With a heavy heart, Emma walked back through the gates of the school she so detested. She wasn't sure how she was going to get through this detention.
Her parents had warned her not to let the headmistress taunt her into a reply. She was to remain pleasant and polite. The tingling in her backside reminded her of the consequences if she would fail.
The otherwise bustling schoolyard was empty, freaking her out a little bit. Deserted, it looked creepy. No children playing on the swing set. No teachers watching for misbehaviour. No laughing voices. Just quiet.
Emma knew where she was going. The headmistress called the Turner residence last night, wanting to make sure Emma was still going to the detention. Her parents assured her that she was. During that conversation, the headmistress reminded her parents that Emma was to be at school at 9 am sharp, and was to report to the headmistress' office.
Which she did. At 8:45 sharp, Emma stood in front of the headmistress' office. She couldn't hide the smug smile as her headmistress looked up, frowning. She had probably hoped Emma would be late, so she could punish the girl further. But Emma had dealt with women like this before, and she knew the only way to deal with them was by pretending their behaviour didn't affect you at all.
The headmistress stood up and, with an admonishment to hurry, since she was clearly almost late, she led Emma to the detention room. Emma rolled her eyes at the woman's back, but didn't reply.
The detention room has always intrigued Emma, from the very moment Timothy had warned her about it. Her brother wouldn't tell her more, but she got the idea he'd heard some scary stories about what goes on in that room.
The room itself was small. It had several old looking desks crammed in there, all facing the wall. The room had no windows for the students to distract themselves with, just bare white walls. But that wasn't what surprised her.
She had expected to be the only one in detention that day. But one of the tables was occupied by a red-haired girl. She was wearing the school uniform, just like Emma was.
Emma smiled at her and the girl smiled tentatively back. Emma was about to introduce herself, when the headmistress began to speak. "Hurry up, Miss Turner. Choose a seat. We don't have all day to wait for you."
Emma resisted, with great difficulty, to roll her eyes and instead smiled brightly at the woman. "Of course, miss."
Emma moved towards the back of the room, choosing the seat on the same row as the other girl. She didn't sit down right next to her, she figured that wouldn't be allowed. Instead, she let one seat open in between them. She smiled at the other girl.
The Headmistress nodded, pleased that she put the teenage girl in her place. She placed herself in front of the chalkboard. "Now, let's go over the rules." She looked sternly at both girls. "There will be no talking. You will be given schoolwork and will be expected to finish it by the time your detention is over." She placed a bundle of papers in front of each girl.
The headmistress lingered as she placed the bundle on Emma's desk. And she soon realised why. But Emma refused to react. She wasn't giving that woman the satisfaction.
The headmistress walked back to the front of the classroom. She looked at the clock. It was exactly nine o'clock. "You have two hours, and your time starts now."
Both girls bend over their desk, focused on their individual work, and remained there for the next two hours. Both furiously scribbling on the paper.
As if counting down the seconds, the headmistress cleared her throat as the clock struck 11. "Lay down your pens, girls. Your time has run out."
Emma laid down her pen. She couldn't hide the pleased smile as the headmistress came to pick up her work. Just as the headmistress couldn't hide her disappointment as she looked through the pages. "I counted them for you." She couldn't help but add.
"Me too." The girl piped up from her right. Emma turned surprised eyes to her fellow detentee. Did she have to write the same lines as Emma?
The headmistress sniffed. "Alright, then." She finally replied. "You are free to go."
Emma stood up promptly, looking over at the other girl. The red head was already on her way to the door. Emma quickly joined her. They looked at each other and left the room, laughing.
"No running in the hallway." The headmistress called after them. But neither girl seemed to slow down as they made their way out of the building and into the open air.
Emma turned to the other girl. "So, what were you in for?" She was curious as to what the other girl could have done to have warranted a detention.
The girl blushed. "I talked back to the teacher." She hesitated. "You?"
Emma smiled. "Me too. Oh, and blasphemy of course." She said as an afterthought.
The girl looked at her in awe. "Wow." She exclaimed quietly.
"What did she make you do?" Emma asked, as they started to walk across the courtyard.
The girl sighed. "'I will not disrespect my teacher'. 200 lines."
Emma smiled. "'I will not disrespect my teacher, nor will I take the Lord's name in vain.' 400 lines."
The girl looked back at her in shock. "400? And you finished in time?"
Emma shrugged. "I'm a fast writer. Besides, I knew she wanted me to fail, and I wasn't going to prove her right."
"Prove her right?"
Emma sighed. "She hates me. I'm not sure whether it is that I'm adopted, or because I'm not afraid to speak my mind. I think it's probably both." She shrugged. "To be honest, I don't really care. I'm just glad I never have to see her again."
The girl frowned. "You're not going back?" She asked.
Emma smiled. "My parents thought it would be better not to send my back. So, I'm going to be home schooled."
"I definitely understand why you don't want to go back, but I don't want to be home schooled." She hesitated. "Will you still be around, thought?" She had quite enjoyed the time she spend with the older girl.
Emma smiled. "I live on Stoneyard Lane." She said. "But my sister goes to the nursery on Castor Lane, so I'm always around there too."
The girl nodded. "I live on Castor Lane."
"Perfect." Emma smiled. "I will definitely see you around, then."
Emma smiled as she spotted her parents on the other side of the school gate. She turned to the other girl. "That's for me. I guess I'll see you around."
The other girl nodded. "I hope so." She smiled.
Emma paused in her step, and turned back around to face the other girl. "I'm sorry, I never asked for your name."
The other girl smiled. "It's Mary."
Emma smiled back. "Hi, Mary. My name is Emma. Nice to meet you."
The girls smiled brightly as they each went their separate ways.
As Emma walked to her parents, she couldn't help but smile. Maybe the detention hadn't been that bad after all.