Locked-In

Mara and Jerome stood in Mr. Sweet's office, Jerome flinching under the rage filled glare that the Principal was giving him at the moment. Mara, on the other hand, was smiling and looking excited as though she expected good news or to receive some kind of award. The nerd and the troublemaker. It was impossible for the two of them to be more different and Mr. Sweet noted this as he quickly jotted down a few notes before looking first at Mara, with a smile, and then staring down Jerome.

"Did…did I do something wrong Mr. Sweet?" Mara asked, anxiety rising with in her and quivering in the pit of her stomach as she registered the anger that was being directed towards Jerome, who stood beside her. It was unnerving for her to see someone dislike her friend that much. Jerome might not have been the easiest to get along with but they had become closer once he shared the secret of his father being in prison and had her help him with things that went on. Their time together had become almost…pleasant.

Mr. Sweet looked startled that Mara—sweet Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes Mara—would ask such a question. His expression softened and he replied: "Of course not, Mara. In fact, quite the opposite, I would like to commend you on what a wonderful job you've done preparing the school for its annual Winter Festival. However, I do have one request for you."

"Of course, Mr. Sweet, anything," Mara sighed, letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding as a smile broke out on her lips. Jerome looked over at her, slightly envious of the praise and the way the teachers doted on her. No one ever doted on him in such a way.

"I would like you to have Jerome join your committee for…what are the students calling it now…'Winter Fest'…so he can make up for a little incident a few days ago." Mr. Sweet explained and Jerome rolled his eyes. The more of his free time that was spent on school activities, meant less of it got to be used for things he actually felt like doing.

Mara glanced uncertainly over at Jerome, who wasn't even looking her way. Hopefully, he just won't do anything and won't interfere with my project. This has to be perfect, which is why I'm usually the only one who works on it. But, I guess, it can't hurt me too much to have someone around for a bit of help. Mara thought, quizzically giving Jerome a once over before looking back at Mr. Sweet. "That sounds fine, he can help me."

"Really?" Mr. Sweet asked, looking a little surprised. He understood Mara enjoyed doing these things on her own since she didn't want someone to come in and mess it all up. "Well, that's great! You two can finish up decorating the interior of the school tonight."

"Excellent," Mara replied with a smile.

"Now, hurry along to class, I don't want either of you to be late," Mr. Sweet encouraged and the two of them quickly hurried out of his office. The hallway was empty since classes had begun five minutes ago when they'd been called to Mr. Sweet's office.

"What time are we meeting to do work?" Jerome called after Mara as she started to walk away and he raced after her, easily catching up.

"Seven o'clock sharp and the school locks up at eight thirty so we an hour and a half to work." Mara explained.

"Alright," Jerome responded. "See you then, I guess."

(linebreak)

"I can't believe that I'm doing this," Jerome whispered to himself as he walked into the school to find Mara so that he could help her out. It would have been nothing but a little bit more trouble to skip and have some time to himself. Besides, who was he even going for? Mara?

There is no way I'm doing this for Mara. Jerome thought as he heard the familiar voice of the girl he was thinking about call out: "Jerome? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me!" Jerome called back as he unconsciously began to walk faster towards the sound of Mara's voice. Now that he thought about it, maybe this wouldn't be too bad as long as she didn't get naggy like she had a tendency to do.

"Good, you got here just in time," Mara said as she stood on the tips of her toes, stretching her arms as far as they would go in an attempt to get some streamers to stick. Jerome smiled to himself as he walked over to her, rolling his eyes. "Could you help me with this?"

"Sure, how can I help?" Jerome asked, simply wanting this over and done with so he could get on with his life already. Mara may have been nice and all and she had been very helpful as of late, but she was still Mara. And that meant she was still kind of an annoying know-it-all who he had to spend the next few hours in this building with.

"Just…" Mara started, biting her lower lip as jumped slightly, trying to get the streamers up. "help me with the streamers. Please."

"How?"

"I just need a little boost, just lift me a bit," Mara asked as she tried to jump again and failed, yet again. Jerome raised a surprised eyebrow as he walked up behind Mara, his hands trembling slightly as he extended them towards Mara. How am I supposed to pick her up? Can I even lift her? I mean, she can't be that heavy. Jerome thought.

Nervously, Jerome settled his hands on Mara's hips as his hands shook from nerves that he didn't even understand why he was getting. She flinched slightly under his touch as he tightened his grip and lifted her up. Turns out that she wasn't very heavy and was actually very easy to hold. Her waist was the perfect size for him to hold her without much trouble and it was a simple fact to raise her up enough so she could pin up the streamer.

"Thank you, Jerome, now you can put me down?" Mara asked nervously after an awkward moment of being held up. It was unsettling to be so close to someone she didn't know that well.

After a few hours of working, and forgetting about the time, Mara and Jerome walked towards the front doors of the school as they chatted. The ice between them had melted away and gradually through the hours they'd spent working together they'd started to learn more about the other. It had been almost like a first date that had been organized by the principal.

"This was kind of fun," Mara said as she reached for the door handle and tried to open the door.

"Yeah," Jerome agreed.

"Oh, no…" Mara gasped, putting both hands on the door handle and pulling as hard as she could. Her efforts were in vain and the locked door didn't even budge. They were locked in.

Jerome's eyes went wide as Mara stepped back and he gave trying to open the door. He, too, failed. "We're locked in."

"What are we going to do?" Mara worried as she walked back and forth, ringing her hands in terror as panic overwhelmed her. Even the smartest person could lose their head in the grasps of fear. "I have homework to do!"

"Calm down, Mara," Jerome said as he caught her by the shoulders and spun her around so she was facing him. "We'll just stay in the school for tonight."

"I guess that won't be so bad," Mara said as her gaze dropped to Jerome's lips. He seemed to notice her gaze as he seized the moment and leaned in to kiss her.

This won't be so bad. Mara thought as Jerome held her in his arms and in a kiss.

A/N: I hope you liked it and I really appreciate reviews.