Chapter 1:
*Ariel's P.O.V.*
When I walked into the library on March 24, 1984, everybody was already there. Including, Mr. Vernon, our principal. He seemed to be in the middle of a speech when my arrival interrupted him.
"Well, well, well, Ms. Crush. I'm glad you decided to join us," he said pompously, making John Bender, the school rebel, roll his eyes and train his gaze on me. When he caught me staring at him, he winked flirtatiously. I don't have a thing for bad boys, but there was just something about that wink that made me blush a little.
"Don't just stand there! Pick a seat," Mr. Vernon ordered gruffly, motioning to the six tables in front of him. I assessed my options:
I didn't want to sit between Claire Standish and Andrew Clark, even though I'd had a thing for him for the past 3 years. They were too popular and would probably start intimidating me the minute Mr. Vernon left us here. Bender's table was out of the question too. He had been a jerk to me since the start of the school year, even though he and Andrew were a year above me. It was like he went out of his way to make my life a living hell. Which it already was, thanks to my step-father who beat me often when I didn't practice my instrument enough.
Unexpectedly, I caught Brian Johnson's eye, and since I didn't want to grab a seat at Allison Reynolds' table, I smiled back at him.
I made my way over to him and pulled out the only empty seat at his table (his bag was sitting in the middle chair).
"Can I sit here?" I asked him in a low whisper.
He just nodded and smiled shyly at me. I took that as a 'Yes' and plopped down unceremoniously into the chair. When I'd finally settled into it comfortably, Mr. Vernon, who had been waiting for me, resumed his speech.
"Well, well, here we are. I just wanted to congratulate you all for being on time, with the sole exception of Ms. Crush," he said, glaring at me. I bit my lip and ducked my head. What can I say? That man was just plain creepy. I mean, I once caught him looking through an issue of Playboy with his hand adjusting his 'friend'.
But, then again, all of the boys here at school did it. Even the teachers.
Claire, who had been looking pretty uncomfortable for the past three minutes that I'd been here, raised her hand and looked Mr. Vernon in the eye.
"Excuse me, sir? I know there's been some sort of confusion here. I know its detention and all, but I feel like I don't really belong in this situation."
Mr. Vernon just ignored her.
She looked around, searching for a face that seemed to be supporting my opinion. I saw Brian desperately trying to catch her eye as well. When her eyes met mine, I shrugged and made a face at Mr. Vernon. Claire surprisingly smiled a bit and turned her attention back to what Mr. Vernon was saying.
"It is now," he checked his watch, "seven o' six. You have exactly eight hours and fifty-four minutes to think about why you are here. To ponder the error of your ways, so to speak."
I made the mistake of looking back at John.
He threw his head back and hawked spittle out of his mouth, catching it again a few seconds later. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Claire make a face as well. She wrinkled her delicate nose pointedly and muttered something along the lines of 'Yuck!' For once, I agreed with the 'Princess'. Yuck indeed.
Mr. Vernon didn't seem to notice anything.
"You may not talk," he said with a pointed glance at Claire, who had just finished coughing. I bit back the urge to point out that she hadn't talked. She'd just coughed. But, since I didn't want to get another detention, I just kept my mouth shut.
Brian made to get up, but halted when Mr. Vernon turned his gaze on him.
"You may not move," he ordered, making poor Brian sit back abruptly in his former seat. I threw him an apologetic glance and he just nodded.
Mr. Vernon started to hand out sheets of lined paper and Number 2 pencils, giving two to Brian for him to pass the extra to me. When he reached Bender's row, he yanked a chair out of Bender's feet, jolting him out of his comfortable position.
"And you will not sleep."
When he'd finished handing out the sheets of paper and pencils, he walked over to the front of the classroom.
"Alright, people. We're going to try something a little different today. We're going to write an essay-of no less than a thousand words- describing to me who you think you are."
"Is this a test?" Bender asked in a bored voice, twirling the pencil between his fingers.
As usual, Mr. Vernon ignored him.
"When I say essay, I mean, essay. Not a single word written a thousand times. Is that clear, Mr. Bender?" he asked in a serious tone. But, then again, the freak was always serious.
"Crystal," Bender shot back easily.
I made a little mental note to use the comment later when Grandpa picked me up. I was pretty sure I'd find a use for it.
In the front, Mr. Vernon was still blabbering on and on.
"Good. Maybe you'll learn a little something about yourselves. Maybe you'll even decide whether or not you'd care to return."
Brian, being the geek he was, stood up as if to answer. I was right.
"I could answer that right now, sir. That'd be no. No for me because…"
"Sit down, Johnson," Mr. Vernon said contemptuously.
"Thank you, sir," Brian answered.
When Brian had settled in, Mr. Vernon pointed to the open door and back to us.
"My office is right across that hall. Any monkey business is ill-advised. Any questions?"
Me, Claire, Andrew, Brian, and Allison (maybe) shook our heads.
Bender, on the other hand, raised his hand mockingly.
"Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?"
I saw smiles form on Andy's, Claire's, and Brian's faces, making me snicker a little as well.
"You'll get the answer, Mr. Bender, next Saturday. Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns."
Without another word, he left, leaving us there to start our essays.
"That man is a brownie hound."