Disclaimer: Man, our list of what we don't own is getting pretty long these days...*clears throat* we do not own Twilight, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off or The Breakfast Club...or any other John Hughes movies. We do own a spot on The Lemonade Stand's Fics of the Week Poll! WHUT?! WHUT?! Thanks to Evilnat and Lynn Pepper for rec'ing #UP! Now, let's see what going on in 1984...
Chapter 10 - Trouble
BPOV
"I really do not know what has gotten into you lately." My mom is sitting at the breakfast table with a cup of coffee. It's 6:30am on a Saturday and she is already dressed to the nines. If it weren't for the childhood memories I have of her in a more casual state, I would assume that she looks like this 24/7.
"I don't know what you mean, Mother."
"You know exactly what I mean," she glances up at me. "All of these childish acts of skipping school and taking off with Mr. Whitlock's car."
"I already apologized for that and I'm going to detention today. I don't know what more you want from me," my voice is a little louder than I intended.
"You will not raise your voice at me," she pauses. "What I want is for you to act like an adult and start thinking about your future."
I have thought about my future. I mean, I don't know exactly what I want to do, but one thing is for sure, I'll be moving out and going to college next fall.
"College. That's what is in my immediate future. After that, I'm not sure."
She laughs, like I have just said the most absurd thing. "Oh, Isabella, what in the world do you think you're going to do at college?"
"Get an education, Mother."
"Isabella Marie Swan, you should be thinking about finding a husband to take care of you. That is what you should be doing. Do you think I have invested all of this time in your good upbringing for you to move off to college and join some feminist movement?" She looks at me from across the table and I just stare blankly back at her.
She wants me to find a husband? Is she out of her damn mind? I'm only 18 years old.
"By the time I was your age, I had already started dating your father. Our families knew that we would be married by the time we were 20. We had our lives planned out and knew what we wanted to achieve. That's how you become successful, with careful planning."
She stands up from the table and walks into the kitchen, placing her coffee cup in the sink. When she walks behind my chair, she grabs my shoulders and straightens them out.
"Don't slouch. It's very unbecoming and it's bad for your posture."
And without another word, she's gone.
I just sit there speechless, eating my banana.
One of these days, I'm going to have a cabinet filled with a dozen different kinds of cereal, while I'm at college...President of the feminist movement.
My dad comes into the kitchen with his morning paper tucked under his arm.
"Good morning, Sunshine."
"Good morning, Dad."
"Someone doesn't sound too happy this morning."
"Detention." I'd rather not repeat any of the words that my mother just spewed out of her mouth, so I'll settle for letting my dad think that detention is the only thing ruining my mood this morning.
I can't believe I have to go to school on a Saturday. No telling what sort of low-life freaks hang out here on the weekends. My only saving grace is that Emmett and Jasper will be here, too.
I sit there just staring at the table for the next five minutes.
"You have to go sometime today, Bella. I'm sure you wouldn't be interested to find out what happens if you are tardy to detention," my dad says, from across the table.
"I can't believe you're making me do this."
"I'm not making you do anything. You brought this on yourself, young lady. I hope you have learned your lesson," he looks at me over the top of his morning newspaper. "Do the crime, pay the time."
I roll my eyes and reluctantly get up from the table. Grabbing my sushi from the fridge, I toss it in my bag and head out the door. I don't even bother saying 'bye'.
I pull up in the parking lot and notice that Emmett's car is here. I bet Jasper's dad dropped him off. He's grounded from his wheels until Thanksgiving break. Poor Jasper. My mom and dad aren't model parents, but they are a hell of a lot better than what Jasper has to live with.
Resting my head on the steering wheel, I try to think of any reason I could use to get out of this, but I can't come up with anything. I have no idea what I'm going to do for the next seven hours.
Hopefully, they don't frown upon naps.
I get out of the car and quickly make my way up the steps into the school.
When I get to the library, Emmett and Jasper are already seated at one of the tables.
There is also a blonde haired girl sitting at the table beside them. I recognize her as the girl from the mall a few weeks ago. I think her name is Roxanne or something. Jessica and Lauren were making fun of her for shopping that day. I don't really know why they were laughing at her. Like I thought before, she's just a joanie. There's really nothing about her that is very noticeable.
At the very back table, is a girl with jet black hair and bangs that hang over her face. It appears that black is her favorite color. Everything is black, from her hair, to her trench coat, and down to her combat boots. She is in a serious need of a fashion intervention.
I decide to sit at the table right in front of Emmett and Jasper, in hopes of being able to at least pass some notes to pass the time. Before I can make a move toward my seat, someone walks swiftly through the door and brushes past me. Looking up, I see that it is the mystery man. He heads for a table towards the back of the room. The weird goth girl makes an odd squeaking sound when he sits down near her.
I take a chance and look toward Emmett and Jasper. Emmett's face is unreadable. He's just sitting there facing the front of the room. When he sees me looking in his direction, he nods his head to acknowledge my presence, but doesn't say anything. Jasper looks at me with a confused expression and raises his eyebrows.
This day is just getting weirder by the second.
I take a deep breath and start toward my seat. When I breathe in deeply, I smell the books that surround me, but there is something else that isn't normally here. It's leather and smoke...and manliness. The smell is familiar and intoxicating. I indulge myself and take another deep breath.
Before anyone can see the blush that is creeping up on my face, I quickly take my seat and face forward.
A minute or two passes and I want to turn around and say something to my friends before detention officially starts, but it's so quiet in here, I don't want anyone to overhear us talking.
