Something Beautiful

Seventeen: Intentions

"I don't like people who have never fallen or stumbled. Their virtue is lifeless and it isn't of much value. Life hasn't revealed its beauty to them." - Boris Pasternak

"So it's been brought to my attention that the three of you... students, skipped school yesterday," starts Mr. Johnson not skipping a beat as I take a seat in between Caleb and Carl, who are already sitting in his office.

His office looks just as I'd expect any disciplinarian office to look. Dark wood panelled walls to give it a nice claustrophobic feel, puke colored shaggy carpet, a big-ass desk to look menacing, and of course a ginormous wall of a bookshelf to say "I'm not stupid". The curtains are also drawn, they're a sort of heavy beige that makes the room look even darker. Who is his decorator, I need to give them a call. I've been meaning to re-do my bedroom... Note the heavy sarcasm.

Caleb is to my right, when I walked in he turned and smiled at me with a sort of mysterious glint in his eye that had me curious. Carl on the other hand didn't so much as look at me. That's not a good sign, he must be upset... At me?

Sure Carl's been mad at me before, as well as me to to him, it happens. One time he got really mad at me for breaking his XBOX controller thanks to my klutzy ways, (I dropped it in a his cat's water bowl), and he freaked out. He was like thirteen so of course it was the end of the world, but what sticks out to me is that he actually went so far as insulting me. He called me fat. Yeah.

It took him about two years after that for him to get it in my head that he was just angry and didn't mean it, seriously it messed me up. Now, he's really careful not to say anything when he's angry. He just gets quiet and grumbles sometimes- but he never yells.

So as he sitsbeside me not reacting to my presence in the slightest, I know I have to make this up to him somehow. Neither of us like saying sorry, so instead we made an unofficial but official agreement that instead of apologizing we just have to make it up to each other. Which is easier if you ask me, and nicer than all the shame and awkwardness in saying sorry. Though thinking of ways to say sorry isn't always that easy... And I'll be honest, sometimes we just have to suck it up and say the "S" word, because that's all that cuts it.

"The punishment for hooky is a weeks of detention and Mr. Knight," he turns to look at Caleb then, "since one of the classes you skipped was Creative Writing, Mrs. Hoult would like a 'creative' essay about why skipping school is wrong. A thousand words."

As he speaks his voice holds a droning ring to it, something like listening to a bored judge pass his verdict on a case he knows is minimal.

Caleb just nods while fighting a smile as he receives his just deserts. The bad thing about doing something bad? Nothing good comes out of it. Next it's my turn, I assume, as Mr. Johnson's eyes land on me as he takes a breath to drone on some more.

"Miss Morrison, I expect better of you. Not one time in your entire high-school career have you broken the rules," he states with a scolding tone, and I silently muse about how he called it a 'career', as if we get paid, he continues,"now all of a sudden you're skipping classes and running around with the likes of-" he stops though and just glances at Caleb.

The likes of... Caleb? What's wrong with Caleb?

"You receive the same punishment, minus the essay. Don't let my catch you repeating this offence or the consequences will multiply."

Wow, harsh much? Of course next comes Carl's turn and he sits stone still with a mask of indifference on his face. That's not good, he looks pretty pissed. Most likely at me. Oh why did I have to invite him to skip? Not that I really invited him- he forced me to. So wait, this isn't even all my fault! Just my idea I guess, but he can't blame it all on me. Can he?