Gracies POV (10 Years Old)
I sat in my science class with a feeling of dread bubbling in my stomach. I have a math test after lunch. Urgh! Why does math have to be so hard?! Like seriously, when am I gonna use it?!
"Gracie" James whispered as he nudged me slightly.
"Sorry what?" I asked, assuming that I'd missed out on something.
"What's up with you?" He whispered back.
"I'm dreading this test, there's no way I'm gonna pass!" I exclaimed "I'll be lucky if I get a D" I added. I watched as James looked around the class before leaning in closer to me.
"Meet me at lunch behind the tree in the back of the playground" he instructed, making me frown in confusion.
"What, why?" I asked curiously.
"Just do it" he sighed before turning back to his work in front of him.
I tried to concentrate on the class I was in, but it was really hard when I kept trying to work out what James wanted to meet me for.
After an agonisingly long time, the end of class had finally arrived and I found myself walking nervously towards the large tree in the playground.
I stood there for five minutes before James walked over to me and pulled me further out of sight.
"I can help you with the math test" he said, making me frown.
"What do you mean? How can you help me?" I asked curiously.
"First, you have to promise not to tell a soul," he said, making me even more nervous.
"I promise" I nodded apprehensively.
James took one last look around to make sure no one was nearby before pulling a sheet of paper out of his backpack.
"Here" he said as he handed me the paper, my eyes widening when I realised what I was looking at.
"How did you get these?" I asked, my stress already disappearing from my shoulders.
"I was in Miss Walsh's class for detention and she left the room. She didn't realise she's left her laptop open on the math quiz answers" he explained "write them on the inside of your pencil case, but make sure to get a few wrong" he said and I nodded.
"Thanks James," I said gratefully. I know cheating is wrong and my brothers would definitely kill me if they ever found out. But hey, they're not gonna find out. Plus they'd kill me if I got a D anyway!
James wandered off and I sat down by the tree to write down all the answers on the inside of my pencil case like he'd instructed before stuffing the paper into the front of my backpack with the intention of putting it in the trash later on.
"Okay class" Miss Walsh announced "heads down and pick up your pencils. If you have any questions put your hand up" she said before everyone picked up their pencils and began the test.
I stared at the sheet in front of me, dread rising in my stomach with every passing second. 'Just look in your pencil case, you have the answers right there'. I bit my lip nervously before copying the answers from my pencil case on to the paper discreetly. Or so I thought.
I jumped out of my skin when I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked up to see a furious Miss Walsh.
"Hallway. Now." She ordered. Yep. I'm dead.
With a heavy sigh I made my way out of the classroom, followed shortly by Miss Walsh.
"I believe something fell out of your bag" she said, holding up the piece of paper with all the answers on it "and I also see you've taken the liberty of writing them down in your pencil case for extra help" she added sarcastically.
"It's not what you think" I tried to defend, but even I could hear the invisible question mark at the end of my sentence.
"Oh really?" She challenged "because it looks to me like you were cheating on the exam" she added "now I've already written a note here which you are to take straight to the principal" she ordered as she handed me my backpack, pencil case and the note she had already written.
"Yes Ma'am" I sighed. I am so dead! Why did I ever think this was going to work out?!
"Can I help you?" The secretary asked as I stopped nervously in front of her desk.
I silently handed her the note and watched as she read it and raised a judging eyebrow "take a seat" she instructed before disappearing into the office.
I sat on the bench kicking my legs back and forth for a couple of minutes before the secretary left and the principal appeared.
"Come on in Miss Halstead" He instructed and I hesitantly did as I was told "do you have anything to say for yourself?" He asked as I stared down at my hands.
"No sir" I replied, swallowing down the lump that was now forming in my throat.
"You understand I have no choice but to call your brother?" He asked and I nodded understandingly, a tear finally escaping my eyes and rolling down my cheek "very well" he cleared his throat "go ahead and sit back outside until he arrives" he instructed.
Twenty minutes later
I sat outside the principal's office nervously twiddling my thumbs when Jay finally arrived. He sure didn't look happy.
"You have approximately two minutes before your principal comes out here to tell me exactly what you were thinking" he frowned as he stood, crossed arms, in front of me.
I shrugged silently, too afraid to meet his unimpressed gaze.
"Gracelyn Halstead, look at me right now" he snapped and I immediately brought my eyes up to meet him.
"I didn't even do anything" I lied, making my brothers stare harden.
