Chapter 5: Crime and Punishment

"No computer, no phone, and lastly, no door." said Courtney Dalai's mother. She had her eyeglasses perched at the end of her nose and a white piece of paper in front of her. Courtney's father was a little more easygoing than her mother, but he remained silent as she read aloud her list of 'rules and regulations.'

"Door?" whispered Courtney with her eyes on her feet.

"Yes, your door. The door to your room will temporarily be removed so we can observe as to what you are doing. You may get dressed in your bathroom. Oh, my Courtney, what HAPPENED to you? You've never been disobedient, and this is my first time punishing you..." she sighed as she rolled up her list of rules.

"Umm.... sweetheart? Maybe you're being a little too tough on Courtney. It is her first time she has been 'bad'..." said Mr. Dalai in an audibly soft tone.

"WHAT? Are you ENCOURAGING her to sneak out at eleven o'clock at night and disrespect her parents by going to a place she has not had permission to go to?" raged Mrs. Dalai at the top of her lungs.

"No, dear..." said Mr. Dalai in a whisper.

"Well," huffed Mrs. Dalai, "this conversation is over. Courtney, I expected better of you."

Courtney sat there and looked up at her mother with her eyes wide and blurred with tears.

"Likewise." she said quietly.

Courtney ran up the steps into her dark room. It had to be at least one in the morning. Courtney sat there and cried slightly to herself before flipping on her back. She watched the ceiling fan above her rotate around and around and around some more. She pulled herself under her covers and fell asleep about ten minutes later, her pillow soaked a little with tears.

*******

Courtney's eyes fluttered open as she watched her ceiling fan rotate again. She sighed as she rolled out of bed, noticing her door was still gone. As she finished getting dressed, she heard some banging on her window. What the heck... she thought as she walked over to her window. The fresh air poured into her lavender room as she opened the latches. She sighed to herself one more time and stepped out the window onto the roof below it. Sitting here was her quiet place. A place to think.

"Morning sunshine." she heard behind her.

Her heart gave a little jump. She gave a little jump, too.

"Duncan! You scared me... again!" she said as she put her hand over her heart.

"You should've expected it would be me out here." he said as he sat next to her.

"How did you get up on my roof? The fence got broken last night!"

"Well, I climbed on the hedges, grabbed onto the windowsill, and viola! Here's your prince in shining armor!" he said as he laid his head in her lap.

"More like toad. I got in SO much trouble last night." she grumbled as she looked at the bright blue sky.

"You got caught?"

"Worse. I walked in, then found out we were singing on LIVE TELEVISION, and then I got caught. Sort of." she sighed, "I got my phone, computer, and my DOOR taken away from me, just for going to a concert."

"That's not really fair. As Gwen would say, 'that's not exactly democratic.'"

"Yeah. But my dad was easier on me than my mom. He convinced her to punish me for only three days. Only one more day to go..."

"You're dad is someone I'd like to hang out with. How long was she thinkin'?" he said as he looked up at her.

"Eternity."

"Ouch." said Duncan as he closed his eyes. They immediately shot back open. "Wait... no computer, phone, or door... but they didn't say no DUNCAN!" said Duncan as he lifted up his head from her lap.

Duncan grabbed her hand and pulled her through the bedroom window. They both raced down the stairs leading to the living room. Her mother was at work, while her father remained working at a home business. She knew he would catch her, and her heart sank when she saw him in the living room, staring at them. He motioned Courtney over with his finger.

"Courtney... if your mother asks, I'll tell her you're at Gwen's house. What she doesn't know won't hurt her." he said with a wink.

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you, THANK you!" she said as she crushed him with a hug.

"Thank you for what?" he said in a sarcastic manner, "now go run along before your mother gets back from work. No later than nine, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir!" said Duncan in an enthusiastic manner. He grabbed Courtney's hand and they flew out the door.

*******