Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter, and I hope you guys like it! This isn't too eventful, but I tried to keep it exciting. Thanks to everyone who keeps supporting the story. You guys are awesome! Reviews are always appreciated, so thanks to those of you who take the time to write. Also, if you have a question about the story or something, please PM me. The next chapter will be up in a few days. Take care!

-Skychip

Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.

Regalia High

Chapter 10: Punishment

Mrs. Miravet gave Luxa and Gregor a disapproving look.

"Both of you have a zero for this." She turned to walk away, the quizzes in her hand, before stopping and turning back to look at them again.

"And you will stay after class so that we may discuss your punishment."

-O-

It was a long time before Mrs. Miravet spoke. For a few moments, all she did was stare at Gregor and Luxa while they stood in front of her desk, waiting for her to break the silence. Neither of them were brave enough to do it for her.

Every other kid in class was gone, eager to escape what was sure to come. They had just witnessed two people get in trouble for cheating, and they didn't want to be anywhere near there.

Of course, Gregor hadn't been cheating, but he couldn't admit that to Mrs. Miravet. Telling her the truth would mean condemning Aurora, and he couldn't let that happen. Sure, she was guilty of trying to give Luxa some answers, but in his mind, Luxa was the one to blame.

Maybe it was the fact that Luxa had been so ready to let Aurora get in trouble. It could also be that Luxa wasn't as nice to him as Aurora. If she were nicer and didn't go around ignoring Gregor, maybe he would feel less angry with her. But she wasn't nice, and Aurora was, so it wasn't that hard to make a choice between the two.

Now, he was here standing in front of the teacher, trying not to shake as he waited for her to say something. Gregor had been in trouble before, but they were all small things. Once, in elementary, he'd been in trouble for bringing sharpies to school. Many other times, he had gotten detention for gum, or not doing his homework, or talking during class with Larry or Angelina.

But this was a lot worse than all of that put together.

Gregor glanced over at Luxa to see how she was doing. Her skin was still red with anger, but he could tell that she was scared too. He couldn't tell if her trembling hands were due to the anger or the fear, though. It almost made Gregor smile, knowing that Luxa was scared.

"I am extremely disappointed in both of you."

Mrs. Miravet's words caused any thoughts of smiling to vanish, and Gregor dropped his gaze to stare at his shoes.

"Cheating is not tolerated in this school. And it is especially not tolerated in my classroom," she continued.

Gregor felt like he wanted to disappear. The moment he had gotten the idea to take the blame for Aurora, he hadn't thought about how it would make Mrs. Miravet feel. She said she felt disappointed, and somehow, it felt worse than if she would have said that she was just mad. It made him feel guilty.

Apparently, Luxa thought the same, because Gregor saw her tense up at the teacher's words. Luxa never got into much trouble either, as far as Gregor knew. Perhaps this was the first time getting in trouble for something major as well.

"You know," said Mrs. Miravet, "The penalty for cheating is to receive a zero and have no way of making it up. You would then be sent to the office, where you will have a nice chat with the principal, and he would then call your parents so that you can all discuss what happened here today."

Gregor felt as if his heart had dropped down to his stomach. He didn't want his mom involved in this! She would probably understand why he did what he did after a few days of explaining, but to call her meant to pull her out of work and drag her in for an embarrassing talk with the principal.

Turning slightly to look at Luxa, Gregor saw that she had turned even paler than usual. She was so pale, in fact, that he could see some of her veins. It was really weird, but for some reason, it kind of fit her.

"What do you two think of this?"

Mrs. Miravet never took her eyes off them, and Gregor couldn't look up to meet her gaze. He forced himself to shake his head. After a few moments, he saw that Luxa did the same. At their response, Mrs. Miravet leaned back in her padded black chair, closed her eyes, and sighed heavily. She then opened her eyes again and looked at the two students once more.

"I have heard the rumors that spread through the hallways about Ms. Solovet."

That caused both Gregor and Luxa to look up at Mrs. Miravet. What was she talking about?

"Contrary to what some people might think, she is not all bad. She is just a complicated person. Her ways of teaching are intense and her modes of discipline are harsh, but they are effective. No one dares do anything in her class, and the amount of studying she gives for homework helps students remember more. A lot of teachers wish to be more like her."

Mrs. Miravet stopped to look at them while those words sank in. Did this mean she was going to send them to the principal and then be as strict as Ms. Solovet when they got back from probably being suspended?

"I wish to be more like her in a sense that allows more students to be disciplined in the class. But, I would not like to be as strict in punishment. I struggled in school when I was young, and I believe there should always be an opportunity to right your wrongs."

Now Gregor was completely confused. Just when he thought he knew what was going on, Mrs. Miravet would turn things around again. The look on Luxa's face showed she had no idea what was going on either.

"What do the two of you know about the school theatre?"

What? The school theatre? Why in the world…

"In case you don't know, the theatre club here on campus is a bit short on people."

Gregor nodded. He actually did know that. Angelina was always in school plays, but now that they were in high school, she was taking a course that helped her get a head start on medical training before she went to college. She had said something about it being worth it, since it would help her get a scholarship. The bad part, though, was that she had to leave right after school and couldn't do theatre anymore.

"They have a play coming up in a few weeks, and a little help would be much appreciated. I will be in contact with the teacher there, and you will report everyday after school until the play and help with whatever they need. If I receive a good word from this, you will get a B for the quiz, and your parents and the principal will never find out about what you two did."

Gregor didn't know what to do. Painting stage sets and carrying stuff around for the kids there was not something he wanted to do for the next few weeks. But it was a lot better than making his mom come in and talk to the principal about him "cheating."

He nodded again, and Luxa joined him this time. Mrs. Miravet smiled and placed both her hands on her desk.

