The rest of the school day went by pretty smoothly: I didn't have Ben or Cooper's class, I didn't see Dana at all, and there weren't any additionally embarrassing announcements about me said over the intercom. Caroline, Emmett, Torryn, Julia, and Marcus (or some combination of the five of them) were in my remaining classes, so it was cool to not feel like I was alone (even if some of the teachers had assigned seats).
After last period I took my time making plans to do homework and hang out with everyone later, going to the bathroom, and grabbing a snack from the vending machine before walking to Dana's classroom. I figured at this rate it was better that I find him than make him find me, because surely he was already pissed at me for skipping lunch detention. But when I went to open his classroom door, it was locked. I knew Dana only locked his door when he wasn't in there. I knocked and waited a little while for him to come to the door just in case he was in there, but he never came. I thought about calling Dana's cell phone to see where he was, but then I figured the only other place he could be was home. So I decided that I'd walk over to my brothers' house ... right after I stopped by my dorm room to put my backpack down (because (1) it was really heavy, and (2) knowing my brothers they'd make me do my homework at their house if I brought it over there, thus screwing up the study plans I made).
As I turned the corner of my dorm hallway, the first thing I saw was Ben and Dana waiting outside my room. The split second I took to stand there frozen and wide-eyed ruined any chance I had of turning around and making a run for it because they saw me. Sure I'd planned on seeing them when I got to their house, but how embarrassing to have two teachers standing outside your room waiting for you! And here I thought my day was getting better with time ...
"There you are," Ben said as he stood up from his leaning position against the wall.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked as I trudge up to the two of them.
"We came to get you," Ben said. "Go grab whatever homework you have and let's go."
"Go where?" I asked.
"You're spending the rest of the day at home," Dana said as he motioned for me to unlock my door. "We need to talk."
"But ..." I said as I pulled my key out of my pocket. "But I already made plans."
"Plans?" Ben asked.
Once I got my door open, Dana and Ben followed me inside. "Plans to meet up with some of my friends later—"
"I'm glad you've made friends, Penny," Ben said. "But—"
"You're definitely not going out on a school night," Dana said, cutting him off.
"The same rules for home apply here," Ben continued. "No hanging out with friends on school nights unless it's for schoolwork."
"But it is for schoolwork, Ben. We're gonna study and do homework together."
"This isn't up for discussion, Penny," Dana said calmly. "As soon as we get home we are going to have a conversation about your behavior earlier today; then you're going to do your homework, eat dinner, and finish any homework you have left before coming back here to go to bed. That's it." I knew this calm frustration anywhere. Dana was pissed, and I was screwed. "So get whatever books you need and let's go. Now."
"Make sure you don't forget anything," Ben said as I then wasted no time stuffing various textbooks and papers into my backpack. I wasn't looking forward to having to explain to my friends tomorrow why I stood them up. I should have gotten Caroline's number ... or Emmett's. "You don't wanna have to come all the way back here to get something."
"Sit," Dana said as soon as I stepped inside my brothers' home. For him to not send me straight to my room to "reflect" on why I was in trouble suggested that he really meant business. I guess all his frustration built up over the school day, and on our way here from my dorm room.
I went and sat down on the couch. "What the hell were you thinking?" Dana asked me after Ben came in the house and shut the front door. He wasn't really yelling per se, but he had a dead serious look on his face, and his eyes were dark. If looks could kill ...
"I—"
"Do you know how serious skipping detention is?" he continued, cutting me off.
"I—"
"You could get a Saturday detention, or even get suspended. Is that what you want?"
My eyes widened. "Of course not, Dana—"
"Then tell me why you skipped your lunch detention with me."
"You never said I had a lunch detention." Well it wasn't a total lie—Dana himself never told me I did.
"That's because you left so abruptly. I told Ms. Corella to tell you."
"Well I got to her class late, thanks to you, and then I left her class in a hurry so that I wouldn't be late for my third class, so she didn't really have a chance to tell me anything." It was a huge gamble to lie so blatantly to my brother's face—he could very easily ask Ms. Corella if she told me I had detention, and I'd be dead—but at that point I figured it'd be a better excuse for getting out of a worse punishment for skipping.
"There was an announcement for you to come to my room during lunch," Dana said.
"... I didn't hear that announcement," I said.
Dana and Ben both raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? You didn't hear it?" Ben said, deciding to get involved in the conversation. Maybe that was a good thing.
"No, I didn't ... I went back to my dorm and there's no intercom in that hallway."
"You? Missed lunch?" Dana said. "I don't believe that for one second."
"Don't lie to us, Penny," Ben said.
"I didn't say I missed lunch. I went back to my room because I forgot my biology textbook and then I went to lunch afterwards. So I probably just missed it."
"Mhm," Ben said. "You seem to have a lot of excuses, Penny."
"They're not excuses, they're the truth," I said. "And if Dana wanted to see me during lunch, he should have told me himself."
Dana's eyes grew darker. "Would you rather I have come into the dining hall to get you so that everyone knew you had a lunch detention?"
"No—"
"Because I was seriously contemplating dragging you out of there myself before Ben called me and convinced me to wait to talk to you after school since it was your first day."
"You're lucky that Dana decided not to report you for skipping," Ben said. "But if this happens again, you're not going to be so lucky; whether it's a detention with another teacher or a detention with one of us."
"You shouldn't even be getting detention in the first place," Dana said. Ben nodded.
I stood up. "You're the one that gave it to me!"
Dana's eyes grew even darker to where they now looked black. Yikes. "As I should have. You were being disrespectful—"
"I was being disrespectful? How was I being disrespectful? You're the one that was rude and insulted Ms. Corella's class!"
"You're being disrespectful right now," Dana said.
"Lower your voice," Ben warned.
I took a deep breath and faced my oldest brother. "Ben, he made me late for my second class," I argued. "If he wanted to talk to me he could of done it after school like you suggested. Or during lunch if he had told me ahead of time."
"That's no excuse to be disrespectful towards him," Ben said. "He's still your teacher, and still your brother."
"I wasn't disrespectful!" I silently gulped when I saw both Dana and Ben eyeing me for raising my voice again. "I mean, I wasn't disrespectful ..." I repeated with a much lower volume.
"Rolling your eyes at me is disrespectful," Dana said. "Talking back to me is disrespectful. Walking away from me when I'm still talking to you is disrespectful."
"Okay, okay, I get it," I said. "I'm sorry."
"Well, I'm sorry too," Dana said before he started undoing his belt.
My eyes widened. "Wha-what are you doing? I said I was sorry."
"And I appreciate your apology," Dana said. "But sorry doesn't always cut it. You know that." A shiver ran down my spine when I heard the sound of Dana's belt being pulled through his pants' belt loops. "Bend over the couch."
I looked to my oldest brother for help. "Ben, please don't let him—"
"Do what he says, Penny," Ben said. "You know you deserve this." Some help he was.
I sat back down on the couch. "I don't deserve the belt," I argued.
"Let's go Penny, we both have work to do," Ben said.
"Get up," Dana demanded.