Not Set In Stone

Just Another Day

It was a quiet morning; the sky was blue with the sounds of birds tweeting their early melody and the only hubbub for the scenery was for students arriving at their school. The thing is though, the hubbub wasn't just the typical school chatter but instead due to the police car waiting just outside the gates with one police officer leaning against the door as if waiting for someone. It wasn't the second police officer who was just arriving back from being inside the school either.

Students stopped and stared as the two officers intercepted one hooded student and spoke a name to them, asking for them to remove their hood. To this order, you begrudgingly took down your hood and asked in an irritated tone what the officers wanted to which one replied not to get snarky with them as the other said, in a calmer voice, that you needed to accompany them to the station.

"On what charge?" You asked, honestly sounding more and more bored as the conversation went on. "You know damn well what, you little punk!" The more aggressive officer snapped but was told by his partner to calm down, that they have dealt with you before as they looked at you.

"How many are we going to do this, Y/n? Fine, you are under arrest for shoplifting, now please accompany us to the station so we can discuss this, your principle has been notified on why you will not be absent for now, now please take a seat" the calmer officer requested and you groaned before obeying the order, sitting in the back of the police car as other students were staring. This left you in half the mind to flip them all off but you seemed bored, the calmer officer did suggest this was a repeating occurrence.

So the observing students watched as you were taken away before muttering began. Among the students who witnessed the interaction was a girl with soft brown hair and hazel eyes named Elizabeth, Lizzie for short, who had been walking with her friends before stopping to watch the scene unfold.

"Jeez, again?" One of Lizzie's friends asked which made her ask what it was all about, surprising her friend who asked how she hadn't heard of you before shaking their head. "He's that troublemaker, the one who's supposedly in a gang, his name's Y/n" Lizzie's friend said as they watched you be taken down to the station. "He's always getting into trouble: shoplifting, vandalism and fighting, the sooner they lock him up for good the better" Lizzie's friend said as she turned and started heading to the school building.

Lizzie quickly caught up to her and asked why she thinks that and got the response that you were nothing but a troublemaker. "He's gotten into how many fights? He'd punch anyone who even looks at him funny, seriously, why does the school keep a guy like that here?" She asked and Lizzie looked back. She had heard of you but never knew your name.

"Is he really that bad?" She wondered before shaking her head and heading to class. From there the morning went by without an issue though gossip did start going around about what you did this time.

"Shoplifting eh? Why haven't they expelled him already? He's nothing but menace" Lizzie heard one student say as she walked past them in the hallway to head outside, wondering why you behaved the way you did. The thing about Lizzie is that she was one hell of a bleeding heart, always willing to help people, always willing to see the good in those around her. Being that kind of person, she even thought that you may even have a good person in you, that you were just misunderstood.

Her friends called her foolish for thinking that of you and it seems they were to be proven right that little bit more as a police car stopped outside the school gates and you got out the back seat, the harsher police officer from the morning telling you not to step out of line again. It was something you didn't care to listen to, having heard it a thousand times before.

"Yeah yeah, whatever" you called back and the police officer sneered before getting back in the car and drove off as you entered the school gates. Everyone was staring at you, some as they walked by and some pausing just to glare at you. With the stares came muttering but you were used to that by now, you had earned your reputation after all due to the unsavoury people you associate with and the misconduct you get up to.

You were a thug, a delinquent. Yet Lizzie for some reason believed that you may just be misunderstood. "Is he really that bad?" She wondered, losing herself in thought as she took a step forward which brought her into your path and knocked the both of you down.

"Fucking shit! Watch it you idiot!" You spat as you landed on the floor with a thud, some students snickering which made you turn to face them and they shut up immediately. "Yeah that's what I thought" you muttered before getting to your feet and dusting yourself down, looking at Lizzie as she did to you. You had a scowl on your face but it wasn't exactly fully directed to her, as if it was a permanent feature on your face, as you told her to watch it next time before walking away. You didn't even offer her a hand up but then again, why would you?

As you walked away, Lizzie's friends rushed over and asked if she was ok. "Did he hurt you? We should go to the principal!" One suggested but Lizzie said it was fine and that it was her fault. "I was distracted and bumped into him, don't worry about it" she said but her friend suggested they still go to the principle and say you shoved her; "maybe he'll get expelled that way" they suggested but Lizzie refused such an idea, not wanting to get you in trouble on a lie. Besides, you get yourself in trouble more than enough.

"Let's just go" Lizzie said as she dusted herself down and picked up her bag, her friends going ahead as she looked back to see you walking away. Students shuffled aside to avoid your path as you walked by, showing just how far your reputation precedes you.

"I wonder why he's like that" Lizzie thought to herself before catching up to her friends so they could hang out.

Little did she (or you know) just how much Lizzie was to find out about you.