Chapter 3

       Mom and Dad were both stuck at work, so I had the honour of going to the school today to discuss Noah and Julian's learning with the principal. Apparently, the two of them both needed someone to come in with them, and that person had to be me.

       What I didn't get was why. They were quite intelligent, and I knew they got all their work done on time. Who cares if they weren't the most well behaved? They were still learning, getting an education, and were probably at the top of their class.

       I got to the school right as it ended, which was the exact time I had to go to the principal's office to meet with the principal. Julian and Noah were already there, and they smiled when they saw me. "We just got out of this," Noah said to Julian.

       "Uh, no, you didn't," I said. "I may be your older brother and not your parent, but that doesn't mean you got out of whatever it is you two did."

       They were totally getting out of it. I just had to keep an image of the responsible older brother just in case any other teachers were listening.

       That, and if Noah and Julian knew they were getting off easy, they wouldn't take the meeting with the principal seriously.

       The principal then walked over. "I'm guessing you're the twins' older brother?"

       "I am," I said, holding out my hand. "I'm Josh."

       "John," the principal said, shaking my hand before gesturing for the three of us to go into the office. "So, ever since Noah and Julian started at the school, there has been a few....incidents. And I'm worried about the other students' safety."

       "Safety?" Noah asked. "We would never do anything to harm other students."

       "What is it that they did?" I asked.

       "Multiple things, but showing up in gorilla suits today was the last straw," John said.

       Seriously? Yeah, they shouldn't do that, but how was my brothers showing up in gorilla suits a threat to other students' safety?

       "It was for Halloween," Noah said.

       "Halloween was last week," John said.

       "Was it?" Noah asked. "Julian, my bro, we're leaving a week behind everyone."

       John sighed. "I don't know what to do with you two. You keep disrupting your classes and the school, and I really don't want to do anything that could harm your student record, because you are probably the two brightest students I had ever had. It would be a shame for you not to be able to get into really good schools because of incidents you keep pulling."

       I knew exactly why Noah and Julian acted this way, and it wasn't even their fault. They were trying their hardest, but nothing they did worked.

       "I know exactly how to handle it," I said. "I promise, them showing up in gorilla suits was the last thing they're going to do to disrupt the school."

       "Alright," John said. "This is the final warning they get. I let them off the hook too many times, so if they continue disrupting the school, I'll have to take extreme measures which my include suspension."

       "Don't worry, it won't come to that," I assured.

       John thanked me for coming in place of the twins' parents before saying the three of us could leave. As soon as we were out of the school, I said, "Once Mom and Dad get home, call me. I have a shift at work today so it might take a while for me to talk to them."

       "Talk to them about what?" Julian asked.

       "The whole reason you two keep acting out at school," I said. "Seriously, acting out isn't going to get Mom and Dad's attention."

       "It's your fault Mom and Dad don't pay any attention to us," Noah said. "Everything is Josh this and Josh that. They don't care about a single thing we do. They don't care if we get awards in school, so might as well get detentions instead."

       "That's some pretty poor logic right there," I said. "My shift is going to start in a bit, so I have to head home to get ready. Call me when Mom and Dad get home, and I'll come over to talk to them when my shift ends."

       "You can try talking to them, but I guarantee it's not going to work," Noah said.

       Since my house was on the way to the rest of my family's house, I walked with Noah and Julian to their house. However, on the way as we were passing by the diner when we noticed some kind of commotion going on beside the diner.

       One that included a police car and several police officers.

       Someone else was there as well. Jett, Kenny's ex-fling, who was now dating Calvin's ex-boyfriend. I knew immediately something happened to Joel because Jett was begging the police officers to let him see his boyfriend.

       Horatio was one of the officers there and when he saw me, he said, "Josh, we need your help while we wait for the paramedics. And your brothers should probably stay inside right now."

       I had my wallet with me, so I pulled out a twenty for the twins. "Here, go eat something at the dinner."

      "Ooh, food," Julian said before he and Noah headed into the diner as if nothing was happening outside.

       I hurried over to where the officers were only to see Joel laying on the ground with a gunshot wound to his stomach. He was still conscious, but clearly in a lot of pain. "Let Jett over," I said as I began treating the wound the best I could with basically no supplies.

       "He may get in the way," one of the officers said.

       "He won't," I said. "Right now, the best thing to do is make sure Joel stays conscious, so let Jett over."

       I was guessing the officer was new to the job, because he refused to. 

       "I'm serious," I said. "I'm a doctor, I know what I'm saying. Let Jett over here."

       Horatio, thankfully, told the officer to let Jett through, who quickly hurried to Joel's side and tried to keep him conscious by talking to him while I continued treating Joel. I really hoped the paramedics showed up quickly because there was not much I could do with no supplies.

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CLIFFHANGER.

The ball is in your court, Hollyoaks. Will you let him die, or will you let him live? In eleven hours, my decision will be made....