Unlike most days, Diana didn't want the school day to end. This unusual behavior was only because she dreaded her afterschool sentence. She wasn't looking forward to seeing that blonde boy again. Luckily for her, he was in no other classes she had. But that thought only gave her slight joy which faded once the final bell rang.
She groaned as she walked with her friends down the hall.
"Detention, Diana? I thought you were better than that." Michael teased.
Diana didn't respond. She stared at the hallway floor, scowling. Michael noticed her angered expression and felt instant guilt. "Sorry about that, I was joking."
Diana shook her head but didn't look up. "You're fine. It's not you I'm angry with."
"It's that cute new kid she's peeved at," Kelly giggled. "I wish it were me with the detention, that way I could talk to him."
Diana rolled her eyes. "You want 'im? Have 'im. I want nothing to do with him. But if you really mean it, I'd appreciate you taking my place." Diana smiled and elbowed Kelly's arm.
"Oh I would, Dee, I really would but I have cheer to get to and I can't afford to miss one practice. That Macy's been trying to take my post as captain all year. I will not let her take it!" Kelly stood triumphantly.
"Uh huh, you do that." Diana answered, uninterested. To her dismay, the four of them had arrived at the classroom detentions were held. Diana looked over at her friends and pouted. "Please don't leave me!" She whined.
Kelly just smiled and grabbed Whittany's arm. "Sorry, we got places to be." Without waiting to hear an answer, Kelly dragged Whittany off down the hall and was gone. Diana turned to Michael and continued with her puppy eyed frown.
Michael stood there a moment then just walked away. Diana watched him leave, her frown bigger. "I hate you all so much!" She pathetically cried.
She stood outside the classroom a moment. She decided to go in once she realized her friends weren't coming back. Diana sighed and walked into the classroom.
There weren't many in there, five or six students, tops. Diana smiled a little once she noticed the new kid was no where in sight. She walked up to the teacher's desk where Mr. Johnson, the regularly scheduled detention teacher, was reading a book. He looked up at Diana, not showing much emotion.
"Well Miss Fenton, what a surprise. Haven't seen you in here in a while. I thought you'd changed your dastardly ways." He smiled gently.
"Nah, guess not." Diana answered. Diana pulled the pink detention slip from her black handbag that hung by her hip. The bag was decorated with a smiling, cartoonish looking bat.
Mr. Johnson grabbed the detention slip as Diana handed it to him. "Very well. Take a seat."
Diana followed her instructions and sat in one of the seats in the front row. Maybe she could do this. He wasn't even here yet. Maybe she'd gotten lucky and he was skipping.
All thoughts of joy perished as Diana watched a student walk through the door. "No. Just no…" Diana moaned to herself. He wasn't skipping after all.
Alex Blade looked over to where Diana sat, head face down on her desk, and smiled. Diana didn't see this and continued to bang her head against the desktop.
After giving the teacher his detention slip and "apologizing" that he was late, Alex strolled over to Diana's desk and tapped his fingers on the wooden tabletop. "Well hello," He greeted. "Fancy meeting you here."
Diana looked up at him and scowled. "I have nothing to say to you."
"Aw, that's not nice." Alex smiled.
Mr. Johnson looked up from his book. "Is there trouble, you two?"
Alex looked over at him and grinned. "Nope. No trouble here. We're best friends."
Diana looked at him in disbelief. "The hell…?"
"Best friends, eh?" Mr. Johnson asked. "Well that won't do. Mr. Blade, move to the other side of the room."
Alex shrugged and obeyed. He looked back at Diana and smiled.
Diana screamed internally and continued to bang her head on the desk.
"Alright," Mr. Johnson began. "I want no talking."
No talking? Fine. That meant Alex couldn't talk to her. Diana would just spend the next hour doodling, staring into space and contemplating on the meaning of life, or, god forbid, homework. She could do this. Ignoring him would be easy.
After about ten minutes, Mr. Johnson's phone rang. He answered it and listened for a moment. He only answered in 'mhms' and 'uh huhs' and finally ended with an 'I'll be right there'. He looked up and faced the students. "I'm needed in the teacher's lounge. I'll be back shortly, ten minutes at the most. I trust all of you to behave, despite my better judgment."
