𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐘, stanley barber

xi. LOVE IT IF WE MADE IT.

SINCERITY IS SCARY, STANLEY BARBER
( xi. love it if we made it )

JENNY'S GAME WAS CUT TO AN abrupt end when Syd had marched out the gymnasium, leaving the other five of us in silence. No one made any comment on what had just gone down, and instead, we adjusted to the fact that the five of us— and Syd, if she ever came back— were going to be stuck here for a while. Dina glanced at the doorway as through she wanted to follow her best friend, but Brad pulled her back, and the two began playfully flirting as they leant back on the bleachers. Jenny, who had apparently not heeded Mr Whitaker's words or accepted the reason she was in detention on the first place, merely pulled out her vape and placed it between her teeth until smoke began filling her small section of the gym. Moving to the lower bleachers to escape Brad and Dina and the sickly smell of Jenny's vape, me and Stan took a seat. As he often did, the boy pulled his rubix cube from his pocket and began fiddling with the colourful cube, lying back on the bleachers and letting his head rest on my legs. He grinned up at me as I let out a slight laugh, my heart doing cartwheels at the contact, before focusing back on the puzzle he held above his head. Instead of finding something to occupy myself with as well, I merely left myself to my thoughts, thinking of the curly haired boy with his head rested in my lap as I subconsciously began braiding strands of his hair. Noticing what I was doing, Stan looked up at me with a wild grin before nodding and going back to his rubix cube, whilst my cheeks burned with embarrassment. Before I could think any more of it, though, a voice came from across the gymnasium, over by the doors. "Stan!" Stanley didn't seem to hear it, and kept on flicking the different sections of his cube round in circles. I, on the other hand, heard quite clearly, and my eyes scoured the gym for the source of it. "Violet! Over here!" The whisper came again, and that's when Stan sat up, both of us noticing Sydney stood over by the doors, a look of panic on her face. The girl gestured for us to approach her, and I locked eyes with Stan as we decided what to do. The boy didn't seem very willing to help Syd after the way she had snapped at him earlier, but I knew we had to, so I grabbed Stanley's hand and pulled him out of the gym to where Syd was waiting just outside the door. "I was about to finish my Rubix cube." The boy mumbled, disgruntled, but I just rolled my eyes, and he sighed, knowing that we had to see what she wanted.

As we stepped out the gym, I greeted a terrified Syd as Stan closed the door before leaning against it and folding him arms moodily. "You two, I need your help." Sydney said hurriedly, and Stanley nodded. "Oh, okay. So you're talking to me now." "Listen." The redhead insisted, but Stan cut her off again. "Oh, wow. Interesting." "Stan. Stop being petty," I rolled my eyes before focusing them on Syd. "Just shut up and follow me right now!" She insisted, storming down the corridor, so I grabbed a reluctant Stan's hand and dragged him along after Sydney. The library was a bomb sight. Shelves were collapsed in all directions and books were strewn across the floor, pages fluttering softly down to the ground, contrasting the absolute war zone we had just stepped into. "Holy shit." Stan gasped as he saw it, and my gaze flew to Sydney, who stood sheepishly with her arms folded over her chest. "What the hell happened?" I asked her, kicking my foot at a couple of the thousand books that had overtaken the library floor. "I don't wanna talk about it." The ginger girl mumbled slowly. "Why not?" Stan asked, and I shook my head at him before Syd snapped; "Because I don't! Okay?" Carefully, I placed my feet between gaps in the carpet of books on the floor, approaching the toppled bookshelves slowly. "Holy shit." Stan repeated, and I nodded, agreeing with him on that one. "So are you gonna help me or not?" "Well, we'd need a carpenter." Stanley started. "Or a miracle." I added, earning a scoff from Syd. "I don't care about fixing it. I care about that." Sydney gestured to where a small security camera was attached to some piping, beeping merrily at us as my mouth fell open. "You're telling me..." I started, and Sydney nodded. "Yeah." "We need that footage?" Stan asked, and Syd agreed again. "That's in Dawson's office." I hummed, toe-ing at the folded over pages of one of the books. "How much detention you think they'd give for breaking into the principal's office?" Stan asked me, and I shrugged. "A month." "Wait, how do you know that?" Sydney asked, her blue eyes wide. "Did it once in freshman year." I nodded. "I was a bit of a loose rail." "Weren't you just." Stanley laughed before his face became serious again. "That doesn't matter, 'cause we're not gonna get caught." The redhead sounded unsure as she spoke, filling me with confidence. "Okay." Stan nodded, though he didn't seem convinced. "Well then, Violet Sky. It's time to bring out the old you. How did you do it last time?"