Chapter 147 – Spread Thin – Ellie Daniels

This was my first time in after school detention since entering high school. It was painfully boring. The obnoxious ticking of the analog clock, the staleness of the warm air in a windowless room, the half-asleep teacher meant to be watching us. This was everything I expected it’d be!

There were only two people in the room aside from myself. Mr. Paddock was quietly dozing off at the front desk, snapping back into alertness at the infrequent sound of Zara’s phone vibrating on her desk. We weren’t supposed to have our cell phones out but Mr. Paddock didn’t care enough to stop Zara.

Zara was such a frequent visitor in after school detention that there was literally a desk near the front of the room with her name on it. She wasn’t sitting in it of course. Again, Mr. Paddock was completely unwilling to deal with her, and for understandable reasons. Zara had a reputation.

She was sitting on the other side of the room for me, drawing in one of the school text books with a literal crayon. She was listening to music on her phone and loudly munching on potato chips from a small bag. Her routine was only broken up by the occasional texts from her friends.

Unlike her, I was using this chance to get some homework done. Detention wasn’t so bad when I considered how useful this time was for studying. I’d rather be studying here than at home. My home wasn’t what it once was these days. I wasn’t in a hurry to get back.

“Yo, Ellz…!” Zara said when she came over to sit in the desk in front of me. “You working on that homework we got back in math class?”

“Please don’t call me that...” I said politely.

She loudly plopped her book bag down on the desk in front of me, once again waking Mr. Paddock from his stupor. She was doing this for laughs at this point. Mr. Paddock just shook his head in annoyance and went straight back to sleep.

“Can I see your homework, Ellz?” Zara asked.

“Only if you don’t call me that,” I said with a weak smile.

She grinned widely at me. Going by that grin, this wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. She pulled out a crumpled up sheet of paper, her math homework, and laid it down beside mine. She turned her head awkwardly to try reading my answers.

The immediate problem here was that she was only copying the answers themselves and not showing her work. The teacher wasn’t going to accept this. The answers were in the back of the text book, after all. If this was what she was going to do then she didn’t even need my help to begin with.

“So, tell me,” She said conversationally as she wrote, “How did a geeky, big brain, smart aleck, teacher’s pet, goody two-shoes like you wind up in detention with the likes of me?”

“I’ll uhh… I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said lightly. “It was a misunderstanding. I ‘skipped’ PE class by waiting outside the door to the gym. I told the PE teacher that my stomach hurt and that I’d need to sit out for this session. She told me to go to the nurse’s office, but I wasn’t feeling that bad. I just needed to sit down. So when I never reported in to the nurse’s office she counted me as truant.”

“Wow, what a bitch.” Zara said unrepentantly.

“So what are you in for?” I asked.

“I got caught for copying someone’s homework and then I called the teacher a bitch when she got mad about it.”

“Wow…”

“So…” She said in a weirdly salacious voice, “I hear that you and Holly Hayfield are punching the kitty together.”

I rolled my eyes at her.

“I should punch you just for talking like that.”

Zara laughed.

“I doubt even your best punch would hurt. Give me your best shot!” She said smugly.

“I was just kidding. Do your homework!” I said, trying not to laugh.

“Come on, hit me!” She shouted. “Don’t be a coward! Hit me!”

Mr. Paddock tossed one of the pens from his desk at the back of Zara’s head.

“Ow!” Zara said as she rubbed her head and turned towards him. “I didn’t mean you!”

“Look girls,” Mr. Paddock said, pointing at the clock. “There’s another half-hour of detention left but I’d really like to head home and get some rest. Dealing with children like Zara all day wears me out.”

“There are no children like Zara!” Zara said. “Just the one!”

Mr. Paddock didn’t react to Zara’s statement with the least amount of interest.

“Yeah… Listen, if I let you two go early you won’t get me in trouble, will you? You two will be good girls, won’t you?”

“Yes sir.” I said duly.

“Hell no!” Zara said emphatically. “I’m a loose cannon that can’t be muzzled like some sort of domesticated pet! I…!”

“Alright,” Mr. Paddock said, standing up and putting on his jacket, “Miss Daniels, I hope you have a good weekend. Zara, I’ll be seeing you on Monday.”