Diana just stared as his words hit her ears. "Say what now?"
Mr. Johnson didn't even hear Diana's question. He was already out the door. Like clockwork, just as he left the chattering of the students began.
Out of all the times the teacher could have left the room, why did it have to be the time when Diana needed an authority figure's presence most? She cautiously moved her eyes toward Alex. He was smiling at her from across the room. "Dear god, no…"
Alex got up from his desk and made his way over to her.
"Kill me…"
He got closer.
Diana cupped her hands together. "Oh please, detention gods, strike him down now! I command thee!"
Her prayers weren't answered.
Alex took a seat in the desk next to her. "Detention gods?"
Diana looked over at him and grimaced at his presence. "GAH! Why, detention gods? Why?" She cried aloud, and quite dramatically. "What wrong have I done to you? This means no more virgin sacrifices for you!"
"Virgin sacrifices? I want in." Alex said. Diana couldn't really tell if he was kidding or not.
Instead of questioning him, she glared at him. "No! The detention gods only serve me! You don't get to sacrifice anything!"
Alex plastered on a fake pout. "Aw, that makes me sad."
"The detention gods don't care about your feelings!" Diana shouted, maybe a bit too loud. Diana looked around to see the rest of the once chattering students now staring at her. Embarrassed, she hid her face in her long dark hair and once again started to bang her head against the desktop. Alex laughed at this. Diana, however, wasn't fond of his reaction. She lifted her head and glared at him once more.
"Okay, is it your soul duty to make me want to murder myself?"
"Might be. Am I doing a good job of it?" He smiled.
"I'll put it this way, you're like a tumor. The terrible, painful, lethal kind."
Alex laughed. "That's the first time I've heard that one."
Diana scowled at his laughter. She looked away from him and stared at the desktop, giving no reply.
"Aw, did I upset you?" Alex asked sarcastically.
"Go away, tumor."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Tumor!" Diana stood up and glared down at the boy. Alex stared back with a blank expression, unsure of a comeback. After a moment, Diana discontinued her icy dagger glares and sat down at her desk. The two remained silent for a few minutes.
"So," Alex finally said. "Do you call all the new kids tumors?"
Without looking at him, Diana answered, "Not usually considering I never talk to any new kids. You seem to want to break that streak of mine."
Alex chuckled. "Of course, it's my life's work. But it appears you think you're too good for newbies."
"I didn't say that."
"Might as well have, but it's alright. Some people think they're too good to have friends."
"Hey, I have friends!" Diana barked.
"Oh, ya mean the ditzy blonde, the wannabe jock, and the nerd? Sure they are. Nice little group you got goin on, by the way." Alex smiled.
She gave him a puzzled look. "How do you even know them?"
"I saw you talking to them at lunch." Alex answered with a smile.
Diana rolled her eyes. "Right."
"How do you even fit in with them? I mean you're…um…I'm not sure what you are. You look like a punk poser."
Diana's nostrils flared. "A what now?"
Alex returned it with a smile.
Diana didn't enjoy his answer. "Well at least I have friends! Look at you, being the tough loner and all. It's pathetic! And you take joy out of making a poor and innocent girl miserable!"
"Innocent?" Alex laughed. "Hell no. There's no way. How many drugs have you tried in the past month, princess?"
"That's confidential." Diana answered through scowling teeth.
Alex shook his head and chuckled. "Right."
Diana continued to glare. "You still haven't told me your excuse for being friendless."
"Well, as you could tell I just got here. Plus I'm not interested in other people."
Diana cocked an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Then why do you choose to annoy the hell out of me?"
Alex leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I'm bored and, unlike the majority of this student body, you looked like someone I could have an intelligent conversation with. Apparently I was wrong."
"Oh, it wasn't just because you thought I was pretty?" Diana smirked.
Alex laughed. "Nope. You're not even pretty."
Diana stared, an overly shocked expression on her face. "What?"
He smiled. "Mhm. Not even remotely."
Diana's bottom lip quivered. "But…how could you say that?"
"What did you want me to do? Lie and say you were gorgeous?" Alex chuckled.
