14

TJ had decided that this just wasn't his week. He figured he had a good childhood run so far anyway, with only a bad day or two in between, so perhaps it was his time to have a bad spell. Or at least that's what he told himself as he sat behind Vince in detention. Speaking of detention TJ really didn't understand what grown up's were thinking when they arrange this kind of punishment. What exactly were they hoping to accomplish by putting together a bunch of kids that weren't following the rules together in one place. Especially when the reason that they were in detention in the first place was because they were fighting each other. TJ imagined that kind of thinking like as if they had put two hungry tigers in a cage or enclosed space. It made no sense and sometimes it even escaladed the problem. Like how Skeens sat three chairs down drawing furiously (which TJ could only assume was his own face considering the angry strokes) , and how TJ himself was thinking about how much trouble he'd be in if he "accidently" threw his math book at Skeens head. It's not like he used the book for anything else.

Leaning forward he laid his head on the table and closed his eyes thinking about what happened last night. His parents were pretty easy going usually, especially when it came to his pranks but his mother had not liked the fact that he'd gotten into a physical fight. Truth to tell TJ didn't like it much himself, but a boy's got to do, what a boys got to do, and he felt this was a good reason to fight. But because of that fight his mother had not left him alone yesturday at all. She'd followed him around asking all types of questions that he'd told her he couldn't answer or sometimes had blatently ignored. But it was as he had first said to her the minute he'd gotten home and she'd asked about the fight, he had done it for something important, it was something he had to take a stand on. She hadn't really understood what he was saying and tried to get more information out of him but that was all he'd give. It was a kid's code not to get parents involved in kid fights and besides that he didn't want his mother getting any ideas about him liking Spinelli or anything. Grown up's were always thinking of that kind of lovey dovey stuff for some reason. TJ just didn't get it, couldn't a guy watch out for a female friend without having to be in like with them or something.

TJ let out a little sigh as he opened his eyes again and turned his head to face away from Skeens and the rest of the 'bad' group. His eyes locked on to the window in the classroom door as he began to daze out. As he looked through the window on the door into the hall he thought about how Spinelli hadn't made it to school today and wondered if she was skipping school or simply taking a sick day. He realized that though yesturday had been for her he had some how managed to lose track of her reaction to the fight. He really hoped the fight made her see that everyone in the group still cared about her and wanted her back.

In fact, the longer TJ sat there the more he felt resolved to go and have a chat with Spinelli after school at her home. No matter how much she was acting like they couldn't be friends anymore, for whatever reason she had convinced herself of, she would not even think of getting rid of the latter by her window which TJ used when he wanted to visit her when he snuck out of his house passed his bedtime. He wondered if she even remembered it was there come to think of it, since he hadn't used it in a few months and since she seemed to have other things on her mind. In fact, he had even forgotten it that first night that he was yelling for her outside of her house, which he was a bit embarassed about at this point, it might have helped if he'd been able to stop her earlier. Either way he was going to try to see her tonight and convince her that she was acting crazy and that the group needed her again. No matter what happened he was going to go to her house and reason with her.

And just as he made up his mind to do that Finster whacked a ruler across his desk,

"Detweiler this is a detention not a time for you to daydream. Your here to think about what you've done and to be miserable got it buster? You and the rest of these hooligans seem to need something to do to make better use of your time don't you? Very well then all of you will open up your math textbooks and solve all of the problems starting from page 62-105 beginning now."

The entire room groaned except for Gretchen who beamed as she took out her textbook. But she was soon thwarted by Finster's hand as she confiscated the textbook,

"Not you Grundler your punishment is to just sit there, no studying for you."

Gretchens eyes widened slightly before her smile fell and she shook her head,

"Say it isn't so..." she whispered to herself.

"I won't do that Grundler, this is for your own good. Detention is not meant to be a place of enjoyment it's a place of punishment got it?" Miss Finster said staring them all down.

"Yes Miss Finster." The collective group echoed.

"Very well then get to it."

TJ opened his mathbook and notebook on his desk before turning to ask Mikey if he had an extra pencil, and just as he did Skeens had lifted his portrait of TJ and was showing the collective group. It was the worst picture he had ever seen of himself before, which was probably a lot of work for Skeens to make it that bad considering the fact that Skeens could draw pretty well for a boy his age, he was no Spinelli, but even TJ had to grudgingly admit that he had some talent. TJ quickly asked Mickey for a pencil and ignored Skeen's groups snickering as he begun the assignment. In his whole life TJ couldn't remember one time that he had ever hated another kid, but Skeens certainly seemed to be pushing him to it. TJ didn't want to hate anyone, but sometimes a kid just can't help it.

So for the rest of Detention TJ ignored Skeens and his flunkies, and halfly worked on the assignment, while the other half of him went over what he was going to say to Spinelli. Still even with all of that to occupy his time Detention still seemed to drag on and on. By the time it was over TJ decided that he was going to take a nap before facing Spin. If he wanted to really convince her, he figured he'd need it.