Consequences

Chapter 5 - Herbology

"Class! Settle down!" Professor Malcolm yelled in his attempt to shut us up. He was bald, wore glasses, and really was pathetic; he couldn't control the first years, let alone a rowdy bunch of fourth years. "I said be quiet!" He was now trembling as the last few students dropped to a whisper and the class began.

Out in the Greenhouse, we were all stood up so had no seating plan. Will and I had taken our places long before Adam had arrived, and it was no surprise to see him take his place at the other end of the work benches. "What's up with him?" Will asked as we examined the plants that had been laid out in front of us. "Long story," I replied, trying to catch his eye. Finally, he glanced my way and we locked gazes. I mouthed 'I'm sorry,' and he just shrugged. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked nobody in particular.

The rest of the lesson took an age, but eventually Professor Malcolm dismissed us and I ran to catch up with Adam. "I'm sorry," I held out my hand for him to shake. He stared at it, unsure what to do. "I'm cool with missing detention. Real friends don't ditch. I shouldn't have done that, sorry." I said in the most sympathetic way I could. He pushed my hand away. "Yeah, you shouldn't have done that. But I guess I can let it slide. It's good to have you back, Josh." He smiled and we both laughed, before heading off to the Common Room.

"Right," Adam huffed when we'd passed through the portrait of the Fat Lady. "I've got my History of Magic and Charms to do, you?"
"Just Charms; I did the biography at lunch after I'd ditched you." I was now starting to feel really guilty for doing it.
"Can I copy yours?" He pulled his puppy-dog eyes face, and I gave in.
"Just the intro, and not word for word, either. Replace words and rearrange them, or we'll get caught." He sighed and I handed him my essay on Albus Dumbledore. "How much did you write?!" It was two and a half pages long. "Professor Hadley said a page minimum."
"So? I went the extra mile."
"More like the extra marathon. You wrote loads!"
"Well I won't be the one complaining when I get a better mark than you."