detention » vernon

六

the pair were attempting to clean themselves up as much as possible, as they were both obviously drenched in water from playing around.

ella was in front of one of the mirrors, fixing her tousled hair. she glanced at vernon in the mirror, who was behind her, crouched down, putting all of the cleaning supplies back into the buckets they were given.

vernon stood up, brushing his pants with a sigh. "i must say, we did a pretty decent job cleaning this toilet, considering that i've never touched a mop before in my life."

"we should become janitors," ella suggested, facing him. "i'll call you mr janitor from now on."

"don't you dare."

ella pouted, turning back to the mirror again.

"ugh, i'm starving, and thirsty," vernon groaned a few moments later.

ella spotted the clorox bottle sitting by the sink. she picked it up and held it out towards him. "here, drink this."

he took the bottle from her hands without looking, so once he glanced at the label, he scoffed. "is this bleach? you're the one who needs to drink bleach!"

ella giggled. "hey, i was just kidding."

that's when the washroom door flew open, and the infamous mr kim walked in. "so what have you two been up to, hm?"

ella and vernon unconsciously glared at him with their bitch faces as the teacher examined the area.

"you've surprisingly done well, i see.." mr kim looked taken aback, and a little speechless. he awkwardly cleared his throat, and turned to the two students. "uh.. detention is over then. go home."

ella hooted in happiness as soon as the teacher left the room. "finally!" the girl skipped over to her backpack which was sitting by the sinks, and she pulled it onto her shoulders with a relieved smile. vernon just watched her.

"i'm going to head home now, i guess," ella awkwardly turned back to him with a lopsided smile.

"hey.. do you wanna walk home together?"

⌁

the two teenagers strolled along the sidewalk in peace, simply enjoying the fresh air. usually ella would take a bus home, but since her apartment block wasn't that far away from school, she agreed to vernon's suggestion and walked home with him. she had wondered where he lived.

there was a complete silence between the two of them, but unlike the first time they had met, it didn't feel like an awkward silence— to ella, at least.

they were walking across the mapo bridge right now. there was a perfect view of the sun beginning to set over the horizon of the city. the breeze was pretty cold but refreshing.

"hey, do you want to buy some?" vernon broke the silence, and ella snapped out of her trance.

looking up, she spotted the small street food stall that he was referring to, and she gave him a nod.

they walked over, and bought their snacks with their own money. ella had chosen fish cakes, while vernon had purchased some spicy rice cakes.

the two made their way towards a bench facing the railing of the bridge and took a seat.

after a while of eating, ella turned to vernon. "hey, i just remembered something."

"what?"

"you said you'd rather be in detention than home.. why?" she looked up at him and waited for an answer. he seemed hesitant.

"it's just that my father.. well, stepfather... he isn't that supportive of me," vernon began. "he's a greedy bitch that doesn't treat my mother right. she can't do anything about it. they constantly get into arguments and it's killing me."

"oh." was all ella could say.

vernon sighed, running a hand through his hair. "i guess that's why i asked you to walk home with me. i want to stay away from that house for as long as possible. i don't want to listen to them screaming their heads off."

"i'm sorry," ella said.

"it's okay. it's not your fault."

there was a moment of silence until a gust of wind caused a shiver to run down ella's spine. she shoved her hands into her pocket and tensed up in attempt to stay warm. she was an idiot for not bringing a coat to school that day, and the fact that her hair and clothes were still a little wet was not helping.

ella suddenly felt something warm being draped over her shoulders. she turned to vernon. he was smiling a little. he had taken off his black varsity jacket and had given it to her.

"hey, you need it more than me," ella began to take it off but vernon's hand stopped her from doing so.

"don't try and lie. you made it super obvious, you were shivering."

ella sighed in defeat, and looked up at the horizon. a thousand colours were merging beautifully together in the sky above them, creating a unique sunset, one she hasn't seen before.

"what's it like to be happy all the time?"

the girl turned to vernon in confusion, wondering why he was asking such a deep question like that. "what?"

he shrugged. "you just always seem so carefree. i don't know how you do it."

"just smile more, vernon. it helps," ella beamed at him. she felt so comfortable talking to him after only a couple of days and she didn't know why. a guy like vernon would be the last type of person she'd want to befriend. i mean, he was a complete rebel, and the whole school would steer clear of him to avoid getting into trouble. but ella was different. she didn't feel scared around him at all.

her smile caused one to appear on vernon's face as well. he was thinking about the same thing. how someone as loud and outgoing as ella would also be the last person he'd hang out with. but he definitely believes otherwise now. i guess opposites really do attract, he thought.

"thank you." vernon continued to smile at ella.

the girl had absolutely no idea why he was thanking her, but nevertheless, she grinned even wider and told him, "you're welcome."

—-—

yay for a little longer chapter!! this is just about 1000 words!

dAMN IDK WHY BUT THIS CHAP SOUNDS SO EMOTIONAL AND FEELSY HAHAHAH

i hoped you liked it anyway tho. <3