Chapter 5: Detention
My mind reeled, and I stared at the warlord. "What?" I said.
"L-loyd's been possessed by a ghost," Garmadon repeated.
"A ghost? Like Professor Yang?" Nya asked.
Garmadon sighed. "Yes, but this ghost is much worse."
"How was Lloyd possessed?" Zane asked.
Garmadon shook his head. "I don't know. This ghost doesn't want to share any information with us. I'd have to search L-loyd's memories."
"Can you do that?" Jay asked.
"Will it hurt?" I added.
"Yes, I can, and L-loyd will feel me enter his mind, but I won't hurt him," the warlord replied.
I nodded. "Alright. Let's do it."
"But Chen stole my wand," Garmadon growled. "We'll have to get it back before I can do anything."
"Well then, let's break into his office and get your wand back," I said impatiently.
"Wait, Kai," Nya said. "What about your detention? Isn't Clouse waiting for you?"
I was so concerned about Lloyd that I completely forgot. "What time is it?"
"5:47. Your detention starts in thirteen minutes," Zane replied.
Yikes. "Wait for me, I'll be right back!" I turned and ran out the door before they could respond. The Defense Against the Dark Arts office was on the opposite end of the school and I didn't want to be late. No reason to make the professor angrier.
I rushed into the school and ran right through Professor Yang. I shivered, but didn't stop. Time was ticking. I sprinted through the Great Hall. Three more corridors to go, and I was home free. I glanced up at the giant clock. 5:55. I took a deep breath and sprinted as hard as I could.
Right, left, almost there. My heart pounded, my legs burned, and I was still a few yards away. I made a hard right and yanked the door open. Clouse looked up from his desk. He glanced at the clock than back at me. Clouse glowered, and I swallowed. Did I make it?
"You're late, Mr. Umas," he said. "Now, you'll have to write 200 lines."
I gaped, and looked at the clock. I couldn't have been that late could I? No way. It was only 6:01. I was one minute off. One minute. "Sir, you can't be serious," I protested.
"I told you to be in my office at 6:00. Therefore, you're late." He turned back to his desk and pulled out parchment and… a quill?
"Sir, I sprinted all the way over here. I'm sorry, but it's just one minute."
Clouse snapped the desk closed. "You're in enough trouble as it is, don't you think?" he said. "I can always make your punishment much worse."
I clenched my fists, but I couldn't waste time here. I needed to figure out how to get Garmadon's wand so we could help Lloyd. I took a deep breath. "Fine," I muttered.
"Excellent. Now have a seat."
I sat at his desk and shifted in my seat. This was the most uncomfortable chair I have ever sat in. I bet he got it for me on purpose. I growled but took the quill from him without complaint. Normally, I just used a pen to do my homework, but this must be part of the punishment. I looked around, but I didn't see any ink. That is how a quill worked, right?
"Write: I will do as I am told." Clouse commanded.
"But—"
"Now."
I sighed, and began to scratch the words on to the parchment. My hand flared, and the words appeared in shining red ink. I stared at my hand. The phrase had appeared on the back of my hand, but soon the skin healed and the words vanished.
"Keep going," Clouse said.
I have to get out of here to help Lloyd, I told myself. I began writing again. "Ah!" I gasped. The pain was back, and so were the words. I glanced back at the red 'ink'. "This is…"
Clouse smirked. "Your blood. Keep writing."
I glared at him. The professor was enjoying this. Well, I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of complaining. I was going to finish this and get out of here. I wrote line after line, and the pain got worse and worse. I almost dropped the quill, but I grit my teeth and kept writing. When I was done, 'I will do as I am told' was etched into my skin. I wasn't sure how I was going to hide it from my friends, but hopefully they wouldn't notice. There was no need to worry them, especially Nya. It was just one little detention. I would never be back here again and my hand would heal eventually.
I got up to leave, but Clouse stopped me. "I haven't dismissed you yet."
I squeezed his cursed quill so hard I thought it would break. "I wrote your 200 hundred lines," I said.
"I'm not sure the message has sunk in yet," Clouse said, and he grinned at his own twisted joke. "Write another fifty lines, and if you disobey me again, I'll make you write 500 lines."
My hand started shaking, not from the pain, but from anger. How dare he? I did everything he asked, and he still kept pushing me further. Flames pulsed under my skin, and I was so tempted throw a fireball in his face and make him write fifty lines, but I wouldn't let him break me. I'll finish this, and whatever else he throws at me. I grabbed a fresh sheet of parchment and started again.
I could feel every letter dig into my skin, but I refused to give up. I started counting the number of lines to distract myself. Ten…eleven…twelve. Only, what, 38 more lines left? I almost sighed, but I felt Clouse's dark eyes boring into me, waiting for me to mess up.
After what seemed like hours, I finally finished. I looked up at Clouse, but I still held on to the quill, just in case. But even he couldn't be that cruel. I hoped.
"Is that your best work, Mr. Umas?" Clouse asked.
I froze. "Yes, sir," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. If he wanted a reaction out of me, I wouldn't give him one.
The professor stared at me and I stared back. "Very well. You may go."
I resisted the urge to reply, or even mutter under my breath. He was still watching me. I walked away and opened the door with my aching hand, just to prove to that monster I could.
I ran back across the school to get back to Garmadon's hut, and I only paused to look at the clock. I growled. Clouse kept me in detention for two hours. I wondered if everyone was still in that small, drafty little shack. Probably not. It would probably best to meet up with them during lunch tomorrow. That way, I could give my hand some time heal, so they wouldn't be quite as worried.
I ran to the Owlery and sent a letter to everyone. It took me a few tries but I finally got it.
Hey guys,
Sorry I took so long. Can you believe Clouse made me write 250 lines? That man is crazy. My hand's a little sore, but other than that I'm fine. The punishment could have been a lot worse. I'm sorry we didn't get to help Lloyd today, but writing lines took a lot longer than I thought. See you all lunch tomorrow.
- Kai
Not too vague and not flat out lying to my friends. All in all it was a job well done. I wish I could have told them what really happened, especially Nya, but I knew they would freak out. I sighed. We needed to worry about Lloyd, not my problems.
To make myself feel better, I promised myself to tell everyone the truth once Lloyd was back to normal. But right now, my friend was my number one priority.
AN: Sorry, I posted it a little later today. I know it's a bit shorter, but I hope you guys enjoy it. Reviews are always welcome, and I just want to thank JBomb217 and NaninaDaPanda for reviewing every single chapter! Thank you so much! See you next week.