It All Started in Detention

Chapter Eight

"Jack Kelly, are you telling me you got detention for the school newspaper?"

Jack pursed his lips as he thought about the question, ignoring Crutchie's boisterous laughter as he poured himself cereal. "Uh, yeah, pretty much."

"Jack", Medda sighed, and Jack frowned at himself, seeing the stressed and disappointed look on his mother's face. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Look, I know it was stupid", he admits, and Crutchie raised a brow at the saddened tone in his voice. "I know I cause a lot of trouble, but Katherine needed the story. And if it helps, I didn't even get anything."

"You don't cause any trouble, babe", Medda assured, and Jack shrugged in minor disagreement. "But I don't appreciate the means of trying to get him to talk for the school newspaper, especially not about this."

"That's what I said!" Crutchie blew out a breath, shaking his head. "Like, leave the guy alone."

"Like, shut up", Jack mocked in his best Shaggy from Scooby Doo impression. He watched as Crutchie crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it at him, but he dodged it before it hit his face. "I didn't even get anything. But Katherine asked and I couldn't say no."

Both Medda and Crutchie glanced at each other, and Jack glared at the both of them. "What? What was that look?"

Crutchie sighed, knowing that Medda was way too nice to say anything. "You're still smitten for your ex-girlfriend."

"What?" Jack scoffed, rolling his eyes and hugging his cheeks. "I am not! Kath and I are just friends."

"Yeah, just friends where you do anything she asks and she does nothing in return", Crutchie stated loud enough for both of them to hear, and Medda sent him a look that got him to shut up quickly. "Sorry, but it's true."

"He's right, Jack", Medda admitted, and Jack was beginning to tune her out. "It's not healthy how Katherine is always depending on you to do things at your expense. Neither of you are in a relationship right now."

He knew it was true, even if he didn't want to hear it. Katherine was adamant about acting as if nothing ever happened while Jack was keen on not bothering her too much, seeing as his codependency was sort of why they broke up. They ended on the note of just friends, and that's how this whole thing started: Jack being smitten for his ex-girlfriend.

Jack hummed, grabbing the milk out of the refrigerator and pouring it into his bowl. He didn't want to think about it anymore. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

"What do you guys want for dinner?"

"Not pizza!"

——————

"I can't believe you did this, David." Davey glanced at both of his parents eyes, mostly avoiding his mom's. "And then didn't tell us about it!"

"We are extremely disappointed in you", his father, Mayer, admitted, and Davey nodded. "We didn't raise you to go around punching people."

"Nie mogę uwierzyć, że kogoś skrzywdziłeś, Davey", his mother, Esther, stated firmly and sternly, looking pointedly at her son. "Why did you hit the kid?"

I thought Mr. Pulitzer would've told them, Davey assumed, clearing his throat. He shouldn't have expected all that much. "Mason was harassing one of the cheerleaders, so I...I punched him."

His heart was beating in his ears, like a dead drum. He very rarely got in trouble, especially since his parents are cooler about certain things than most parents.

Esther shook her head, but she seemed to calm down. Mayer wrapped his arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm soothingly. "Harassing?"

"She was a sophomore and Mason is my age", Davey explained, and he hoped it would start to make sense to his parents. "He has a track record of...bothering a lot of the girls at my school, especially the younger ones. Maddie looked uncomfortable, and he wasn't backing down."

Esther and Mayer went quiet. Davey figured they were thinking, telling from the way Esther stared at her son and his father stared at her. It was clear she had the final say between them, even if it sounded like Mayer's idea. Davey always wondered if they had some sort of telepathic connection, even when they were far from each other. I wonder if I can get out of this if I tell them how cute they are together.

"David, you're grounded", Esther decides, and Davey accepted that. He figured it was coming. "And no cheer for two weeks."

"Wait, no-" Davey swallowed thickly as he felt his mom's stare become stronger, but he wasn't afraid of the look his mom was giving him. "I-I can't miss cheer. We have a competition next month! I need to be there."

Cheer couldn't just be stripped from him like that. He'd been preparing all season for next month, when the competition season starts, and he couldn't let his team down like that. On any other occasion, Davey would've taken the punishment and holed up in his room, leaving this time to study more. But this was cutting it too close. If he missed two weeks, that could drastically fuck with the formation of the routine, and that could ruin everything.

"Cóż, może powinieneś był o tym pomyśleć, zanim kogoś uderzyłeś", Esther argued, and Davey sat back. He knew she was right: this was the price of his own actions. That didn't mean he regretted it, but he felt bad that he was getting in trouble for it.

"Honey, maybe we're being too harsh", Mayer tried, and Davey tried not to look hopeful. "He was defending someone, and we always told him to stick up for those that can't."

"Right", Davey agreed, grabbing both of his parents attention. He shifted between their eyes, trying to look as painfully guilty as possible. "I was just...just sticking up for her. I didn't mean to think with my fists first, and I'm sorry for that, but please don't take cheer away."

The room went quiet again, but there was a faint sound of Esther's mind ticking with thought. Davey could only hope his mother would feel sympathy for her oldest son, and take the punishment down a few notches, like a judge. He honestly did feel like he was in court, waiting for the judge, the jury, and the executioner—who are all one person—to decide whether he lives or dies.

He really hoped he wouldn't die.

"Maybe", Esther mumbled, seeming to be swayed by their arguments. Davey clutched his jeans in relief. "Maybe I was being hasty. You can cheer, but you're still grounded."

Davey felt the anxiety in his chest increase, but he couldn't help but feel happy. This he could work with, even if he'll have to deal with the laughter of Specs and Mush through his cell phone. "Thank you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, hun", Esther sighed, sitting beside her son and placing her arm around him. Davey leaned into it much like he did when he was a little kid, and he smiled a bit. "But punching people is not okay. You have to use your words first before you use your hands."

Davey watched as his father sat down on the other side of him as his mother rubbed his back comfortingly. His beating heart was calming down slowly but surely, and he felt safe, content.

"I'm sorry for yelling, David", his mother apologized sincerely, her voice soft and warm like the hot chocolate she used to make. He smiled into her chest, nodding his head. "I hate yelling at you, miłośc. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Mama", Davey sighed, pulling away from his mom. He gave her a small smile and turned to his father, who winked at him. They were going to talk later.

He should've known when the man congratulated him for punching a kid. Mama can't know that.

"I'm gonna go do some homework", Davey prompted, sliding off of the couch, and walking away to his room. A weird feeling fell over him. He's actually grounded.

No one had ever grounded Davey Jacobs in his life, he's a good boy. He did everything he was meant to do, acted with integrity and, honesty, and as much kindness as he could bare. There was no virtual reason he could've been grounded.

And he wondered what it's like.