The bell rang and school was over. Students ran out of their classrooms, happy to be released from the clutches of their teachers. Principal Don stood at the door, waiting for me to pack and accompany to detention. He opened the door and we walked in
"Mr Rodriguez"Principal Don said
"Principal Don. What brings you here?"Mr Rodriguez said
"I brought a new inmate for you"Principal Don
"Oh really"Mr Rodriguez replied,amazed to see I was the new intimate
"Ms McDonald,why don't you have a seat and enjoy your detention. Perhaps this will teach you to think twice before you act. Keep up the good work Rodriguez"Principal Don said
"Thank you sir"Mr Rodriguez replied
Principal Don closed the door and left me to stay with Mr Rodriguez and other offenders. I'll probably grow a white beard before I'm released.
"Now, let's welcome our newest member. Jocelyn, why don't you tell your fellow inmate why you were sent here"Mr Rodriguez said, admiring the chalk on his desk
"I...was... accused of vandalism"I said softly
"What's that? I can't you hear you"Mr Rodriguez said in a mocking voice
"It wasn't me. I'm innocent"I said, defending myself
"That's what they all say. Before you know it, they might probably rob a bank"Mr Rodriguez replied
"But since your new at detention,here are the rules. Rule 1;no cellphone allowed"He said
He brought out a box and I turned in my phone.
"That wasn't hard,was it? Rule 2; reading, writing or sleeping is prohibited"He said, pacing in front of the classroom
That's completely absurd. Who puts sleeping as an offence in detention?
"How am I going to pass the time?"I said
"I don't know. It's up to you to figure it out"He said, showing less concern about his made up rules
"Rule3"He continued, sitting on his desk
"Inmates should at least be 6 feet away from each other. So I need you to sit here"He said, pointing at the seat in front of the class
"That way I can keep a close eye on you"He said
This is how the prison feels like in High School with Mr Rodriguez. I guess this how convicts feel;treated like animals and being told to what do something against their will. This will ruin my perfect attendance.
"Rule4:you guys have to listen this song till detention is over"He said
"Ah!"The students said
He didn't care about their opinions and turned on his radio and sat down on his seat. It was an old country music from the late 60s. In detention,time became my new enemy. It ran slower than ever. I'm going to be stuck here for a long time.
°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Xavier held Jimmy by the collar, trying to force the truth out of him. Jimmy became all sweaty.
"Tell me the truth,who vandalized the hallway?"Xavier said
"I don't know man... I wasn't there"Jimmy said
"That isn't an answer"Xavier roared
"I'm telling you the truth. I don't know anything about the vandalism"Jimmy said
"Is that so?"Xavier said
He left his collar. Jimmy was adjusted his tie. Xavier got furious and landed a punch on Jimmy's face. Jimmy fell to the floor, holding a trash can to regain his balance. Xavier got impatient and dragged Jimmy up by his shirt and held his shirt.
"Did that recover all memories?"Xavier said, boiling with rage
"I don't know what your talking about"Jimmy said
"That isn't an answer"Xavier said, giving him another punch
Jimmy fell on the floor. His cheek was badly bruised. He became unconscious. Ms Candy saw in the crowd and was curious on what going on.
"What's going on here?"She asked
"Oh My Gosh! What happened to him?"She said, seeing Jimmy lying unconscious on the floor with a bruised face
"He got what he deserved"Xavier said
"Don't just stand there. Help him. Take him to the school nurse"She said
Two students volunteered to take Jimmy to the school nurse
"And you, you're coming with me"She said, pulling Xavier by the ear
"Mr Rodriguez"Ms Candy said, entering the classroom
"Ms Candy...Oh look who we have here? It's Robin Hood. Here to still from the rich and give the poor?"Mr Rodriguez said
"I caught him bullying a student. Do you mind adding an extra student?"Ms Candy said
"Not at all. There's all room for convicts like him. That why the prison is never full"Mr Rodriguez said
Did he just tell an uncle joke?
"Thank you. You're the best"Ms Candy said, leaving the classroom
"It's been a long time since I last saw you in detention. Oh wait! You were here last Thursday. Well,you know the drill"Mr Rodriguez said, pulling out the box with our phones in it
Xavier surrendered his electronics including his personal stereo. Mr Rodriguez frisked him to make sure he no electronics. He sat two seats behind me.
