Chapter Three| Detention
Listen to Brand New Moves by Hey Violet
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"So you have detention?" Bianca asked me.
"Yeah," I say, sighing in defeat. "All of this happened on Saturday at the carnival."
"Wow... I never expected this from you."
Over the years, I've learnt to accept Bianca's bluntness and snobbish ways. She was slightly unfiltered as well- saying whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. I guess it must be a common trait in all Hollywood actor's kids. Bianca thought she was superior and sometimes, I found myself entertaining that. Heck, I'm sure everyone at school entertained it.
The thing is, no one actually liked Bianca. She was often brash and had this overconfident air around her. It was suffocating... Sometimes.
"Yeah well, please don't tell anyone. Don't mention it to Taliya either, she'll probably tell the entire school," I chuckle.
"I won't," she says, shrugging. "She's with Robbie right now."
Robbie Wilkins was the star of the football team. He was good looking as well with his dirty blonde hair, square shoulders and bulky arms. He had crystal blue eyes that stood out from the rest of his tanned skin. It was only natural for Taliya to attempt her 'moves' on him.
"Definitely saw that one coming," I laugh. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Enjoy detention," I hear her say as I spin around to leave.
Feeling even more defeated than before, I lazily trudged to room 19 where my first detention in my seventeen years of existence would be held. To say I felt a little sick was an understatement. I kept asking myself, what kind of Student Body President gets detention? My parents weren't so happy either and I had to explain to them multiple times until they finally understood my compromising position.
Or at least they half understood.
Room 19 belonged to Mrs. Elesburg- an old Westie who taught English after many years of flourishing as a model in New York. Even though she was lively and energetic in her younger days, she seemed to have slowed down over the years. I couldn't comprehend how they assigned her to detention duty. She couldn't control one Southie, how would she control six of them?
Then there was me. I'm sure Mrs. Elesburg will be delighted to have some extra assistance with the boys. She also might be unpleasantly surprised that I'm actually turning up to her class. In fact, maybe she might be a little disappointed...
With these thoughts swirling in mind, I hesitantly stepped into her empty classroom. To my dismay, she barely spared me a glance before returning to her computer. She didn't seem surprised, shocked, disappointed... Nothing. She just slowly tapped away at the keyboard in front of her. There would be a long pause before she'd click the next key, another pause, hit, another pause... And so on. With this ticking rhythm in my head, I took a seat in the front, wearily fiddling with the hem of my t-shirt.
Would the boys even attend? Principal Georgia had threatened them with prom but like Tanner had mentioned, they don't care about prom and weren't planning to go. Besides, it would just be another event for them to vandalize school property, get drunk or high and overall just ruin the last good dance at high school.
Southies were naturally like that. They either showed up to mess up or didn't bother at all. I've always secretly wondered if they were like children of inattentive parents. Maybe they did all these reckless acts to have the school pay attention them. Maybe they were lacking it. I've always thought that maybe they do want to attend these socials and not have to worry about dressing fancy or doing their make up and hair...
Or maybe I'm just overthinking all of this- them.
It was a fleeting thought that was interrupted by the door clicking open. Loud voices broke through the classroom and to my relief it was the boys. I was glad I didn't have to face this alone.
"Afternoon Mrs. E!" Walker greeted.
"Mrs. E! How was your weekend?" Darren asked as they came in.
"Good good," Mrs. Elesburg replied. "Take a seat."
"Hey Mrs. E," Levi waved. His greeting wasn't loud and obnoxious- completely opposite to the rest of the boys.
The six boys passed my seat, barely acknowledging me, except for Darren. He sent me a friendly smile which I gratefully returned.
As I expected, the boys all took seats at the back of the class. The sound of chairs scrapping back and loud chatter filled the class for a good five minutes. I tapped my finger impatiently, wondering why 'Mrs. E 'didn't tell them to hush up already. She sat at her desk, amusedly watching them chatter on about something or the other.
When they finally did settle down, she took register. The boys were still whispering behind me and when I heard Levi laugh, goosebumps rippled down my arms. His laugh was deep with a husky undertone. It intoxicated itself into my body- into my blood. It ran up to my ears, ringing with it's richness. Imprinting into my brain, I knew I would never forget a laugh like that. A laugh like Levi's.
Mrs. Elesburg stuffed the register book into her shoulder bag and shut down her computer. The Windows system made it's usual chime before the computer light diminished. "Bye kids!" she said before running out the class with her multiple bags. She shut the door on her way out; at the same time, the class fell into complete silence.
Huh?
I was still trying to process Mrs. Elesburg's quick exit when I found myself whirling around in my seat. The boys had created a semi-circle with their chairs and were all nose deep into their phones. Gio's mouth was slightly ajar and Walker cursed under his breath.
"What just happened?"
All of them looked up at me at the same time... Except for Levi. "With what, Mami?" Gio asked first. His Italian accent was thick and almost attractive.
