Determination

Determination is the twenty-second chapter of Stranger in a Strange School.

Plot
Lee and Tina sat down in chairs. The sound of Murder scratching at the door continued.

"I'm starting to see why Basil views Murder as he archenemy." Lee wasn't making a joke. Having Murder come after him was torture. "He's not a bird, he's a torpedo with a mind!"

"Why did you have to cancel?" Tina looked at Lee with eyes that were filled with both questioning and heartbreak. Lee knew what she was talking about. "You asked me out only to cancel, why?"

"I didn't want to." Lee looked down. "My mom said I could have the weekend if I passed a math test. I thought I'd pass but I lost my pen only to get one with invisible ink so…"

"So you ended up failing." Lee nodded. "I shouldn't have stormed off with out you explaining. Now after all that's ended up happening we're here."

"Just us." Lee and Tina smiled at each other. Then they noticed something. It was quiet. Murder had stopped scratching at the door. Both stood up and moved the desk that was blocking the door only to hear a sound coming from the vents. They both looked up as Murder came out of the vents. "Looks like Basil wasn't paranoid for nothing!"

They both ran as once again Murder chased them. That evil bird, feared by many and used by the Principal that was Legendre to terrorize students had followed its favorite victim to his new school and had found a whole new school to terrorize. The pet of a voodoo master, Murder was equally as dangerous as his master Legendre, an ally of Principal General Barrage. Both having methods that Basil Hagen did not approve of Legendre was the less dangerous of the two but dangerous nonetheless and now Legendre's hand had extended all the way to A. Nigma.

And so Basil sat in solitary detention, unable to help his friends. Little more but a broom closet in the way of size, it had been made quickly during the weekend. Barrage had ensured that Basil would not escape. No window, no air vent, no lights nothing. Basil had been locked in the room with the heat getting to him. He felt trapped, truly tapped. An hour! That was how long he'd have to wait. Barrage had taken everything. His bag, his phone there was nothing he could do to pass the time or to know the time. Time moved so slowly for him. What if Barrage forgot about him and didn't come back to let him out? He could hear people outside of this quickly made prison, barely. He could not interact with them, truly Barrage had thought of everything to make every minute torture. There was nothing he could do to get out. He would be trapped in here for an hour for two weeks. The heat was unbearable! Basil placed a hand on his cheek and felt a gooey texture.

While Basil languished in his prison, Lee and Tina continued to run for their lives. Murder wasn't shown any sign of tiring. He was determined to get them! As they ran a thought came to both of them. Where was Basil serving his solitary detention? Surely, he could stop Murder!

Suddenly, Murder stopped chasing them. Lee and Tina stopped and watched as Murder left the building by flying through an open window.

Watching the entire chase from his office was Barrage. He looked angrily at the screen in his office. He then looked at his computer. A paled man with a rat-like face starred back at Barrage.

"It would seem that Murder remembers Ping from that confrontation with Hagen, so much that he'd chase Ping out of detention. I won't punish him for that, it couldn't be helped with Murder around." Barrage looked at the bald, rat-faced man on his computer screen. "Wouldn't you say so, Legendre?"

"Indeed, Barrage." The man, Legendre nodded. "If we try again tomorrow while Hagen is in solitary detention, how do we know Murder won't go after Ping again?"

"You have an idea, don't you?" Legendre nodded.

"I say I just send him over to you, cage and all!" Barrage grinned at this idea. "You can release him after school to get some… exercise."

"Excellent idea, now if you excuse me, Private Ping and Ms. Kwee have to see what Mrs. Hagen's recommendation has done to that disfigured freak!" Barrage left, got Lee and Tina and brought them to Basil's prison. Upon unlocking the door, Lee and Tina were shocked to see Basil's face having melted off completely, revealing a skull-like face with one eyebrow on it. Barrage grinned as Sondra Hagen's recommendation had started to break Basil's spirit as she had believed it would.