(SATURDAY DETENTION)
This entire thing, this 'acting out' as her father called it, was really new to Bella. She hadn't ever gotten into serious trouble a day in her life, to be honest, and she hadn't meant to get into trouble this time, either. She'd gotten one too many tardies, and as a result, here she was.
"Bella, I'm only going to say this once.. If you make a habit out of this I'm gonna have to do something. Grounding you is a moot point, you barely leave the house." Charlie said as Bella sighed and rolled her eyes, looking out the window before answering, "yes sir."
This time, luckily, she'd gotten off with just a warning from Charlie.
Next time, he'd be furious and she didn't want him furious. If he got furious, he might not let her spend any time with Jacob..
That thought got her thinking about how she hadn't actually seen Jacob in a while, and she sort of zoned out as she walked through the double doors of the high school building, just in time to smack into another student. She blinked and the brunette surveyed her with a hand in jagged cut hair, heavy lined brown eyes glimmering in amusement.
"Holy shit.. The cops kid got a detention?" Bianca gaped a moment and then muttered quietly, "Sorry it's just.. Me, I'm used to it.. But you.. I mean aren't you like some kinda good girl or somethin?" as she popped a bright blue bubble and leaned against the door to the classroom detention was being held in, arms crossed.
"Can I just go in?" Bella asked as Bianca chuckled then said "Sure, Mary Sue.. Go right ahead.. Me? I'm gonna blow this joint. Better shit to do on a Saturday than stick around here and have my brain rotted out by Ms. Smith's soap opera reruns and shit."
"You'll just get another detention.. Won't you?" Bella asked as she studied the other female with concern and a raised brow. Bianca shrugged and said "Not like it'll matter. Outta curiousity though.. What are you in for?"
"I'd really rather not talk about it."
"Ahh.. So it was either that bad, or it was that stupid." Bianca blurted as Bella glared at her a moment. The door opened from behind Bianca, causing her to swear, glare at Bella. Obviously, if she hadn't talked to her, she'd be out of the building by now.
"Well, well.. Girls.. come inside.. Bianca you know the drill. Explain to Bella what we do in detention."
"Well, see... We work our asses off.. Fatty McFatterson there, she sleeps and annoys the livin hell out of us with that boring lame ass crap she calls television for 3 hours. Then we go home."
The teacher gave Bianca a look and held her hand out, saying sternly, "Really, Bianca, as many Saturdays as you spend with me.. You'd know by now, we do not chew gum."
"Well do you really want me lighting up a cig in here?" Bianca asked as the teacher glared and Bella gaped at her in slight disbelief, Bianca shrugging them both off as she shoved through them and flopped into her usual chair by the window, crossing her arms, putting her legs on top of the desk.
"She's in here a lot?" Bella asked as the teacher sighed and said "Apple doesn't fall far from the tree apparently.. Her mother was the town troublemaker, town tramp when she was Bianca's age. Still is.. I feel sorry for the poor kid, but hey, it's not my place to do anything." while letting Bella walk in, take a seat.
"Today, girls, we're going to do something a little differently.. Since there's only the 2 of you here, and Bianca is failing 2 of the subjects required to pass on to the next grade.. Bella will work with you on those subjects. Maybe some of that good will rub off?"
"Riiighht teach, because that happens all the time." Bianca snorted in laughter as the teacher let them move their desks together. She'd done this because both girls, she'd been observing for some time now and both girls frankly needed some kind of friend or something, at the very least, a shove in the right direction in life again.
"So, umm.." Bella started, only to realize that Bianca had earphones in, and she was drawing a skull and crossbones on her arm with some weird kind of marker she'd taken out of her pocket. She cleared her throat, Bianca continued humming Don't Tread On Me by Metallica as she drew.
Finally, calmly, Bella reached out and gave the slim pink cord dangling from Bianca's left ear a firm yank and hissed in a voice slightly above a whisper, "The teacher.. She wants me to tutor you."
"And? Look.. Just save yourself time, Swan. Everybody in this damn town knows I'm a lost cause. Like mother like daughter." Bianca hissed back in a stiff voice as she bit her lower lip and then said casually, "Besides.. I know all this shit.. Just can't focus when I'm takin a test. I'm not a dumbass, ya know."
Bella groaned a little to herself. It looked like there might be a long 3 hours that lie ahead of her. The girl didn't seem to want or care about anything, really. And if she'd written herself off at this age.. It sort of concerned Bella.
Seeing her was like seeing herself how others saw her since Edward left.
Not caring, not feeling.. Numb.
If Bianca was like this now, and Bella kept going, Bella could sort of see this very thing happening to her in a few months, give or take.. Okay, so maybe not as severe, but still, Bianca could very well be her in a few months.
She sighed and muttered to herself a moment, then tapped Bianca's shoulder tentatively.
"Damn it, Swan.. Just don't, okay?" Bianca insisted as she looked up a moment, tapped her fingers against the wooden desk impatiently. Parts of her felt sorry for Bella Swan, she'd heard about the guy she'd been dating all but abandoning her, sending her into this weird depression.. But other parts of her felt herself annoyed by the girl.
So a guy dumped you.. Happened to her ma every other week.. You get up, dust yourself off and you live to fight another day. You don't retreat, cut everyone out.
