Bad Boy Chemistry

3. Detention

Charlie's POV

After school had finished, I stayed behind for detention, as per instruction. I waited outside of the main office, alongside a few other people who also had detention—Ace and Joey among them.

"Alright kids," An unfamiliar teacher approached with a janitor's cart. "For those of you who don't know me, I am Mr Jenkins. I'm new here at Clarence High and was asked kindly by the principal to oversee detention. The janitor has been let off for today, it's up to you to make this entire school spick and span."

Some of the detentionees groaned.

"Let's see, there's six of you so I'll split you into pairs. You and you." He pointed to Joey and me. "You guys can clean block D."

"I'm not working with him." Joey protested.

"Excuse me?" The teacher gave a displeasing look.

"I don't work with homos."

"And what is your name?" Mr Jenkins asked.

"Joey."

"Well, Joey. You can clean block D all by yourself."

I held in a laugh as Joey scoffed.

"Can I be paired with Alice?" A freshman asked nicely.

"Sure. You and Alice can clean C block, whilst you three clean Block A and B." He pointed to Ace, Ryan and I.

"Take some equipment. I want all tables cleaned down using cleaning spray and cloths. Put any leftover rubbish in the classrooms into one of these trash bags. Empty out all the trash cans in the classes, and place all of the chairs neatly beneath their seats. Oh, and clean off any graffiti you see."

"What about mopping?" The girl named Alice asked.

"Let's not worry about mopping today. Alright, start cleaning. And before you think about slacking off, I'll be checking in on each group routinely."

I walked towards the janitors cart and picked up a pair of gloves, a bottle of cleaner spray, a cloth and a scrubber. "Don't forget a trash bag." The teacher reminded before I almost forgot.

I added a trash bag to the pile that was gathering in my hands and headed towards A Block.

"My mom's gonna kill me." Alice's friend complained as they walked down a different hall.

"Sorry about Joey being a dick." Ryan apologised in a whisper as we headed towards A Block.

"Why are you apologising?"

"Because he's my friend."

"You shouldn't apologise for your friend, it doesn't make me feel better, it just makes me more annoyed."

"Sorry."

I didn't speak for the rest of detention. Instead, I focused on cleaning each classroom as quick as I could, trying my best to avoid both Ace and Ryan.

After we had finished and Mr Jenkins allowed us to head home, I quickly made my way out of the school building and onto the front lawn. "See you tomorrow, Connard." Ace said as he walked over towards his motorcycle.

Jerk.

I dug into my pockets for my earphones so I could listen to music for the half-hour trek that awaited me. I unlocked my phone and went onto Spotify, clicking on my playlist. I begun the walk home, immersing myself into Lana Del Rey's music.

~

"You got a detention for swearing?!" My mother ambushed me the second I entered my house. "What has gotten into you?"

"Ease up, Harper." My dad spoke from the living room.

"Ease up? This is not how we raised our children."

"They are just words."

"Be quiet John! Why would you swear in class?" My mother flared. "This is not like you, you're always so kind."

"I'm sorry to disappoint." I mumbled, kicking off my shoes before I dashed up the staircase and into my room.

I closed the door and splayed myself across my bed.

My parents have always had high expectations of me. They want me to be like my older sister Nora, who got into Oxford University in London and is studying to become a lawyer. I don't even know what I want to do with my life, but being a lawyer was definitely not on the list. When I was younger, I'd always imagined that I'd grow up to be an astronaut. That I'd one day discover a new planet and become it's president. How naive I was back then.

Now, I see myself becoming a writer. I've always enjoyed reading. I doubt my parents would allow me to pursue such a career.

I rolled over in my bed, staring at the ceiling above, thoughts overlapping in my mind.

Somehow, whenever I'd have a moment to myself, all I could seem to think about were the events of last year. All the names I was called, all the times I was punched in the chest or the face. All the times I was pushed into a wall or down a flight of stairs.

Why couldn't I just be me?

Why was my sexuality such a big deal to so many people.

I shook myself out of my thoughts, sitting upright with my legs over the edge of my bed.

After I sat there for a short moment, I stood up and walked over to my dresser to find something to wear. I pulled out a top, then a pair of pyjama pants, along with a pair of trunks and fresh socks. I always slept in socks.

I then picked out a towel from the middle drawer of the dresser and made my way to the bathroom that was connected to my bedroom.

I locked the door after walking through it, instantly stripping myself naked. I pulled my top over my head, letting it drop onto the tiled floor. I then untied the laces to my pants, also letting them drop onto the floor. I looked above the vanity, into the mirror, at my body. I was certain I'd lost weight.

I gave myself an inspection, noticing a few bruises still painted on my body.

Finally, i slid my trunks down onto the floor and hopped into the shower, setting the water to slightly warm before standing beneath it.

The water felt cold at first, but then it coated my skin in a soothing glaze of warmth.

I let out a sigh of exhaustion.

I might just be overreacting, but today was harsh. All I wanted to do now was to lock myself in my room and listen to sad songs that matched my mood.

After six minutes of cleaning myself in the shower, i quickly dried myself and slipped on the clean clothes that I had picked from my dresser. I returned to my bedroom and fell backwards onto my bed.

The sound of a notification from my phone alerted me, and I reached over to grab it.

Ryan Woodsen sent you a friend request.

Huh?