"Can't you just punch someone?" Jasper asked you.
"You're encouraging violence? Against your own students" Price said.
"Well, someone not from my class" Jasper shrugged.
"What about a teacher, what if I punch a teacher?" You insert.
"There's so many more simple ways for you to get detention" Price says.
"Yes, but are they any fun?" You ask.
"... right okay, punch a teacher, tell them not to call me" Price says as you hop out of the car.
"Yes sir" You nod, closing the door. "How long are detentions?" You ask turning to Jasper.
"Three hours" Jasper shrugs.
"You know what, I don't care about the kid that much" you say turning around.
"Really" Jasper says sounded genuinely defeated.
"I'm just messing around" you say falling back into step with him. "So should I have an outburst and just swing at someone or piss them off?"
"That's up to you, I tried to say that you were getting a detention because your lack of turning in homework but that didn't work" he says.
"Yeah, that's fine" you say following him into his class which was empty for last period.
"Jasp" you say dropping your rather empty bag by his desk and hoisting yourself up.
"Yeah?" He replied, turning away from the whiteboard towards you.
"I'm going to punch you" you say with a slow nod.
He stares at you for a moment before shrugging. "Alright" he says.
"I'll be gentle" you say looking around at the things on his desk.
"No need" he says turning his focus back to the board.
"Suit yourself" you shrug, picking up a pen of his. "So how should this happen, just in here, or should we go somewhere with witnesses?" You ask.
"Witnesses?" He chuckles. "Once again, that's up to you."
"Maybe a few will vouch for you" you say flipping the pen within your fingers.
You check the time, watching as he writes up on the board. "Do you like being a teacher?" You ask.
He pauses to look at you with a small smile, "are you staring small talk?" He raises a brow in surprise.
"Not anymore" you scowl back.
"No no, just different, not bad" he says going back to his task. "Chatty today huh?" He notes, "some good news?".
"No, nothing" you mutter. "Just asked a question, no big deal."
"Mm, it's fine, has its ups and downs from time to time" he says vaguely.
"Do you have a favorite student?" You ask.
"It changes" He grins.
"Is it me currently?"
"Aren't you planning on punching me" he says with a laugh.
"Well yes" you say with a small smile. "Buuuuut..." you trail off.
"But?" He says encouraging you to continue.
"I got nothing" you say as he throws a worn-out white board marker into the trash and walks to his desk.
He huffs amused, "everyone in the class is my favorite" he says working around you while searching for a pen.
"That's what our 6th grade teacher used to say remember" you say fiddling with the whiteboard pen he's oblivious to.
"Yeah, Mr Devons, didn't you have a crush on him?" he laughs.
"No!, how would you know, why would I ever say it aloud, IF I did" you scowl swinging your leg into his gently.
"It's the only class you actually tried in."
"Maybe I was trying to get my life on track" you shrug.
"In only one class?" He says huffing as he shifts papers and folders around. "You're sitting on my pen."
"No, I'm not" you say.
"Stand up" he says. You get up from the desk only to confirm your statement.
"I've lost it then" He mumbles putting his hands on his hips as he looks around. You hoist yourself back up looking down at the pen you held.
"Give me that" he says with a chuckle while he takes the pen.
"It was in plain sight how'd you miss it" you smile.
I watch as his smile falters slightly. "What happened?" He asked. You followed his eyes down to your thigh, the folded hem of your loose shorts showing a bruise.
You furrowed your brows, lifting your thigh up slightly and looking more only to find more faint bruises. You fixed your shorts before shrugging.
"Not sure" you said as an excuse. You were very sure about how you got them, even the outlines of the bruises gave it away.
He shrugged taking the cap of the pen off and handing it back to you. He walked back over to the board, and you looked around the empty class.
"What class is Kai in right now?" You asked.
"No clue" Jasper shrugged. You put the cap on your finger, fiddling around with it. A soft knock at the door made both you and Jasper look over.
