Private Ale

21 - Only of You

I peer at the clock, which seems to be ticking in slow motion.

2:50

Billie and I have been sitting in detention for over a half-hour now, which has felt more like five hours. The grey-haired secretary has her nose stuck in Pride and Prejudice, and every few seconds she pops her head up to glare at us, then continues to read. Detention is over at three o'clock.

I look across the table to see Billie, whose head is slowly getting lower and lower, his mouth agape slightly, and his eyes closing. Giving him a prompt kick in the shins, I jolt him awake before the secretary notices.

"Ow!"

"No talking, please." The aging secretary says, peering over her glasses. "I'm going to run to the ladies room. Don't do anything stupid."

She shuts her book, raising a cloud of dust from the pages, and then makes her way to the door.

I feel Billie's eyes pierce through me, a slight smile creeping the corners of his mouth upwards. I meet his gaze and hold it, then we burst out laughing.

"I was holding that back this whole time." He grins boyishly.

"What's so funny, you weirdo?" I tease.

"I was just thinkin' to myself..." He begins, "What do you think is more boring, that book she's got there... or her sex life?"

I shake my head, wondering what the hell goes through that boy's mind on a daily basis.

"I'd put my money on the second one."

I pause, waiting for Billie's reaction, and watch the corners of his mouth slowly curve downwards in discontent. He seems to be fixated in a random spot in the room, his brow furrowed, and his hands begin to tense up.

"What's wrong?" I mumble, touching his shoulder.

"I can't keep wasting my time here." He anxiously runs his hand through his electric-blue hair.

"Billie... you're almost done. It's March of our senior year."

"You don't understand, though, Stell. We just got signed to Lookout, and I don't wanna fuck this up. This is my only shot. I need time to write, to practice, to work and earn money for gigs. I can't be spending all my time in this shit-hole of an institution."

I scratch my head, trying to see from his perspective. It's always drilled in your head, at the very least, that a high school diploma is absolutely vital to being successful. I can tell, though, that school just is not for Billie, and it never will be.

"So... you're gonna... drop out?"

"Damn right I am." Flickers of passion glow behind his emerald eyes.

I pause, and then say, "I trust you to know what's best for yourself."

This satisfies Billie, more than I expect, as I watch his expression completely brighten. He reaches across the table and grabs hold of my hand, giving it a firm squeeze, and I interpret that as a "Thank you".

"There's only three minutes of detention left, wanna go with me to the office to sign my paperwork and make it official?" He looks at me with eager eyes.

We walk up to the door and creak it open slowly, checking for signs of the secretary coming back. After making sure she's nowhere to be found, we slip out quietly and speed-walk down to the main office.

"Can I help you?" The woman behind the main office desk says after a few seconds, when she notices us.

"I'd like to dropout." Billie says, puffing out his chest slightly.