it was my fault, I shouldn't have encouraged you, oh God, oh Lord-"

Seth interrupted, lips pressed tightly together, "Right. Because you're the only one out of us two that can do anything competently. I think you either have a micro-managing problem, or Ms. Yasmeena praised you one too many times because if you think that you're God's gift to group projects, then I-"

"- you wrote a thirty-page essay on topics not even in the textbook for a strictly by-the-book assignment, I think I might cry-"

"It's called being informative, and- and, substantial," Seth argued, leaning his head onto the cold wall of the hallway outside the Projector Room, frowning at the slow hands of the clock, before continuing more thoughtfully, "Social Studies teachers are into that, I'd think. Probably."

Peri chanced a look at his doubtful expression and, losing all hope that she'll be getting praise from a teacher on this fine day, sunk into another rendition of high-decibel banshee wails. 

Then, from the darkened room came a smattering of applause and Seth straightened up, kicking Peri in the side as he attempted to arrange her into a respectable sitting position. He didn't get far before whatever class was in there streamed out, shooting the scene of Seth's foot prodding at Peri's jelly-like body looks of faint, teenage alarm. A mousy teacher he didn't recognize was the last to follow, pulling out his keys right as Seth walked over and confronted him.

"Excuse me, mister. But we're going to be presenting next period, and I was wondering if we'd be able to prep beforehand. As in, could you not lock the door?"

The man's eyes narrowed behind his glasses, ready to launch into the 'do-you-have-a-supervisor' speech authority figures were so fond of, but then Seth gestured deliberately to the melting girl on the floor, circling a finger around his temple in the universal expression of, 'this creature is currently hysterical, give it what it wants and back away'. 

Mr. Outdated-Circle-Frames pressed his lips together and shot Seth an exasperated glance over his glasses in the universal expression that he had better things to do, before pulling out that sacred teachers-only time table. Seth crept over to him and slyly peered over the teacher's arm at the lovely, categorically highlighted, tight spreadsheet and thought resolutely, 'one day, I will understand you,' before the teacher obtrusively asked if they had Mrs. Karr next.

"Yes, sir. The one and only; she really values punctuality, as you must know, and I'd hate for something to go awfully wrong during the presentation and waste time fixing it then, instead of making sure everything is tip-top from the onset"

"...I guess there's no harm. Of course, I have full faith in the fact you asked permission from Mrs. Karr beforehand," at that, he quirked an eyebrow that had Seth nodding and again motioning to the now vaporizing person across from them.

That seemed to do the trick and the second Mr. Turtlenecked-And-Proud walked away to other teacherly pursuits, Seth dragged Peri into the dark classroom. She was bravely persevering through her performance of the 'I'm a Little Ice Cube in July Heat' opera and proceeded to drop onto the dirty floor like a soggy biscuit. Seth spared some pity for her haloed hair now covered in school-floor germs but decided to rescind it because she was doing this to herself instead of helping. 

He booted up the school's fossil of a Dell computer and jammed in his USB with the promise that there'd be divine vengeance if it caught any nasty viruses, watching with impatience as the program started. It was when he was sitting on top of a stray table, flicking cursorily through the slides, making sure that his wisely-chosen fonts were in order, that Peri decided to grace the room with human speech, "I have an idea."

Seth hummed noncommittally, knowing that to show the remotest interest in any of her fancies translates in her mind to full consent to take over the entire operation and re-delegate Seth to the slide-swiper seat. 

"Let's just not do it," she announced with all the confidence of a prophet relating the words of God, expecting it to be eaten up like Gospel. At Seth's quiet, wordless outrage, she elaborated, "Not do it today, I mean. Of course we're doing it, it's half this semester's History marks. But maybe we can tell the teacher you're USB went on the fritz- or something, I'm sure you'll be able to find a good enough excuse -and we're sorry but can we still do it tomorrow, and she'll agree because she trusts me and then I'll polish everything up and maybe rewrite it and make the presentation more professional, and oh, reduce the curtain transitions by 50% and the gong sound effects by 100%, and everything will be fine-"

She couldn't continue with her blasphemy of gongs and their respective sound effects because Seth's hand was firmly covered over her mouth, his eyebrows angry, dark peaks. He was ready with about a dozen vicious retorts until, in the hushed chill of the room, he noticed her pallid countenance. Peri, Seth remembered, couldn't function without her presumption of perfection in place, and she probably felt awkward and rotten about her ways too. 

He stared into her crazy eyes for a moment longer before sighing and leaning in, hissing into the space between them, "Trust me, Peri, please?"

Some of that insanity seemed to bleed out of her eyes as she slowly nodded, her mouth stretching into what Seth could only assume was a grin beneath his hand. Remembering himself, he removed it. He was still leant in, however, and smiled back, a huffed laugh escaping him right as the door slammed open on its hinges, light flooding into the room as someone gasped.

"Miss Karr! Seth and Peri are engaging in lewd activity in the Projector Room! I told you so-"