"Uh hey, just looking for geography- uh" He took a moment to check his paper. "With Mrs. C?" He adds.
"Uh yup, just up the stairs and last door on the first hall" Jasper says with a smile. The student nods, walking away with books and all sorts under his arms.
"Who's that?" You ask, not really caring but looking to avoid a silence.
"New student, he was in my 4th period class, seems nice" Jasper reports back.
You picked up a stack of his neon sticky notes and flipped through the blank papers aimlessly. "Another new student" you say.
"Well yeah, but you're not exactly new" He laughs.
"Good for my ego that I fit in" you grin.
He chuckles with a nod, his eyes flicking around for a moment before a look of remembrance flashes across his face and he turns to you. "Where's the cap?" He asks walking over.
"Oh, I dropped it" you said holding up the sticky notes like you'd found a new toy to play with it.
He looked around, "under the desk" you said as he groaned.
"Didn't even pick it up" he says shaking his head.
You shrugged, "your cap" He chuckles, looking under the desk for it. You take advantage and nudge him with your shoe.
"Cut that out" He mutters, "found it" he says after a moment. He lifts himself and you try keeping him down with a shoe on his shoulder to no avail.
He kneels while holding the cap up. A sharp knock at the door takes both your attention for a second time and you see the art teacher.
She smiles in greeting, but it falls slightly at the scene. Jasper gets himself up with a small huff.
"Lost the cap" he said with a smile holding it up to show her like he has to. You give her a smile which she tries and fails to return.
She steps into the room slowly with a nod. "Students shouldn't be on desks" she says firmly to you.
You stare at her, the idea that this could instead be your teacher popping into your head. Falling into perfect sense, get her annoyed by the desk situation.
If she doesn't give you detention for it, then you'd take a swing at her. Jasper somehow identifies the glint of violent intent behind your eyes and clears his throat.
He walks to the desk, giving your back a nudge. "I did tell her that" He reports.
"Be a little firmer next time" she says as Jasper hands her one some papers.
"I will, you don't happen to have any spare whiteboard markers, do you?" He asks.
She nods slowly, "I do, I'll go grab those" she says, leaving.
You get back on the desk much to Jasper's dislike and he scolds you. "Get off" He mutters nudging you again.
"Why she's gone" you scowl. "This could be where I punch you."
"That's not to bad actually" he says considering your proposal. "Alright then" he walks towards you.
"How should we start the fight?" He asks standing in front of you as you think.
"Just look like you're telling me off and I'll punch you" you say. "Say like, this is your last warning blah blah."
"Very informative" He nods.
"Whatever" you say with a dismissive hand wave as footsteps pick up in the hallway.
"That's her" he says shifting.
You sit up, "think happy thoughts Jasp" you grin.
"Great help" He mutters before waiting a second. "Rory-"
You raised your balled fist in a swift motion after seeing someone entering through the door. Your fist connects with his face on an angle that barely leaves you hurt.
Jasper stumbles back a few seconds looking like he's been betrayed before it turns into a strained pained look. "Jasper- rory!?-" the art teacher enters frantically.
Jasper holds his jaw, seemingly winded as he looks at you for a moment before focusing his attention on the teacher. She looks at you, "office, now" she scolds sternly.
You give Jasper a smile as you pass behind. You make your way to the office as told and leaning against the front desk. "Yes?" Dina looks up. "You're back?"
"Mm, I've been sent here" you say.
"For?"
"I just punched a teacher?" You say jabbing a finger over your shoulder down the hall. "I'm not sure where exactly to go for that" you shrug.
"Sorry?" Dina asks mildly confused.
"I just punched a teacher and I've been sent here."
"You punched a teacher?" She repeats.
You sigh, and nod. "Yes." She stands up, gesturing you to take a seat and so you do before she walks off.