"You are already in a world of trouble Gracelyn. Are you sure you want to add lying to me on top of that?" He asked seriously. I bit my lip nervously as I thought about what my next move would be.
"I'm not lying!" I exclaimed. Before Jay had the chance to scold me the principal's door opened and he appeared in front of us.
"You must be Gracelyn's brother" he said as he extended his hand for Jay to shake "please do come in" he said, gesturing to his open office door.
"C'mon. Move." He ordered.
"I wanna stay here" I stated as I crossed my arms stubbornly over my chest.
"Tuff. Now move" he instructed sternly.
"Nope" I shook my head with a frown.
"I'm...gonna give you both a couple of minutes" the principal said awkwardly before disappearing back into his office.
"I just wanna go home" I stated, standing up from my seat and marching over to the main doors.
"Don't you dare" he raised his voice "come back here right now" he demanded "I swear to god Gracelyn if I have to come and get you myself you'll be going over my knee right here right now." That was all it took for me to run straight back to his side. He was quick to get a firm grip on my shoulder to stop me from making another escape.
20 minutes later
"Do you have any idea how lucky you've been to get off with just a couple of lunchtime detentions?" Jay ranted as he drove us both back to the district.
"Yay" I mumbled sarcastically.
"Hey!" he yelled "check your attitude" he warned "what the hell were you thinking? You know better than to cheat" he lectured.
"I. Don't. Care." I yelled back.
"You just wanna hope to god that i've calmed down by the time we go home" he threatened "and if i were you i'd definitely have an explanation for Will when we get there" he added.
Once Jay parked the truck he was quick to get out and practically dragged me up the stairs to the intelligence unit. He silently pulled a spare chair over to his desk and clicked his fingers, indicating for me to sit down. I, along with the rest of the detectives, watched curiously as he grabbed a few blank sheets of paper and a pen.
"You've got two hours before we'll be going home" he began once he had put the pen and paper down in front of me "I will not cheat, two hundred times. Get started." he ordered.
"You can't be serious" I whined, throwing my head back dramatically.
"Don't argue. Just do it." He snapped back.
"I wish Will had picked me up" I mumbled with a frown.
"Excuse me?" Jay challenged.
"I said, I wish Will had picked me up" I repeated, this time a little louder.
"What? And you think he'd be taking you out for ice cream?" He asked, a challenging eyebrow raised. "I suggest you keep quiet and get on with the lines" he recommended.
With a loud sigh I finally picked up the pencil and began line number one of two hundred.
Two hours later
The drive home from the district was quiet and the silence was only broken when we had finally arrived back home.
"Straight to your room" Jay said firmly.
"Whatever" I rolled my eyes as I turned and began to walk towards my bedroom "OW!" I screeched, both of my hands flying back to try and rub the sting from my butt.
"Last warning. You're already on very thin ice Gracelyn" He warned with a pointed stare "room." He repeated his earlier instruction, and this time I did as I was instructed without any sarcastic comments.
I laid on my bed with tears falling down my face. I can never win. I do the test and get a D, I get in trouble. I cheat to try and pass and I get in trouble. Why do I need stupid math anyway?
After around thirty minutes I heard the sound of Will returning home. I couldn't make out all of the words but it was obvious they were talking about me. Great. Probably planning my demise. I angrily wiped my tears away before climbing under my duvet and pulling it over my head. Just then there was a knock on my door.
"Go away" I shouted into my mattress. Whoever it was didn't pay any attention because I heard my door opening and footsteps walking over to my bed.
"What exactly do you think you're playing at?" Will asked, but I remained under the covers.
"I don't wanna talk about it." I stated with a sniffle.
"Too bad" he replied before pulling the cover from on top of me "into the living room" he instructed.
"I just said I don't wanna talk about it Will" i repeated.
"And I just said, too bad," he replied.
We stared at each other for a few seconds before I sighed in defeat. I reluctantly walked into the living room, with Will not far behind me, and sat down on the sofa as far away from both of my brothers as I possibly could.
"Do you wanna start off by explaining to us what the hell was going through your mind when you decided to cheat on a school exam?" Will asked, his arms crossed over his chest. I shrugged silently.
"It's not my fault math is stupid" I mumbled.
"Answer the question Gracie" Jay insisted.
"I don't wanna talk about it" I repeated my earlier statement.
"Let me tell you something right now kid. You are not moving from that spot until you talk to us" Jay spoke "so it will be much easier on all of us if you start talking" he added.