As my ears get used to the silence, I realize the only sounds you can hear are the ticking of the clock and someone nervously tapping their pencil.
I know the library is supposed to be quiet, but this is ridiculous. I want to make a noise, just to fill up the void in the room.
I glance up at the clock and see that it is 6:59am. I'm sure Mr. Banner will be here with bells on in the next 60 seconds or less. When the door flies open, I expect to see a tweed suit and a comb-over, but instead it is my brace-face friend from the dance.
Well, isn't this a motley crew...Richies, jocks, geeks, and freaks.
I guess I was right. Mystery Man and Seth are responsible for the fire alarm stunt yesterday.
Those two are an odd pair and I can't imagine how they got mixed up together. Seth is a geeky sort of kid. I bet his favorite thing to do is look through his telescope or something like that. I can't think of one thing he would have in common with someone who is at least three years older, smokes cigarettes, and rides a motorcycle...and listens to Debussy.
Come to think of it, there are a lot of things that don't make sense.
Seth sits at the table across from me, giving me a sly smile as he takes his seat. I return his smile with a stern look, as if to remind him of our agreement. His smile fades and clears his throat. The chair screeches across the floor as he drags it out.
"Dude," Jasper says, giving him an annoyed glance.
"Sorry," Seth says, over his shoulder, as he takes his seat.
A few seconds later, I can hear Mr. Banner's shoes on the tile floor as he makes his way from his office to the library. When he enters the room, he smirks as he looks around at all of us.
"Well, well, well. Isn't this an interesting group."
He walks over and sits on the edge of the desk at the front of the room.
"For the next seven hours, you are mine. I don't want any talking or sleeping. You should be doing something productive. If you didn't bring anything with you, I can assign something for you to do."
He picks up a ruler from the desk and starts slapping his hand with it, as he walks in between the tables. Black Beauty lets out another squeak when he passes her table.
"I said no talking! That goes for any sounds, snorts, and sneezes! You got that?" He leans over her table and towers over her. She looks up at him through her long bangs and nods.
What a douchebag. I've never liked Mr. Banner, but my level of distaste just went from moderate to high. What is his malfunction?
Mystery Man snorts out a laugh, when Mr. Banner begins to walk to the front of the room.
"Is there a problem with your hearing? I said no talking!" Mr. Banners voice echos off of the ceiling.
"Excuse me," Mystery Man says. "I had something in my throat."
And he speaks. I think this is the first time that I've heard him say anything. In all of our encounters to date, I've just observed him. I've never heard him talk. His voice is mesmerizing and I can feel it draw me in.
I shake my head, trying to clear the crazy thoughts I'm having. What is wrong with me?
"That will be the last we hear from you today, Mr. Masen. Unless, you'd like detention again next Saturday?" Mr. Banner cocks his head to the side and approaches the table where Mr. Masen has his feet kicked up. And he has a name.
Mr. Banner pushes the perpetrating boots off of the table. "This is not your living room. I realize you've probably not been taught any manners, so I'll teach you some. Detention. Next Saturday," he says loudly and turns around to walk away.
"Eat my shorts."
"What was that?"
"Eat. My. Shorts."
"That just earned you another Saturday, Masen."
"Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?"
"That's another."
"I'm free from now til graduation."
"You'll be lucky if you graduate! I know people like you, Masen. People like you end up in jail. All of this," he says looking around, "is just preparing you for spending the rest of your life behind bars. You'll never amount to anything!" He slams his hands down on the table.
"Cut it out!"
I look back and see that Emmett is out of his seat and standing beside Mr. Banner, glaring at him with his fists clenched at his sides. I've only seen Emmett like this a couple of times. He doesn't get mad very often or very easily, but when he does, everybody should watch out.
Mr. Banner doesn't say another word. He just backs away from the table and alternates looking at Masen and Emmett.
"I'm going to be in my office, but trust me when I say, I have eyes all around this place. I'll know if you sneeze, so I expect you all to keep quiet and get to work."
"Uh, Mr. Banner, Sir," Seth says nervously.
"What is it, Seth?"
"What if we have to go to the bathroom?"
"You will hold it!" Mr. Banner yells as he walks out of the library.
A/Ns:
Jenny Kate: Gah, Banner is such an asswipe.
JIff: He is a total butt-munch, it's true. And, he really does raid Manilow's wardrobe. I know there probably wasn't enough Edward in this chapter for you but Bella finally got to hear him talk AND she now knows his name!
Jenny Kate: *SQUEEEEEE* Mystery Man has a name...and a sexy voice! We promise a lot more Rebelward from here on out. This is where their two stories meet up, I guess you could say.
Jiff: But don't expect it to be all ponies and rainbows just yet...you do remember the movie, right? That's all I'm saying.
Jenny Kate: So, did you see that Packers game last night? ←Just trying to change the subject. In other news, Under Pressure has been nominated on The Lemonade Stand Fic of the Week Poll!
Jiff: YAY! We are so excited to have our second fic on the poll! We'd love your vote, of course, but don't feel like you have to vote for us. One of the great things about the poll, is that you get to vote for 5 fics! It truly is a great way to support your favorite fics and authors so, even if you don't vote for us, vote for someone...or 5!
Jenny Kate: It's also a great way to add to your TBR list...I always find a new fic I want to read every time I go there! They have links to all of the stories that have been nominated.
Jiff: Alrighty, I guess that's it for today. We'll be back tomorrow..same time, same place! WE love you guys!