While you sit waiting you tap your thigh boredly before seeing Jasper approaching down the hallway. You get up, looking around for any other teachers as he comes to a stop.
"That was good, wasn't it?" You whisper looking around before your eyes follow to him, you suck in through your teeth sharply.
"Not even going to ask if I'm, okay?" He says with a smile evident on his lips.
"I'm not interested in your Well-being" you say patting his shoulder.
"Figured" He chuckled. You tugged on his hand to move it from his face, and he let's you. It's clear he had a bleeding nose that has stopped and there's darkening bruise forming around his eye.
"Ouch, that looks harsh" you mutter poking at his face while he winces away.
"I definitely underestimated how hard you could punch" He grunts.
"Do you know what I do for a living?" You reply.
"Trust I won't forget" he says with a grin. "Go sit down" he says nodding back towards the seats. You nod, watching as he continues pass to the nurse's office.
After minutes tick by you look up to see the principle with a glare. You smile which only makes her eyebrows scowl.
"Rory, this is the second time you have been in my office today."
"I can count ma'am" you nod solemnly.
"Explain to me what happened exactly" she orders.
"Mm, I was sitting on his desk, he asked me to get off and I didn't appreciate that so..." you say vaguely.
"You resort to violence?" She growls.
"Yes ma'am" you nod once again.
"You're old enough to be charged for this Rory, if Jasper wants to press charges he has every right too, as for us, I think the best thing right now is to suspend you for the time being" she huffs.
Your eyes widen slightly, and you shake your head getting up. "No ma'am, please, I'm hardly violent, I've just been so stressed, and my sleep is so bad I've been so on edge-.." you begin to frantically excuse your behavior.
"I was zoned out when Jasper was talking to me, think of the work and all so when he kept asking me to move i got frustrated easily and as reflex i hit him, I really am a good kid ma'am"
"Even I was surprised by myself, it's just being new here, means I've got so much work to do before exams and I'm trying really, I can't get suspended now, I've worked so hard, you wouldn't put my time and effort to waste now, would you?"
You look up at her with pleading eyes as she pinches the bridge of her nose and removes her glasses as she thinks. "Rory" she sighs. "You're new here and I understand the stress but what you did was unacceptable" she scolds.
"Yes, I know it was and I'll say sorry, anything to prove I genuinely feel terrible about it. I'm not one for violence, I'm just really out of it today, after this morning and all too."
"Rory... I want you attending our after-school detention while we call your care givers."
"Yes ma'am, I can do that" you say. She checks her watch and looks at Dina.
"Upstairs, it's the second room on the left" she says.
"Yes ma'am" you say getting up. You leave the office quickly, finding your way upstairs and into an empty classroom.
It's almost the end of school and you walk around the room, looking over things for nothing specific. Desks have been vandalized beyond the point of saving.
The windows are open, allowing the days warmth inside. You took a seat at the back of the class, close to an open window to keep you occupied.
You tapped your fingers on the desk as you waited for the bell to dismiss the classes.
It wasn't long before it did, and a 'teacher' walked in just as it did. Pausing in his tracks to look at you. You studied him, recognizing him from the office.
"Hello?" He said with a slight confused tone continuing on towards the desk.
"Hello" you nodded back in reply.
"I didn't know we had another student joining us" he says sitting down and you can hear frantic tapping of the keyboard.
"Well, it was a little last minute" you shrug watching him.
"Yeah, .. Whys that?" He asks focusing on whatever he's doing on the computer.
"Got a little violent with a teacher" you say. He glances up at you from the desk and opens his mouth to say something before he's cut off by Kai.
"Rory?" Kais's voice drags your attention away. You look at him with a forced smile as he comes to take a seat beside you. "What did you do?" He asks.
"Violence with a teacher" you repeat yourself.
"What? what teacher?" He laughs putting his bag down.
"Jasper" you say.
He pauses while pulling out his books as you say this. "What, why?" He asks.
