We reach the infirmary.
Myself and BB are sat on either side of A, all of us staring into space with a fed up look on our faces. I suppose it could be seen as comical, but none of us are laughing. BB has A's hand in his, but they're so close together I'm not sure even the nurses could see. Our feet are propped up on the chair that's supposed to be for visitors, but no'one would come to visit us. The chair was facing us, BB's legs on its left arm, mine on its right. A had his pulled up to his chest, his toes resting on the very edge of the seat.
"I'm sorry" I mumble, turning to A.
"It's not your fault" A smiles his delicately graceful smile. "I shouldn't have wandered away" He shrugs, saying it like he shouldn't be anywhere alone. Though, BB has often said that maybe he shouldn't.
"I shouldn't have asked BB to set off the fire alarm" I sigh and sit back on the bed, pulling my legs off the chair and sitting cross-legged. "If I hadn't, then the break wouldn't have been extended and they wouldn't have got to you"
"Then it is equally my fault for agreeing to Mello's plan by setting off the alarm" BB counters. "If Mello is going to blame himself, then I am equally at fault"
"Nobody is at fault" A pipes up, smiling. "It doesn't matter" We hear BB mumble a quiet but audible "it does" but say nothing more. When it came to A, as long as he was safe, nothing mattered, not even my arguments with Derrick. In order to keep A calm, the topic is left alone.
"OK, A, you're all good. How's your wrist?" The nurse pops up, clipboard in hand. She tenderly picks up A's wrist, all the while keeping an eye on BB, and examines it. "Does it hurt?"
"No" A smiles. BB moves a little and pokes a finger, hard, on the wrist bone. A squints, then chuckles softly.
"Liar" BB accuses him.
"Well it is sprained. Here, this'll do for now. Come back tomorrow and we can get it checked on, OK?" She puts on a bandage around A's wrist and smiles. "What about the bruises and cuts? Are you in any pain?" A opens his mouth, thinks, then turns to BB. Whose staring. I smile a little.
"Just a bit" A settles on, turning to the nurse. She nods and produces a few pills.
"These should do for today and tomorrow. If you take them with any meals, they should be OK-"
"Should be?" BB leans forwards; the nurse jumps back. "What do you mean should be?"
"I mean that they're supposed to be taken with meals, so...if you don't take them with meals then they might not work as effectively" She babbles. BB seems ok with this and hops off the bed. The nurse moves over to me slightly, then coughs. BB helps A off the bed and they stand awkwardly together. I jump off the bed too. "So...yeah. Is that everything? Is there anything you want to ask me A?" A shakes his head. "Alright then, you better get going!"
The Principal's office is large and full of beach-wood furniture. He's already comfortable his red leather seat, playing with an eraser. Myself, BB and A step in cautiously.
The Principal looks up upon our entry. I realise I forgot to knock. "Sorry Sir, forgot to knock" He grunts none-the-less and points to the three seats laid out. A sits in the middle again, myself and BB either side of him. I think, by now, we do it habitually.
"So what do we do now, Sir?" A asks, smiling his usual radiant smile at the Principal.
"I would like your detailed story of what happened" He collects his chubby fingers together and leans forwards. "I thought it would be easier to keep you three together. BB you co-operate more when you're with A, and A, I know you're more confident with the pair of troublemakers with you" You thought right there, Sir. "So, we'll start with BB – I want you all be honest bearing in mind I've had one account of the story from a bystander's point of view-"
"If it's Derrick – don't trust him" I blurt out. "I wouldn't be surprised if he set this up.
"Mello, you're walking a fine line right now" I shut up. "Unless you want to be expelled from school, I suggest you be quiet" I swear violently to myself and huff in my seat. A takes my hand and runs his index finger over my veins slowly, soothingly. "So, BB, how did this all begin?" BB explains everything as it was, deciding not to tell the Principal that myself and him planned to and did set the fire alarm off. Yeah, I was thankful he kept that out.
"I'm home!" I refused to add on 'early' to my yell, chucking the bag on the leather sofa and sighing. "Anyone care?" I mumble to myself, shuffling towards the kitchen, grabbing a bar of chocolate and making my way back to the living room. Upon entry, Rod is stood with his arms folded over his chest and a scowl plastered to his face. "Hi" I say. His arms fall and I hear a creak to my left. Someone flies at me, trying to tackle me to the floor. My chocolate flies out of my hand as I gain the upper hand on the fight quickly (as taught) but my fight-o-meter had been used up for the day. My energy is drained and I don't think I can manage with a verbal essay on why I shouldn't be fighting at Wammy's as well as a physical assault to teach me how to best avoid the situation. Instead, I give up and flop childishly to the floor. Much like Misa would do in a tantrum.
"Mello" Rod warns me. He nods in the direction of my unknown attacker (his face was covered with a balaclava) and it's torn off.
"Skyar?" I mumble, putting on a shocked and over-dramatic face. "I trusted you" I hiss. He shrugs with a small smile.
"I don't take orders from you just yet lil'un" I wave him off. He laughs and dismisses himself in favour of food, leaving Rod to glare me down.
"So now you're skipping school?" I raise an eyebrow.
"You would actually accuse me of skipping school? Me?" He raises both eyebrows.
