𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚃𝚘 𝙼𝚢 𝙴𝚊𝚛𝚜 - 𝙹𝚘𝚑𝚗 𝙱𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚠𝚘

"𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞."

Alex was silent as she walked into the school building. Her father hadn't seen or spoken to her since yesterday afternoon, and she was almost glad for it. She spent her evening crying and attempting to bandage up her hands, or what was left of them, which hadn't stopped shaking since she lifted them from the kitchen table. They were completely wrapped now, save for the tips of her fingers and the bandages stopped at her wrists.

Alex decided to wear a long-sleeved sweater over her tank top in attempt to hide her hands. It worked, for the most part. Her music was the only thing keeping her from breaking down, and she adjusted her headphones so that both earpieces were set firmly over her ears, Paul McCartney and John Lennon singing gently to console her.

She said nothing to anyone as she walked into the school. Alex took a seat at an empty table in the library. At the table diagonal and in front of her, sat Claire Standish. Alex was slightly surprised to see her in detention, but it was almost a relief to find out she wasn't completely perfect.

Another boy walked in, throwing his hat down on the table beside hers and behind Claire's, sitting down with a huff. Alex recognized him from her math class, and he had helped her a few times when she hadn't been completely understanding everything. He was really smart.

Another boy, this one wearing a letterman jacket, came in after Brian, and he silently asked and sat down at the table with Claire. He was followed by the boy Alex had seen the day before, climbing out the window. He wore sunglasses, a long brown trench coat, and a scarf. He even had fingerless gloves. Alex had to admit, he almost looked like a hobo. She'd seen him around, but never spoken to him, especially not after he was the reason she got caught and thrown in detention in the first place. She frowned as he walked in, surveying the library and knocking things off of the librarian's desk.

He walked closer, and pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head. He met Alex's gaze and raised an eyebrow at her as she continued to frown at him. He walked up to the smart kid's table and motioned for him to move, and the kid didn't hesitate.

Nervously, the smart boy set his stuff down on Alex's table, taking the seat furthest away from the troublemaker. As another girl walked in, took a seat in the back and refused to make eye contact with anyone, the troublemaker pulled out two chairs and put his feet up on one as he sat down. Not long after, Vernon came strolling in with a bunch of paper in one hand, and pencils in the other. He scowled as he looked over the six of them.

"Well, well. Here we are. I wanna congratulate you for being on time." Vernon eyed Alex as he said this, and her frown deepened.

"Excuse me, sir? I think there's been a mistake." Claire stated, raising her hand as she spoke. "I know it's detention, but I don't think I belong in here." Alex rolled her eyes. She didn't have to be so dramatic all the time, besides, they were not going to be doing anything mildly interesting today anyways. Vernon blinked, then turned away, checking his watch.

"It is now 7:06. You have exactly eight hours and 54 minutes to think about why you're here. Ponder the error of your ways." The Vice Principal explained. Brian was frantically checking something on his watch, and as Vernon spoke, the trouble maker tilted his head back and spat into the air, before catching it again in his mouth. It took effort for Alex not to gag. "You will not talk. You will not move from these seats. You," Vernon said with intent as he pulled the chair out from the troublemaker guy's feet.

"—will not sleep. Alright, people, we're going to try something a little different today. We are going to write an essay. Of no less than a thousand words, describing to me who you think you are." Vernon instructed as he handed out the sheets of paper and pencils.