Finally Found You

5: Guilt

Zane

Dinner was generally silent, but mum kept giving me weird looks.

I knew what those looks meant, and I didn't like them. She didn't buy the story I told her a while ago, and sooner or later she was going to bring the conversation back, and ask me why I was late at school.

As if right on cue, "Zane," she said and looked right into my eyes. I shouldn't have sat directly in front of her.

"I had detention." I blurted out and picked up a carrot and started crunching on it. The sound of the carrot was unusually loud and I could hear it clearly. No one was eating anymore as all eyes were fixated on me. I was the first one in the family to get detention.

Mom didn't look mad, so that was good, at least.

"Detention?" Okay she might have been a little mad. "Zane, what could you possibly do to get yourself detention?"

"Umm. I kinda jumped up a student and wanted to smash his face." my family's shocked expressions turned into more shocked expressions.

"You what?!" That was dad. I was screwed.

"He ruined my art project that I've been working on for THREE weeks!" I whined. My older sister chuckled and I glared at her so hard she almost cried. 

"And did you know that it was surely him? How do you know it wasn't someone else?" Dad continued. Always reasonable. I hated it.

"Well, he had the same paint marks on his sleeve."

"So you just assumed it was him?"

"Kinda." I was starting to feel a little guilty.

"Zane it's art class, shouldn't you all be smeared with all sorts of paint?"

"I guess."

He shook his head but he wasn't mad. He surprised me when he laughed. "Don't get yourself in trouble again. And give the guy a chance." he said and winked at me. Bad parenting, I swear to God.

"Well, now I have to go to school on weekends to get it fixed in time, assuming it's possible to fix it." I huffed in defeat.

"You'll get it done sweetie, I'm sure"

"Thanks mum." I hoped.

-

“You jumped Gavin Ross? In class?” André laughed. “Are you insane? Bud he can take you down with one arm tied behind his back.”

André had a point. Gavin was one of the strongest guys at school, yet for some reason he didn’t even try shoving me away. Now that I was recalling the incident, he never actually laid a hand on me even though he could've done it in self defence.

“Zane... ZANE!”

“Wh-What?” I snapped back.

“You were somewhere else." He furrowed his eyebrows. "I’ve been talking to a solid wall.”

“Sorry André. I was just thinking about something.”

“Something? Or someone?” he teased.

"Shut up." I said.

A/N: small chapter but more very soon x.