"I'm not sure what to accuse you of just yet; but I know school doesn't finish for another two and a half hours. How did you get home?"
"Public transportation" He gives me a funny look; he hates public transportation does Rod. Yep. That's exactly why I did it. "I got the bus" He shakes his head, shudders and sits on the couch.
"What happened?"
"Well...the fire alarm was set off, so we all went outside, then break was extended cause there was no point going back to lessons, but A got attacked by some mo-fo's – like Derrick - so me and BB defended him like we do and it kinda..." I sigh, knowing I'm going to get no sympathy or much of anything good from Rod because of this. "It just kicked off"
"We talked about it this morning Mello" He reminds me. "This morning" I shuffle uncomfortably in my place. He was using that voice. The one where you know that your parents aren't mad, just disappointed. "You're pushing this"
"I'm not pushing anything!" I flail my arms a little and glare at him. "I was defending a friend" I stress. "Don't tell me that if some gangster got a hold of Roy, Snydar, Skyar – you wouldn't help them? You wouldn't go to find them and kill the bastards before your friends- no, your family¸ got killed. What if it was me? Or Misa?" He's not saying anything and his face hasn't changed. My voice lowers in caution. "Would you let us get beat up by freakin' mo-fo gangsters and just watch?" I'm not sure what Rod's thinking, and if there's one thing I'm good at its reading people's faces and body language. But he's not doing anything. Nothing at all. Probably on purpose. Eugh, I hate him sometimes. (Not really, but right now, I'm thinking I do). He leans forwards and rests his chin on his hands, of which his elbows are resting on his knees. He's serious, but willing to co'operate.
"You know I'd never let anything happen to either you or Misa" He clarifies. "Or anyone else in our...uhm..." He struggles for the loose term I'd come to know as—
"Our extended family?" Because that's what the Mafia was. He nods. "BB and A are my extended family. They're like cousins. A's unique, you know that. You've seen him. You know how frail he is, how protective BB is-"
"More like obsessive" Rod mumbles. I catch it, but don't argue. Simply because sometimes I do think that BB is border-line obsessive over A. I shrug.
"We weren't going to sit there and watch him get beat up. It wasn't an option" I fold my arms over my chest and stare him down. "If you want to yell at me for that, then fine. Go ahead" Rod says nothing, instead opting to stand and walk over and put his hands on my shoulders.
"I get it, I do" He reassures me.
"But?" I prompt. There's always a but.
"But you have to get yourself under control" I nod vigorously. "Seriously Mel" I keep nodding. A feather-ruffled Rod was not one to be messed with. He sighs and releases my shoulders. "Do what you want, jus' ...don't let this happen again, K? Being expelled is something I won't be able to help you with" He walks out, leaving me to wonder whether or not he was in a better mood than before. Usually at this point, I'd feel better. Rod would have given me a bit of a lecture, maybe scolded me a little, but we'd walk away like nothing had happened as soon as it was over. I turn around and watch as he walks off, his right hand on the back of his neck as he heaves another sigh and disappears around the corner. But the guilt sets in, and I'm painfully aware that Rod is mad at me for something that wasn't my fault. That is not a good feeling. I scan the floor for my chocolate bar that had been tossed away from me during Skyar's attack and snap off a few chunks, thinking about how to make all this better. The only thing that comes to mind is dinner. Rod likes his food, so I think I'll make him something nice for tea. Maybe something foreign….like a chinese or something… Yeah. I'll do that.
"Yo, Mello" Pulling myself away from my food-frenzied thoughts, I turn to face Skyar with a huff.
"What?" I ask, my arm folding childishly over my chest to match the childish face I'm pulling.
"Owch, grouchy guy this afte'noon eh?" I say nothing. "Sorry about before" I shrug it off. "So, I was gonna' head to the store and get a few things – any chocolate preferences?" I list off a few and he leaves me in peace to find the kitchen; I dismiss the multi-useful cook and search for the items I'd need for my soon-to-be-existent Chinese dinner. Already I can see it being a masterpiece.
An hour and a half later:
"Dinner's ready!" I yell, setting down the final plate in Rod's seat and grinning. This should make his day. Misa skips in – I hadn't heard her come in which is surprising, but I couldn't care less. She gasped in delight and did her little girly-squeal thing; I could tell she was ready to pounce on me. I stepped away quickly and she laughed.
"Jeez Mello, learn to be a bit more affectionate" I'll learn that when she stops being a maniac. Deal. I flip her off as Rod walks in, giving me a heavy sigh before looking at the table with a raised eyebrow.
"I apologise for my actions today, I apologise minimally for my action just then, and I hope you enjoy your dinner" Misa sits down her bubbly self and takes the chopsticks, beginning her dinner without the slightest mention of 'carbs' or healthy shit. Rod smiles contently, sitting down also and punching my arm affectionately.
"Apology accepted" I grin. "But you're not off the hook. Good behaviour is a must, don't forget that" I nod and sit down, taking my chopsticks and shaking the rice from the bowl. Dinner is uneventful after that. Skyar, Roy and Snydar join in gratefully and the dishes are left to the house maids. I retire to my bedroom, checking all my folders are organised, notes are fully detailed and my room is immaculate. Once convinced, I surrender to an early night and try to persuade myself to behave tomorrow. Yeah, I wonder how that's going to work out.