Mr. Jeffries and Maddy's Return - Best Detention Ever
A short, petite girl with chocolate-brown eyes and straight brown hair walked beside a taller, lanky youth with eyes like sunlit ice that often glimmered with just a touch of mischief. When they neared their destination, their strides faltered. Maddy and Rhydian trudged into the detention classroom as if they'd just reached the last leg of a death march. Mr. Jeffries, their head teacher, rose from the cherry wood desk, waving them over with an outstretched hand.
"Maddy, Rhydian, so glad you could join me. Please, make yourselves comfortable." Mr. Jeffries was in his early 40's, but he had the intensity of a much younger man. His eyes sparked with constant interest, which was partly what made him such a good teacher—he was passionate about the subject he taught, history, and he truly cared about his students. The only problem was, he truly cared about his students—which meant that the prank Maddy and Rhydian had pulled wasn't something he would be willing to overlook.
Maddy sighed as she slid into one of the desks in back. Rhydian plopped into the seat beside her, folding his arms in front of him, looking bored.
For the next quarter hour the head teacher sifted through his papers, pointedly ignoring the two teenagers. Rhydian doodled in his sketchbook once he was fairly certain Mr. Jeffries wasn't paying him any mind. Maddy pulled out a book and began to read. At long last, the teacher looked up. Mr. Jeffries' expression turned wry with amusement. "I get it, you know." He stood up and strode up the center aisle between the desks. He rubbed his hands together, folded his arms and looked at the two teenagers expectantly.
"I was your age, once, believe it or not." Maddy stifled a snort. Rhydian tried not to grin. "No, it's true. I was a rebellious teenager, once upon a time. Some of the pranks I perpetrated make what you two did yesterday look tame by comparison."
"Oh really? Care to share?" Rhydian challenged. Maddy tried to snag her best mate's attention. She made a cutting motion with her hand in front of her throat. The last thing they needed to do was antagonize the man who'd given them detention!
To her surprise, the normally stiff Mr. Jeffries chuckled. This was a side to him Maddy had never seen, but it made sense. In the typical classroom setting Mr. Jeffries had to be on his guard. With a room full of teenagers, who wouldn't be? Here it was just the three of them.
Mr. Jeffries thoughtfully rubbed his chin, deciding just how much would be wise to tell them. I certainly don't want to give them any more ideas.
He glanced to his right, at Maddy Smith, one of his more unusual students. She had incredible talent, near-perfect grades most of the time—and yet she faltered seemingly at random, turning in terribly shoddy work just when he thought she'd finally turned the corner. Even worse, she and Rhydian seemed to feed off of each other, becoming restless and playing pranks like the one they had just played on poor Jimi. True, Mr. Jeffries admitted to himself, Jimi was equal parts silver-spoon child with a Napoleon complex and a mean-spirited bully at heart, but that didn't excuse what Maddy and Rhydian had done.
And then there was Rhydian…a boy that had endured a lot even by the young age of 16 years. His parents out of the picture, he'd bounced around foster homes most of his life. They're not bad kids. They're just going through some of the same growing pains that I had, too.
Jeffries opened his arms wide.
"You think you're the first ones on Earth to be going through this? Trying to figure out who you are?" Mr. Jeffries chuckled. He paced up and down the aisle, gesturing as his voice took on the impassioned tone he usually reserved for history lessons. "We all go through this rough and tumble time in our lives, when we're in that no-man's land between childhood and adulthood—where the two of you find yourselves this very moment." Mr. Jeffries walked back to his desk, leaning back against the front of it as he pointed at the teenage girl and the teenage boy in turn. "And do you know what? You think I don't understand, but I do. You're both at that time in your lives where you have to 'let the beast out,' as the saying goes. You need to take risks, to make some of your own mistakes. It's part of growing up. It's the part of growing up that can't be skipped, shouldn't be skipped, because sometimes it's the best way to learn."
Maddy couldn't resist. Before she knew it, she blurted: "Oh really, Sir? So what are we 'learning' by sitting in a classroom twiddling our thumbs for an hour?" She blushed when she realized what she'd said. That's what I get for letting the wolf talk for me she thought, mortified. Meanwhile Rhydian was smirking, and Maddy knew why.
Mr. Jeffries has no idea how right he is about the beasting-out part. The truth was that Maddy and Rhydian weren't like normal teenagers. They had a gift, or a curse one might have called it—embedded right in their DNA, same as their parents. They were wolfbloods, shapeshifters who could turn into wolves—and sometimes had to, when a full moon came. They weren't monsters. They were just kids. But unlike other kids, they had to reconcile instincts that sometimes clashed on this epic scale. Rhydian and Maddy had to balance two clashing identities—the human on the one side, and their more primal wolf selves on the other.
Sometimes it was like walking a tightrope ten thousand feet up. Hard? Maddy grimaced. Try impossible. Their friend Jana was the only other wolfblood at the school, and besides her and their friends Shan and Tom, no one else at Bradlington High knew what they were…
"An excellent question, Maddy," Mr. Jeffries said firmly, not taking the girl's bait. "Perhaps us having this very conversation might open your mind," he continued. "Perhaps we learn the most when we aren't even looking to learn. Like many of the most crucial things in life, Maddy, you'll often find that the moment you stop looking for something, that's when you'll find it."