Diana looked away, still pouting. "Yes…"
Alex rolled his eyes at her charade. "Now I'm questioning why I ever thought I could have a worthy conversation with you in the first place." He muttered.
Diana threw her icy daggers again. Alex only smirked. "Just leave me alone," Diana commanded, though with a hint of defeat in her voice. "This is all your fault anyway."
"What's my fault?"
She shot him a death glare. "The detentions, moron! It's your fault we're in here! You just HAD to copy off of my paper, which were filled with wrong answers by the way so that would get you nowhere!"
Alex gave her an unimpressed look. "Well, how the hell was I supposed to know you didn't know shit?"
"You don't! Because you don't know me at ALL!" Diana's tone got louder. "Why did you even assume I had the right answers to begin with?"
"Hey, I didn't choose who I was put next to. And for your information, princess, I unlike most people, including you, give the benefit of the doubt to who looks like they deserve it. You didn't seem like the stupid ass type that litters this place so I thought I'd at least give you that! Well guess what? Not anymore!" He began to angrily laugh to himself. "If anything, you're just as bad as them!"
Diana snarled. "Fine! Think what you want about me! I don't care! Everyone else thinks badly of me, I know they do! So go ahead, join them. It doesn't make any difference to me," She looked away from him and stared angrily at the wall. "I hate you for this. I tried so hard to be the good student my parents wanted. I was the worst student in middle school and I thought I'd make a new start for high school, but no, you ruined that. Thanks."
Alex's anger subsided at this. "I see now. You're one of those people with the parents you can't impress. You try and try to be liked for who you are but it just doesn't happen, does it? So you pretend to be the good girl you know you're not. And one slip-up, once you show who you are, you have to start at square one. Isn't that right?"
Diana slowly moved her head back in Alex's direction. "Not entirely," She quietly answered. "My parents love me, maybe more than I want them too. They don't let me fight for myself, I always have to stay behind and watch them get all the action. They think I'll get myself into trouble or something because I'm irresponsible. But I have to show them that they're wrong. I can stay out of trouble without they're help. I can fight on my own…" Diana's voice trailed off and she stared down at her desk top.
Alex stared at her with empathy for a moment, not sure how to answer. He reached out his hand to touch her shoulder but she pulled away. Diana laid her head on the desk and stared at the wall.
Alex sighed. "Look, I get it. You want to show them you're not a scared little girl. Trust me, knowing you this long shows me that you're not. I know about those kinds of parents and I know they get on your nerves."
Diana moved her eyes in his direction, waiting for him to say more.
"I've had my fair share of different kinds of parents," he continued. "I know how they are so I can relate. But you're right, I don't know you, so I don't know what else to say about it."
"What do you mean you've had your fair share?" Diana asked.
He stared at her a minute, his face looked like he was contemplating something. It looked as if he wanted to answer but, in the last second, he changed his mind. "Nothing." He muttered. He got up out of the desk and placed his hands on Diana's desktop. "I can't say it was the best conversation I've had in my life but it was nice talking to you. Um, I don't think I caught your name."
"Didn't throw it." Diana replied.
Alex rolled his eyes and waited for her to answer.
She sighed. "Diana."
Alex smiled. "Alex."
He continued to give her the gentle smile, looking as if he wanted her to return with one of her own. But she wouldn't, though his sudden warmness left the corners of her mouth to turn a tad upward, reaching a sort of half smile. With that, Alex walked back the other end of the classroom where Mr. Johnson had told him to sit. And with perfect timing, the moment Alex sat back down, Mr. Johnson entered the room.
Mr. Johnson looked around at the surprisingly quiet students. "Well, I see my room is still as it was so I assume everything went smoothly." He took his seat back at his desk and returned to his book.
"Yeah, smoothly." Diana whispered to herself. She looked over at Alex who was now staring out the window, wearing the same apathetic expression he had on when she first saw him. She continued to look over at him at random intervals throughout the rest of detention. Not once did he return her gaze, treating her as if she wasn't there, as if they hadn't talked. Diana was a bit glad that she had her peace from him but, strangely enough, she couldn't help but look over at him. She didn't notice, but with every glance she gave him her face bore a small smile.