"It's not my fault!" I pleaded.
"How'd you come to that decision?" Will raised his eyebrow.
"Because I didn't want to cheat," I exclaimed.
"What do you mean Gracie?" Jay frowned.
"Because if I didn't cheat then I would have failed the exam" I finally admitted, tears now freely falling from my eyes.
"You don't know that Gracie," Will said.
"I do know that!" I yelled "I'm horrible at math and that's never gonna change!" I declared "I didn't want you to be mad at me for getting a bad grade" I admitted.
"And so you thought you'd cheat even though you knew you'd be in trouble if you got caught?" Will frowned.
"I guess," I shrugged.
"Gracie, if you're struggling in math you should have told us sooner. You're never gonna be in trouble for asking for help" Jay said.
"I did tell you I was struggling!" I declared.
"No, you told us you didn't like it" Will defended.
"Even if you had got a bad grade on the test we wouldn't have been mad at you. As long as you are trying your best that's all that matters to us. But all you've done now is land yourself in even bigger trouble by cheating" Jay lectured.
"I just didn't want you to be disappointed in me," I finally admitted.
"Gracie, come over here" Will instructed and I cautiously walked over to him and allowed him to pull me up onto his knee "what do we always tell you when it comes to your grades?" he asked.
"To do my best and ask for help if I need it" I relayed the information that had been told to me on many occasions.
"And did you ask for help?" Jay questioned.
"No" I shook my head tearfully.
"You know that cheating is wrong Gracie" Will said "do you realize you could've been suspended?" he asked.
"'M really sorry" I pouted.
"That's good that you're sorry" Jay acknowledged "but you should know by now that that doesn't mean you're off the hook" he reminded me.
"Please Jay" I pleaded "I promise never to cheat ever again" I promised.
"And I'm gonna make sure of that," he said firmly.
"But I don't want a spanking" I pouted.
"Are you forgetting that you also lied to me about what you did?" he asked and I was quick to redirect my eyes to the living room floor.
"Go on" Will said before kissing my temple "go to your room and wait for Jay" he instructed as he lifted me off his lap. So with a heavy sigh I left the living room and walked to my bedroom to await my punishment.
An agonising fifteen minutes later Jay finally walked into my room with a solemn look on his face.
"Stand up please Gracelyn" Jay instructed and I silently did as I was instructed "why are you in trouble?" he asked.
"Because I tried to cheat on the math exam" I spoke tearfully.
"And?" he prompted.
"And I lied to you about it to try and get out of trouble" I finished reluctantly.
"Are either of those things acceptable?" he asked.
"No sir," I admitted.
"I hope after this I never have to have a conversation about cheating with you again" he sighed before moving me to stand at his side and carefully pulling me face first across his knee.
After what felt like forever, but in reality was about two minutes, the swats finally stopped falling. Jay helped me up and I was quick to wrap my arms around his neck in search of some much needed comfort.
"It's over now Gracie" my brother soothes as he wrapped his much larger arms around me and continued to calm me down "have you learnt your lesson?" he asked and I nodded tearfully.
"Uh huh. I promise to never ever cheat ever again" I promised through sobs.
"Good girl," he praised. "Why don't you go and see Will whilst I go get a shower" he suggested.
"Okay" I agreed, "you promise you still don't hate me?" I asked.
"Still?" he questioned with a frown "Gracie I have never and could never hate you" he stated "I may not like the decisions you make all of the time but i love you nonetheless" he assured.
"I love you too" I replied as he gave me a kiss on the forehead.
"Go on. Go see Will" he repeated as he helped me off his knee and I walked to the living room to find my eldest brother.
"Will? Can I have a cuddle?" I asked him, making him smile softly at me and open his arms for me to climb into.
"No more cheating?" he asked and I nodded in agreement.
"Never again," I declared.
"Good. You can always talk to us about anything that you're struggling with. Even if we can't help you we can find someone who can. First thing tomorrow I'm gonna look into getting you a math tutor. I'm also gonna talk to your teacher about getting you some extra help in class. How does that sound?" He asked and I smiled.
"Good," I agreed. "Love you Will" I said as I rested my head on his chest.
"I love you too" he said as he kissed the top of my head.
AN! Thank you so much for reading and i'm so sorry it has taken this long to get another story out for you guys! I hope it was worth the wait! Let me know what you think down in the comments and don't forget to like!
Did they handle this well?
Were they too harsh?