“You too!” I said.

“Bye Aaron!” Zara sang lyrically as Mr. Paddock walked out.

Zara immediately turned towards me.

“You headed outside to see your lover?” She asked.

“We’re not really… Well, she’s not exactly…”

“Yes or no?!” Zara asked.

“No, I think the track and field team is still in practice. I’m going to the library to see Opal.”

“Sweet! I’ll give you a ride there on my skateboard!”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

“Just come on! I’m getting pretty good at riding it!”

True to her word, Zara attempted to give me a ride on her skateboard through the school hallways. Emphasis on the word attempted. We ended up painfully smacking into the floor just a few feet after starting. I didn’t know much about skateboarding, but why would she even dare start out at such a high speed?

I walked to the library on my own after that. There, Opal was sitting at the front desk as she usually was during this time of day. One of my classmates, Derrick, was trying to return a book late. Opal was in the middle of writing him up for failing to bring it back on time. He sighed in relief when he saw me walk in.

“Ellie!” Derrick said happily, “Please convince your friend not to write me up for this! She’s being unreasonable!”

“It’s the rules, Mr. Rodriguez.” Opal said sternly. “Where would we be without them? Fools like you would run the world, Mr. Rodriguez. Look at the bright side. This is only the second time I’ve written you up. You don’t get detention until the third time.”

“I was ten minutes late, Opal! Ten minutes! Surely you can tell that I intended to return the book on the same day it was due, right?”

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“If I excuse this instance of late return, then what’s from stopping the next person from using the same excuse? One hour late…? One day late…? One week late…? Where is the line drawn, Mr. Rodriguez? I say it’s drawn here at the front of the book where the due date and time is written.”

“Oh my god!” Derrick said, rolling his head back in frustration.

I laughed and walked over to Opal’s side behind the counter. I laid a friendly hand on one of her shoulders.

“I think we can let Derrick here off with a fair warning this time, can’t we?” I asked. “The final school bell only rang fifteen minutes ago, didn’t it?”

“And had he come straight here after class we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Opal said.

“I got caught up talking to a friend that saw me in the hall on my way here!” Derrick said defensively. “It’s not like I could just snub them to their face!”

“Then let this be a valuable lesson on…” Opal started to say.

I took hold of Opal’s writing hand to stop her from completing the report.

“Opal…” I said, looking her straight in the eyes.

She stared at me expressionlessly for a moment before returning her gaze back to Derrick.

“Fine.” Opal said as she readjusted her glasses. “I’ll let you go this time, but you’d better remember this the next time you use the library. I’ll be watching you like a hawk.”

“Haha, finally! Thank you, Ellie!” Derrick said as he backed away. “Listen, I’ll pay you back for this somehow Ellie, promise!”

Derrick ran out of the library before Opal had the chance to change her mind. Opal turned towards me with an irritated look.

“If you’re too nice to them they’ll never respect you.” Opal said. “The fear of winding up in after school detention is the only thing that keeps this school from complete and total anarchy.”

I laughed and stepped behind her to massage her shoulders. She was tense, as always.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure!” I said playfully, “All hail the mighty library assistant, decider of fates! Obey ye divine academic commandments or face torturous purgatory the likes of which you could never imagine!”

“Oh please,” She said as she straightened the stack of papers in her hands against the desk top, “Even I’m not that pompous and verbose.”

I had half a mind to argue this point. She noticed my drawn-out silence and conveniently decided to change the topic.

“Anyways, how did your after school detention go? I still can’t believe they sent you there. I talked to the principal on your behalf about the misunderstanding. As always, he claims he’ll do something about it on the next school day. I’ve never met such a useless principal.”

I laughed. I could already imagine the conversation with him, poor guy. The principal once referred to Opal as his biggest admirer, given how often she makes appointments with him about school affairs.

“It was fine. In fact, I’m out of detention early.”

“Now that you mention it… Wait… Did Zara stink bomb the detention room again in order to get out early?”

“No,” I laughed. “Mr. Paddock decided to go home early for the day to get some rest. He says he’s exhausted from dealing with people like Zara.”

