September 27, 1985
Alice
The cool autumn wind kicked up a few leaves into Alice Kent's path as she trudged along the sidewalk. She glared at the forbidding concrete building just ahead of her through bleary eyes. Having to wake up at six thirty to walk to school had been a struggle, but she didn't know what would happen if she was late to detention, and didn't want to chance getting another one.
However, it didn't seem like anyone else was here yet. Checking her watch, Alice realized that she was in fact early by five minutes. The doors of the school were unlocked though, and she went to the main office to see if anyone was there. Sadly, there was not, and Alice stood at the empty front desk, at a loss for what to do.
"You here for Saturday detention?" A gruff voice just behind Alice made her jump. She turned to see the school janitor standing there with a mop in his hand.
"Oh... yes, that is why I'm here." Alice mumbled. She felt very awkward, making conversation with one of the people who cleaned up the school after the students. Not even the quiet ones like her did that.
"It's in the library." The janitor pointed down the hallway.
"Thanks mister." Alice began walking in the direction where the man had pointed.
"No need to call me that; it makes me feel old." The janitor grinned. "My name's Carl."
"Thank you, Carl."
Kenneth
"Don't mind your father too much, he just wants you to do well. A detention here and there never hurt anyone." Mrs. Ford told her son. "Now, what time am I supposed to pick you up?"
"Uh, four o'clock, I think." Kenneth grabbed his lunch bag and got out of the car. "Thanks, Mom." He said almost as an afterthought. As his mother drove off, Kenneth Ford walked slowly up the front steps of Shermer High School, dreading the long day ahead of him.
As he reached the top of the stairs however, Kenneth turned around to see another car pull up to the front of the school, and a boy with messy black hair wearing aviator sunglasses stepped out. Kenneth recognized him from several of his classes, though he was sure the guy sat several rows behind him. His name was something like Peter or Percy Scott.
More out of politeness than anything, Kenneth nodded to Percy (he was quite sure it was Percy, now that he thought about it), and the other boy nodded back. The two of them were by no means friends, but they entered the school together.
"You know where the detention is?" Percy asked.
"In the library." Kenneth replied. He'd had to ask a variety of school staff before he finally found someone who knew where Saturday detention was held (it was the janitor), which made him wonder whether the school really cared or not if students showed up for it.
The two boys made their way to the school's library. A rather plain girl with dirty blond hair and big, hazel eyes was sitting in the furthest desk back, just under the odd statue in the center of the library. Her head was down and she looked like she was dozing off. Kenneth thought she looked vaguely familiar, but couldn't place a name to her face. Without saying a word, Kenneth took the desk in front of her, while Percy sat across the aisle in the desk next to his. The three high school students watched the clock, which read six thirty-seven for some reason.
Janet
"Ben!" Janet Williams shouted.
The tall, broad shouldered boy turned around, looking for who had called his name with a confused look on his face.
Janet contemplated calling out to the football player again, but decided against it. She quickly parked her car next to the sidewalk across from the school. One of the upsides of being there on a Saturday was that it was quite easy to find a parking spot.
Janet got out of her car, hastily grabbing her purse, which had her lunch in it, and hurried over to where Ben was standing, still looking puzzled. "I'm over here, Ben!"
"Oh hey Janet!" Ben's face lit up with recognition and he lifted his hand in greeting. "Didn't see you there."
"How do you get around on the field with that kind of perception?" Janet rolled her eyes. "Are you here for detention too?"
"Yeah." Ben sighed. "Third one this year. Coach says if I get any more he'll put me on second string."
"Better not screw up again then." Janet laughed. "That was really dumb by the way, throwing a football at Mr. Hess."
"I know." Ben grumbled. "C'mon, detention's in the library."
As the two made their way up the steps to the front doors, neither of them noticed a beat up van pull up to the front, and a redheaded girl with scuffed up jeans and a leather jacket climb out of the passenger seat.