Bruises- Modern Zelink- discontinued :(

Late

"Would you care to explain why you were so late getting home?"
"I, uh, started a club. I'm sorry for not telling you ahead of time. It was kind of an on the spot thing."
"Then you should have called me or something!"
Shoot. Why didn't he do that? Well, it wouldn't have been a good idea anyway, since he'd probably still get yelled at.
"You need to be responsible, young man. That means remembering to tell me if you're doing something."

Link looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with his father. He let him yell about being responsible and stuff, even though he didn't do that himself. What a hypocrite. He was glad that his father couldn't read minds, otherwise he'd be in even bigger trouble for disrespect.

He sighed.
"Don't groan at me!"
"I-I didn't, sir."
"Don't lie, either!"
He wanted to argue back, but he knew better than to do that. That would be a very bad idea.

His father grabbed his hand and started dragging him up the stairs. He knew what was coming, and he braced himself. They entered Link's room, and his father sat on the bed.

"You need to be more like your sister. She is much more obedient and responsible for her actions. You, however, are not."
Link looked down again. He really should be more like her. She was better than him in multiple ways, just like his father said.
"You promised me that you'd tell me if you were doing anything, remember?"
He didn't remember. But maybe he was just being forgetful. He was always being forgetful.
"N-no..."
"Again? I can't believe this. You should be remembering this shit, Link. This is the third time in a row that you've forgotten a deal that we made."
Third time? He could have sworn that it had only been two times.
"Yes, sir."
"Now, what do you think your punishment should be?"

Link looked around the room, trying to think of something. It couldn't just be something simple and easy like having something taken away. He had done too many things for that. Anyway, if it wasn't something serious, then his father would change it. He gulped, then said,
"Belt."
"Hmmm... no, I have something better. Open the closet door."

He nervously walked over to the closet and followed the order.
"Now step inside."
He stepped in. His father smiled and walked over. Then, he shut the door.
"I'll let you out in an hour."
The door was locked, and his father left.

<<×>>

Link opened his eyes and was greeted by darkness. Had he woken up in the middle of the night again? He definitely wasn't in his bed, though. He was sitting down on the floor. He looked around and realized that he was in the closet. He remembered what had happened previously, so he looked at the time on his phone.

               [12:30 AM]

It had definitely been longer than an hour. He couldn't get out, though, because the door was locked from the other side. He sighed and turned his phone on to play games.

<<×>>
*Wednesday*

"Link! Link? Where are you? Huh. Did he already get up?"
Link looked up sleepily at the sound of Aryll's voice. Shit. He was still in his closet. He started hitting the door, trying to get her attention. It worked, and she walked over. She started pulling at the door, so he said,
"It's locked."
"Oh. Duh."

Aryll unlocked the door and opened it.
"Why are you in here?"
"Dad did it. He said he'd get me in an hour."
"When did he put you in here?"
"When I got home from school."
"What the hell? So you've been in here all night?"
"Yup."
"Oh my freaking goddesses. Again? Well, he just left for work, so you're in luck. You don't have to worry about him this morning."
"Good."

He stood up and stepped out.
"So, why did he put you in there?"
"I was late getting home and I didn't tell him where I was even though we made a deal about it or something."
"Oh. Well that's just stupid. Oh, shit. You're gonna be late if you don't hurry up. Here's your bag-" she shoved his bag into his arms. "-and also I made you lunch. It's in the bag." She pushed him out of the room and down the stairs. "Bye! I'll lock your door for you. See ya."
"Bye, then."

He put his backpack on and headed off the school.

<<×>>

"Okay, most everyone is here, then."
The teacher started rummaging through the papers on her test.

Zelda tapped Link and whispered,
"You look tired. Did something happen last night?"
"I was stuck in my closet all night."
"What?" She quickly covered her mouth, realizing that she had said that rather loudly. "Sorry."
"It's fine. Anyways, it's not like that was the first time."
"Excuse me, what?"
"What?"
"Not the first time?"

He looked around for a moment, then spoke loudly.
"Wow, I can't believe you're not late, Helga."
Zelda rolled her eyes, playing along. "It's Zelda, not Helga."
"Really? That's not a very fitting name for a witch." He laughed. It sounded oddly natural to Zelda. Maybe he was just good at fake laughing or something.

Link turned around after that, facing forward. He didn't want to talk about it any more.

"Alright, I'll pass out your tests now."
Link looked at Zelda. He always did that when they got tests back. If she looked nervous, then he should be at least a little nervous, too. And boy did she look stressed.

He received his paper and saw that he got a 76. Not bad. He shoved the paper into his bag, then looked at Zelda again. She looked about ready to cry.
"What's wrong? Did you get a 99? Is that too low for you?"
She put her face in her hands and mumbled,
"I got an 82..."
His joking attitude changed to a serious one.
"That's pretty low for you."
"I know... I'm gonna get murdered."
"Huh."