Detention (ASOUE)

Chapter Eight

The next day, I was trying to have lunch but couldn't help but notice I was being targeted by a particularly bad death glare. Carmelita's usual behaviour of just being generally mean was one thing, but there was something incredibly unsettling about a tiny girl burning holes into the side of your head while simultaneously snapping her plastic cutlery. I supposed the mac and cheese smell hadn't left her yet and it was getting her riled up. I turned away from her and tried to ignore the fact that her expression resembled that of a rabid animal. Instead I focused on Lily and was about to mention the Carmelita situation when I noticed she was busy. I assumed she was working on something last minute for art class but, after going through her schedule in my head, I noted she didn't have art today.

"What're you up to?" I asked. Her head shot up and she moved her arm so I could take a peek. I instantly regretted asking. "For god's sake Lily... again?"

She was drawing another picture of Klaus, or at least a picture of a character that highly resembled him, but this time he looked different.

"He's a werewolf! Cute right?" 

I frowned. "Why a werewolf?"

"Because why not, that's why."

"Fair enough."

Lily beamed as she explained her drawing. "I swapped his vampy jacket for a checked shirt and gave him a beanie. I really wanted to capture that hipster feel that all modern werewolves have, especially with the glasses and everything, you know?"

I didn't know, but I knew better than to question Lily's logic when it came to her and her mythical creatures. 

"Don't you think it's slightly weird you're drawing him... again." 

Lily tore her eyes away from her sketch and furrowed her brow. "What do you mean? I don't draw him that much. Klaus is just..."

"Klaus is what? Your muse?"

At the mention of that particular name, I saw Duncan's head pop up from the other end of the table and I resisted the urge to flip him off. I could already imagine the earful him and Quigley would give me when we were back at home tonight. Maybe I should consider getting a lock for my door so they can't just burst in whenever they like. Or maybe I could turn the tables and do it back to them. That would definitely give them a shock.

"I need your help," Lily said all of a sudden. "What are Klaus' glasses like? Like this?" She showed me her paper where she had drawn perfectly circular specs on her Klaus-werewolf hybrid's face.

"Hmm, no, they're more square," I replied and she redrew them. "No, not that square. Like in the middle of round and square."

"Can you draw them for me?"

I wrinkled my nose. I wanted nothing to do with Lily's fanart. "Is this necessary?"

Lily feigned offence. "Of course it's bloody necessary. The cheek of you today... honestly."

I begrudgingly took the paper and began to draw what I thought Klaus' glasses looked like. I had only seen them briefly but it was more than Lily had seen, hence why she wanted my help. They weren't perfect (Lily was the artsy one, not me) but they were okay, and I went to hand the paper back to her. That was, until I was interrupted by someone appearing at our table. That someone being Klaus Baudelaire himself. My hand flew to the paper, quickly covering the drawing as best I could. I wasn't sure if he would realise it looked like him but I didn't want to take any chances.

"You dropped this... yesterday," said Klaus in a bit of a monotone, not bothering to make eye contact or acknowledge Lily and I properly. He placed an ornate pen down on the edge of the table and then left without another word. Lily and I shared a strange look.

"What the hell?" I muttered.

Lily smirked slightly. "Didn't realise you two were on a conversational basis."

"We're not," I said defensively, "And that pen's not even mine."

"What?" Lily scooped it up and turned it over in her hands. "Are you sure?"

"Definitely," I nodded. "That thing's fancy as hell. Can you imagine me just carrying that thing around? No chance."

"Then why'd he give it to you? You reckon it's got his number on it?"

I ignored her second question and shrugged. "Maybe he got me mixed up with someone else?"

"Maybe," Lily repeated, although I could tell she wasn't so convinced.

I took the pen from her once she was finished looking, and gave it a once over of my own. There was no doubting it was probably excessively expensive. Maybe that was why Klaus had thought it belonged to me; we lived on the same, well-off street after all. My family could afford nice things, but we weren't the type to waste money on stupid things like fancy pens. If a biro from down the road works just the same, isn't it better to just use that?

"I'm gonna give it back," I said.

"What? It's not his though," Lily replied with a frown.

"Well no, but it's not mine either. Maybe he can figure out who actually dropped it."

Lily scoffed. "Just keep it."

"No way!" I exclaimed, "This is fancy. What if it's someone's family heirloom?"

"Family heirloom? Are you kidding?"

"Or maybe someone's rich aunt gave it to them. Wouldn't you be gutted to lose this?"

Lily scrunched her nose. "Hmm, not really. It's kind of ugly."

"Lily!"

"Fine. We'll go give it back."

We put our lunch trays back and headed into the empty corridors to try and find Klaus. I wasn't sure where he usually hung out but I guessed it was somewhere Lily and I didn't really spend much time. Hence why I beelined for the library. I liked reading but taking Lily into a silent room was like taking a bull into a china shop, so we usually avoided it. But when we got there and had a brief look around, it was clear he wasn't there. We looked through the doors of a couple classrooms but still couldn't find him anywhere. We were about to give up and head back to lunch, when I saw someone dart down a hallway. Quickly, I followed them, dragging Lily behind me, much to her annoyance. Then, we turned a corner and the person seemed to disappear. The hallway ended with a staircase but there was no way the person could've climbed the stairs that quickly. I frowned and turned to Lily, who had an equally confused expression on her face. 

"What the-"

"You're following me." The voice came out of nowhere. At least, that's what it seemed. Lily jumped out of her skin and clung onto my arm. Then, Klaus stepped out from underneath the stairwell.

"You scared me, you creepy bastard," Lily exclaimed, detaching herself from me. You're a fine one to talk, I thought to myself, you're the one that draws him all day. 

"This isn't mine," I said, holding the pen out to Klaus and hoping he would just ignore what Lily had called him.

His expression remained flat as he shrugged, "Oh well, it's yours now." And, before I could say anything else, he stepped back behind the stairs and Lily and I took that as our cue to leave. 

The two of us stayed silent as we walked back to the cafeteria. It was only when we were sat back down again and face to face that she spoke.

"What the bloody hell was that?"

I shook my head. "Not a clue."