Just Shoot

[10] Malakai

[10] Malakai

I drummed my fingers against the arm of the wooden chair I was seated in, staring blankly ahead as Principal Thompson gradually thumbed through my student file folder. He'd been taking his sweet ass time ever since he stumbled upon my discipline section and I was just about ready to dip with or without his permission.

I'd been slouched in the same exact position doing the same exact shit for the past ten minutes and I was slowly beginning to think that rather "searching for an appropriate punishment" for me, Thompson was just keeping me here for the fuckin' hell of it. I'd seen the inside of his office and been in this very situation way too many times to know that this wasn't exactly how he went about reprimanding a student.

He never prolonged his decision for this long.

After what was most likely his third sigh, I couldn't help but lean forward in my chair and rest my hands atop Thompson's desk.

"C'mon Thompson, can't we just let this one go?"

Thompson looked up at me, his eyes scanning my face from across the table. "You know that's not the way this works, Malakai. You do the crime you do the time, or are you not aware of the procedural saying?"

I scoffed, leaning back once again. "I been knew that, but skipping Spanish class hardly merits incarceration."

Thompson signed – for the fourth damn time – and clasped his hands together. "This isn't exactly your first infraction, Malakai. You know I outta be suspending you, right?"

My breath hitched in my throat at his words. If I showed up home with a suspension, my Ma would most definitely have my ass in a hot minute. There was no way in hell I could afford such punishment today or, frankly, ever.

"There has to be another option," I said unsurely, scratching at the back of my neck.

"Yeah," Thompson replied, "it's called keeping your ass in class."

This time, I was the one doing the sighing. If there was ever an award for the world's snarkiest administrator, can't nobody deny Thompson of winning the grand prize. The nigga had the smartest mouth in the whole school and he ran the fucking place.

"Detention? Hell, I'd even take community service or some shit like that. Just no suspensions," I begged, the fear of disappointing my Momma becoming all too real.

Thompson pursed his lips, studying me for a minute or two before finally stating, "All right. No suspensions but I expect you to be in detention after school today in the auditorium. Tardiness equates to another day of detention and failure to show up warrants a phone call home and yet another day of detention. Is that clear?"

"Crystal."

As the conversation finally came to an end, I quickly rose to my feet and began to collect all my shit off of the ground before Thompson had some sort of change of heart. Slinging my gym bag over my right shoulder, I grabbed my jacket from the chair I'd been parked in and swiftly made my exit. Just before slipping through the door, however, I gave a farewell salute to Thompson.

When the doors to the Principal's office finally closed again, I felt as though I could finally fucking breathe. This hadn't been the first time I'd gotten caught skipping, but it had been my first time being dumb enough to get caught by the Principal himself. I don't even know what I'd been thinking deciding to skip so early in the morning when everyone and their grandmother knew Thompson liked to patrol the halls when first block was in session.