Page 26 of The Rebel
“Here? To the office?” A bunch of us had decided to go The Kitch after school. I was all in because I didn’t want to go back to the Sinclairs’ house earlier than was needed.
“Yes.”
“What? For detention?”
“I’ll see you and your letter after school.” Mrs. Hayman effectively dismissed me without giving me an answer.
Mrs. Wainwright held up a pass for me and I snatched it from her without a glance, a wave of anger rising. It’s like there was a sudden conspiracy against me. With twenty minutes left in the period, I trudged along the hallway toward the classroom that was called Study Hall. It was a space for juniors and seniors who didn’t have an assigned class. Considering I didn’t take Study Hall, I wondered if the other students would realize I was being punished.
But I was surprised to see that study hall was not like other classrooms with desks in straight rows. It was more like a library, with some students sitting around large tables, some at single desks, some in armchairs, some in beanbags on the floor. Eyes down, I weaved my way to the teacher’s desk in the center of the room. I recognized the teacher, but I didn’t know his name, a balding man with reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose. He was probably as old as Mrs. Fox.
I handed him my slip which he perused for a moment. “Miss Reid,” he said. “Are you Paris’s sister?” I nodded, not trusting him completely. He might announce in a loud voice that I’d been evicted from my Art History class. “I had Paris in sophomore English. How is he?”
“Yeah, he’s good,” I said, allowing myself a smile. “He’s playing some tournaments in Europe.”
“Good for him,” the teacher said. “Well, find yourself a seat then.”
Forced to look up and around, it was heartening to see that no one was looking at me. I spied an empty desk away in the corner and headed for it. Unzipping my backpack, I laid my laptop out on the desk. Thats when the group of kids huddled around the table let out a somewhat boisterous exclamation in unison. I looked across and expected the teacher to hush them, but no one was bothered by it.
Except me. In amongst that group I could see Jade sitting between two girls. His back was to me, but I could only hope he hadn’t seen me come in. The last thing I needed was for him to find out I was on a discipline slip.
Typing my apology, I knew exactly what the teachers wanted me to write. A bunch of sickly sweet and insincere words would do the trick. I anticipated the bell ringing minutes before it did, packing my bag so that I was out of my chair and exiting the door first. Making a beeline for my locker, I needed to see my friends and unleash about Mrs. Fox and Vice Principal Hayman and how unfairly I’d been treated. And I had to do it quickly so I could get back to the office to hand it in and be done with this episode.
I had to repeat my story because Gabby and Scott arrived late from their music class. By that stage I’d labeled Mrs. Fox ‘a crazy ogre who belonged in a rest home.’But at least Kelsey agreed that Mrs. Fox had been over the top.
“I guess you won’t be coming to the cafe,” Gabby said, leaning her head on my shoulder in sympathy.
“Yep, you’ll probably have to do some form of restorative justice,” Scott said, putting his arm around Gabby so that she moved off of me.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Basically detention, but it’s not called detention,” he said with a chuckle. “You know, they’ll make you do something positive.”
“I already wrote a letter of apology,” I said.
“Yeah, but they’ll be something else,” Scott assured me. “Maybe litter retrieval?”
I rolled my eyes, presuming that litter retrieval was a fancy name for picking up trash. “Well, as long as they don’t call my parents.”
“Aren’t they flying to Europe tomorrow?” Gabby asked.
“Uh...today,” I corrected, trying not to sound disappointed that she’d gotten it wrong. Our conversation last night had been short and I’d ranted about being abandoned, left behind, but had Gabby not been listening? Had I bored her with all my whining about Mom and Dad? Or was she just not interested in any of that now that she was dating Scott?
“Hey, you better go before Mrs. Hayman doubles your punishment or whatever,” Gabby said with a grimace.
“Yeah,” I said, “wish me luck.”
There was a flurry of goodbyes as my friends went in one direction to drink coffee, while I went in the other—to face my fate.
My stomach rolled with resentment as I approached Mrs. Wainwright’s desk for the second time that day, knowing I was missing out with my friends. With a terse look at her wrist watch, she waved me through to Mrs. Hayman’s office. I presented her with my letter which she read, an eyebrow arching as she came to the end. Maybe the line about ‘accepting my humblest apologies’ was a little much.
“I’ll give this to Mrs. Fox,” she said.
I nodded, relieved that it was deemed satisfactory and Scott seemed to be mistaken.
“And from tomorrow you’ll stay after school and help tidy up the Art Rooms.”
“Excuse me?”
