"Hey Vicky did you see the new Ashley Morrison video, isn't she adorable" A young Hispanic girl says to her white friend as they walk through a hallway "Of course I did, she was soooo gorgeous, her and Mark make such a great YouTube couple" Vicky responds, a smile on her face as she and her friend continue to wander the halls.
"NAT, VICKY, YOU GUYS BETTER BE IN THAT CLASSROOM BEFORE I GET THERE" A man yells at the two girls causing them to become irritated, "Can Mr Philips be any more annoying, like we're already heading there, just be quiet" Nat grumbles as she and Vicky head to Mr Philips class.
"Look who decided to get to class finally," A tall young black boy with dreads and pimples scattered across says to Vicky and Nat as they stroll into class. "Shut up Marcus, who comes to in-school suspension on time anyway"
"Hahaha, you right shawty, ain't nobody tryna be in this hot ass place" Marcus retorts as he fans his face.
" Nah for real Marco, if only goddam Mrs. Stevenson ain't catch dumbass Trev over here, we won't even have to be in here" Another boy this one of Hispanic descent jumps into the conversation slapping the head of the last boy near him.
"Fuck Danny, She said she was gone give us out-of-school suspension if we ain't come out" Trevor retorts to his friend, and receives a slap on his head for it "Idiota, she said if I come inside and find anyone in there, you get an out-of-school suspension," Danny says with an annoyed expression, "so" Trevor looks on in confusion.
"SHE'S A WOMAN, SHE CAN'T FUCKING COME INTO THE BOYS BATHROOM, AND SHE WASN'T EVEN SURE ANYONE WAS IN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE" Danny blows up at Trevor who finally seems to understand his mistake, but as fast as Danny blew up it is quickly shut down as Mr. Philips walks into the classroom.
"Stop all that cussing and yelling, get into your seats right now" Philps comes in with an authoritative tone, getting the rowdy students to take their seats, "Now this ain't no break for y'all, you still gotta do the work you're teachers assigned, and I don't want no noise" Philip points at Danny as he takes his seat and begins looking through his phone.
"Lazy ass teacher, scrolling on his phone, why's he even here" Nat grumbles under her breath at the lax attitude Philip has taken. "You know what I heard about him, I heard him and Mrs graves been getting it on" Vicky chimes in causing the whole group to develop shock on their faces. "say you swear," Marcus says looking at at Philip barely holding in his laugh.
The whole group also seems to be unable to hold their laughs in as they look at Philip who now has earbuds in, completely neglecting the group of students he was supposed to be looking after, "Make sense the only thing he can pull is her old crusty ass" Nat laughs loudly causing Philip to look up "That the homework you meant to be working on" Philip looks sternly at the group who quickly lower their heads snickering.
As the day goes on, the group continues their talks, gossiping about the drama that entangles their preteen minds. As they discuss a school resource officer walks in with a black boy, tall and slightly built when compared to his fellow middle schoolers.
He's directed toward a sleeping Philip,*BANG* the school resource officer slams his fist on the table jolting the sleeping Philip. "Marvin got into it again" the man simply says and turns to leave, Philip only glances at the boy before pointing towards the group of kids "You know where to sit".
The group stares as the boy silently walks to the back of the room, ignoring the curious looks they give him. "Y'all know him?" Nat asks the group as the boy slumps into a seat and lays his head down, Trevor, Danny, and Vicky shake their heads but Marcus continues to stare at the new kid.
"Officer Davis said his name was Marvin right" Marcus's expression begins to change into excitement, "You know him?" Nat asks urging Marcus to spill the information he knew.
" Yeah he's an 8th grader, dude is a bad mannn" Marcus stresses the end of his words but the smile on his face contradicts his warning, "Shitttt that's the dude that beat the brakes off Rodney ain't it" Danny's face turns into shock as he turns back to stare at Marvin "Rodney!?, Lineman fucking Rodney!?" Trevor's shock causes Nat to gasp in surprise "Oh my god, I heard about that, Rodney had to be in the hospital for like a month right"
"Y'all for real, he doesn't look that strong" Vicky questions her friend's seeming exaggeration, after all, Rodney was the starting offensive lineman on the A team.
While Marvin was bigger than them that was just due to him being a year older, compared to the other eighth graders he could just be described as slightly above average.
