*

I had never gotten detention before.

At least not one this boring.

Detention at White Winter Prep was very old fas.h.i.+oned for such a high-tech academic environment. Me, along with eight other students ranging from all years, were placed in a rectangular room with large picture frame like windows showing off the freedom that was the afternoon sun. The floors were a clean, polished tile, the walls a bright but dull white to match the ceiling and whiteboard, and the desks were lined in rows of seven.

There were two options for this detention: Wait out the two-hour ordeal in silence doing either homework or school related projects or write out 'I will not misbehave' five hundred times. Whichever came first.

I attempted to do the 'I will not misbehave' punishment, but after fifty-three times my hand started to cramp, and I could almost see the letters ingrained behind my eyelids. I rested my head against the desk, an exercise the majority of my fellow detentionees did, and decided to wait out the remaining one hour and fifty minutes. It wasn't all bad. Gave me a lot of time to reflect and just think, which took me down some interesting paths, but our teacher watching us constantly left to go to the bathroom for long stretches at a time, leaving the students to our own devices. This mainly involved paper soccer, paper-ball basketball, paper airplanes and any other paper related activity we could hide at a moments notice.

I didn't spend the whole time in silence though, as one of the Delinquents was also in this detention with me. Josh Guest seemed like a cool guy.

When we were allowed out, I wandered out with Josh, who was quickly scooped up by his friends who had stuck around the school grounds. Dylan was among them and approached me while the others razzed on Josh for whatever he got detention for.

"Mr Goody-Newbie got in trouble," he teased half-heartedly.

I rolled my eyes, "I've seen things man. I've been set on the straight and narrow."

He scoffed, "Got excited, thought you had a taste for the dark side. We're thinking of going to this old parking lot full of abandon cars, smash some windows, wanna join?" His offer came with a sly smile, and a strange gleam in his eye that reminded me of when we rode around that golf cart at the course.

"Tempting, but I'll pa.s.s. I've got to get back to the dorm. A lot of drama going on now," I informed.

Dylan nodded, "Yeah, Rusty told me some of it. I'd stay out of it if I were you. Rich kid drama is the worst kind," he stated.

I shook my head, "I don't think them being rich has much to do with it this time."

Despite their plans, the Delinquents followed me most of the way to my dorm. Or rather, Dylan followed me, and the other boys followed Dylan. When we came to the dirt street of the dorm, we all parted way, the guys each giving me their own personalised farewell ranging from fist b.u.mps to a punch on the arm.

When I wandered out the back to put my bike in the shed, I saw Mia and Alexis sitting on a picnic blanket, still in their school uniforms. Mia laid on her front, invested in a thick, leather bound book, and Alexis laid beside her, earbuds in as her feet tapped to the beat of her music.

I approached slowly, wanting to surprise Alexis. Mia lifted her gaze from her book and began to push herself upright to approach me. I held my hands out for her to stop and made a hushed gesture. Understanding, Mia relaxed and returned to her reading. I managed to sneak beside Alexis, whatever music she listened to loud enough for me to hear it and tickled her.

She reacted at first out of surprise and then laughter upon realising it was me. She curled against my touch as she pulled out her earbuds and spoke, "Stop it! Stop Ahh!" She continued laughing long after I stopped and watched her catch her breathe. "Mia, you betrayed me," Alexis panted, rubbing her stomach.

Mia barely reacted to the accusation.

"How's it going?" I asked as I leant over her. She found my head and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a kiss.

Mia released a strange groan, as I pulled away, I watched her roll around the picnic blanket, book firmly pressed against her face. Alexis laughed as she dropped her hands from my face, "Sorry, Mia. Kissing's over."

Mia lifted her head, returning to her reading like nothing happened, but this time with reddened cheeks.

"You're home late," Alexis stated almost headb.u.t.ting me when she sat up. I straightened in time to watch her fiddle with her MP3 player.

"I got detention," I informed.

Alexis nodded, "I heard about that actually." Alexis placed her music player on the ground, "Are you okay?"

I nodded, "I'll be fine. It's Ava and Robyn I'm worried about."

Alexis sighed. "I overheard them talking when I got home. Robyn's parents want to talk to Ava about the incident. It can't be good."

In the corner of my eye, I saw Mia shaking her head.

When I walked inside, I got hit by a wave of nausea, nothing health related, just anxiety driven, at the sound of Ava's voice.

