Chapter Three: Detention
THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed!
To LisaQT3 and Tuesday7: Thanks for telling me about the mistakes. That ALWAYS happens to me!!!! I hate it, lol. Maybe reading the chapter over another time will help me with that…I can never find the mistakes until someone points them out! L
A/N: If you review and think something "stinks" PLEASE tell me what it is so I can try and stop it from happening again!!
We got totally lost. I know how and I know why-I did it on purpose. I wanted to stall, buy myself some more time…confidence building isn't something that comes natural to me. I wish it did. I wish I didn't have to stall. I'm so sick of always making myself stop before I do something because I'm scared. There, I said it…I'm scared. I'm scared of what people will think about me and what they'll do if they don't like me. I already know how that feels. I've felt it my entire life, I thought. Can other people hear my thoughts? I wish they could. Then they might know how I feel.
My eyes darted across the room. I was in an English class, my homeroom and first period. I took in tons of faces and I knew I remembered them. Then why do I feel like strangers surround me? Why do I feel so alone when I'm in a crowd like this?
"Hey, Seth. Do we have textbooks in this class?"
I turned to face Ryan wanting to thank him for pulling me out of my thoughts. He smiled. Maybe I'm not so alone…I have Ryan. I have my brother.
"Yeah, but they're school-"
"I took your excuse for being late, but now you decide to interrupt my class. I take it you don't want to start this year off on good terms Mr. Cohen…"
"It's not his fault Mrs. Waslik. I started the conversation."
I felt a strange sensation creep through my body. Someone was standing up for me…watching out for me. Someone cared about me, Ryan did.
"No. He's lying."
Ryan looked at me like I was crazy. I lowered my voice to a whisper. "It's your first day Ryan. Plus, she won't do anything to me. My mom and grandpa built her house."
I took in a deep breath. Here goes Seth Cohen's confidence experiment number one. 10, 9, 8…
"And this person would be?" Mrs. Waslik grabbed her seating chart. "Ah! Mr.…. Cohen?"
I heard whispering, even a small gasp. The lovely sounds of gossip. God, I hate these people. 7, 6, 5, 4…
"He's my brother. I'm sure you've heard about it from your Newport friends who gave you the money to buy your house."
Oops. I couldn't help it… I was seven! I heard my mom talking about something important on the phone; I really had no choice but to listen! Did I really think that this lady wouldn't care about her social status? Heh…not anymore. 3, 2, 1…
"No, I didn't, but I'm sure you'd love to tell me about it in detention today. Make sure you bring your new brother with you."
BOOM…----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seth's jaw dropped to the floor. He looked so shocked and scared. Was this his first detention? Not mine. I'm so used to hearing the word it's scary. It's part of my everyday vocabulary. I almost felt sorry for him. It looked like he'd tried so hard to be confident and it worked until his plan came crashing down. Now we're stuck in a small, smelly room with ten other kids. I do have to admit…this detention is more upper class than what I'm used to.
"Ryan…look I'm really, really, really sorry."
"Seth, shut up. You want another detention?"
Seth started laughing. It was more of a giggle actually, but that's how Seth laughs.
"Don't worry about it Ryan. I slipped him a 50 when we came in."
Was he kidding? I guess not because the moderator just smiled at us. No extra detention time, no yelling…just a smile. Some school…
"Oh. It's okay Seth…wait. How do you know about bribing the detention moderator? Have you spent some time in here before"
"Yeah Ryan. It's like my second home," Seth said sarcastically…I hope. "Ryan…Musky told me." Seth pointed to a group of about five kids, "The one with the hat."
They all looked like stoners. The type of kids that get high when they wake up and have a systematic ritual of huff and puff for the rest of the day. I know that Seth wants to have friends, but why would he choose them?
"Musky?"
Seth "laughed" again.
"Andy Muskerelli…. The other guys are John Weeble, Bill Vaughn, Tom Page, and Amy Hill. Uh…well…Amy's a girl, so I guess I can't say other guys. I shouldn't say that…she might hear me and uh…"
"Seth."
"Huh?"
"I get it."
Oh did I get it. Seth was in love, again. I don't really know why. This girl was dull, lifeless. Her skin looked gray and her eyes were clouded, not to mention that her hair was so dark it made her skin look super pale. She reminded me of a vampire, but her face was pretty.
I couldn't blame Seth for falling for every girl that talked to him…not many of them did. Especially now because Anna's gone, he probably misses her so much. They spent everyday together before she left and now he wasn't going to see her for about two or three months. I don't think I've ever missed someone in my entire life. I'm not sure if I want to find out what it feels like. It always looks so painful, but isn't pain supposed to help us grow?
"Hey, Cohen."
"Huh?"
I looked up and saw Musky with his group of potheads. What do they want? Who do they want?
"Both of you."
Did he read my mind? Seth looked up and smiled weakly. I knew he was probably bubbling with happiness inside.
"You have our attention." Seth's voice was unusually…confident.
Musky looked confused for a second, but it disappeared when he opened his mouth. "There's this, uh, thing tonight at Vaughn's house. His parents are at some science dork convention in Chicago. You two gonna be there?"
"Yeah, sure!"
No, Seth, no. Are you stupid? You don't go to these "things." I've learned from experience.
"Okay. Bring who you want…Vaughn doesn't care. Be there at nine."
I didn't like this kid. He was controlling and needed a shower. Why was Seth being so stupid? Sometimes I wonder if he ever had any friends. He just seems so desperate sometimes. I feel sorry for him, but I'm jealous at the same time. He's starting to make friends before me and know I'm probably gonna be around him all the time. We're gonna have the same friends. It can turn into hell. I know Seth is my brother, but in my mind he'll always be my friend first and he got a little annoying at times while he was my friend. What am I saying? Seth is the first person I'm able to trust. Sometimes I just wish I grew up with the whole Brady family thing…maybe then I could be a better person.
*Hee…. Chapter 3! Like it, hate it? Why not review it?? BTW…mistakes…lots, or was I pretty good this time? *