Marcus looks serious "They not lying, dude went straight ballistic on Rodney's ass, all because of a yo mama joke", "See that's what happens when y'all keep talking about peoples mamas, you get yo ass beat, Rodney deserved that ass whooping" Nat interrupts Marcus expressing her view on how preteens treated one another.
The main point of the group's discussion was simply just resting his head, his hoodie nestled his head from the cold wooden desk.
His body was surprising still, if one looked from afar they would deem him an unconscious body, while the group discussed the fight he had with Rodney, Marvin simply thought in his head 'What type of teacher sleeps when they're meant to watch students.
"Marvin come with me" Officer Davis returns into the room, with a more stern look on his face, the group of Marcus, Nat, Vicky, Trev, and Danny quickly shut up as Marvin stands up and walks by them. Marvin pauses in front of the still-sleeping Philip for a second before moving forward with Davis.
"You just targeting the team now" Davis says as he and Marvin walk through the empty school halls," Like for real Jameson and Bobby, the tight end and Safety" Davis continues, emphasizing each of his words to Marvin, who simply moves forward seeming lost in his world.
"Honestly what could they have said for broken teeth and bruised collarbones" Davis questions the young boy, who still retains his silence.
"I'm telling you, son, you keep this going and nobody ever gone wanna be with you" Davis gives Marvin a warning and then stops at a door with a principal plaque on the world that reads principal.
"Your life's tough, but that doesn't mean shit in the world," Davis says before leaving Marvin to enter the room.
"Welcome again Mr Marvin" A mature white lady welcomes Marvin into the room. The lady had blonde hair tied up into a ponytail, her makeup made her look less like a principal and more like an actress.
She paid no mind to Marvin after welcoming him in, instead moving her red pen through the papers that scattered her desk.
Being ignored didn't seem to trouble Marvin much as he instead just stood at the door taking in the room he was in.
Compared to the bright lights just outside, the principal's room was more dark only being brightened by a lamp on her desk and cabinet, it created the atmosphere seen in a cozy winter cabin, something one would not expect with a principal.
On her desk Marcus noticed the pictures that stood proudly on the desk, one showed the principal with her a baby and the other showed the principal with a toddler and yet another baby.
Marvin didn't pay the pictures too much mind, he had already been in here before and had already taken his time in noting the various things inside. From the wet stain on the carpet that gave off the stinging smell of cleaning alcohol to the ugly turtles that adorned the desk alongside the pictures.
"You know you can sit right?" The principal finally looks at Marvin with a comical expression on her face. Marvin locks eyes with her, staring deep into her warm amber eyes, her pink lips dried and showed cracks, and her skin showed signs of wrinkles forming.
The principal also took the time to examine Marvin's face, she stared into his small dark brown eyes showing no signs of the fear a student would have when visiting the principal's office. 'Such a stubborn child' the principal rubbed her face as she began to prepare for the tough discussion she would have with Marvin.
"You've sent three students to the hospital now Marvin, getting only expelled and getting placed into another school is the best-case scenario for you now" The principal laid out the cold facts for Marvin, looking for any change in his expression but none was found, he simply remained still as she talked.
"What do you think I should do huh" the principal asked before quickly continuing,
"You're a ward of the state, who already has a violent history, I tried my best to make sure that you were only suspended for the fighting Rodney but now you've gotten into with Jameson Spatz and Bobby Riggins" the principal begins drilling Marvin, trying to make him grasp the reality of his current situation.
"Mr Spatz is looking to have you serve jail time, you understand what that means?" the principal raised her hands in exasperation and exhaustion, it was now Marvin who finally spoke, his voice grave and lifeless but yet still loud "Yes ma'am, I do understand"
At his response, the principal could only just look at him with pity in her eyes "And you're perfectly fine with that, taking six years of your life to go hang with gangbangers, drug dealers, the scum of the earth" Marvin returns to his silent ways as the principals lets out a sigh.
"Well I'm not okay with that, you're just thirteen years old, and I'm not gonna let you ruin your life like this" the principal begins to gather the papers on her desk "I was able to calm down Jameson's dad, but you've still committed crimes, thankfully my friend Julie was able to make sure you didn't end up in jail" The principal hands Marvin several papers.
"Now look, you're lucky it's only two months in there, you'll be out by the end of summer and be placed into another foster home, you make sure you don't get yourself into any trouble and increase your time" the principal places her hands on the papers and speaks to Marvin with the kindness of a mother.
On the paper in bold underlined capital letters read, INNER HOUSTON JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER.