Going the Extra Milo

Chapter One - Pink Slip

Bradley watched Milo carefully form the corner of his eye, despising the way his stomach seemed to twist in the same way it had done when he was around Melissa. Mort and Amanda sat beside him, exchanging conversation with one another, their words muffled as Bradley lost himself in his thoughts, absentmindedly drawing a picture of Milo's lovable dog, Diogee, in the top corner of his paper.

You're insufferable, obnoxiously happy, and that stupid smile you always wear is just the worst, his thoughts grumbled as he knit his eyebrows together in frustration, You're horrible, he continued, Absolutely horrible.

Mort and Amanda paused their conversation, both eyeing Bradley with mild concern, "Is he going to be okay?" Amanda asked, turning her gaze from Bradley to Mort, who gave a small shrug in response.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Mort replied, offering a reassuring smile, "He's probably just frustrated about school or something."

"Mr. Nicholson," the teacher spoke up, placing a slip of paper on top of Bradley's notebook, covering the various drawings he had started to drape his paper with, "Please, pay attention to my lectures," she spoke sternly, but tenderly. He muttered a small apology, glancing over the pink slip that had been handed to him.

DETENTION NOTICE
NAME: Bradley Nicholson
REASON: Missing assignments.
DATE OF DETENTION: Tomorrow, after school, in the library.

A long sigh left Bradley's lips as he pocketed the note, flicking his gaze between the bored and his notebook, copying down what was written.

+

Getting a detention hadn't come as a surprise to Bradley. In fact, he had suspected he'd receive one for some time now. After all, he knew when he missed a week of school, it'd be inevitable playing a game of catch-up. He was glad though, that he would get some time to himself, only having the books and various papers for homework keep him company.

No Milo distracting him from what he should be focusing on, or the worry that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Though, the longer he thought about it as he walked to his house from the bus stop, the more he realized that Milo could affect his learning even if he wasn't near him. No doubt, something would happen.

Alligators would invade the library, tearing up all the books and eating all the chairs, then Milo would bolt in with Zack and Melissa to take care of the situation, while Milo apologized to Bradley for interrupting his studies.

Bradley shook his head at the thought, opening the front door to his house and stepping in, shutting it behind him and kicking off his shoes by the entire way carpet, "I'm home," he called out, the only reply being a small meow as his cat, Gatsby, pattered into the entire, greeting him with an affectionate rub on his leg and a soft purr.

He smiled, kneeling down and scooping Gatsby up in his arms, scratching the back of his head as he entered the living room, "It's good to see you too," he said, doing his best to push away the melancholy feeling that washed over him.

It wasn't unusual for Bradley to have the house all to himself. Especially with his parents working as hard as they do, and it's not like they were completely neglectful of him. They bought him Gatsby when he was around six, to keep him some company, and take holidays off to spend with him. So, it wasn't all bad.

That's what he tells himself, at least. He knows that, in reality, he feels lonely, even with Gatsby at the house. Bradley slumped down on the couch, placing the black and white cat in his lap, scratching behind his ears, "Surprisingly there wasn't that many mishaps with Milo around today," Bradley stated, "That doesn't mean he was any less distracting though," he continued, "I started drawing various caricatures of his dog, and even some of you."

Gatsby flickered his ear, tilting his head to the side, a questioning look in his gaze.

Bradley gave a small huff, "I hate him," he muttered, "He's just so cheerful, and likable..."

The cat gave a small meow, his tail shifting slightly.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Bradley snapped in reply, crossing his arms over his chest, "Why would I be jealous?" he rambled, "Sure, he gets all the attention, but, so what? I have plenty of friends!"

It wasn't a lie. He had a good handful of friends, who appreciated him and seemed to enjoy his company, but... did they see him as a friend? He knew he could be a major pain sometimes, and even come off as a bit harsh and selfish, but he still cared about the people that he let into his life.

Bradley shook the thought out of his head, grabbing the nearby remote and flicking on the TV, flipping through various channels.

Horse in a Bookcase, That's the... Norm, Your Cooking Stinks & so do You...

Nothing particularly interesting was on, but Bradley decided to leave the channel on Ducky Momo, mostly for background noise, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy watching the occasional episode. What could he say? The art style was cute.

"What should we do for dinner?" he asked, shifting his gaze from the TV to Gatsby, "I think we still have some left over rice from last night," he noted, "Or we have a few frozen pizza's in the freezer."

Gatsby sat up, briefly staring at Bradley before hopping off of his lap and onto the floor, letting out a small meow in reply. Bradley smiled, getting up from the couch and following Gatsby into the kitchen, "I think I'll finish that rice," he spoke quietly, opening one one of the cupboards and pulling out a can of cat food, "You can have Fancy Feast," he tagged on, cracking open the can and dumping the contents in a silver cat bowl.

Immediately Gatsby started to meow excitedly, purring loudly as he ate the food given to him. Bradley couldn't help but laugh, gently patting Gatsby's back, "You're welcome," he replied to the excited cat.

As he stood up, turning towards the fridge, his mind couldn't help but wander back to the detention slip he had gotten. He should make a note to remind himself to ride his bike to school rather than take the bus, as he knew his parents wouldn't be able to pick him up.

Did they know about the detention? If they did, would they have called to ask about it? Bradley was sure they would have... Right?

Of course they would! Stop being ridiculous, his thoughts snapped at him. He blinked, giving a small nod, pulling out the tub of rice and closing the fridge, "Right... If they knew they'd call... Or something..." he quietly muttered, doing his best to push away the feeling of loneliness that weighed on his shoulders.