From the back door in the hallway, I could hear her voice in the kitchen. I slowly walked down the hallway, making as little sound as possible as I stood by the doorway. I peered inside the kitchen and saw Ava, her back to me at the dining table, with an open laptop in front of her and a landline phone pressed against her ear. She was alone in the room.

She was nodding, every now and then voicing a 'yep' and 'very well.' Occasionally she sighed, her body language s.h.i.+fting to show off how much of a toll the conversation was having on her. She leaned her head heavily on her hand, at one point taking the phone away from her ear to mumble something to herself before returning.

I leant against the doorframe, unsure whether to intervene, but too curious to simply walk away.

Eventually, Ava made a final nod. "Yes sir. I understand," she breathed, I could tell she was trying to level her breath, "I agree. My actions were completely unacceptable." Ava arched her head up, staring at the ceiling as an indistinct voice continued from the other side of the phone. "Very well sir. We await your arrival. Bye."

Ava slammed the phone on the table, an act so aggressive it cracked the landline plastic. In immediate regret, Ava retracted her hand, pinching the bridge of her nose. "G.o.d d.a.m.nit…" her voice cracked, and I almost stepped forwards thinking she was crying.

The Skype ringtone sounded from the laptop, startling both me and Ava. Ava quickly cleaned herself up, rubbing her hands on her cheeks and smoothing down her hair. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, straightening her posture as she answered the call.

"Hi!" she greeted loudly, her hands waving in front of the camera.

I caught a glimpse over her shoulder at a woman with dark blonde hair and an elderly complexion, sat next to her was a young boy with tanned skin and short black hair. They waved their hands about in a similar fas.h.i.+on, their expression ecstatic to see Ava.

"It's nice to see you too," Ava's voice sounded chipper, but choked, as if she suffered from a sore throat. As she spoke, her hands gestured around her, and I quickly realised she was signing. Unlike her, the woman and young boy didn't verbally say anything, they continued to sign.

"I know, it's an unexpected call," Ava said, her motions exaggerated for the call. "Ma, can I talk to Nicoli alone for a moment?"

The older woman nodded, picking up the boy and placing him on whatever seat they were on. Ava gave him another wave, and together they just started talking, their conversation completely ordinary. Ava asked him about school, and projects that he did last month and how soccer was going. He was excited to sign how he had kicked a winning goal and won the player of the week award.

For the most part however, I didn't know what they were discussing. My sign language understanding wasn't as polished as Ava's and whomever she was speaking with, and they spoke to one another quickly. I tried to stay out of sight of both, but I was momentarily mesmerised by their fluent language.

"Anything else happening, goofball?" Ava asked. The little boy shook his head. "Alright, I have something to tell Ma. Can you put her back on, please?"

The video chat had some static as the boy moved the laptop he was using and ran around the house with it in search of Ma. All the while Ava slouched in her chair, sinking lower and lower as she flexed her fingers and rubbed her eyes. When the camera steadied and the woman came into focus, Ava perked up, offering another greeting.

Unlike with the boy, Ava didn't speak at all when she signed, and from behind I could only understand snippets of words like 'Father' and 'Thank you' and a strange spinning motion that was either 'insane' or 'confused.'

Despite my lack of knowledge, the moment seemed tense. I managed to steal some glances at Ma and she looked slightly distressed. I recognised Ava's, 'It's fine,' and 'don't worry,' followed by more signs I missed. Ma verbally spoke, her voice sounding unused and croaky, but understandable. "Ava, sweetie, you're allowed to be upset."

Ava sighed, rubbing her hands on her face as she shook her head. "It was my fault Ma. I had lost my temper, and this is just the consequence of it," she explained along with sign.

"What about Robyn?" Ma's voice sounded strained.

Ava shook her head. "Ma, don't strain your voice," she said, "And Robyn… doesn't have a choice, she'll just have to deal with it like the rest of us."

Ma shook her head, "But you love her, Ava."

I heard Ava's breath hitch and watched as she visibly tensed. She turned her head to avoid Ma's gaze and caught me in the corner of her eye. Her eyes were puffy, yet somehow not red. She held my stare, trying and failing to silently send me away, before she turned back to Ma and said, "Which is why I won't embarra.s.s her family by causing a scene in my dismissal." Ma attempted to say something else, but Ava shook her head, "I've got to go. Kiss Carlos goodnight for me and give Pa my best."

Ma attempted to speak, but Ava closed the laptop lid, silencing the conversation. She pushed the chair back and scooped up the laptop, turned on her heels and walked past me without a word.