"Where were we? Oh yes..."Mr Rodriguez said, turning on his radio
Xavier tore a sheet of a paper from the book he stole from Mr Rodriguez and wrote down a message. He passed it to the person sitting behind me who later passed it to the other person in front until I got it. I got the message secretly to avoid Mr Rodriguez suspecting a thing. I placed my head on the desk and read the letter which said,
"Ready to escape?"
Escape? How? Was he nuts? The door is closed and Mr Rodriguez would see us if we tried anything fishy. I wrote back to him, asking how are we going to escape when Mr Rodriguez is clearly sitting in front of the class.
"I've got a plan"He replied
I turned around and he winked at me. He gave Kelvin a signal and told him what to do. I hope this doesn't get me into any more trouble. Kelvin stood up from his seat and approached Mr Rodriguez,who seemed to be enjoying this detention.
"Excuse Sir?"Kelvin said
"Yes,what is it?"Mr Rodriguez said
"I need to use the bathroom"Kelvin replied
"Can't you hold it?"Mr Rodriguez said
"I wish I could but I really need to go"Kelvin said
"Fine. You can go to the bathroom. Be sure you return once you're done"Mr Rodriguez said
Kelvin opened the door and made a run for it. Mr Rodriguez had him on a timer but he never showed up. He became restless and decided to go look for Kelvin himself.
"What taking him so long? I'll have to go look for him and find out what's he's up to? He thinks he can pull a fast one on me. We will just have to see who's smarter than other"Mr Rodriguez said out loud
"You guys should stay here till I come back. Who am I kidding?"Mr Rodriguez said laughing,
"I don't trust neither one of you; that's why I'm going to lock the door. That way,you won't be able to escape without completing your sentence"Mr Rodriguez said
He opened the door and locked us in. Xavier walked up to me.
"C'mon,we can still get to the ice cream parlour before it closes"Xavier said
"But how? Mr Rodriguez locked us in"I said
"We could always go for number two"Xavier said, pointing at the window
"Huh? No,no,no. I don't want to get into more trouble"I said, afraid of being caught
"Jocelyn,do you trust me?"Xavier said
"Yes"I said, doubting my answer
"Then believe me when I say we won't get caught. You just have to try"Xavier said
It sounded kind of crazy but if it means getting out of Mr Rodriguez stupid detention,then I'm in.
"Are you set?"Xavier said
"Wait"I said, collecting my phone from the box
"Now I'm ready"I said
"Okay,I'll jump first and you jump in next. Got that?"Xavier explained
"Yes"I nodded
Xavier opened the window and jumped out first. He landed on a pile of leaves which broke his fall. He made sure the coast was clear and told me to jump.
"C'mon Jocelyn,it's your turn to jump"Xavier said
I was afraid of jumping through the window. What if Mr Rodriguez comes in and catches us? And then,taken to Principal Don office and have him increase my jail term which will definitely ruin my perfect attendance? I kept on thinking of all the horrible things that could go wrong.
"What if I get hurt?"I said
"You won't. I'll catch you"He assured
"You will?"I asked
"Yes. Trust me. C'mon now"He said
"Okay"I said, giving in
I got on the window,ready to jump out of the classroom. Xavier spread his arms out and was ready to catch me. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and jumped out the window. I landed on top of Xavier who was lying on a pile of dried leaves. I opened my eyes and saw I was on top of him. Our eyes met each other's and I couldn't stop staring at him. I had butterflies in my stomach.
"Jocelyn. Let's go before the ice-cream parlour closes"He said
"Okay"I said, remembering we were on an escape mission
***
Mr Rodriguez came in few minutes later after we had escape.
"He managed to get away but I'll be sure to catch him to next time"He said referring to Kelvin's escape
He sat down on his chair, turning the radio and surveyed the classroom.
"Where's Xavier?"He said, noticing his disappearance
The class remained silent. Mr Rodriguez gave up in asking any further question.
***
Xavier and I went to the ice-cream parlour but it was closed. We went for smoothies instead. We bought our smoothies and we left the store. Xavier offered to walk me home and I didn't decline.
"Sorry our date was ruined*I apologized
"It's okay. It wasn't what I expected but it was still fun"Xavier said, sipping his smoothies
"It was?"I asked
"Yeah! If it wasn't for detention,we wouldn't have gone on this amazing adventure. It was better than the date I had planned. And I'm happy I spent it with you"He said
"We are here"I said, showing him my house
"I guess it is goodbye then"He said
"Yeah!"I said
He gave me a hug and waved at me. I froze like a statue, reliving this moment over and over again.