Stepbrother

19: Confession in Detention

It happened. It finally happened. I was late for photography class, and Mr. Rowley was more than happy to offer me a detention. Well, I guess he didn't offer it to me, but he definitely gave me one.

Now, I'm in an almost half-empty classroom. Mr. Rowley, who just loves detention, so happens to be in charge of detention this week. But lucky for me, Kendall was sitting right beside me in detention, mostly because of what she did in the cafeteria and somewhat because she wants to keep me company.

Mr. Rowley dropped an empty box of chocolate onto his desk, and looks up at us. "Alright, class," he said, "I need to step out for a few minutes. If I find out any of you leave this room without permission, I'll have to give you five more detentions." He walks towards the door, then turns to stare at us before exiting. "And no talking." Mr. Rowley looks directly at me, and I fight the urge to want to hit him right in the face with that empty box of chocolates.

Literally right after Mr. Rowley leaves the classroom, every person in detention begins talking, completely ignoring the specific instructions he gave us before stepping out. I turn to look at Kendall, and she grins at me, not even caring that everyone was speaking.

"Wow, Maya Smith in detention," she says, still grinning. "I guess there's a first for everybody."

"So what? You're suddenly too good for me now?" I tell her. She rolls her eyes and laughs.

"Nah, you'll always be my best friend." She looks down at the desk she was sitting in with an uneasy expression on her face, and I lean towards her, wondering why she was suddenly uncomfortable. Kendall glances at me, and she slowly smiles. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

She sighs and shakes her head. No one in detention was paying any attention to us, mostly because we were in the very back of the classroom, and everyone else was seated in the desks at the front.

"So," Kendall says, changing the subject, "How are you and Jordan?" She wiggles her eyebrows creepily, making both of us laugh.

"He's... great," I tell her, my face turning into a darker shade of red every second. "I'm happy," I whisper to her, "and I'm excited whenever I'm with him. It's just very different when he's around me. I've never felt this way when I was with Jacob before."

Kendall nods her head, understanding what I meant. "I see what you mean." Her look on her face changes completely, as if remembering something. "Speaking of Jacob, did you see how he was acting today?" I shake my head, and she continues. "Well, he seemed a bit... angry," Kendall mumbles, trying to think about Jacob. 

"Angry?" I repeat, "What for?" 

Kendall shrugs her shoulders. "I'm not sure..." she trails off. Then she shakes her head and groans tiredly. "I'd rather not talk about him anymore. Something is bothering me about this, and I feel strange just thinking about it."

I wanted to push further into this conversation, but Kendall appeared to be weirded out for some reason. "Um, it's fine," is all I can say. "Well then, how are you and  your crush?" I ask her with a mischievous smirk. I say the word "crush" with a gushing voice, and Kendall lightly punches my arm from embarrassment. 

Kendall rolls her eyes at me. "I don't know if I like this person anymore..." Her voice sounds a bit disappointed, and I was surprised to hear that. "They probably don't like me back." She looks away and exhales. 

"What?" I say stunningly. "Kendall, who wouldn't like you? Do you know how many times I've seen boys ask you out and all you did was reject them? I mean, don't you deserve someone special in your life? Any guy would be exploding with happiness just to be your boyfriend."

Kendall gives me a warm smile. "I guess so..." she says hesitantly. "But what if this person likes someone else?"

I try my hardest to encourage Kendall. "So? You would never know if they might like you too if you don't tell them. You should really tell this guy how you feel." I give her my best begging face, wanting her to tell her crush that she likes him.

Kendall takes a deep breath, and I wait for her to say something. Anything. 

She turns in her seat and looks directly at me. "Maya, I like..." Kendall doesn't finish her sentence. She looks down at the floor and groans again. "Ugh, why can't I say it?" Kendall asks herself, and I stare at her, just waiting for her to say it. She likes Sean.

"Kendall, please say it," I plead her. I take her hand and she looks up at me, a little surprised. "Why won't you tell me? Im your best friend, aren't I?"

She opens her mouth, then closes it. Kendall presses her lips together and runs her hand through her black curled hair. She waits a moment to calm herself down, then she speaks again. "I have a crush on..."

"Sean!" I exclaim.

"Uh, J-Jacob!"

Kendall and I spoke at the same time, and we both stared at each other with huge eyes. My heart was about to be ripped out of my chest, and I told my self that I didn't just  hear her say... Jacob. It can't be right. She hates Jacob, right?

"Jacob?" I nearly shouted.

"Sean?" Kendall yelps out.

We spoke at the same time again, still staring at each other with incredulous eyes. I was internally panicking, and I wasn't sure what to do next. Is this why Kendall never told me? I mean, I guess it makes sense. He cheated on me. Also, he still has feelings for me.

"You like Jacob?" I said in a lower voice. I look around, hoping that no one was listening to our conversation. Gladly, everyone was too occupied to pay attention to us. I felt like there was a huge pit in my stomach, and I wasn't expecting this at all.

"N-No, I-" Kendall never got a chance to finish what she was saying. Mr. Rowley immediately walks in, and every person in the classroom quickly silences themselves. 

Mr. Rowley goes back to his desk with a new box of chocolates in his arms. He doesn't notice Kendall and I silently freaking out in the very back of the room, and if it weren't for Mr. Rowley's threat to give us five more detentions, I'd be screaming my head off.

***

Hey! So, Kendall likes Jacob then. Sorry I haven't been writing! Just taking a break.