Thanks again for all of the PMs and reviews! I am having lots of fun writing this story, and I am so glad that there are people who are enjoying reading it! :) I am loving all of your guesses for the rest of the detention players!

Bold section from Chapter 6

"Miss Plum, since this is your first offense, I am not going to suspend you."

I let out a huge breath. "Thank you, sir!"

"However," he continued. "I am going to give you a Saturday detention to be served this Saturday. You will report to the library at 7:00 am and remain until 4:00 pm. Bring a lunch."

I felt tears pricking my eyes. "But I'm scheduled to work this Saturday."

Marco softened his gaze slightly. "You'll need to call off. I'm hoping that this punishment causes you to think about the influence your peers are having on your actions, Miss Plum." He looked pointedly at Carlos. "I hope that you will make better choices in the future."

He turned his gaze to Carlos. "Are you scheduled to work this Saturday as well, Mr. Manoso?"

Carlos gave a stiff nod.

Principal Marco smiled. "Then you can call off, too. Since Miss Plum has accepted ownership of the cigarettes, I am not suspending you. However, possession of them is still against school rules. You will be joining her in Saturday detention this weekend."

Marco looked satisfied with himself as he surveyed our miserable faces. "Any questions?" he asked us.

We both shook our heads.

"Then go home." Marco dismissed us.

Chapter 7

Carlos wrapped his arm around my shoulders and guided me out of the office.

"You OK, Babe?" he whispered quietly in my ear.

I swallowed hard and nodded, turning my head to discreetly wipe the tears from my eyes.

He stopped walking and put both hands on my shoulders. He looked deep in my eyes, searching for something, but I didn't know what.

"Why?" he whispered quietly.

It was only one word, but I knew what he meant. Why had I said the cigarettes were mine? Why had I stood up for him? Why hadn't I let Marco suspend him? Why had I accepted the Saturday detention?

"Because I wanted to." I whispered back. What else could I say? Because I felt fiercely loyal to him? A boy I'd only really known for 4 days? Because I thought I might be falling in love with him?

He cupped my cheek tenderly with his hand and leaned down to brush his lips across mine softly.

"Thanks." He whispered.

I nodded, blinking fast to keep the tears back.

I cleared my throat. "I'd better get going. I'm supposed to be at work, and since I have to call off Saturday, I can't afford to lose any more days." My stomach clenched. That meant I'd be off two Saturdays in a row. This one for detention and the following week to get ready for Homecoming. My car payment and insurance payment were due soon. Now I didn't know if I'd have enough to cover it. It would be close; that was for sure.

Carlos held my hand and walked me out to my car. As if he could read my mind, he said, "Are you gonna be OK if you lose this Saturday at work?"

I sighed. "Yeah. The loan is in my dad's name. There was no way I could take it out without him cosigning anyway. This way the interest rate was cheaper. Plus if the car was in his name, my insurance was lower. He pays the payments every month; I just pay him back. I've never been late before, but I think he'd understand just this once." I bit my lip. "I just hate to disappoint him."

Carlos squeezed my hand. "Want me to loan you the money? You can pay me back when you get caught up on hours at work."

I shook my head. "I can't do that. That's way too much money to borrow from you. I'll talk to my dad tonight." Butterflies immediately took up residence in my stomach at the thought of that conversation.

"Want me to talk to him with you?"

I shook my head. I really did want Carlos to do it with me, but it was probably something I should do on my own.

He squeezed my hand again. "If you change your mind about either offer, let me know."

"OK."

"What time do you close tonight?"

"9:00."

"I'll be there. Do you get a break?"

"Yeah. Since I'm working 6 hours- 3:00-9:00, I get a half hour break for dinner."

"What time?"

I shrugged. "Whenever we're slow. Usually around 6:30."

"I work 3:00-6:00. Want me to bring something for dinner? We can eat together."

I smiled. "Won't your parents want you to eat with them?"

He grinned back. "Not if they know that I'm ditching them to eat with my beautiful date to Homecoming. Trust me, Babe, right now you can do no wrong in their eyes!"

I looked at him sadly. "Well, that'll last until they find out it's my fault you got a Saturday detention."

He frowned. "I've done worse on my own, trust me." He gave me a little push towards my car. "Now get going before we're both late to work! I'll see you at 6:30."

I waved, and he turned to walk to his car.

C&S C&S C&S C&S C&S

Carlos's POV

I followed Stephanie home from work and walked her up to the front door. I held her cheeks in my hands and stared into her beautiful face. Her wide blue eyes stared back at me, so open, so trusting. I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers softly. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and my heart leapt at the thought that she wanted to be closer to me. I pulled back before we both lost control. Resting my forehead against hers, I gave her a wide grin.

"You'd better go in before your parents come looking for you." I teased.

She grinned back.

I rubbed my thumbs across her cheeks. "I'll see you tomorrow, Babe."

She nodded and gave me a soft good night as I hopped down off the porch and headed for my car.