"I let my emotions get in the way is all" You shrug. "I don't want to talk about it" you add.
Kai nods slowly looking as two other students file into the room not to long later. The teacher stands up, clasping his hands together in a loud clap to grab attention.
"I'm Mr. Mraz, Mr. M or Sir are also fine. You should already know the rules of detention but if not you're here till 6, no eating, no toilet breaks, no talking and you're to do some form of studying" he says.
He checks his watch before sitting down. "Respect the rules or another detention will be issued."
You unzip your bag in the awfully quiet room, grabbing yourself a random book and pens. While everyone gets to work you keep your head down, but 'Mr M' is furiously typing away.
You're scribbling on your page aimlessly, thinking of nonsense in your head. You're only here to watch Kai, not actually study.
You can tell that the teacher is focused on something, it's not hard to tell that it was to do with Kai by the way he kept glancing up at him.
His body language and facial expression displayed his annoyance clearer than day. You knew exactly what they were trying. They knew Kai was unattended to driving to and from school.
You were almost certain that's when they'd make a move.
———
Detention went by slowly as expected. You done no studying instead useless doodling filled the pages of a book you used.
You watched the clock ticking by and listened to everyone else flipping pages or writing down notes. Your ADHD did not suit well in a situation like this.
You managed to keep yourself contained; your mind filled with thoughts that kept you occupied for hours straight.
When it became 6 you shoved the things into your bag and stood up, taking a well needed stretch as you stood by Kai, waiting for him.
He noticed your presence and looked up, "Can i come back to yours?" You asked.
Not that you wanted to, but if you reported this back to the team they'd most likely feel let down. Although you didn't exactly strive for their approval ... you think.
You still wouldn't let a mission go wrong just because of your own personal preference. "Sure" Kai smiles. Once he's packed up, you're the last ones to leave the room.
With a quick glance back you seen the teacher, watching you both with an intense glare that he drops when you make eye contact with him.
You turn your focus back to Kai who's already talking away. His mouth spilling useless nonsense that you didn't bother paying attention too.
Once in his car you pulled out your phone. Messaging Price and explaining the current situation.
"Earth to Rory?" Kai said waving a hand in front of your face.
"Yep?" You said tucking your phone back into your pocket.
"My parents aren't home" he said holding up his phone.
"Okay?" You say raising an eyebrow. "That's nice?"
"No, not nice" He grumbled. You relaxed your muscles and looked across at him.
"Not nice, agreed" you said.
"Means I'm locked out for the time being" He sighs.
"You don't have your own house key?" You speak.
"Did, at home, I'm usually told about things like this beforehand so I can take it with me, otherwise I keep it at home, it's safer" He explains typing away.
"I'm sure we can find a window or something" you shrug turning to look out the window at the setting sky.
He shakes his head with a hum, "no, my father- ... absolute weirdo about security and all that shit, like guess he's overprotective or whatever but we try that, and the alarms will go off."
"Whys he so freakish on security?" You ask, intrigued.
"He says it's for our wellbeing, it's not bothersome, it only gets in the way at times like these" He mutters putting his phone away.
"Well, that's just not good" you say with an uncertain smile at your attempt to console him.
He glances at you with a slow nod, "no?... it's not?" He says back.
"Well, guess we'll wait" you say sitting back in your chair.
"Let's head to yours yeah" He asks.
You shake your head almost immediately, "Uh, I'm not sure" you say.
"About what? Your father seems to like me" He laughs.
"We have guests over tonight" you excuse.
"What's one more?" He speaks.
"We only own four plates?" You say with a forced smile.
He chuckles, starting the car. "I'm not going for food, if you're self-conscious about your house, there's no need" he says. "I'm not like that" He reassures.
You give an awkward chuckle and press your lips into a thin line. "Okay, uh, ... 113 Quinnipiac Avenue" you say grabbing your phone.
You message Price, glad to have a quick reply about the change which he confirms will be fine.