FIRST KISS (High School Romance - FYI - In need of redrafting/rewrites)

Chapter Fourteen

I woke up, I went to school, I came back.

That was what happened for two whole weeks, and it sucked.

Mom wouldn't look me in the eye for the first three or four days, and dad was giving me the silent treatment. It was torture all round.

They even took my iphone.

"But I need it for emergencies. What if something happened?"

"We didn't have phones when we were young, and nothing happened to us," was the stock response.

So even if I had wanted to call Bryce, I wouldn't have been able to.

And I did want to. I wanted to ask him to reconsider. To ask him what the hell he was thinking. Didn't I mean more to him than that?

I still had facebook and internet connection though, so that was something.

On Monday morning after the first weekend of me being grounded, Anna ran up to me.

"How come you didn't answer my message?"

I had to do the whole explanation again for her, including how when Luke had left on Saturday the rentals had confiscated my phone.

"No phone? That's well harsh Mel."

"I know." I bit my lip. "Tell me about George then."

I wanted to distract her. I didn't want her to mention Bryce, and I hoped Luke hadn't mentioned my fit of hysteria to her.

She started ranting about how fantastic he was as we walked to class, smiling and flicking her hair as though George were there to see. I barely listened at all; instead I was scanning the students for a glimpse of Bryce. Surely at some point he would come and find me to at least explain what had happened after I left the bedroom. As far as he was concerned, I had no idea he had sworn me off for Taylor.

I deserved an explanation, at the very least.

We filed into assembly, and I continued looking for Bryce as subtly as I possibly could.

When the entire school was quietly seated, Principal McIntyre took to the stage, standing at the lectern and laying both hands on it. He gripped the edges tight with his fingers and pressed his lips into a thin line. A dense hush fell over all of us as we waited to hear what he had to say.

"It saddens me to have to bring this to your attention, and to therefore start the week on a negative note."

There were sighs and giggles from the audience, but he continued in just as stern a tone as before.

"It has come to my attention that some of the Marlow High students' cars were keyed in the parking lot last week."

He turned his head slowly like a robot, in order to survey each and every student. I physically shrank into my shoes, feeling guilty even though the keying had nothing to do with me.

"Unfortunately, the Captain of the Marlow team decided to seek some kind of vigilante justice, but came after the wrong man." He cleared his throat. "His behaviour was unacceptable, but it is a disciplinary matter for Marlow High to deal with. However, I draw this to your attention because one of you is directly responsible for the injuries that Bryce Williams sustained on Friday night."

Everyone began whispering and turning round, searching for Bryce.

"Bryce, where are you?" Principal McIntyre peered into the mass of faces before him. Someone waved and shouted. It was Dixon.

"He's here!"

"Ah yes, there you are. Could you stand up please?"

Bryce didn't look happy about the attention being focused on him, but he stood nonetheless. His eye was still bruised and swollen shut, and the cuts on his eyebrow and lip had crusted over into unsightly scabs.