I drove home shaking my head. A week ago I had spent my nights off hanging out with the guys, at the arcade, or just watching TV. Now I wanted nothing more than to spend every night with Stephanie. I would mop the floors and empty the trash at the Tasty Pastry every night. For free. I just wanted to be by her. I had only known her for a few days, but I knew I was in love with her. A grin spread across my face. Yeah, I was already whipped.

I pulled into my driveway and climbed out of the car, headed for the house. Mama met me at the door, arms crossed. "Where have you been?" she huffed. "It's 10:00!"

"I had to work…"

"You got off of work four hours ago! I have called everywhere looking for you. Lester said you left work at 6:00, and he hadn't seen you since then."

"Mama, I was with..."

"I called all of your friends, and I already know you weren't with them, so don't try to give me that!"

"I went to…"

By now my father had joined her at the door. She yelled, "Ricardo Carlos Manoso! I want to know where you've been!"

My father added sternly, "Answer your mother, hijo!"

I sighed. "I've been trying to answer her for the past several minutes, but she keeps talking over top of me!"

My father smacked the back of my head. "Don't be smart! Go sit in the living room. We'll be right in."

I rubbed my head and marched into the living room, a scowl on my face. I flung myself down into the recliner and waited. I could hear them holding a whispered conference in the hallway, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Finally they both walked into the room and sat down on the couch across from me.

My mother crossed her arms and huffed at me, her eyes narrowed. My father placed his palms on his knees and leaned forward. "Carlos, your mother and I want to know where you've been all night, and we want to know right now."

I nodded once. "After school I went to work at Uncle Enrique's. I worked until 6:00, and then I picked up some fast food and took it to the Tasty Pastry."

"The Tasty Pastry?" my mother interrupted.

I sighed. "Yes, Mama. It's the bakery that Stephanie works at. She had to work until 9:00 tonight, so I offered to bring her something to eat. She took her dinner break, and we ate together. Then I hung around for a couple of hours and helped her get the store ready to close."

My father raised an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean you helped her get the store ready to close?"

"I emptied all the trash and mopped the floors while she packed up the leftover pastries and counted the money in the cash register."

My parents exchanged glances.

"You mopped the floor for her?" my mother asked.

"Yes."

"And emptied all the trash?"

"Yes."

They looked at each other again, and this time I saw the slightest of smiles on both of their faces.

My father cleared his throat. "If she closed the store at 9:00, where have you been for the last hour?"

I crossed my arms across my chest. "I drove her to the bank and then followed her home."

My father's forehead creased. "Why did you drive her to the bank?"

I blew out a breath. "She has to take the money bag to the bank every night, by herself. It has hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars in cash in it. I just don't think it's safe for her to go alone."

My mother's eyes widened slightly. "So you drove her to the bank?"

"Yes."

"And then you followed her home?"

"Yes." Why were my parents repeating everything I had just told them? I couldn't tell if they didn't believe me or if they were just in shock.

My parents looked at each other, communicating without saying a word. My father cleared his throat. "OK, then." He stood up.

My mother crossed the room and held my face in her hands. She was beaming. "Next time, just call so that I don't worry."

I frowned. "I did call. I called from work and talked to Celia. I told her that I wouldn't be home for dinner but that I'd be home before curfew."

My father walked to the foyer. He stood facing the stairs to the second floor and called "Celia!"

I could hear footsteps. "Yes?" she answered from the second floor landing.

"Did you forget to tell us that Carlos called?"

I could hear Celia groan. "Sorry, Dad! I got wrapped up in this paper that I'm writing, and the time got away from me. Yes, Carlos did call."

I wandered into the foyer and looked up at her.

"Sorry, Carlos!" she called. I nodded back at her. I knew she hadn't done it on purpose. Celia was writing essays and studying for medical school, and I knew she was overwhelmed right now.

My Mama waved me back into the living room. I reluctantly walked back in. I knew this was going to be an inquisition.

Mama smiled. "So when do we get to meet this girl, Carlos?"

I rubbed my temples. I knew I had to bring Stephanie here sooner or later, I would just prefer that it was later!

"She doesn't have to work Wednesday."

Mama grinned and clapped her hands together. "Bring her over right after school! We can visit and then have dinner and get to know each other."

I groaned. "I can't, Mama. I have to work. I'll see if Uncle Enrique will let me leave a little early, and I'll pick up Stephanie. We can eat around 6:30."

Mama shook her head. "You don't have to work on Wednesday."

I just stared at her. "Yes, I do. Uncle Enrique has me scheduled for every day this week, 3:00-6:00."

Mama headed for the kitchen. She called over her shoulder. "I'll let Enrique know that you need Wednesday off."

"Mama…" I started.

She turned around, her hands on her hips. "This is the first girl you've ever showed any interest in at all! I want to meet this girl who has you willing to do things like mop floors, take out trash, and go to school dances!"

I shook my head.

