A/N: Hey guys! Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing! It's an awesome feeling to see that people enjoy my work. And I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I do not own BTR
Chapter 4: The Detention
"I've gotta get new friends" I sighed exasperatedly, gazing at the door in front of me. In big, bold letters, the word "Detention" stared back at me, taunting me.
Carlos looked over at me. "Oh, don't be like that. Just think of this as the initiation into the Brotherhood of—"
I glared at him. "If you say 'Traveling Pants,' I will hit you."
"Well, actually…I was going say 'of Mischief and Mayhem,' but never mind," my shorter companion scoffed. He pretended to be offended, but his eyes danced joyously, amusement embedded in them.
"Logan, detention is not a big deal," Kendall said, trying to pacify me.
Instead of being mollified, I became frantic. "Not a big deal? Not a big deal! This kind of misconduct goes on our permanent record…when the deans of Harvard and John Hopkins look at my application…do you know what they'll see? They won't see my 4.5 GPA nor will they see my near perfect SAT score. No, they'll see that I got detention my sophomore year of high school for putting a stink bomb in the choirteacher's desk! I'll never be accepted into their pre-med program. How am I gonna explain that to my parents, Kendall?"
Kendall chuckled, placing his hands on my shoulders. Gently, he shook me once, trying to physically force me out of my tirade.
"Relax. There are two reasons why this isn't a big deal: one, this is your first offense, so it won't go on your permanent record. Two, the teachers here don't send out letters telling our parents we got detention. If you keep your mouth shut, your parents will never know."
"L-lie? T-t-t-to my parents?" I spluttered, unable to wrap my head around such a nonsensical concept.
Before Kendall could respond, James interrupted. "While I enjoy seeing you try to corrupt someone as much as the next guy, Kendall…we probably should go in before we get in trouble."
I gulped, but nodded. My partners in crime and I swung the door open and sauntered inside. To my surprise (and relief), normal looking people were sitting in the desks, whispering amongst themselves. And here I was thinking we'd be trapped in a classroom full of inked miscreants and pierced hooligans. Of course, I've been known to have an overly active imagination, but still I was really worried.
The guys and I silently made our way over to the vacant desks near the teacher, who paid us no attention. The three boys engaged in their own hushed conversation, causing me to freak out once again.
"What are you doing?" I hissed, "This is detention…you can't just talk in detention!"
"Logan, chill," James retorted, "In case you haven't noticed…Mr. Andrews doesn't exactly care what we do, as long as we don't leave." To emphasize his point, his eye gaze shifted from me to the teacher in question. "He may look like he's reading Beowulf, but he's actually on his iPhone, watching some Spanish novella. Look, you can even see his earphone wires."
I stared at Mr. Andrews, squinting my eyes. And sure enough, I could see black earbuds in his ears.
"Oh," I said dumbly.
Kendall smiled, pleased by the fact that their corrupting ways were starting to influence me. "So, Logan…tell us about yourself."
Carlos leaned closer to me, a huge grin appearing across his face.
I blinked a few times; I was not expecting detention time to become "let's learn about Logan" time.
"Well, there's not much to say. I'm a very boring person," I lied, knowing these past seven weeks have been anything but boring.
"No, Esteban! Dios mio, por que?" Mr. Andrews murmured quietly, interrupting our conversation. I jumped, surprised at his quiet outburst. The others barely even looked at him, apparently unfazed by his random fits. Kendall just rolled his eyes, before addressing me again.
"Oh, nonsense. What kinds of things did you do in New York? What do your parents do for a living? You know, we really don't know much about you other than that you're like some super genius."
I felt myself blush at the compliment. No one's ever called me a genius before. I was always known as a "geek" or a "nerd". It felt really good to hear someone (other than my parents and teachers) view my intellect in such a positive light.
"There really isn't much to say…I mean, what you see is what you get," I wanted to kick myself for lying even more, "I didn't do any extra-curricular activities because I was busy studying all the time. School pretty much consumed all my life."
At least that wasn't a lie. I pretty much had no social life back in Maryland, unless you count building robots and playing Dungeons and Dragons with your friends a social norm. I most certainly didn't.
"My dad," I continued, "is a college professor. And my mom is a homemaker."
And there I go with the lying again. I mean, Papa Mitchell is a college professor and Mama Mitchell is a homemaker. But Papa and Mama Henderson, on the other hand, most certainly weren't. Back home, both my parents were surgeons, and very successful ones at that. I knew they both hated their jobs right now. Sure, my dad was teaching a medical course, but for him it's not the same. And my mom loved how her job constantly kept her on her toes, but now all she does is sit at home and clean. I felt really bad for them, especially since it was technically my fault they were miserable. They've insisted it's not my fault…that I was merely at the wrong place at the wrong time. Logically, I knew it was true, but I still couldn't shake off the guilt I was feeling.
I snapped out of my daze when Carlos asked me another question. Answering the question, I launched a few of my own at my comrades, hoping to get the focus off of me. It worked.
I wasn't sure how much time passed, but the next thing I knew I was hearing a soft beeping sound. Glancing over, I saw Mr. Andrews look down at his watch, jumping out of his seat.
"Thank God, I can go home!" he exclaimed excitedly, collecting his personal items. He then scurried out of the classroom, completely ignoring us. As soon as the door slammed shut, the other students calmly gathered their things and exited the room as well. A smile formed on my face as I picked up my backpack.
I survived detention!
Carlos spotted my smile. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
Kendall and James smirked at me, knowing that I realized I made a big deal out of detention for no good reason.
I forced my smile into a frown, not wanting them to see they were right. Instead, I shrugged my shoulders, acting as laid-back as I could.
"I guess it was fine," I conceded, "but I never want to do it again, you hear? I will not let my spotless record be tarnished because of some scheme you three concoct."
Their grins became wider as they replied simultaneously, "Oooook."
I had an awful feeling that this was just the beginning of a dysfunctional friendship. But, oddly enough, I was okay with that.
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! Let me know what you think. Was it too off-topic? For once, I actually already have a plan for the next chapter. Yay! As things are going now, I estimate that there will be another two (maybe three) chapters before the actual plot comes into play. So, if this story seems to be dragging, just bear with me. Anyways, thanks again for reading!
Oh, and the translation for the Spanish the teacher speaks: "No, Esteban! Oh my God, why?" At least, that's what it should say. If I'm wrong, don't hate me!
