Chapter 148 Chapter One Hundred And Forty Eight
Mrs. Sinclair moved around the desk calmly. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat when I stopped directly in front of Allison, looking down at her coldly.
"Miss Vandenberg," she said harshly, bearing down on Allison till she was forced to pull back in her chair, "you appear to be under the misapprehension that you are my equal. I suggest you rein it in and take a seat."
She plucked the phone from Allison's hand and walked to the corner of the room, dropping it into a clear plastic box labelled CONFISCATED ITEMS.
"You can't—" Allison sputtered. "That's my property…"
"Sit. Down."
Allison sat, her face flushed red with humiliation and rage. Madison, beside her, looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor.
Mrs. Sinclair returned to her desk, her composure completely intact. "Will one of you explain this to me calmly, please? Explain why my cafeteria is currently covered in five thousand dollars' worth of food? Explain it to me so I have something to tell the poor janitor who has to clean up your mess!"
Jace opened his mouth.
"Not you, delinquent." Mrs. Sinclair pointed at Noah. "You, the one wearing sunglasses indoors. Tell me what happened."
Noah removed his sunglasses carefully, folding them and placing them in his pocket.
He spoke in a calm, respectful voice, the perfect picture of a well-raised young man explaining an unfortunate misunderstanding.
“I believe there was a minor misunderstanding between Lena and Allison over who should get a seat at the popular table, ma’am.”
Marcus scoffed, “You call that minor?”
“Alright, major misunderstanding.” Noah sighed heavily and continued, “Anyway, tensions ran high, things escalated quickly, and before anyone could de-escalate the situation, it spiralled out of control.”
Finally, he said, glancing sadly at me, “I take full responsibility for not preventing it, and I genuinely apologise about the whole thing."
I stared at him. He was so good at this; so smooth and convincing that if I didn't know better, I probably would’ve believed he was completely innocent.
Mrs. Sinclair studied him for a long moment. "So you're telling me all of this happened over a table?"
"That is correct."
She let out a long, weary sigh and rubbed her temples. "Then consider the table gone. From now on, there will be no more reserved seats in the cafeteria. All students may sit wherever they please, provided they get there first."
"That's not fair!" Allison burst out.
"That's bullshit!" Madison added.
Mrs. Sinclair' gave them both a stiff, withering glare, and both girls shut their mouths immediately.
Then her attention shifted to Nicole, Allison, and me. "You three were at the centre of this mess. You will all serve detention and community service, starting with the cafeteria that you have ruined. You will help the janitor clean up until every single crumb is gone, do you understand?”
"Look, I get it if you punish me and Allison," Nicole said, leaning forward earnestly. "But Lena is a victim here. She was attacked. She really doesn't deserve to be punished at all. I don’t even know why she’s here.”
Mrs. Sinclair turned to me. "Is that so?" Her eyes bored into mine, scaring me half to death.
"Well, Lena, I have to settle this somehow. Would you prefer to do detention and community service, or would you prefer to have your scholarship rescinded for spitting in the face of this prestigious school, charitable enough to enrol you without payment?"
My throat went tight at the sound of her threat. The choice was definitely obvious.
I swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper. "Detention, please."
Please don't take away my scholarship. Please. I'll do anything. I'll clean every bathroom in this school. Just don't take away my only chance at college, I begged in my head.
"Then it's settled." Mrs. Sinclair made a note on her paper.
"Also—" I forced myself to speak up, even though my voice shook. "Can you please maybe not call my mom?”
Mrs. Sinclair looked up, one eyebrow raised. "And why is that?"
"It's just... she's really busy, and I don't want this on her plate as well."
My mother worked far too hard and she was already stressed all the time. Not to mention we had said goodbye to each other on very good terms just this morning. This would break her heart.
"Well, you should have thought of that before getting into a fight," Mrs. Sinclair said flatly. "I'll be calling all of your parents."
"You can't be serious—" Allison started.
Jace went visibly pale, his jaw clenching.
His father, I realized. Mr. Dawson is going to hear about this. He's already on his last chance, what’s going to happen to him?
A fresh wave of guilt washed over me as I cursed myself for ever getting him involved in the first place.
Mrs. Sinclair continued, addressing the boys now. "The rest of you will serve two weeks of detention and rearrange the school library, reorganizing the books in whatever order the librarian instructs you to.”
She cleared her throat and continued, “You will all report to Mr Reeves, the new substitute teacher. He will be supervising you all throughout your detention to make sure you don't slack off."
Her eyes landed on Jace. "Especially you, Mr Dawson. You are the most truant of them all, judging by your colourful record. I heard all about your antics with Mr. Reeves this morning."
Jace's hands clenched into fists on his lap. I could see him struggling not to tell her exactly where she could shove her detention.
"I hope none of this is ever going to repeat itself," Mrs. Sinclair said, her voice final. "Will it?"
"No, ma'am," Noah said smoothly.
"No, ma'am," Nicole muttered.
"Whatever," Jace growled.
"Fine," Jake sighed.
"This is ridiculous," Allison hissed.
"Sure thing," Marcus added reluctantly.
"Yes, ma'am," I whispered, my voice barely audible.
My first day back, I thought worriedly, biting my lip so hard I tasted blood. I already have detention. Mom is going to find out. Mr. Dawson is going to find out. Everything is falling apart!
"Dismissed." Mrs. Sinclair commanded without sparing us another glance.
We stood as a group, shuffling toward the door like prisoners being released from interrogation.
Coach Ellis stepped aside to let us pass, and I could feel his eyes following me while I walked away.
As I stepped into the hallway, the reality of what had just happened crashed over me like a wave.
My scholarship was now hanging by a thread, my mom was going to be called, and the cherry on top was that I had given myself detention for the foreseeable future.
And somehow, despite everything, I still had to make it through the rest of the school day.
Oh, Lena. How are you going to get yourself out of this one?