Doll House [On Hold]

Chapter 10: In Trouble

Why am I in trouble? I didn't even do anything!

Mrs. Anderson closes the door to her office room and sits down at her seat. As for us three, we sat together in the waiting room. I sat beside Henry as he held an ice pack to my face, he seemed worried. I stay quiet not knowing what to do. Ethan stood up from his seat and began pacing back and forth. He was in more tension, but I could see the anger in his face. I could have sworn I saw, the slightest bit of a tear on Ethan's cheek. Mrs. Anderson opens her door, she didn't look happy at all.

"Okay, I need to talk to Henry now," She said. Henry got out of his seat and walked to her. Ethan continued to pace angrily. I can never understand why.

"Would you stop already?" I say annoyed. He continued. "I said stop!"

"Why did you have to interfere, huh?" He yells,

"What?" I ask,

"You wouldn't have been hit if you didn't interfere."

"Well, I had to stop you idiots from fighting!"

"That has nothing to do with you getting hit!"

We continue to argue and argue for the next few minutes until Ethan began screaming at the top of his lungs. I might be exaggerating, but his voice could break the glass. The Principal stepped out of her room, and yelled, "Enough! Ethan, I want to talk to you next,"

Ethan quiets down and walks towards her. Henry leaves her office and walks back to me.

"Ready to leave?" he asks,

"What do you mean? I still have to talk to her," I say,

"Ethan is going to take a while, so we can leave for some lunch." The time is 5:45 pm. This is not lunchtime. I nod and walk with him to see where he takes me. We walk into the cafeteria and sneak to the back pantries. I notice Ice cream in the freezer and take it with me. Ice cream always helped me through stress.

As a little kid, I used to hear my parents argue all the time. Day by day passed, my parents never stopped arguing. That's what they been like since I was 5. Arguing and apologizing to each other, until the end of the sixth grade came. My father had gotten drunk with his work friends and cheated on my mother. My mom couldn't take it any longer and insist on a divorce. Dad agreed and took the house and my mother and I lived in a hotel for a while, until her job paid enough money for her to transfer and live in the Town of Aempleforth. A city 500 kilometres away from my dad.

"Lacey, Lacey, LACEY! Can you hear me?" Henry yells,

"Oh, huh what? I must have zoned out, sorry," I apologize. Henry doesn't respond and takes me back to the office. We wait a few minutes then Mrs. Anderson calls me to her room. Ethan looking miserable leaves her room grabs his back and pushes Henry out-of-the-way as he leaves.

"Ms, Addams, shall we?" Mrs. Anderson gestures to her room. I nod back and enter her room, looking one last time at Henry as he sits outside unhappily. Mrs. Anderson closes her door. The room smelled like lavender, that was her favourite. I sit down on the chair and face the principal.

"Lacey, I would like to know what happened out there when you got hit," she asks,

I take a deep breath and tell her it was an accident. She doesn't believe me.

"I want to hear it from the beginning." She says. I explain to her once again and this time she says,

"You should have observed Ethan before choosing to date him. "

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked,

"Why do you think everyone likes Ethan but no one dates him?"

"Because he liked me or the girls are too nervous to ask him out,"

The principal gave a long sigh and covered her face as if I had said something unreasonable. She gets off her seat and walks around to me.

"Lacey, Ethan has Bipolar Disorder," she gently grabs my shoulders. "Haven't you noticed yet, his strange mood changes, voices and actions?

I take a moment to realize what she said was true. That would explain how he suddenly began fighting Henry without context and is always distant to others. I have never seen his actually hang out with one person at a time. He is always in groups, so he is secured from others.

Mrs. Anderson and I finished our discussion and I leave her office. I notice Henry gone and find a small note of a chair.

"Hey, sorry I have to go. I got soccer practice at 8. Text me when you get home. Henry," The note said.

I take a deep sigh and walk home alone. Mom hasn't come home yet but has told me that I'm grounded. It's as if I don't already feel trapped inside. Getting involved in a fight and getting hit, can cause you a one-day suspension. I take a walk around the house and notice the odd white door. I call it the white door because all the other doors in my house are burgundy. I look at it one last time and then an idea hit me. It's Thursday, 9:00 pm right now. Henry is on break now. I decide to text him about my new plan.

"Hey Henry, I got a new plan in stock for us,"

"Ooo, spill the deets,"

"We are not going to explore the mystery door on Saturday,"

"Why?"

"Because we're suspended tomorrow and my mom is leaving for work,"

"Oh boy, I see where this is going,"

"We are going to explore the mystery door tomorrow," I smile as I hit send.