Tall, Dark, and Johnny

Chapter One

Shayden ran down the hall in a mad dash. She was going to be late to her first hour again, for the third time this week. Even though Shayden knew that this was starting to get ridiculous she knew it probably wouldn't stop anytime soon. She ran down the hall, turn to the right and continue to run for the door straight ahead of her. She knew that if her principal caught her being late again he would call her mom, and he would give out a detention slip. Shayden placed her hand on the doorknob as the tardy bell rang. Freaking a are you kidding me? she thought as she pulled the door open and quickly walked to her seat.

"What the heck Shayden? Why are you late again?" her best friend, James, asks her.

"My car hasn't been starting, it's because of the cold weather," she lied.

"Shay that is such a lie, you are so lucky that mister-" He was cut off by the door opening and the principal walking in.

"Shayden Jones I need to talk to you," he says. Are you freaking kidding me?!  She thought to herself as she stood from her seat. This can't be good. She concludes as she follows him down the hallway and into his office.

"Sir? Why am I in your office?" She asked nervously, even though it was obvious why she was there.

"Miss Jones, you were late yet again," he informed her.

"Oh come on I was a second late the teacher isn't even in there!" she pointed out in a slightly annoyed tone.

"It doesn't matter you were still late," he paused, "and the rules still apply to you Miss Jones," He finally finished.

"Please, please, please, Principal Jackson don't make me do this! Please don't send me to detention, please!"Shayden begged him, hoping that it would work at least one more time. 

"Tell me what else I can do to make it so that you aren't late," he tells me. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, "I don't know," she told him honestly. He took his glasses off and ran his hand down his face.

"Miss Jones, you are a straight-A student, and you have been since freshman year. Tell me what's going on, maybe I can help you," he begged her, secretly hoping that there was a probable cause for her being late every day,

"It's just my car, I don't have a good enough car, it doesn't start during the winter it took me 30 minutes to start it this morning. And it doesn't help that my house is a 20-minute drive away, I thought I would get here on time I'm sorry," she said sadly.

"Miss Jones, I don't know what to do with you. Because I understand what it's like to have a bad car in the winter, that was me my whole High School career and none of the teachers gave me a break. And I know it's unfair to make you go to detention and count you as tardy if your teacher won't even be here for another 15 or 20 minutes. But I still feel like a punishment should be intact."

"Okay, what do you want me to do?" Shayden asked, praying and hoping that he wouldn't call one of her parents, especially not her dad.

"I'm sorry, Miss Jones, I'm going to have to send you to detention for at least half of the day, if not all day. I'll get your homework from all of your teachers and you'll sit and study hall and do it." Although she was kind of disappointed that she would have to go and sit in detention she was relieved that he wasn't going to call her parents.

"Yes sir," she said. He escorted her back to the classroom, so she could get her things, and then escorted her to the detention room.

"Hi Principal Jackson, I see that you brought another student?" Mrs. Ramirez asked without even looking up.

"Yes ma'am, I brought Shayden Jones," he informed her. She looked up from her paper in astonishment.

"Shayden? Why are you in here?" she asked her.

"I've been late the past couple of days," Shayden replied.

"More like the last couple of weeks, Miss Jones," the principal corrected her.

"Yeah the last couple of weeks," she admitted as she looked down at the floor.

"Well at least I know that I won't have any trouble with you, how long is she here for?" She directed the question towards the principal.

"I think I'm going to give her today and all of next week too," Mr. Jackson said.

"Are you for real principal? I can't be here all next week! I have a test!" 

"Miss Jones, this is your punishment and if you would like to go another week after next week then you will keep arguing with me," he told her. She nodded her head.

"A week and a day will be good sir," she told him.

"Good I'm glad we're on the same terms. And if you continue to be late a day will be added to every day you're late," he informed her before fixing his tie and leaving the room. She sighed when he was out of sight.

"So Shayden, what do you have to do for your classes?" Mrs. Ramirez asked her.

"Jokes on him I'm already 3 weeks ahead in all of my classes," Shayden paused, debating whether or not she wanted to tell Mrs. Ramirez what she was thinking," it's just I don't want to miss math class today," she said, deciding to give very little insight,

"Why is that?" she asked.

"Well because James is in that class," Shayden said before she could think.

"Miss Shayden, I thought we talked about this, you need to find a guy that's better for you than he is," she told her.

"Hi, Mrs. Ramirez! I'm here!" someone from the door greets her. Shayden looked over her shoulder and see none other than Johnny Lucas. Johnny Lucas was the bad boy of the school and the literal definition of a bad boy. As if him being late and always being in the detention room wasn't enough he had his black bullet bike, brown hair, brown eyes, and black leather jacket to completely pull it off. There was no denying that he was dreamy, but no girl with common sense would ever like Johnny, that would just be asking for heartache and break.

"Hey look it's Miss goody-two-shoes, what are you doing here Shayden Jones?" he questioned her.

"First of all, it's Shayden, you don't need to call me Shayden Jones, and it's really none of your concern," she told him, earning a smirk from him.

"Don't be so harsh Shayden Jones. All I did was ask a question, but I guess you have a point," he informed her before walking to the back of the room and sitting in the seat in the far right corner. Shayden groaned. She already has a feeling this was going to be a long day.