Doin' Time with Dale

Tuesday afternoon, I tried to psych myself up while taking a deep breath and walking into room 203 for detention duty. Since I was expecting leather, tattoos, and a wall of attitude, I thought maybe I'd entered the wrong room. Four students waited for me, a blond boy and a tiny black-haired girl huddled toward the back, a skinny, acne-laden boy front and center, and lastly, a broad-shouldered letter jacket currently swinging a leg over the windowsill.

I recognized him from my first-period class and said, "Emmett, what are you doing?"

Emmett McCarty looked over his shoulder and sighed as he brought his leg back into the room.

"Hey, Mr. C., I was just going to my car for a moment. If you know what I mean."

"Why do you have detention?" I asked and took a seat behind the battered wooden desk.

"Aww, Rosie and me got caught steaming up the windows of my truck during lunch on Monday. If you know what I mean."

"Where's Rosalie?"

"She got a ride with her friend. They're hitting the mall until I get out," Emmett said as he dropped his backpack with a thud.

"Why doesn't she have detention too?" I asked.

"Oh, she talked her way out of it. If you know what I mean," Emmett said with a wide dimpled smile.

"Emmett, I rarely know what you mean, but I'm afraid to ask for clarification."

Emmett stared at me and finally said, "Um … yeah."

"Have a seat," I said and looked at the kid in the front row. "What's your name, and why are you here?"

The boy unfolded his lean body next to his desk. "Yes, sir, I'm Tyler Crowley, and I'm doing a series on after-school activities. This week I'm covering detention."

"You're on the school newspaper?" I asked.

"Yes, sir, as well as Mathletes and the Robotics Club," Tyler said as he smoothed his stringy bangs to the side.

"Laaaaaame," came from the back of the room with a snicker and a giggle.

I could feel a bitch of a headache coming on. "Tyler, I appreciate your journalistic fervor, but if you haven't earned detention, you can't be in detention."

Emmett drum rolled on his desk. "Yeah, it's like fight club."

I swung my arm toward the door and waited until Tyler shuffled out of the room. For some strange reason, I felt sorry for the kid.

"Smooth, Mr. C.," Emmett said.

I moved around the desk to sit on it. "And who are you two in the back?"

The room waited while the boy put the finishing touches on the drawing on his desk. "I'm Jasper, and this is my girl, Alice."

"Why are you here?"

The boy studied me from under shaggy blond bangs. "Me—destruction of school property."

I nodded. "And you, Alice?"

Jasper sat up straighter. "She's with me."

I held back my groan and said, "I think we just established with Tyler that detention is for ..."

Emmett smacked his desk, "Detentionators."

Jasper rolled his eyes and slid down in his seat. "Tyler is a first-class wedgie, and Alice stays."

With a throbbing head, I decided to pick my battles. "The next forty-five minutes is 'no talking,'" I said, "I suggest if you have homework, you get it done now," and hit the timer on the desk.

Emmett pulled out his phone and started texting as Jasper continued his art on the desk, occasionally stopping to color in one of Alice's fingernails.

Bored to distraction, I got up to move around the room. As I passed the couple, I spotted a mural of trees bowing and leaves on the wind gracing the desktop. "That's good, Jasper."

Jasper didn't look up. "Whatever, I'm doing it for Alice."

With a stroke of genius, I pulled my phone out and flipped through my photos. Holding it out to Jasper, I asked, "Could you draw this?"

"Yeah, but why would I? It's lame," he said. Alice giggled, and Jasper bumped her head with his.

A shuffle and grunt behind me had me turn to see Emmett standing in the aisle wearing his desk. He pushed it off with a clatter and said, "Let me see," as he loomed over my shoulder.

I perched on the desk in front of Jasper with my feet in the seat and said, "Look, I'm working with a trebuchet team, and I think it would be cool to make some posters to support the team."

Emmett grabbed my phone, "Is that Dale?"

I cocked my head, "Uh, yes—yes it is."

"It's cool, Mr. C., everyone is talking about how the Fling King finally has a pumpkin to shut down the Newtons. If you know what I mean."

"How did you hear about it?" I asked.

"Jacob Black has been talking it up all week," Emmett said with a shrug.

Jasper sat up and reached for the phone. He looked at the picture again. "That'll stop the Newtons?" He looked up and pinned me with his glare.

"Well, this is Dale, and he weighs nine hundred and forty-eight pounds. We've been practicing, and we think we're going to win this year."

