Every Drop Counts 4
The door of the principal's office opened abruptly, causing Ben to jump. He looked up to see his Mom walk in, bearing a strained smile and then Dean, also looking remarkably upset yet controlled. Well this would be interesting. The two took the seats next to Ben and Ben squirmed slightly in his seat, avoiding their gazes.
Mr. Martin was the last to enter and walked briskly to his desk, the ends of his pants swinging forward with the quick motion. Guess they were too long, or something. Ben couldn't help but sit up a little straighter. He didn't know if it was Dean or his Mom's constant saying that made him do it or if he just wanted to appear less gangster and rebellious. Either way, it didn't hurt to have good posture. But whatever, right?
"Well, Mr. Braeden, I see we've been busy." Mr. Martin said, sliding into his chair with a slight smile on his face.
Ben shrugged.
Dean cleared his throat. It wasn't loud, but Ben understood the meaning: watch it, kid, talk with some respect. Yeah, Dean was huge on respect, with adults, authority, and especially women.
"Uhm, yes, sir." He corrected.
Mr. Martin nodded, checking some papers and a file on his desk. "So," He continued, "Why don't you go ahead and start from the beginning. We want to know why you did what you did and when. It's very important, okay?"
Fair enough, Ben thought.
"Well, there was this hole. Like in the carpet, you know. It was right in front of my desk in history class, which is really boring. But anyway, I saw it and wanted to see what I could fit in it." He looked up.
Mr. Martin nodded. "And when did you find the hole?"
Ben shrugged. "I dunno. Like September or something. It was a while ago."
Ben checked on his Mom and Dean. They were also sitting awkwardly straight and polite, watching him. There wasn't anger in their gazes, but they didn't look too happy either. Ben figured the yelling would be later. Unless he was so deep that they'd do that calm and controlled whisper thing. That was worse, way worse.
"Ben."
Ben turned back to his principal abruptly. "Yes, sir?"
"Let's keep going. What did you do with the hole?"
Ben sighed. "I poured water in it."
"How much?"
Ben checked the three adults around him once more. They all looked fairly normal, he just couldn't decide whether or not to tell them. Should he take all the blame? Or should he rat on everyone else and be the least popular kid in school? This sucked…
"Ben…"
"Not much." He replied.
Mr. Martin grunted quietly, as if contemplating Ben's statement. Again, was it so hard to believe?
"Then how do you explain how much water was all over the floor? If you only put a little water into the hole, nothing should have happened."
"Well, I mean, I only poured a little in when I first found it. Then I kept putting some in everyday. But I didn't think it would do anything, it was only a little at a time." He said quickly.
"Ever drop counts, Ben." Mr. Martin sighed, looking sadly at Ben. "So, were you the only one who did this? The other students must have seen you at some point if you did this everyday."
Oh if you only knew… But Ben just shrugged. "They might've." Then he quickly added: "But none of them ever did it. It was just me, honest!"
Mr. Martin nodded. "Ben. I have to admit I'm very disappointed." No shit, Sherlock. If he wasn't, Ben would have been worried. Not that would have been a bad thing, but still. "I don't like you lying to me. If there are other kids involved I have to know. I'm not going to punish you for something entirely if it wasn't just your fault."
"But it was, Mr. Martin." Ben countered. "I mean, Mindy Jennings and Zach saw it, sure. But they never did it. Mindy even almost ratted me out once, but she never put water in the hole. None of them did."
Mr. Martin sighed again. "Alright then. Could you wait outside for a bit? I need to talk to your parents."
Ben nodded, standing quickly and shuffling past Dean and his Mom. She gave him a sad smile; squeezing his hand as he went by and Dean just watched him go, face expressionless. And if Ben was honest that hurt a lot worse than Dean yelling at him or spanking him. A whole lot worse.
XXXXX
Ben was first in the house, grabbing a loose banana off the top of the fruit bowl and heading towards the stairs.
"Woah, slow down, kiddo. We're gonna talk about this." Dean's deep voice sounded behind Ben.
Ben sighed, quickly veering towards the kitchen table. He realized it was only about twelve or so in the afternoon. He'd be at school right now, probably eating lunch. And he was hungry. Ben began to peel the yellow fruit in his hand while his Mom and Dean walked in. The two adults sat down across from him, expressions somber.
Lisa sighed. "Why, Ben? I just can't understand it. We talked about obeying the rules and staying out of trouble last week. Why would you do this?" She looked hurt more than anything and Ben hung his head.
"'M sorry, Mom."
"Ben I'm glad you're sorry, really I am. But you're not explaining why you did it."
Ben shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted to see what would happen."
"Is that why you disobey me, your teachers? 'Just to see what will happen?" Lisa asked, voice rising.
Dean placed a calming hand on her arm. "Lise." He looked at Ben. "Here's the deal: you're in trouble, you got that?" Ben nodded. "Good. All we wanna know is why you did—"
"I already told you!" Ben exclaimed, jerking up from his chair.
"Sit down." Dean growled.
Ben huffed, flopping back into his seat with a fierce glare at the adults across from him. If they'd stop asking the same damn questions, it might not be so hard. Couldn't they understand that?
"I-I just, I already told you. I don't really know why, it was fun. I was stupid. End of story. Okay?"
"No, not okay. You aren't stupid and you sure as hell aren't talking to your Mother and I like that. We'll stop asking about why, but you need to take a chill pill." Dean's eyes bore into Ben and the thirteen year old unconsciously pulled back into the wooden kitchen chair.
"We clear?" Dean asked.
Ben sighed. "Yes, sir." Clear as a bell. Crystal clear. Clear, oh screw it, who cared?
His Mom nodded. "So did anyone else pour water into the hole?"
"No, Mom, I already told you." Ben said sadly. "It was just me."
"Don't lie to us, Ben." Dean said with no heat in the words. Ben glanced at the older man.
"Nope. Well, me and the shapeshifter…" He glanced up at Dean. But Dean didn't smile at that, he just sighed, running a hand down his face. It was worth a shot…
"Ben." Dean spoke kindly, leaning forward towards the boy. "I don't know if you're trying to protect someone or what your doing. If so, that's great. But we need to know who else was involved. I can tell you're lying." He looked at Lisa. "Your Mom can tell you're lying. Just tell us the truth. We need to know."
Ben twisted the finished banana peel between his fingers.
"Ben…"
"Promise you won't rat on them?"
Dean snorted. "I can't say I won't 'rat' on them—"
"Please, Dean?" Ben looked up sadly. "I-I don't want to get them in trouble, they're my friends. And besides, it was my idea and I started it first."
"How many times did you pour water in the hole?" His Mom asked, also leaning forward, but this time to grab her son's hand.
"Just once." He admitted. "But you promise?"
Dean sighed. "Yeah sport, I promise. No stories from me."
Ben nodded. "Everyone in my class did some. We'd put water in everyday. I mean, I did it the first day, but then everyone else wanted to. We just did it and nothing happened, so we figured it was just fun. They're all pretty cool. But we really didn't mean any harm."
He looked quickly up at Dean and his Mom. She smiled, squeezing his hand.
"Thanks for being honest."
Ben nodded.
"Well, you've been suspended for three days," His Mom continued. "I think… well, Dean and I are going to talk about your grounding."
She looked at Dean for affirmation. He nodded as well, turning back to Ben. And somehow Ben couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed, like everyone was ganging up on him for doing the right thing. At least it felt right.
Dean cleared his throat. "So that's about it." Ben couldn't help but be a little surprised. Nothing else? Then Dean spoke again, and damn if that wasn't the worst feeling in the world.
"Go ahead to your room. I'll be up."
TBC
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