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Chapter 12

Let's hear it for
New York, New York,
New York

– Alicia Keys, Empire State of Mind

. . . .

"Okay, everyone. Quiet down!" Harry says into the microphone that's held up to his mouth.

Harry called a stupid meeting about the trip in the theater after the last bell rang for the day. I don't think I should even have to be here to discuss a trip I'm not going on. It just reminds me that everyone here can afford a trip halfway across the world and I can't. So here I am, forced to sit amongst the rest of the students who are talking and socializing away, not even listening to Harry telling us to shut up. I would just listen to music on my phone, but there's a teacher in every direction that you turn your head. Instead, I just decide to read my book since I'm almost finished anyway.

"Quiet down!" A booming voice rattles the room, making everyone in their seat jump and sit straight as a board, the room deathly silent. The voice belonged to none other than the boy's gym teacher that gave me detention four months ago.

"Thank you, Mr. Henson." 

Harry nods over to the gym teacher. He flips through a clipboard with papers attached to the clip. He loosens his black tie before speaking again. "We called this meeting today to discuss the upcoming trip. I know you are all excited. We just need to go over the list of names that have paid in full and to those who need to add to their amount to be able to go, I have a paper for you and I'm sending an email to your parents or guardians." He holds up a thin stack of bright yellow papers then sits them down on the music stand he's using from the band room.

"And I'd also appreciate it if everyone paid attention to this and be respectful to me unless you want after school detention tomorrow. If you can't behave, I'm sure one of the other teachers can find something for you to do."

He goes down the list but stops suddenly and my name is called out causing everyone in the room to have their attention turned towards me. "Violet Thomas, I believe I told everyone in this room to pay attention— unless that doesn't apply to you." He holds the clipboard up to his chest and presses his lips into a tight, straight line.

Everyone looks back at me, and my heart turns to a heavyweight, falling to the lowest pit of my stomach.

"Why should I have to pay attention if I'm not going on the trip? Besides, I'm not disturbing anything if I'm just reading."

He smacks his clipboard down on the stand in front of him making a loud smack echo throughout the vast room. 

"I'm sick and tired of some of you disrespecting your teachers, and you think you can do whatever you want! You're all almost adults, damn it! You're not little kids anymore so stop acting like one! The behavior from some of you is so contemptuous and when some of you think it's funny, it's not. If any of you are disrespectful during the rest of this meeting, I will make those people stay back while the rest of us go on the trip and they will serve two weeks of detention! This doesn't only apply to Ms. Thomas; it applies to the rest of you. Now, if some of you are done being immature kids, I'd like to finish so you can get back to your houses." He picks up his clipboard and flips to the page he was on last.

No one, not even myself, was expecting that blowup. He went off that heavily because I was reading, or was it something else? He usually always kept calm during these things, but something must really be bothering him. I don't even know why reading during this stupid thing is wrong. I'm not talking or disrupting him, I'm just reading.

I just decide to stare off into space at the lights on the walls. My eyes trail over to the Union Jack flag hanging on the wall to the right of the stage. I stare at the bright coloured fabric used for each section on the flag.

"Annie Stafford."

"Harris Stevens."

"Jasmine Ta."

And the list goes on and on whilst I drift off almost to sleep before I hear my name is called. Annie turns to me and looks at me quizzically. I shrug and try to think of how on Earth my name is on that list. I know I didn't pay for it and God knows my shitty stepdad didn't. My grandparents don't want anything to do with me, and I don't have any other relatives that would help. If I did, I would have lived with them instead of with my grandma. None of the teachers would help because why would anyone really give up that much money to a random student?

So how did my name get on there?

"For those who are not on that list, please see me for a paper. You're dismissed." He pushes the switch on the bottom of the microphone, turning it off. A few students walk up to him and receive a yellow paper from the stack.

I stand up, gathering all my things when Harris walks over to us, "Hey, I thought you couldn't go on the trip."

"I thought I couldn't either. I don't know what happened."

"Maybe your stepdad paid for you to go," Harris suggested innocently.

"He'd never do anything generous for me."

"Right, sorry." He presses his rosy lips into a thin line.

"I honestly don't care. If I'm going, I'm going."

"I'm just glad we're going to New York together."

. . . .

"Hurry your ass up!" Annie throws one of her pillows at me, impatiently waiting for me to get my things together so we can get on the bus with everyone else. We're late because I'm trying to find my phone charger and I swear I had it on my nightstand last night, but it's not there now.

"I can't find my damn charger. Have you seen it?" I grumble, tossing my sheets off my bed and onto the floor in a big pile.

"Just use one of mine. You know I have a whole drawer full."

"Fine."

I shuffle over to her nightstand and pull on the brass handle and pick a white phone charger out, stuffing it into my bag. We pull all of our stuff down the staircase and out to the teacher's parking lot. Pretty much everyone is on the bus already and we're the last ones.

Harry is standing outside of the bus with a clipboard in his hands. He's not wearing his usual dress clothes. He's wearing a black T-shirt and stretchy knee-length shorts. "Nice of you two to join us."

Mr. MacFarlane and Mr. Henson take our luggage, loading it into the compartments underneath the bus.

Ignoring Harry, we walk past him and onto the bus. Since we got here so late, the only seats left are in the front with the teachers. Thankfully, there are two seats across from where Harris is sitting, so Annie slides in then I sit down on the end seat beside Harris. Harry climbs the steps and starts doing roll call. Once he's finished, he sits down in his seat, of course, right in front of me.

. . . .

I hope you all liked the chapter!

– Re-uploaded on January 31, 2021