Detention and New Best Friends

 

“Psssssttttt!”

Don’t turn, E!

“Ellie!” I pretended like I didn’t hear anything.

“E!” I gritted my teeth and resisted the urge to just look back and yell at the top of my lungs.

“Ellie-bear!”

Don’t look back! You are full of peace, E!

“Eleanor!”

P-E-A-C-E. That’s my mantra.

“Ellie-poo!”

These idiots can never break you, Ellie!

“Ellieeeeee!”

Breathe in, Breathe out...

“Ellie-belly!”

That’s it!

“What the fudge-berries is wrong with you two?!” I yell as I turn around in my seat to glare at the two identical dumbos.

I was peacefully doodling in my notebook in the chemistry class when Mason and Jason told the grumpy, old teacher, Mrs Sandy Krampe that I was disturbing them. They were already disturbing the class so they got detention but when the grumpy teacher saw that I wasn’t focusing, she gave me detention too.

Now, if it were any other teacher, I could have gotten out of trouble easily. But the old Mrs Sandy who pretends to be a little too young for her age with her short skirt and a top two-sizes too small for her, hates me! She despises me so much that she just tries to find reasons to punish me. And that too all because when I attended her first class as a freshman, I pointed out how what she was teaching us was wrong.

And now my own friends gave her a reason to hand me a detention slip. They gave her a reason to delay my freedom from this tortuous place everyone calls school. I could see the kids laughing in the parking lot as they met their friends and headed home while I was stuck here with the troublemakers who were sending me winks and chits, asking for my number.

“Gee! Someone’s getting ready to challenge godzilla!” Mason muttered as he took in my fuming state. That comment made me angry and by the look on Jason’s face, I could tell that he knew how his lookalike was lighting the spark for a wildfire to come to life.

“Mace, bro, shut up. The volcano is about to erupt!” Jason warned his brother. It was their silly code line. Whenever I got angry, they always said that the volcano was about to erupt. They thought that it was clever of them and that no one else could understand the meaning of their words. These idiots think that no one other than them understands English language.

Sometimes I wonder why I still stick with such dumb friends…

“You’re damn right! The volcano is about to erupt and it will burn you two to ash!” I growled at them as I got up. But before I could do anything, I felt a pair of strong arms grab me by my waist. I growled at the person who was holding me back.

“E, these two aren’t worth it! Just an hour and then we’ll be out of here.” I heard Xander’s deep voice whispering in my ear from behind me as he pulled me closer into his chest. I sighed. “Breathe in. breathe out.” Xander whispered in a soothing voice, making me calm down.

Just then, realisation dawned upon me.

“Wait! We will be out in an hour’s time? Why are you in detention?” I questioned him as I turned around to face him. He shrugged his shoulders.

“I didn’t have anything better to do and Damien was going to his boxing practice. Liam was taking Kara on a date and the twins are stuck here with you. So, I decided to join you in detention.” Xander replied with a bored expression as if he was telling me that the night sky is darker than the morning sky.

“You decided to join us in detention? And would you care to explain exactly how you got here?” I asked him as I crossed my arms.

“It was really simple. I just told Mrs Sandy that she is a little too fat and might break her chair if she sat on it for more than a minute.” Xander shrugged as he sat on the seat beside the one that I was previously sitting in.

“Xander!” I exclaimed as I stared at him with my eyes wide. He looked at me with a bored expression. “You can’t just get in trouble to stay in detention because you wanted to hang out with your friends!” I told him.

“Yes, I can. And I did. It is my duty to make sure that my friends stay alive. And I know for a fact that if I hadn’t arrived at the right time, you would have murdered them!” Xander told me with a serious expression on his handsome face.

“Aww! You came here for me and my clone? I am touched, Xan.” Mason says as he blows air kisses to Xander.

“I was born first, Mace. I can’t be your clone, you handsome guy!” Jason complained.

“No! I was born first!” Mason grumbled.

“Both of you, Shut up before you start fighting again! I don’t want to hear it all again!” Xander said.

“Oh really? But I do wonder who the elder one is…” I said as I pretended to think.

“I am!” Mason spoke up. “That's why I look more mature and I am taller than my younger brother, Jace.” He added as he stood up on his toes.

“We look exactly the same and we have the same height, stupid! Standing on your toes doesn't really make you taller.” Jason said as he face-palmed himself. "Your stupid actions prove that I am more mature and hence the elder one!” Jason added with a smug smile. I chuckled as I heard Xander groan in frustration.

“Please make them stop!” Xander pleaded to me. I always knew what to say to make the twins stop arguing just like I knew what to say to make them start an argument. I smirked at Xander as he looked at me pleadingly.

“Too bad that you came here for them. Now enjoy!” I told him as I crossed my arms and looked at the twins as they continued the arguments. The others in the room were enjoying the banter between the two brothers as well. It wasn't everyday that they saw two highschool seniors fighting like kids over who the elder twin was.

“I beg you, E! Please make them stop! I can't bear this any longer! I'm about to faint! Help your best friend!” Xander pleaded. I raised an eyebrow at his exasperation. “Why aren't you helping me? I thought that best friends are supposed to help each other.” Xander whined when he saw that I wasn't going to do anything.

“The moment you said that you are here for the people who landed me in detention, you stopped being my best friend. I have a new best friend now!” I told him as I smirked in his direction.

“And who the hell on earth agreed to be your best friend?” Xander questioned me with an angry look in his eyes.

Ever since we were little, I always knew how Xander never liked me calling anyone else as my best friend. We have been close since the start. Our parents were close friends, so we grew up together since we were born. Xander and I were inseparable as kids. When we grew up and started playing with other kids our age, he would always try something or the other to get my attention. I was never able to make new friends and he didn't want any other friends. That was when our parents told us that we were best friends and that we should make others our friends too. They told us that we'll be the closest and the others would be on a slightly lower level of friendship. That had eased little Xander's mind somehow and he had finally let me make new friends.

But till now, Xander never liked me calling anyone else my best friend. The twins and Liam and Damien were exceptions as they were our mutual best friends. But he still considered me to be his closest best friend. Xander's fear of losing the best friend title in my life was probably the reason why I didn't have any girl best friends. He never even let me go through the phase where I was supposed to believe that boys have cooties.

I looked around the room at the others who were at detention with us. The twins were still arguing, saying nonsense things, making everyone laugh. I saw Ethan, the guy from my calculus class. He was the baseball team captain and with his blonde hair, blue eyes and an athlete’s fit physique, he was quite the eye-candy. But for some reason, he and Xander never got along. Maybe because Xander was the quarterback of the football team. But whatever the reason, Xander didn’t like him and he didn’t let me talk to him either. Once, Xander and Ethan even got into a serious fight where Xander even broke Ethan’s arm.

“Ethan's my new best friend.” I said, cheerfully. My voice was loud enough to get Ethan's attention. He looked at me in shock as I smiled at him. “Right, Ethan?” I asked him sweetly.