How to Kill a Man in Thirty Seconds

Chapter 8: Detention

The news of my almighty punch spread like wildfire through the school. Some thought it was brave of me; some didn't.

I thought I just didn't care.

One thing was for certain and that was that Adrian had earned himself a name that day, a title. The kids had all witnessed the damage he could do and in turn, they had all grown to fear him.

They lowered their gazes in his presence, went out of their way to avoid him every time he trudged down a school corridor, and one withering look from him seemed to send them skedaddling off in the opposite direction.

Adrian didn't seem offended in the least however; he didn't attempt to make friends and comfortably had a table all to himself in the cafeteria; he seemed to be basking in the glory of solitude and what with his don't-give-a-damn attitude and introverted nature, it was believable.

Although, judging by the enlightening conversation I had overhead between a group of giggling girls in the girls' toilets, Adrian seemed to still be on the list of potential suitors. According to these intelligent girls, Adrian's voice was like "chocolate to the ears" and apparently, he gave off a "sexy dangerous vibe", which "turned you on".

Ugh.

Teenagers.

The incident left me contemplating life itself.

On Wednesday afternoon, I awaited my first detention, my palms sweating as I fidgeted nervously in my seat. Not only was I feeling terrible guilt over falling into trouble, there was additional anxiety for having to make Lily loiter a few more hours at Brian's house without me.

When Adrian- finally- trudged into the classroom, Mrs. Blake, the wrinkled, stern old teacher who was in charge of us, glanced up from her paperwork, "Sit your butt down at the front, Mr. Hunt," she ordered, sounding irritated already to which Adrian shuffled to the spot next to mine and slumped down into his seat.

I glanced sideways at him. In brown jeans and a blue t-shirt today, his untamed hair had been haphazardly swept to the side.

"You're ten minutes late," Blake cooed, clicking her tongue agitatedly as she slammed a file each onto our tables, "So, the two of you'll be leaving twenty minutes late."

My jaw hit the floor, "Please, Mrs. Blake, I got here on time!"

She all but chuckled as she shot me a glare, "Well, then you'll remember to drag him here with you next time, sweetheart."

I cast Adrian a withering look, the moment the door shut behind the teacher. "What is wrong with you?" I cried in annoyance.

"A lot of things, apparently."

"Good to know we're on the same page," I glared in avid distaste at him.

Adrian remained silent, rummaging through his backpack before retrieving what he wanted. He placed it gingerly on my table; it was the card for the psychologist, probably the only number belonging to a woman he had ever received in his life, I reckoned.

"I thought about it for a while," Adrian drawled out his sentence in an attempt to sound serious, "but then I decided I should probably give it back to you." His face displayed mock earnestness as he placed a hand tenderly on my shoulder. I felt myself stiffen before he added matter-of-factly, "You need it more than I do, Charley."

I nearly laughed.

Oh, so he was going to play cocky today, was he?

This guy was getting more unpredictable by the day. Chuckling impassively, I shrugged his hand off my shoulder aggressively before daintily returning the card to his table.