K. C. A

TEN

About thirty minutes later, Mrs Maxwell had finished cleaning up the injuries Tyler and I sustained.

" I need the numbers of your parents, so they can come pick you up. " Mrs Maxwell informed us when she was done.

" Um... our parents are out of town." I lied.

I was not willing to discover what my mum would do if she heard I was involved in a fight. Also, Tyler was already grounded for a week because of the fight with Jake, I didn't think he would appreciate more weeks being added to the punishment.

" We would just walk home. " Tyler added.

Mrs Maxwell eyed us suspiciously, from above her eyeglasses.

" If your parents are out of town, shouldn't you be in the custody of a guardian? " she asked finally.

" That is so true. " Tyler said, turning to me with a distressed smile.

" Yes, Mrs Maxwell, we are in the custody of my older brother. "

" Then give me his number. " Mrs Maxwell said, handing me a paper and a pen.

I collected the paper and pen, wrote down my older brother's number and returned them to Mrs Maxwell.

Mrs Maxwell went into her office to make the call, leaving Tyler and I alone in the room.

" You just had to involve yourself, didn't you? " I  asked, turning to Tyler.

" You would have done the same thing, Jason. " Tyler answered.

" No, I would not have. "

" Wow. " Tyler said flatly. " That just goes on to show my point. "

" What point? "

" You never do anything, except you are sure of the outcome. "

Anger welled up inside me, mostly because what Tyler said was the truth.
I struggled to come up with a reply, but my efforts were futile, so I decided to distract myself with other thoughts.

I wondered if Claire and Ashley were still waiting for us outside the clinic. Mrs Maxwell had stopped them from going in with us earlier, she told them to wait outside or go home.

A little while later, Mrs Maxwell walked back into the room and informed us that my older brother would be coming to pick us up soon.

I said a prayer of thanks to God in my heart, I couldn't wait to get out of here, I had been in school way too long for a Friday.

A few minutes later, the door of the clinic swung open and Alex walked in. He glanced at Tyler and I with a venomous look before exchanging pleasantries with Mrs Maxwell.

" Are you their guardian? " Mrs Maxwell asked.

" Yes, I am, but only for a period of  time. "

" Well, they were attacked by a group of boys in the hallway, and were brutally beat up. I came across them by chance. If I hadn't seen them, I wonder what those boys would have done to their poor bodies. "

Our poor bodies?!!!

" Thank you so much, Mrs Maxwell. " Alex replied.

" I'd advise you to take it up with the school authorities and ensure that those miscreants are punished. "

" I'll speak to their parents about that. "

" Very well, you can take them home. "

" Thank you so much, Mrs Maxwell. " Alex said, rising to his feet. " I really appreciate your kindness. " he added and stretched out his hand for a handshake. Mrs Maxwell shook his hand briefly, with a smile.