Friends (Highschool AU)

Scrubbing

The school day finally ended, I knew I had to go to detention, but I was actually feeling okay about going. Well, as long as there were no surprise fires. I gave Bela a hug before I headed off to the detention room, promising I would see her perform.

I walked into the detention room with my bag on my back. Mr NATO was already inside and Iraq was the only other student in the class. I walked in and took my set at the back. I pulled out my doodle book. It was a little notebook Mum had given me on my first day of school, I just never used it until now.

I pulled out my pencil and started sketching a boat. I can't I was the best artist, but at least you could tell what it was. Brazil was the next to walk in. He sat next to me.

"What are you drawing?" He asked.

"A boat," I answered as I erased the same line for the fourth time in a row.

"Cool, cool," Brazil answer.

"Hey! Be quiet! You guys are in a lot of trouble. Once Russia gets here, you will know your punishment." Mr NATO demanded.

About ten minutes past and Russia still hadn't shown up. By then I was still trying to draw the basic outline of the boat with no success. A couple of minutes later, Russia wandered in, accompanied by Mr Italia.

"I believe he belongs here," Mr Italia grumbled.

"Yes, thank you," Mr NATO nodded. Mr Italia left and Russia took a set near the back as well.

"Right! Now that you brats are all in one place, it's time to discuss your punishment for setting fire to the school. You four delinquents will clean up the wall you graffitied, even if you take until midnight tonight, you will not be able to leave until then," Mr NATO explained grumpily.

Iraq raised his hand.

"No, not even your situation can get you out of this," Mr NATO snapped and Iraq put down his hand.

"Get out of you seats, we are leaving now," He demanded. I quickly put my notebook back in my bag and stood up with the others. I swung my bag over my right shoulder.

"New Zealand, you might want to start filling your bag with cleaning supplies. We are taking a detour past the cleaner closest." He explained.

I did indeed end up having to fill up my bag with cleaning supplies, and we all walked down to the wall behind that store we got cigarettes from.

Mr NATO made us scrub the entire wall clean of graffiti, even the stuff we didn't do. I found out really quickly that it was difficult to even get off a little. This would take us all night to clean. I didn't have all night.

I felt uncomfortable as Mr NATO watched us, to make sure we weren't doing anything bad. Brazil started talking to Iraq. Most of the questions seemed personal, but I listened in, anyway.

"So what is this 'situation' you have going on?" Brazil asked. Iraq was surprisingly more than willing to answer.

"I don't have parents. It's not like I ever had parents, it's just that Iran, my older brother is supposedly our new parent and everything is just confusing and stressful," Iraq answered.

"Damn, is Iran, like, a remarkable dad or...?" Brazil asked sarcastically.

"He is alright, I guess. But he is really only my brother, not my dad,"

"Brazil! Keep cleaning!" Mr NATO shouted.

"Okay, okay! Geez, need not shout!" Brazil mumbled again in an arrogant Shakespearean voice as he continued scrubbing.

About an hour passed, and I felt Russia nudge my shoulder. I looked over at him, making sure not to stop scrubbing.

"Bela's performance is in an hour," He whispered. I knew it was possible that I could late, I looked at what they left to clean off the wall. There was still a lot to go, and there was no way we could collectively get it done in an hour.

I had a bad feeling come over me and I started scrubbing harder, hoping that it would get the job done faster. Half an hour went by and I must have power-cleaned half of the wall.

"Good job, New Zealand, you can have a small break," Mr NATO praised. Despite the rareness of praise for a guy so cold-hearted, I didn't even care. I needed to get this wall clean, so I completely ignored him and kept scrubbing.

"Four minutes until it starts," Russia reminded me. I felt panicked, but I got a small idea.

"Mr NATO, I might go on that break now," I explained quickly before running out of the alleyway and down to the school. I didn't hear Mr NATO call after me, but that might have been because I was already too far ahead.

As soon as I entered the doors of the school, I could see everyone else walking around in casual clothes. I looked down at my school uniform and ran to the school bathrooms. They were a complete mess, but hid in one stall and searched through my bag in hopes I had some kind of t-shirt to wear instead of the school shirt. The shorts would be fine, though.

As I scavenged my bag for clothes, I found a plastic bag with a note attached. It was from Mum. I read the note.

I know you don't have any nice clothes, so I bought you some for your little date. I know you wouldn't let me pick your clothes, but knowing you, you would have completely forgotten until the last minute. So here you go!

-Mum

I pulled out the clothes. It was a tidy light blue shirt with minimal plant design and a pair of black jeans. I quietly thank Mum for coming to the rescue and got changed. I decided to stick my bag back in my locker and made my way down to the main auditorium.