Detention (ASOUE)

Chapter Eighteen

Klaus disappeared off to the janitors closet before returning with gloves, rolls of tissue and some bin bags to clean up most of the mess, and then cloths and disinfectant to use afterwards. 

The first thing I did was wipe my hands and my face as best I could, before moving onto my clothes. I attempted to clean them as well but they were still soaked through and grey.

"What're you gonna do?" Klaus asked as he put on a pair of gloves and rolled up his sleeves.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I don't carry extra clothes with me."

"I mean about Carmelita."

"Oh." I paused and thought for a second. What was I going to do about Carmelita? We thought we had been smart and avoided her and then she did this in return. Or maybe she was going to do as well, despite the outcome. Either way, it was clear that dodging her attacks didn't make them disappear entirely. If anything, it just made them multiply. I was at a loss. "I don't know."

"Isn't it obvious?"

I frowned. "If it's that obvious, why are you asking?"

We both began to lay tissue down to soak up most of the liquid on the floor. I couldn't really think of a solid solution to dealing with the mess but this seemed like a logical starting point.

"I'm curious to see if you've considered it," was Klaus' answer, which just made me frown more.

"Considered what?" I felt like we were speaking in a secret code only he knew.

"Hmm," he said, "So you haven't."

I decided to ignore him. I was in a bad mood already, I was sopping wet and I just wanted this to be over as quickly as possible . I didn't need Klaus and his riddles this early in the morning.

He must have realised I was getting irritated because he dropped his little game and said, "I'm talking about revenge, of course."

"Revenge?" I deadpanned. "You want me to get revenge on Carmelita Spats? Isn't that just asking for trouble?" 

"You stay behind everyday anyway. Why not have fun with it?"

"Oh so you want me to get detentions instead of just going to the library? That'll definitely look great on my record."

Klaus laughed. "You think this stuff actually counts? Maybe in other schools but not here.Here, they don't care. If it mattered wouldn't they have kicked me out by now? You can do whatever you want and the punishment is, what, staying behind after school, AKA something you already do. Why aren't you capitalising on this?"

"I don't know, maybe because I'm not a bad person who exploits things like that." It hadn't sounded half as bad in my head as it did when I'd actually said it. I didn't realise how mean it came across until it was too late.

Klaus' face darkened. "Oh so I'm a bad person now?"

"That's not what I meant," I said quickly but the damage was already done. 

Klaus didn't answer. Instead we just worked in silence, picking up the soggy rubbish and drying the floor with paper towels. The couple of books I had in my locker at the time of the attack were ruined so, reluctantly, I threw them away and hoped that the work inside them wasn't important. We had just finished throwing the rubbish bags in the outdoor bins when the bell rang to signify that we had missed a whole period of school. I wasn't entirely opposed to missing a history class, but I did think it was bad that another teacher had forced us to miss it. Maybe Klaus had been right when he said that no one here really cared. 

We made our way back into the school and into the crowded hallways as everyone changed classes. I briefly glanced around to see if I could find Lily amongst the masses but ended up almost bumping into someone so I stopped and faced forward instead. Klaus seemed to be looking for someone too but it seemed he was more successful as his eyes lit up and he gestured for me to come with him.

I was initially confused, as I thought he was annoyed with me and would want to get away from me as quickly as possible, but I still followed without question. And it wouldn't have mattered if I asked anyway, because almost instantly I got my answer.

I only realised at the last minute that Klaus was taking me to his sister and my stomach did a flip at the thought of her seeing me look this disgusting. She was popular and pretty and overall an enviable person that everyone wanted to be friends with, me included. So the idea that I might have to talk to her whilst marinated in dirty water was terrifying. 

"Violet!" Klaus called out as we approached her at her locker. "I need your help."

"Hmm, what is it?" she asked, concern written all over her face.

I had stopped a couple steps behind Klaus, unsure whether he wanted me in the conversation or not. He glanced towards me and gestured for me to come closer.

"Have you got spare clothes?" He asked. 

My eyes widened. Was he really asking Violet Baudelaire of all people to donate clothes to me? I got that he was her brother but still. I wanted to stop him but it was too late.

Violet nodded. "Only what I was gonna wear to Jasmin's later... but I can just make her give me an outfit."

She pulled a pair of branded leggings out of her locker, followed by a knitted, pink jumper. But halfway through she paused.

"Wait, this shirt is Jasmin's, I can't really lend it out if she's already lending it to me."

Klaus nodded. "Understandable. Thanks."

Violet held the leggings out to me. "You can take these though. You need them more than I do, and I can just steal Jasmin's jeans or something."

"Really?" I said, tentatively taking them from her. I had expected her to be disgusted at the thought of having me wear her clothes, especially in the state I was in. But she had been surprisingly nice to me.

"Of course!" she smiled, "Now I better get to class. See you."

"Come on, let's go," Klaus said to me, noticing I was frozen in shock. I did as I was told, still holding onto the leggings, and soon we were stood outside the sports changing rooms.

Then, as I was trying to work out where I would get a shirt from or if I would have to wrangle a spare PE top from someone, Klaus swiftly pulled his hoodie over his head and chucked it at me.

"Still think I'm a bad person?" He said, before walking off down the hall, leaving me standing, holding an armful of Baudelaire clothing.

I couldn't quite believe what was happening so instead of stressing myself out trying to make sense of the situation, I just went into the changing rooms, tried my best to rinse out the muck from my hair, and then put on my new outfit for the day. And what a strange day it was turning out to be. 

A/N: I'm a few days early but Happy New Year in advance! Have you guys come up with any goals or resolutions yet? The only one I have right now, which is slightly drastic, is that I'm probably going to quit my job in the new year, because I love giving myself extra stress apparently :))

As for New Year celebrations, what do you guys usually do? 

Personally, I don't really like New Year's Eve. I always feel emotional that another year is over and pressure I guess about starting the new year in the right way. I suppose it's an opportunity for a new beginning so maybe I should view it in a more positive light but lol I suppose positivity isn't really my strong point!!

Anyway, enough of my rambling! I just wanted to say thank you for all of the votes and lovely comments you guys leave. You're all so nice and it really does brighten my day to read them. The support on this story, especially over the last couple of months, has been amazing and I just wanted to thank you all for reading and enjoying this story!

I hope you all have a great New Year whether you're celebrating or not, and I'll see all you lovely people on the flip side! 2020 will be a great year ( and hopefully one of consistent uploads 👀) !