in your reflection || rini au

02. routine

"-ew go away-" a red-headed girl groaned, shoving a boy with raven-black hair away from her as he smirked and swallowed the mouthful of food "you're disgusting."

"awh, ash, don't be mean." ej said with a fake frown, his cousin rolling her eyes as she looked back at her girlfriend who had been preoccupied on her work

"babe, take a breather and eat lunch yeah?" ashlyn laughed, kourtney looking up and smiling sheepishly as she closed her book and unwrapped her sandwich

"where's ricky? i'm outnumbered over here." ej mumbled annoyingly

"he's coming. he only skips first period on mondays." ashlyn reminded ej, who had nodded

"oh yeah...because of-"

he stopped talking abruptly though, when feeling someone near closer behind him and join the group to sit down on the ground, turning to the side to see the curly-haired boy opening his bag of food

"hey dude!" ej exclaimed nervously

"why is brenner such a pain in the ass?" ricky asked, taking a bite of his sandwich

"because he hasn't gotten laid in a century." ashlyn replied, kourtney shaking her head with a smile

"i'm in detention for the week again." ricky rolled his eyes at the thought - he didn't find a point to being in detention; it hasn't straightened him out all year so far.

"what'd you do now?" kourtney sighed

"nothing, just nicely pointed out the bald spot he has on his head." ricky said "that after he accused me of being 'suspicious'"

"he's definitely way too uptight for his own good." ej breathed, standing up "i would just like-walk up to him and give him a good look and-"

"kiss him?" ashlyn finished with her eyebrows raised while ej deadpanned at her, ricky and kourtney sharing an amused look

"no." ej said "i would yell at him and tell him right where to shove it!"

"alright! cool!" kourtney exclaimed "yeah, you tell me when you've grown a pair to do that."

"i'm not a whimp."

"no, but you're an idiot." ricky told him, the raven-haired boy rolling his eyes as his friend patted him on the back and they continued their lunch

"so, what'd you do first period this time ricky?" ashlyn asked, leaning her head on kourtney's leg comfortably

ricky shrugged "nothing. i walked around?"

"how do you still get an a in english?"

"because it's literally putting words beside each other with grammar." ricky said simply "plus my mom and dad have been on me for senior year!"

"the conversation again?" ej asked with his eyebrows raised

ricky nodded with another eye roll, kourtney continuing the conversation with a ramble about something - he had lost focus when he noticed a brunette girl exiting the main doors to the school along with one of her friends beside her

he felt his stomach flip when realizing she had moved her gaze at him - she had felt a pair of eyes on her - and that's when he clenched his jaw and looked away.

+

something that ricky bowen hated at east high was detention.

obviously, anyone would hate a detention they were given, but usually you don't actually do anything in detention. right?

well, no. not at east high at least. seeing as the drama teacher; miss jenn, didn't have as much work on her hands, she had always volunteered to monitor detention.

it was now sort of a permanent position for her; staying a few hours extra to do more of her questionable exercises to help 'mature the mind' as she would say.

so that meant actually doing something, and lately ricky bowen had yet to have had any sort of motivation or sense of want to do that.

when he walked into the classroom late - again - he saw the blonde woman with a bright smile on her face, handing out sheets of paper to the students whose expressions were unamused and bored.

"ricky! welcome back. take a seat." miss jenn beamed as she took the pink slip from the curly-haired boy, who just walked towards his seat at the back of the class. it was a usual space for him recently.

"right then, let's begin!" she smiled as she turned towards the whiteboard and ricky rolled his eyes, slumping down lower into his seat.