Although, nothing could quiet reel me in like Levi did. He was effortless attractive.
"Mrs. Elesburg," I said, dragging my eyes away from Levi. "She just... Left."
"Ooh... Mrs. E is not coming back. She usually leaves after taking register," Gio explained.
"Uhm..."
"Detention doesn't actually happen," Luke shrugged.
"So... we can leave now?" I asked.
"No," Tanner chuckles. "Mrs. E instructs the guard at the front gate to only let us out at half past two."
"So basically some detention does kind of happen," Walker adds.
"Oh..." I mutter.
"Way to go guys, she's probably going to tell Principal Georgia now," Levi says, still not looking up from his phone.
"Who would complain about shorter detention?" Luke asked.
"Ms. Student Body President, man. Besides, you all forgot that she's a Northie so she's gotta' keep her good girl act in play at all times," Levi continued.
"I'm not going to tell Principal Georgia," I say through gritted teeth.
"Like I believe that," Levi muttered.
Before I could open my mouth and lay down an entire anger-fueled speech for Levi, Gio spoke first. "She won't and that's good," he said. He seemed to have picked up on our tension, putting an end to it with his simple words. He leans back in his chair and sighs. "Man, I hate that Principal."
"Agreed," Darren said, looking down at his phone again.
"Yeah man, she's always up in your business, telling you what to do, when to do it..." Walker said, rolling his eyes.
"Well that's what principal's are supposed to do," I shrugged.
They muttered in response but easily returned back to their phones- dismissing the conversation. I turned around in my seat again, feeling awkward for thinking they'd keep the conversation going.
Picking up my bag, I suddenly felt very self conscious. What if they were looking at me now? What if Levi was looking at me now? I shook my head to get rid of these thoughts. With his laughter still ringing in my head, I searched through my bag in an attempt to find something to do. I finished all my homework in class and I didn't have any tests coming up...
I decided to draw.
Like everyone else, I had a passion- a talent. I loved anything artsy more than anything else in the world. I've begged my parents to let me pursue something in the creative-field after high school but they've refused countless times and said I'd be better off being something like a doctor, accountant or a lawyer.
I didn't give up though and I nagged them about it often. I sometimes wonder if maybe mom would let me pursue it if maybe dad wasn't breathing down her neck about me becoming something like him- a rich, powerful and successful business man.
Earlier this week I started sketching a character from a new online-series I recently began watching. I tried to capture the character's best facial features and the disparity hidden behind their eyes. Plugging in my earphones, I let the music consume me while I easily got to work.
I started drawing after I dropped out of my ballet classes. My teacher moved away and to be frank, I was never the best dancer. In fact I was the worst. It was yet another class mom and dad made me take up in order to 'enhance my abilities' and allow me to 'express myself through creative ways that would help me in the future.'
I enjoyed some of the classes, like my piano class (occasionally) and sometimes my etiquette classes- it really depended on what we were learning that day. What I didn't like was how I was forced into them. Mom and dad were looking out for me, I knew that, but sometimes it didn't feel like I was living a normal teenage life.
When my hand started to ache and I realized the character's eyes could not be anymore defined, I dropped the pencil and sat up straight. Examining the finish piece, I unconsciously stretched my arms. Pulling out my earphones, I wondered if maybe I could reshape his hair...
"Holy shit," someone muttered. I looked up to see all the boys hovering over me. They were gaping at my sketch pad.
Squeaking, I tried to pull it away but Walker easily grabbed it before me. "This is... This is freaking amazing," he said in awe.
"Let me see!" Darren said, bolting to his side to get a better look.
"Hey! Give that back!" I said, standing up to try reach for the sketch pad.
"Oh shit, this is actually pretty good," Darren said, marveling at it.
"Pretty good? This is talent dude," Walker said.
"Give it back!" I said, rushing to their side.
"Pass it here!" Gio says.
As I try to reach for it, Walker quickly hands it to Gio. Gio easily moves around the desks until he is standing at the back of the class again.
"Gio," I said, extremely annoyed by now. I walk toward him only for him to toss the book over my head and to Walker once again. Walker easily catches it.
"Hey! Be careful with that!"
Luke and Tanner hovered behind Walker, intensely eyeing the drawing. "Shit Northie, this is actually pretty good," Tanner says approvingly. Luke takes it between from Walker, his eyes growing wide.
"Yeah, do you wanna' be a professional artist when you're older?" Luke asked.
"No!" I said, nearing them. "Now give it back!"
"I-" Luke starts.
"Not until I see it," Levi says and smoothly snatches the sketch pad away from Luke and Tanner. I burn up at the thought of Levi see the sketch pad. I was slightly embarrassed with the things I drew- like anime obsessions and cartoon characters... It was like a diary; something personal. Something that could possibly expose me.
"Levi," I said, trying to sound stern but my voice came out shaky. He moves back as I approach him, flipping through the other pages in the sketch pad. "No! Stop! Don't do tha-" I try to grab it away from him but he's too fast. I end up face to face with a wall and an obnoxious laugh erupts from behind me. When I turn to Levi again, he's wearing a smug and toothy grin. "C'mon Levi!" I whine.
"Nope!"
Finally, I make one last attempted lunge at him. I manage to grab the book but he's still tightly holding on to it. Levi tries to pull the book back, resulting in me face planting into his chest. A waft of spicy cologne hits me like a wall. For a few milliseconds, I'm left paralyzed against the warmth of him.
I look up at him, a scowl imprinted onto my face. He's already looking down, grinning like the satisfied idiot he is. I snatch the book away from his hands, flustered and embarrassed. Huffing angrily I stuff the book into my bag once I'm in my seat and listen to the boys laugh for what seemed like eternity.
When they eventually calmed down, I rolled my eyes. "You guys are so annoying."
"Who would have thought? Gwen Marie is actually good at art," Walker teased.
"You should sell your work, you could make millions," Luke said.
"Northies aren't artists, Luke. They're scientists and accountants," Gio said mockingly.
"Don't be embarrassed," Tanner said, amusedly watching my cheeks tinge an awful red. "You're very talented."
"Thanks," I mutter sheepishly.
"Guys it's half past two!" Luke announces.
"Let's head out," Darren said. They grabbed their bags from the back of the class and I followed them out. It was then that I noticed the camera slung around Darren's neck.
From what I knew, Darren always had this particular Canon camera with him. It was one of those big ones with fancy lenses and the pop up flash. A lot of people said he stole it from a shop in the north while others say he saved up for a second-hand one. It was a much older model but none the less, it seemed immensely important to him.
"Hey Darren," I called. He turned to face me. "Do you like photography?"
He looks down at the camera and then up at me- seemingly nervous. "Yeah, I like editing videos and stuff as well. Why do you ask?"
"I just noticed you carry that camera with you everywhere," I shrug.
"I take photos of almost everything," he laughs.
"Can I maybe see some of these photos?" I ask.
"Oh yeah sure," he says, nodding eagerly. He switches on the camera and presses the menu button. The first picture he shows me is of a bush of wild roses. The angle is perfect, casting a shadow over the flowers to give it a dark appeal. He continued to show me the rest of what he has taken. Most of them were gothic themed but he was a natural. An expert.
"Why aren't you in the school photography club?" I asked as we made our way into the parking lot.
"Nah, I don't think they'd accept a Southie, you know? It's full of pretentious Westies who would probably think my photography is too... Well dark for the school year book," he chuckles.
"I think you have the potential," I say.
"Really? That means a lot coming from the SBP," he says, nudging me.
I laughed. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
"Yeah," he says, smiling. He seemed to have a dreamy gleam in his eyes- something I couldn't read or understand.
"Bye Darren," I say, nodding. He lowers his head, a smile still playing on his lips before he walks away.
I started to head out the opposite direction. The place was deserted and it was kind of strange to see the place that I love so much, empty. It was almost a realization for me. In less than two months my time here would be over. Soon it would be prom, then exams, university and then life will official start. I would live happily ever after.
"Hey Northie!"
I turned around at the sound of Levi's voice. He was holding a bike helmet in his hand and leaning against a sleek black Harley. Levi's Harley was the epitome of beauty. I didn't have much interest in cars or bikes but I definitely knew that Levi's bike was a fancy one. The sound of it was so distinctive, you would hear it roaring at least two blocks away and instantly know it was Levi. It was as badass as he was.
"What?" I asked, making my way toward him.
"What time is your curfew?"
"I don't have a curfew," I said, folding my arms.
"Oh sure. After the spray paint prank you pulled, I have no doubt that Daddy Tycoon has given you strict curfews to follow," he says incredulously.
I starred at him for a while, my eyes narrow and accusing. He only starred back, never once faltering in his smug expression. "Five o' clock," I eventually sighed. Levi loved getting on my nerves. Maybe I liked it too.
"Come with me," he said, tossing the bike helmet. I clumsily caught it.
"Where to?"
I knew very well that the universe was basically spelling out Bad Idea for me but I blatantly ignored it.
"Larek Peak."
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Hey guys!
I just wanted to thank everyone who has read, voted and commented on my book. I really appreciate to you all and it makes me so happy to know that you're genuinely enjoying my story.
This chapter is dedicated to lockandkeyx! Your comments were hilarious to read! (P.S. thanks for spotting all my cringe-worthy spelling mistakes).
BY THE WAY I will be dedicating a chapter to the person with the best comments. I truly find all of them motivational so thank you to everyone (again XD).
I am also thinking of creating an Instagram account for this story- solely so I can release sneak peeks and quotes and whatever else I can think of. It's an idea for now so we shall see.
Sending you all my love,
GB.