Alice nudged Jasper, and he nodded. "We're in—anything that'll humiliate the Newton's—"

A desk groaned as Emmett tried to mimic my perch. With a huff, he stood and shoved his hands in his jacket's pockets. "You know, Rosie's uncle runs a screen shop, does t-shirts and sh-stuff—and sells herbal refreshment out the back door. If you know what I mean." He slapped Jasper's desk, smudging a tree, and continued, "Anyway, we could make up t-shirts for Dale. You know, like, 'Team Dale.'"

As Jasper leaned over his desk, erasing and redrawing the smudged lines, Alice spoke up. "No— 'I Sail with Dale'." Jasper nodded his approval while he worked.

The timer sounded, breaking our spell, and Emmett grabbed his backpack and threw it over his shoulder. "I've got detention tomorrow," he said hopefully.

Jasper sat back and mumbled, "Me too." Alice nodded as she slid her purse onto her shoulder.

"Okay, well, how about we meet tomorrow and talk about some ideas," I said.

"Cool, see you tomorrow, teach," Emmett said as he crawled out the window.

I rummaged in the desk drawer until I found what I needed.

Jasper stood and took Alice's hand to lead her from the room. "Jasper …" The couple looked up.

"Can I ask why you're so against the Newton's?"

Jasper looked to Alice, and she nodded. "That dick Paul Newton cornered Alice one night when she was walking home from work. He got her in that piece of shit Camero and was driving out of town with her. When he slowed on a turn, she tucked and rolled otherwise—"

She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed, and he placed a kiss on her hair.

"How long ago was this? Did you report him, tell anyone?"

Jasper wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. "Last summer, and who would believe her? He's a Newton, the mayor's brother. He's got his buddies on the force. Thinks he's God."

My heart sank for the girl, for Jasper, who obviously loved her, for this town. I looked into Alice's eyes. "I believe you. Are you alright?"

She gave me a sweet smile. "I'm good. Nothing happened but some road rash scars." She lifted her sweater to show a pattern of textured scaring up the side of her torso. She gave a little shrug and added, "Jasper takes good care of me, and he doesn't let me go anywhere alone."

I nodded and smiled at this young couple. I liked them.

"Well, we're going to do everything in our power to humiliate them, but for now here," I said and tossed a roll of paper towels at him. I handed a bottle of cleaner to Alice. "It really is beautiful artwork." I patted her on the shoulder. "See you tomorrow," I said and left the room with the headache creeping up the back of my skull.

~o0o~

With my mind racing, I stepped into room 203 for another day of detention duty. I had stayed up well into the morning hours with ideas and plans for Dale and the festival. Coffee and eyedrops carried me through the day, but now I felt my energy lurch and bound.

"Mr. C.—you're the last one here. Guess you're the rotten egg. If you know what I mean."

I took a seat on the teacher's desk. "How is everyone this afternoon?" I surveyed the room to see Rosalie Hale leaning against a grinning Emmett.

I took a deep breath and said, "It's nice to meet you, Rosalie."

She popped her gum in reply.

Emmett smacked his desk, "She's joining the team. Oh, that paper geek was here, but we sent him packing."

"Tyler? That's not your call, Emmett," I said.

"Sorry, man, but he's kind of a snitch. If you know what I mean," Emmett said as he played with Rosalie's T-shirt collar.

I looked at the small circle of students and said, "Okay, who wants to start?"

Rosalie leaned forward, causing Emmett's hand to graze her left breast. He grinned and nudged Jasper, who didn't look up, but Alice glared at the ape-child until his grin faltered.

Rosalie rolled her eyes and said, "I talked to my uncle, and he can handle the T-shirts and posters. He wanted to know if you wanted banners, too."

I nodded, "Wow, great, I—"

Jasper interrupted. "I came up with two ideas last night." Alice nodded and bounced in her seat.

He passed the paper by way of Emmett and Rosalie and continued his ruler work on his desk.

I looked at the two drawings. One was Dale in a pastoral scene with a trebuchet in the background, and the second had Dale soaring through the air. "These are great," I said.

Jasper continued without looking up from his work, "I think we could use both. I thought anyone who works on the Dale promotion team could wear a 'Team Dale' t-shirt, and the flying Dale could be 'I Sail with Dale,' that was Alice's idea. We could sell T-shirts, buttons and then hang posters and banners around town."

Emmett was leaning forward now. "I can work with this."