Maddy wanted to roll her eyes at Mr. Jeffries' cryptic pronouncement. The head teacher had a habit of waxing philosophical. Usually it was actually kind of cool. He would ask questions and pose ideas that other teachers weren't willing to, and Maddy respected him for it. Rhydian too.
"So, the next time you two decide you want to hang all of Jimi's belongings from the roof of the admin building, I suggest you think carefully about whether it's worth it or not." Mr. Jeffries turned back to his desk as Rhydian grinned at Maddy and mouthed, TOTALLY WORTH IT. Maddy smiled back.
A few minutes later, Mrs. Browne called Mr. Jeffries away to deal with a disciplinary issue. He glanced back at the two schoolmates before he left the room. "I expect to find you in the same position when I get back!" he said, his tone laced with steel.
"Yes, Sir," they replied in unison.
Once the history teacher had left, Maddy went back to her book. The story had her gripped by the throat. She had to know what was going to happen next. OW! She felt a piece of folded-up paper bounce off her forehead.
"Hey!" She glanced at Rhydian. Rhydian, no longer 'that weird boy who smells like my parents.' He had been the first other wolfblood she had met outside of her family, and for that reason the two of them had formed a special bond. He'd come to Bradlington High not even knowing what he was, taken from his parents before he could learn. At first Maddy had been hostile, the wolf in her roaring This is my territory. My turf. Go away! But the human in her had felt compassion. Having two parents who loved her, supported her, and protected her, she couldn't imagine what it might be to grow up without that.
"That wasn't nice," she scowled.
"Just read it." Rhydian ducked away, scribbling madly in his sketchbook. He only did that when he was intensely into a drawing OR when he was hopelessly nervous. Maddy could have sworn it was option two, judging from the way Rhydian wouldn't meet her stare. She carefully unwrapped the piece of neatly folded-up notebook paper. There was a small sketch of Maddy's pretty face with a note beneath it.
'Will you go out with me?'
Maddy blushed. She froze. I can't believe Rhydian actually asked me out! Her heart fluttered, crashing to the ground before soaring back up into the sky. She risked a glance his way. He was staring at her now, intently too. Why didn't he just ask me? Why write me a stupid note while we're in detention? Her romantic side grumbled. But Maddy knew, that just wasn't Rhydian. He was strong and fierce, but he was also sensitive and artistic. It was somehow just so very Rhydian-like to give her a tiny portrait of herself with those words written with what Maddy knew must have been heart-thumping fear. She could see his whole body seized up, waiting for her answer.
The girl had never felt so powerful before… If she'd been indecisive right now, she would have hated it…hated putting him through pain because of what she didn't know. But Maddy did know. They had only been friends for a few months, but they were both wolfbloods. They shared a common secret. They had looked out for each other.
So she gave him her answer—but not with words.
The wolfblood girl abruptly leaned over and planted a kiss on Rhydian's cheek. She drew back, blushing again, looking ahead as Mr. Jeffries strode back into the classroom.
Rhydian looked at her, eyes desperate with the question. He mouthed silently: WAS THAT A YES?
Maddy looked coyly at him. She nodded.
Rhydian began gyrating in his desk, his glee off the charts as he swung his hips as far as the desk seat would allow. His arms moved in a swirl of motion as he quietly whooped with joy.
"Mr. Morris, this is not a disco and you are not standing on a dance floor. Now can I help you with something?" Mr. Jeffries said. Rhydian stilled like a rabbit hearing the snap of a twig. He bowed his head a little and draped a sober expression over his face.
"No, Sir. Sorry, Sir. Won't happen again."
"Good. See that it doesn't. Some of us would like to get some work done," Mr. Jeffries said with a pointed look as he returned to poring through his Mount Everest-sized pile of exams.
Now Maddy waited for the perfect moment, when Jeffries was too absorbed in his papers. She snuck out her hand. Rhydian captured it in his, squeezing it tenderly.
ARE YOU REALLY MY GIRLFRIEND? Rhydian mouthed. His eyes brimmed with happiness that matched the rhythm of Maddy's dancing heart.
FOR NOW the wolfblood girl mouthed back with a smirk. Rhydian's stupid grin just wouldn't die.
It was now official. This was—without a doubt—the best detention ever.
A/N - Hey Wolfblood sisters and brothers. This chapter was originally intended for Mr. Jeffries and Maddy's Return, but I never got a chance to incorporate it, mainly because it takes place way earlier than the rest of the story. But I really can't resist Maddian cuteness in case you couldn't tell :)
If you remember the episode where Maddy and Rhydian start out in detention with Mr. Jeffries in "Dark Moon"…that's when this one-shot takes place roughly, though of course it's an alternate story arc where Maddy and Rhydian start dating much sooner, Shan and Tom already know about wolfbloods, and Jana's already in the picture…
Anyway, this is sort of a wolfblood 'snack' until I get back to working on the bigger projects. I'll be traveling to the UK for a big chunk of October with friends and family, so I'm not sure how much posting I'll be doing next month… (I cannot wait to see Lindisfarne Castle and Alnwick Castle…I LOVE castles). Come November I'll be back with a vengeance, and I hope to get a few more things posted soon before I leave on my trip.
Oh, I didn't want to forget to say - Thanks again to everyone who gave comments on the main story. I can't believe Mr. Jeffries and Maddy's Return has over 170 reviews/comments. It's very humbling and it just makes me appreciate all of your thoughts so much! I made a decision on the sequel based on some of your ideas - it will start out when Maddy and Rhydian are at university…