Bad Reputation

Bad Reputation (29)

Chapter 29

Jayden didn’t show up in any of the classes that day. It was actually a little weird as Sofia had said he wasn’t sick. He was only exhausted after a sleepless weekend, and Deborah had promised she’d get him to school after lunch. But the seat behind me remained empty for the remaining classes.

I tried to walk as quietly in the hallways. If it was one thing I didn’t want it was to be seen, at least not right then. Reagan was still fuming mad and prepared to take most of that anger out on me. I was just lucky I had not encountered her before.

And then there was Damian. Sometimes I would spot his head over the crowd, bopping in and out. I knew him and I had read the look in his eyes earlier. That meant he wouldn’t give up easily. So whenever his blonde head popped up in a ten foot radius of me, I sprinted to the other side of the room. Call it the coward’s way out, but I honestly couldn’t take another confrontation with him today.

Detention rolled by slowly. It was only me today, sitting in the room with only Mrs. Birmingham for company. She wasn’t very talkative today – or ever. Her eyes never left me and there was always a hard glare in them. Of course I knew the reason to her hostility today was that I hadn’t shown up for lunch.

Actually, she had told me just that when I stepped into the room. Well, not exactly that, more like.

“I wasted my lunch in here waiting for you today, Miss Miller. As punishment for skipping then, you will serve it now.”

Hence why I was sitting there after almost two hours, having a silent stare-off with my teacher.

The school was empty when Mrs. Birmingham finally left me go two whole minutes before my time. I bet she was feeling pretty generous right about then. My heels were click clacking as I walked down the hall. Making a pit-stop at my locker, I picked up my AP Politics and Government book before walking out of the school.

My car was the only one in the parking lot. The teachers had their own lot, but I guessed most of that would have been empty as well. After all, it was an hour later than a normal work day for them.

For a brief moment before I exited the gates, I wondered if I should go over to Jayden’s house. I still needed to talk to him. But after considering that, I decided it would be best to wait for tomorrow.

I arrived home just moments before my parents. My car was parked, the garage door closed and I was in the middle of the stairs when I heard the engines of two cars come up our driveway. I ran up the rest of the stairs and into my room before they could even have a chance of getting out of their cars. Sooner or later they were bound to hear about the Damian thing, but I would have to hear a lecture about that today at least. Without a second thought, I locked my door and then sank down on my bed.

I was exhausted. This day had taken too much energy out of me and now I just wanted to sleep.

I placed my head on my pillow and angled my face to look out the window. Sometime in the last five minutes it had begun to snow. While watching the small cotton balls fly by my window and land on the roof, I was soon lulled to sleep.

When I woke up later that evening it was due to two things. Firstly, someone was knocking insistently on the door while yelling my name. Secondly, my computer was beeping annoyingly, signaling an incoming call. I groaned as I sat up in bed, blocking out the beeping.

“Melissa! Melissa, open this door this instant!”

Recognizing my mother’s voice, I decided to ignore that and answer the call on my computer.