My dad came up behind me and clapped his hand on my shoulder. "Give up, hijo! This is all your mama has talked about since Friday night. Just let her meet this Stephanie and satisfy her curiosity already."

I blew out a breath and threw my hands up. "Fine!" I muttered.

I swear that my mother squealed like a little girl and took off running towards the kitchen.

My father laughed and squeezed my shoulder. "It will be fine, Carlos! It will be fine!"

I sure hoped so! I didn't want Stephanie to be scared off by my overly enthusiastic mother!

C&S C&S C&S C&S C&S

Stephanie's POV

I took a deep breath and pushed open the front door. My dad was sitting in his recliner in the living room, watching TV.

"Daddy?" I asked tentatively.

"Yeah, Pumpkin?" he answered distractedly.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

He looked over at the nervous tone in my voice and muted the TV. "What's wrong?" he asked.

My mother came through the dining room then. "How was work, Stephanie?" she asked.

"Fine, mom."

My dad looked at me. "What did you want to talk about, Pumpkin?"

My stomach clenched as my mom sat down in the chair across from my dad. I really didn't want to have to explain all of this in front of my mom. I figured that my dad would be understanding, but my mom.… Well….

I bit my lip. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to make my car and insurance payments on time this month."

My dad looked at me, surprised. For two years now, I'd faithfully made every payment on time. I'd never asked to pay later. I'd never been short. "Why not?"

I blushed and looked down at my hands. "I got a Saturday detention today at school. I have to call off work for this Saturday. My hours were already short because of Homecoming next week, but now I'm losing two Saturdays of work. Those are usually eight hour days. They make up a big part of my pay. If I miss both Saturdays this pay, I don't know if I'll have enough."

I looked back up at my dad, tears in my eyes.

My father wore a serious expression. "You've never been late before, so I'll allow it this one time. If it happens again, though, we'll need to talk about being responsible for your bills."

"It won't happen again, daddy. I promise."

"Now. How did you get a Saturday detention?"

This is the part I was really dreading. "Someone put a pack of cigarettes in Carlos's locker. Principal Marco was going to give him a 5 day suspension, even though they weren't Carlos's. So I said they were mine, and I got a Saturday detention."

My mother sat straight up, her nails digging into her palms. "What?" she screeched. "You left cigarettes in his locker? When did you start smoking?"

"I didn't start smoking, mom. They weren't really my cigarettes. I just said they were so that Carlos didn't get suspended."

My mother was furious. "I told you that boy was bad news! But would you listen to me? No! And now look where it's gotten you! A Saturday detention! Honestly, Stephanie! Valerie went all the way through school without a single detention. After school or Saturday. It's like you go out of your way to find trouble! Admitting to things you aren't even guilty of! Really! Did he put you up to this? Did he ask you to take the blame for him?"

I was shocked. "No, mom!"

"Then why on Earth would you say they were yours?"

I hung my head. "I wanted to help him."

My mother blew out an exasperated breath and looked pleadingly at my father. "Frank! Say something!"

My dad spoke up. "Does Carlos smoke?"

"Yes."

"Has he tried to pressure you to smoke?"

"No."

"Good. You know how hard it was for me to quit. It took me nearly ten years before I could finally do it. I don't want to see you go through that."

I nodded. "I know, daddy."

"How do you know these weren't his cigarettes?"

"He said he leaves his in his car."

"And you believe him?"

"Yes." I answered softly.

My dad nodded. "From now on, Pumpkin, try to be more careful. I know you wanted to help Carlos, but you have your future to think about, too. If you want to get into a nice college, you need to have a good school record, too."

I hadn't thought about that. "OK."

My mother was furious. "Frank! How can you be OK with this? Don't you see what kind of influence he's having on her? They've just barely met, and he's already gotten her in this much trouble! Who knows what will be next!"

My dad laughed. "Helen! Are you forgetting the locker checks Principal Cverko used to do?"

My mother blushed a bright red. "That was different!" she protested.

I looked at my dad and raised my eyebrows in question.

He grinned back at me. "When your mother and I were in high school, I ran with a questionable crowd. The principal knew we all smoked, so every once in a while, he would do a surprise locker check. He was always disappointed, though, because he could never find my cigarettes."

I looked at my dad. "How did you keep them hidden?"

He started laughing so hard that he could barely get out his answer. "I used to hide them in your mother's locker! She was such a good girl that Cverko could never understand why she would date me. He knew she would never have cigarettes in her locker, so he never checked it."

I started laughing along with my dad. My mother crossed her arms across her chest. Finally she let out an exasperated sigh and stood up, heading for the kitchen.

My dad winked at me. "Be careful, Pumpkin, or you might end up stuck with Carlos forever!"

My stomach fluttered. That wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it?

TBC

On a personal note, this is totally true. My dad was a "bad boy" in high school. My mom was an honor student, majorette, and all around "good girl." My dad would keep his cigarettes in her locker so that he wouldn't get caught. Since my mom was a good girl, the principal never checked her locker, and he could never figure out where my dad hid them! ;)