At least Bella seemed to have family and friends.. Bianca personally never let anyone close enough to her to have either thing, and her mother hated her, so she had nothing. And she had to sit back and watch girls like Bella, who had everything, bitch and moan when something didn't go their own way.
"Why do you have a problem with me? I mean I barely know you.." Bella asked as Bianca shrugged, thumbed through her Ipod when the teacher wasn't looking and muttered in a voice barely audible enough for Bella to hear, "It's not you, so don't feel special. I pretty much hate everyone, myself included in that."
"But why?" Bella asked as the girl snorted in laughter, dug out a comic book and then said calmly, "My personal shit's not up for debate, Swan. Look, if she asks, you taught me stuff. After today? We don't owe each other anything. Let's just get through the next 2 and a half hours without wanting to murder each other, yeah?"
Bella stared at her a moment, then dug around in her notebook, dug out the letter Jacob shoved into her truck one day last week while she'd been in class, sighing in defeat. Apparently, now she was going to lose the only thing that kept her grounded because he didn't want to be her friend anymore.
She'd already lost all her friends, Edward, she felt like a stranger in her father's house. Granted, she knew this was her own fault, she knew she could change all this.. But she just hurt so much. The pain felt like it was never ending, really.
Everything reminded her of him, or of the Cullens, or of her life the way it had been.
The heavy metal filled the silent void between the two girls and Bianca stole a look over at the letter Bella was reading and attempting to reply to covertly. Her eyes darted over the paper and she snickered a little which made Bella shove the letter out of sight, give her an evil look.
"What?" Bianca asked as Bella hissed, "That's private."
"Not when you're holding it so anyone in the damn free world can read it it's not. Guy dumped you, huh? Exactly why I leave the bastards alone. Good for absolutely nothing. Except screwing up your life. Only thing I do agree with my ma on, actually. Love isn't real."
"It is.. It just hurts.. And you realize that by avoiding emotions, Bianca, you're actually a coward." Bella said stiffly as Bianca snickered and then said calmly, "Coward's better than half the god damn town thinking I'm a nutball because they find me curled into the fetal position on the forest floor now isn't it?" as she bit her lower lip.
She hadn't meant it to come out that way, but the girl just.. It infuriated her how girls like her acted. The ones who had everything tended to take it for granted until it was gone.
Bella clenched and unclenched her fists then sighed as she said through gritted teeth, "You don't know the whole story.. And at least my mother doesn't get arrested every other night."
Bianca shrugged and laughed as she said calmly, "Ooh.. Ouch, that mighta really hurt if I actually gave a damn.." before turning her attention back to the ongoing artwork on her arms, making it a point to ignore Bella.
Okay, so the remark had stung a little. But Bianca was so used to the way people treated her, she mostly ignored the crap by now.
Or when it pissed her off and she'd had enough, she got into a brawl about it, beat her anger out on someone. Then she was okay again.
When you don't know any better, you don't realize that this isn't healthy. And she'd never known any better.
2 and a half hours later, Bella walked out of the school with Bianca walking wordlessly beside her, the music still blasting into the younger girls ears. She grumbled and swore as she saw that yet again, her mother hadn't bothered to show up and pick her up.
Bella turned to her and then asked, "Your mom's not here?"
"Wow, you sound so fuckin amazed." Bianca retorted as she began walking towards the road with her thumb out, intent on just getting the hell away from Bella Swan and the annoyance she created, the anger she'd managed to raise in the space of just a few short hours.
But fate wasn't to have it that way. The squad car driven by Bella's father pulled to a stop beside her and Officer Swan rolled down his daughters window and then said quietly, "It's raining and freezing out here.. I'll take you home."
"Not goin home." Bianca said stiffly as she gave them a wary look for a moment. The car stood idling, she had the feeling Officer Swan just wasn't going to give it a rest until she'd gotten in, so she heaved an annoyed sigh and flung herself down into the backseat, staring out the window.
Bella spoke up and asked casually, "So.. What'd you get detention for?"
"You tell me first." Bianca answered with a smirk as Bella answered sheepishly, "Tardies"
"I sorta got into a fight in the girls bathroom after gym last Thursday. Apparently, shoving another girls head into a toilet and holding the flusher down with your foot is frowned upon."
"Why would you do that?" Bella asked with a raised brow as Bianca shrugged and said stiffly in a quiet voice, "I'd rather not talk about it, okay?" going back to stare out the window.
Charlie studied the two girls in silence. He knew about Bianca's home life of course, there weren't many people in town who didn't.. And Bella needed friends right now.. Maybe if the two of them spent time together.
"Bianca, how would you like to eat supper with us?" Charlie asked, earning him a glare from Bella and a fit of hysterical laughter from the backseat as Bianca shrugged and said "Not like my mom's gonna miss me." before nodding yes.
She mostly did it to get a rise out of Little Ms. Goody Two Shoes in the front seat.. But deeper down, she just didn't want to go back to the house, listen to her mother's crap again.. Or have to run like hell if her mother was having an outburst like she did 90 percent of the time.
Bella gave her father a dirty look and Charlie mouthed "She needs a friend, Bella." as Bella grumbled to herself. And as usual, her father was butting into her life, again.
Neither girl realized just what this particular series of events was about to begin..