Clouds of Violet

Chapter Four

Monday, September 8th, 15:23

Detention is in Ms. Kendall's room, so I head on down the corridor against a sea of kids itching to get the hell out of here.

I heave a sigh as I push the door open, revealing a put-together Ms. Maria instead of a strict Ms. Kendall. Her side bangs are clipped back and the caramel dye in her hair is faded. She's wearing these diamond stud earrings. There's a hole in her nose, but no nose ring. Her freckles are little dots on her rosy skin, joined by bright green eyes and an everlasting pink smile. She's wearing a pale blue sweater and dark blue jeans. Her sandals reveal pale pink nail polish and a tattoo in a foreign language.

"Good afternoon," she smiles. "Can I help you?"

"Uh, hi," I say awkwardly. "I'm here for detention."

"Oh, welcome," she says. "Not that detention is welcoming. Which grade are you in?"

"Ninth," I tell her. "All the detention kids are in ninth."

"Ah, okay...are you new here? I don't recognise you."

"I haven't had your class yet," I say. "I have English tomorrow. I've been here since third grade, though."

"Well, take a seat." She gestures to the five rows of desks. I nod and settle into a desk in the third row, middle of the classroom.

"Ms. Maria!" Max exclaims as he walks into detention. He smiles this stupid puppy dog smile and waves, even though he's five feet away from her.

"Oh dear, what happened to your eye?" Ms. Maria asks.

"Some bastard threw an apple at me," Max says. "That shit was painful, man."

"Language," Ms. Maria warns. "How is the pain now?"

"Ms. Maria, I'm barely passing by," Max groans dramatically, fake fainting against the wall.

"Take a seat, Max," Ms. Maria says, in between chuckles.

"I'm weak!"

Ayeza walks in with her headphones on and her bag slung over one shoulder. Her phone's in one hand and she's biting off a cereal bar that she's holding in the other hand.

"Good afternoon, Ayeza!" Ms. Maria's smile stretches to her ears. "How was your day?"

Ayeza looks up, almost dumbfounded. She takes her headphones off and lets them rest on her shoulders.

"It was good," she says, swallowing a chunk of her bar. Her face says otherwise, though. She looks like she'd rather be chained to a bear than be here. "Now I'm here, so." She shrugs and makes her way to the very corner of the room.

Zara and Alora follow next, linking arms and walking in synchronisation. Zara's heels click against the floor as Alora's Converse squeak. They're acting like they've been best friends their entire life, even though Zara's been getting annoyed with Alora. Even though she's shit-talked her to me. And now they're walking in here like they're the shit.

"Afternoon girls," Ms. Maria says. "Have a seat."

Ruby-Jo and Blair join us last. Blair is fuming, cheeks red against her prominent freckles. Her hair is disheveled and she looks like she's about to kill someone. Ruby-Jo, however, is calm and cool like a late October morning. She's opened her hair and tied it into a half ponytail instead; she's fluffing her tight curls in a small mirror.

"Blair, how does my hair look?" she asks, flipping the mirror shut.

"Like it did five minutes ago," Blair snaps.