American Dream?

Detention - Not as bad as I expected

Room: M6. Time: 3:05 – 4:30. Reason for detention: Disruption to class and swearing.

I stared at the bright red detention slip I held front of me with trembling hands, reading it over and over again. How could this have happened? I never get detentions. Ever.

As I walked in, Mrs Reid sat at the front desk, keeping her watchful eyes on the pupils in her room. I didn’t fit in her. I looked at all the miserable teenagers sat in the small seats. All of them were not what society would call ‘normal’.

In the far corner were the Goths and Emos. Every one of them had dyed black hair with all manner of multiple coloured high lights. Black or dark coloured nail varnish, powdered white faces and bright red lipstick.

In the other corner was the Chavs. All of the girls had straightened hair, loads of make-up (every cosmetic product known to man was on their faces, literally) and massive hoop earrings. The guys all had spiked up hair with a tube of gel in it, baseball caps and usually an earring. All of them had ribbed jumpers, hoodies, pen all up their arms and ties fatter than the face and shorter than a their hands.

And near the front were the nerdy and geeky kids, who don’t really belong there, but are only can to do extra work or were in a class detention.

I didn’t fit into any of these groups.

As I looked to the centre of the room, my eyes met Jason’s. He was sat on his own and looking as gorgeous as ever. I gave Mrs Reid the sheet of paper and walked over to Jason.

“Hey,” he greeted me.

“Hey” I said a little breathlessly.

“Right. Welcome to after school detention. Everyone take out your planners, turn to page 24 and copy out the Code of Conduct and School Rule and many times as you can in the duration of time you are here” Mrs Reid called out.

I sat there trying to control my breathing, which had suddenly become very loud and fast. But in my attempt to do so, I somehow managed to make my breathing heavier. I turned my head from Jason to try and minimize the sound of my breathing hear. But when I did this, I couldn’t see him, which I wanted to do.

“You ever been here before?” Jason whispered to me and Mrs Reid called out the register.

“Do I look like I’m a regular to after school detention?” I answered sarcastically. We burst out laughing. Mrs Reid looked up from her binder and stared at us hard. “Don’t make me split you two up.”

I brought out my planner from my handbag and flipped the pages until I reached the Code of Conduct and School Rules. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets as I looked through the planner. What Mrs Reid failed to mention was that the pieces we had to write out was about 6 pages long.

“Definitely a first timer,” one of the Chavs said to his fellow friends. I turner round to see 9 faces looking at me; most had headphone in, chewing their chewing gum loudly in my ear.

“Ignore them” Jason whispered. I started to write down the Code of Conduct, my hand was already starting to stiffen from the anticipation of hand cramp. My hands were shaking madly.

Jason looked over at me. “You know detention isn’t that scary.”

“I know, I know.” I muttered, trying to stop the shaking. Jason rested his hand onto of my left hand while I was writing with my right hand. I stopped breathing. I sat there, not being able to concentrate on the work.

"You've been to detention before?" I said in shock as what he said registered in my mind. He was the last person I would have expected to come here, a part from me.

"When I was younger. I was very different back then." He said with a lop-sided smile. I racked my brain trying as hard as I could to remember him in year 7. Nothing came.

One of the Chavs wolf whistled. Jason’s hand shot off mine so quickly, I couldn’t comprehend it. There was an awkward silence right then. A hot flush flowed through my face.

Jason broke the silence by saying “so…I guess your going to prom.”

As soon as I caught my breath back I replied, “Um…Yeah, I guess. That’s what the shopping trip was about”

He nodded slowly. “So…how are you now?”

I looked him in the eye. I couldn’t believe he was asking me but my so-called best friend didn’t even care. “I’m fine I mean-”

“You don’t need to explain if you don’t want, I told you that outside your house” he cut in smiling slightly. My checks flushed as the memory came to mind.

“Don’t be embarrassed. Everyone needs a cry from time to time.” Little did he know that that wasn’t why I was blushing.

I was about to say something when Mrs Reid shouted, “go on, get out of my class room, its four thirty.” I turned to my watch to see the time. She was right, it was 4:30.

“You want someone to walk home with?” Jason asked.

“Yes please.” I said before I could stop myself. That sounded so desperate. But he, thankfully, didn’t mind.

I walked out of that detention room shoulder-to-shoulder with Jason. All memories of yesterday drained from me.