Red Hair, Black Soul (Red & Black #1)

10 | When I'm gone

Jed thought his interpersonal skills would be enough to convince the principal not to ground me.

He was wrong.

When the last bell rings, I find myself heading to a certain classroom with the pink detention paper in hand. There's a storm of thoughts going on inside my head. None of them good.

By the time I reach the class, I have four plans of killing Jed worked out in my mind. All of them utterly merciless. All of them incredibly painful. I bet that if Ms. Brownstone somehow entered my mind right now, she would consider me a lost cause and run screaming to the hills.

Let her. Jed deserves all of this and then some.

I check the classroom number twice before opening the door. Stepping in, I head straight for the teacher's desk, not even bothering to lift my head. To my surprise, I don't find anyone sitting in the heavy chair. My eyes scan the room as I begin to worry that I had entered the wrong classroom again.

"Ada! How nice of you to join us."

This voice. I know it. I turn and meet a pair of hazel eyes hid behind rectangle glasses. Mrs. Scottinson emerges from the little extra room attached to the classroom. She smiles warmly and beckons me forward.

"We're doing a little cleaning." She explains. "Every extra pair of hands is welcome."

"I.. Brought this." I hold out the hand clutching the paper to her.

"That won't be necessary." She flips it off. "I don't want you to treat being here as a punishment. I'll change the detention into an extra activity class."

I blink. This is not happening.

"See? I told you you were going to get away with it." A new voice adds.

My head snaps to the left and my eyes narrow on Jed who's sitting cross-legged on the floor beside a huge pile of papers. He looks like he's sorting through them but knowing him, he's trying to tear them all to shreds. I ignore him and slam my bag down onto the nearest desk.

"Come, my dear." Ms. Scottinson motions for me to follow. I enter the small storage room and stop in my tracks. Papers are... everywhere. They pile on the floor, creating columns that nearly reach the ceiling. They're stacked in boxes and cartons that I'm sure are heavy enough to kill. Tiny dots of dust swirl in the air, giving the air this rusty smell typical for old libraries. Instantly, I cover my mouth with my palm as a powerful sneeze tears out of me. My head snaps forward and my hair falls onto my face, getting into my eyes, ears, and nose. I square my shoulders and peek out from behind the heavy curtain of hair, lowering my hands.

"Ada!" An excited squeal sounds from somewhere in this labyrinth of wastepaper. My eyes scan the room as I try to spot whoever has apparently managed to spot me.

"Behind the newspapers." The voice speaks.

I round the huge pile of something that looks like a subscription of a newspaper emitted during the World War II and find a mop of dark, curly hair contrasting with the yellowish pages. Makena lifts her head and grins when she spots me standing above her with my hands stuck under my armpits.

"I come here after my lessons when I have nothing better to do." She explains. "It gains me extra points and makes Mrs. Scottinson like me more. And to be honest, it can be quite anti-stressing. All of this dust and jumble helps to calm me somehow after the day full of grumbling teachers and yelling jocks."

A slight smile tugs at my lips. She just voiced everything I thought about my existence in this school.

"Take a seat." She pats the little piece of empty floor beside her and I follow her request. "I got bored of sorting through all of this myself. It's nice to finally have someone to talk to."