Everything Has Changed (The Rewrite)

Chapter 8

"I can't believe this."

Esme slung her bag over her shoulder, slamming her locker shut, and let Phoebus wrap his arm around her shoulders as they head out together, towards the school office. Her usual smirk was replaced with a scowl, glaring daggers at anyone who dared to look at her. This was embarrassing and stupid. Everyone knew she was getting punished, and she knew she would have to do some damage control if she wanted to keep the fear and respect she had cultivated over the last few years.

"Do you wanna hang out afterward? Come to my place and we can Netflix and chill or whatever."

"I can't. I'm grounded. My mom was pretty pissed when she found out I have detention all week and I'm stuck for the next month." She tried not to think about what that grounding would involve. So far, she'd been able to keep her... reputation... a secret from her mother, who she knew would be furious about the power she weilded over other students. Esme knew it was only because it was the one thing her mother couldn't control about her. That in itself made it an intoxicating obsession. She glanced up at Phoebus, giving him a grin. "I'll try and sneak out."

"That's my bad girl," he smirked, his hand slipping down to grab her ass, and Esme laughed, pulling him down for a kiss.

They made out casually in front of the office for a moment, before Esme pushed him away and gave a reluctant wave, and stepped inside.

She really couldn't believe she was being punished like this. So, she had been a bit mean. So, Quasimodo was embarrassed. So what? The Feast of Fools went as well as it always did. They chose a winner, they crowned him, they teased him, they threw paint at him. Even the principle seemed unbothered at the time. So why was she forced to endure a half-hearted punishment like this?

Fine. If she was going to be punished, she'd make it worth it. She couldn't wait for Quasimodo to come back to school.

The lady in the office waved her through to the room where she would be serving detention for an hour after school all week. It was small and empty except for one of the freshman teachers, who looked annoyed at having to be there. "Sit down, don't talk," she told her, and Esme sunk into a chair, crossing her arms.

The clock on the wall ticked slowly. A breeze blew the blinds in the window, making them rattle. The teacher's pen scratched on the paper she was grading. Esme crossed her legs, then crossed them the other way, then pulled her phone out of her pocket, trying to pass the time. She could have been pretending to do homework with Phoebus right now instead of sitting in a stuffy room as punishment for a harmless prank. This was ridiculous.

"Mrs Clay."

The teacher at the desk looked up. "Yes, Mr Frollo?"

The Principal stood in the doorway, but he wasn't looking at the teacher. He was looking at Esme. She suddenly felt an uncomfortable chill run down her spine and subtly tried to pull her skirt a bit lower. "I know you have plans that you are missing for this. You may leave. I'll take over."

Mrs Clay stood up and gathered her things without a second thought. "Yes, sir. Thank you."

Esme watched her shuffle out and the principal take her place at the desk, sitting down and opening a laptop in front of him. He settled back and seemed to ignore her, the keyboard clacking as he worked on something important or other. She narrowed her eyes, wondering why he of all people was here. Surely the principal of a school had better things to do than supervise detention?

As she watched him, he eyes suddenly flicked to meet hers, and she looked away, her heart suddenly racing. Why did he freak her out so much? He was just an ugly old man who looked at her a little weird. This was stupid. She pulled out her phone again and was about to complain to Phoebus about this situation when his voice stopped her.