Chapter 15 : Detention center
Chapter 15: Detention center
ELLA’S POV
It was a total mess that’s the only way to describe it.
From the second Miss Paige told us to stay back, I knew this wasn’t going to be some quiet little “reflect on your actions” session. It was about the punishment, yes, but it was also humiliating for me.
Detention wasn’t supposed to have my name attached to it.
I don’t get detention.
I will perform, I lead the chants, I win the titles. I don’t sit in empty classrooms after school with the girl who’s been slowly picking apart everything that used to be mine.
But there I was in detention with the girl who I thought was my friend.
The classroom smelled faintly of whiteboard cleaner and dust. The late afternoon sun filtered through the blinds in thin stripes across the desks. Mrs. Carter, the supervising teacher, barely looked up when we walked in.
“Phones on my desk, ladies, and sit separately.”
Lilian placed hers down without a word. I hesitated for half a second before doing the same. We chose desks on opposite sides of the room.
Silence settled between us like a loaded weapon.
For the first ten minutes, we didn’t say anything.
Just the scratch of pencils and the faint ticking of the wall clock filled the room. I stared at the blank sheet in front of me, pretending to write whatever pointless reflection Mrs. Carter had assigned.
Reflect on your behavior and how it impacts the team and your education.
I almost laughed when she said it. The team was fine before Lillian behaved like a demon, before she started hovering around Hayden like she didn’t know exactly what she was doing and people started whispering about it. It was fine before Miss Paige stripped me of the captain title like I was suddenly disposable calling it punishment for fighting and now I have to fight back for my place.
I could feel Lilian’s presence across the room. She was calm, quiet, and probably pretending she was the victim.
My jaw tightened.
I tried to ignore it…..tried but then my mind kept replaying that entire scene over and over again.
She was standing on her toes with her lips brushing Hayden’s cheek. The way he froze and looked at her.
Something inside my chest twisted so sharply I had to press my nails into my palm to steady myself.
She did that on purpose and it was not because she likes him or that she is as innocent as she claimed but because she wanted me to see it and that’s when I realized something that made my stomach burn…….She thinks she’s winning.
My chair scraped against the floor before I even fully decided to move.
Mrs. Carter glanced up. “Is there a problem?”
“No,” I said smoothly, forcing a smile. “I'm just adjusting.”
I didn’t sit back down. Instead, I turned slightly toward Lilian. She didn’t look up at first.
“Enjoy the show?” I asked quietly.
Her pencil paused.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, voice calm.
That calm tone of hers. I hated it. “Don’t,” I said. “Don’t pretend.”
Now she looked at me. Her eyes were steady. “Ella, I’m not pretending anything.”
“Oh, please.” I laughed softly. “The hallway? The kiss? You just had to do that in front of me?”
Her expression didn’t change.
“I kissed his cheek,” she said. “It wasn’t a crime. It was a thank you for walking me and in some cultures it is practically normal.”
“It was a calculated move and you know what the fuck you are doing.”
She tilted her head slightly. “Is that what this is about? You’re upset?” She shook her head like she was disappointed.
My stomach flipped. “I’m not upset,” I snapped, a little louder than I meant to.
Mrs. Carter cleared her throat. “Lower your voices.” she gave us a stern look and continued with her phone.
We both nodded but the silence didn’t come back the same way. It was charged up now.
“You don’t get to act innocent,” I continued, quieter but sharper. “You knew what you were doing from the start.”
“From the start?” she repeated. “Ella, you cheated on Stephen with Hayden. That’s not on me and I wasn't the one who made Hayden break up with you.”
My jaw locked. “That was none of your business.”
“It became my business when you dragged my name into it.” she hissed.
“You didn’t have to get involved but you had to go talk with Hayden.”
“I didn’t,” she said firmly. “Hayden talked to me also. For fuck sake, the dude was feeling down and I tried to cheer him up. Where were you, his supposed girlfriend, when the whole school called him a homophobic bigot?"
That stung more than I expected because she was right. When I had cheated on Stephen, even though he was a jerk in our relationship, I shouldn't have slept with his brother who would in turn use me as a means to piss off Stephen. Then when it was out thea the two guys were fighting over me, it was fun at first till it came out that Hayden had been homophobic and I never wanted to be part of that heat. But that’s an open thing I was never going to admit to anyone, most especially Lilian.
“You think you’re better than me?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “I think you’re angry and that's very understandable.”
The way she said it, like she understood me, made something inside me snap. “I’m going to take back everything you stole,” I said, leaning forward slightly.
Her brows furrowed. “Stole?”
“Yes. The team, the attention, and most especially Hayden.”
Her eyes widened a bit, and she looked at me like I had gone mad. “I didn’t steal Hayden.”
“You took him the second you started acting all sweet, quiet, and harmless,” I shot back. “You let people think you’re the victim so they would turn on me.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is. I know you, Lilian. We used to be friends.”
“You did this to yourself,” she said, and now there was steel in her voice. “I didn’t tell you to cheat and I didn’t tell you to shove me in front of everyone.”
“That was one push.”
“And it was enough to start whatever you think this is,” she said and we both glared at each other, with rage filling me up.