"Very well then. I will send word that both of you will be there after school. But before you leave, you must promise never to cheat again. The only reason I am doing this is because I know neither of you are bad people. Sometimes we just make mistakes."

"I promise," said Gregor and Luxa in unison.

"Excellent. I am not exactly sure when they meet up on stage, but ask someone who knows or that is in the theatre club already and make sure you are there on time. You may go now."

"Mrs. Miravet, what exactly will we be doing?" Gregor really wanted to know.

"I don't know," replied Mrs. Miravet. "That is up to Mrs. Cormaci."

-O-

The day went by slower than ever. Gregor was dreading the moment when he had to go spend time with Luxa. He couldn't help but hate her a bit right now. If it weren't for her, he would be home. But now, he was in one of the seats in a back room, where he was told to wait for Mrs. Cormaci.

Gregor had been able to go to track practice, contrary to what he thought. He asked Angelina earlier about the theatre club, and apparently, theatre met later on in the day, well after practice had ended. Mrs. Cormaci was a teacher, and she needed the time right after school to grade papers and stuff.

At the sound of the door, Gregor turned his head to see Mrs. Cormaci, but it wasn't her. Instead, Luxa walked in with a frown and sat on the opposite side of the room in a chair. The room was supposed to be a dressing room or something like that, and it wasn't very big. Neither of them said anything, and they sat there in silence for a moment.

"Why did you do it?" Luxa blurted out.

Gregor was surprised that she had actually spoken, and he turned slowly to look at her. The anger on Luxa's face was mixed with curiosity.

"I don't know."

"Do you like her?" asked Luxa, tilting her head to the side a bit.

"Of course I like her. She's the only that's nice to me."

"That is not what I meant."

"What did you mean then."

"You know very well what I meant," she said, her voice rising.

Gregor resisted the urge to yell. "Why do you care?"

The question took her by surprise. She quickly pulled herself together. "I do not."

"Then stay out of what I do."

"That is impossible, considering you just got us into this mess."

"Me?!" cried Gregor, no longer holding back. "You were the one that wanted the answers! You made all that noise and the paper dropped, and when I tried to help you out, you took the paper and got me in trouble too!"

"I would have been perfectly fine if you had not given Aurora your paper! It was your fancy for Aurora that got you into this, not me!" she hollered back.

"My what? I don't like Aurora that way! You're just jealous!"

Luxa snorted. "Jealous? Me? Do not flatter yourself."

"That was perfect!" came a voice from somewhere in the room. Both Gregor and Luxa turned to see Mrs. Cormaci standing there with her hands clasped together and a large grin on her face. Gregor realized their loud argument had distracted them enough to not notice someone else come into the room.

"What?" asked Gregor, trying to calm his pulse. His blood was still pumping furiously, and he could hear Luxa's loud breathing.

"It was excellent! You get the parts. Both of you!"

Gregor was done being confused for the day. First, Mrs. Miravet had confused them, and now, Mrs. Cormaci was making no sense.

"What are you talking about?"

"The audition! It was perfect! The chemistry between you two is almost unbearable!"

Gregor looked at Luxa and saw that she was staring at Mrs. Cormaci with her mouth slightly open in disbelief.

"You two will have the lead roles. I have been looking for two students to take those roles, but I haven't had any luck. You two, however, are simply amazing."

"No," said Luxa, moving closer to Mrs. Cormaci with an arm extended, as if she were trying to slow the teacher down. "We are not actors. We were sent by Mrs. Miravet to help out."

"I am aware, but the way you two work together is perfect! Besides, I was told that you two would do anything I asked regarding the play. And I need two actors. Unless you would like me to tell Mrs. Miravet that you were uncooperative."

Gregor couldn't believe his luck. He wasn't an actor! He was just mad at Luxa! That wasn't chemistry, and he sure as hell didn't want to work on anything with her. But he couldn't afford to get sent back to Mrs. Miravet. That would mean principals and parents…

"No, I'll do it," said Gregor softly.

Luxa folded her arms across her chest and didn't say anything, but she nodded.

"Great!" cried Mrs. Cormaci, the grin instantly back on her face. "You will need to be here everyday at a certain time. Let me fill you in on the roles."

The more Mrs. Cormaci talked, the more Gregor dreaded his luck. As she explained, it was clear that something was out to get him and make his life miserable. Even though there were a lot of things that went into being an actor, it was one thing in particular that gave him a headache.

It wasn't the fact that he would have to be at school until very late everyday for the next few weeks. It wasn't that he would have to dress up in a weird costume to perform in front of hundreds of people when the day of the play actually came. It was his role that affected him the most.

Luxa's pale face was something Gregor was now getting used to seeing. Not her normal pale face, but the one that showed her veins off. It was a color she acquired whenever she was really bothered by something. She wasn't taking the news about her role lightly either.

And for good reason.

Gregor was supposed to be a sailor from back in the 1600's. He sails off from England one day with a purpose to see America. He gets lost during a storm and ends up far away lost somewhere.

Luxa was supposed to be the girlfriend that Gregor left in England that he promised to return to and marry. In the end, he does, and they live happily ever after. And it was that which bothered them the most.

Gregor and Luxa were going to have to be a couple.

Well, I don't know whether to feel good or bad for Gregor and Luxa. We all know they love each other, and just don't know it yet. So, it makes me wonder what will happen here, with them spending so much time together, and possibly having to kiss. I realize that I forgot the question last chapter, and now I feel like an idiot. Sorry about that, I'll fix it ASAP.

Question: How will this effect their relationship? I know some of you will take this the wrong way. Relationship does not mean they are in love, they currently have a very bad relationship.

Until next time,

-Tytonic