“I’ve never met a teacher that I can sympathize with so much.” Opal said as she finished putting her things into her bag.

“You’re ready to walk home?” I asked.

“I am.”

“What about Holly?” I asked. “Isn’t she still in track practice?”

“Track practice ended a while ago. A girl from there came here to turn in a book. She said the coach had a personal emergency to handle. Holly’s already out of practice. She’s just hanging out with her other friends.”

“She might be waiting for us at the front of the school.”

“You think so?” Opal asked sarcastically. “After all this time you’re still giving her the benefit of the doubt?”

“Come on, let’s go.” I said. “Even if she isn’t there yet it won’t be a big deal to wait a couple of minutes.”

“Seems like we’re waiting on her ‘a couple of minutes’ more and more each day…”

“Don’t be like that.” I said. “Let’s just go and look for her.”

“Ugh, fine… Just let me finish locking up the library first.”

Opal took her time locking up the library. I had seen her do this hundreds of times. She first became a library assistant way back in the 9th grade and was still going strong as one even now in the 11th grade. She was moving like a sloth, probably trying to prove a point.

The point being, that even moving slow, we’d probably beat Holly to our usual meeting spot. She was always late joining up with us these days and Opal was unnecessarily salty about it. Actually, she was salty about everything Holly related these days, but she wasn’t the only one.

Holly just recently won several medals at a state-level track and field event. She got silver in two categories and gold in another category. Ever since then her popularity at Cherry Vale Public High School exploded in a considerable way. She was always popular, but now she was a straight-up idol.

Opal and I watched our best friend become a celebrity practically overnight. She was interviewed by a news reporter that visited our school. The principal handed her a commendation in front of the entire school. She was even being recognized by students from other schools on the street.

She was amazing, and she was mine. I was so proud of her, more so than ever before. I was an off-and-on member of the track club so I knew just how hard she struggled to make it this far. It was during our outings together that we spent so much time bonding. It was in this time period that we fell in love.

I thought Opal would be happier for us, but she wasn’t. She never said anything to Holly about it, to my knowledge, but she warned me against it. The three of us had been friends since early middle school. Was it really worth risking all that in a high school relationship? Opal thought that the both of us weren’t mature enough for something like that.

Her bucket of cold water on me came at the worst possible time. My parents recently came out to me about the fact that they were separating. This was a total shock to me because I thought they were happy together. They never argued. They never fought. It seemed like they loved each other.

Apparently they agreed to keep things together for so long solely for my benefit. Years ago they agreed to separate once I was old enough and ‘mature’ enough to understand. Now that I was approaching my final year in high school, they were finalizing their plans to sell the family house and split up.

That’s why I didn’t mind if Holly was late these days. Opal hated waiting outside of the school as other people walked off campus, but I didn’t mind. I didn’t want to go back to a home that felt like a former shell of what it used to be. My parents were surprisingly amiable given the situation, and yet I felt like things were in shambles.

“It’s taking her this long, huh?” Opal said. “Well whatever, I’m leaving. Give Holly my regards when you see her.”

Opal walked away from the school building and started in the direction that the three of us lived in. I ran after her.

“Wait!” I said, switching my focus between Opal and the school’s front entrance. “If you just wait a couple more minutes…”

“It’s been fifteen minutes and she’s still not here.” Opal said coldly. “You texted her and she never said anything back. If she gave a damn about us, then…”

“Look, here she comes!” I said, pointing out Holly with one hand and trying to stop Opal with the other.

“Yeah, look at her…” Opal said sourly.

Holly was easy to pick out since she was wearing her pink-and-white long-sleeve track jersey. Additionally, she was wearing all three medals that she recently won around her neck. She was surrounded by a group of girls, non-track members, who looked like they were talking about her medals.

This wasn’t unusual. This wasn’t the first group of girls to come up to her and talk to her about it. She was a role-model to all of the lower classmen that were interested in athletics. Our school had an abundance of athletic groups, but none of them were award-winning like the track and field team.

Our school was average as far as high schools went. It was an okay school, but there were larger, more prestigious schools in the district. For Holly to go against students from those schools and leave them in a dust left an impression on people. She was someone that all of our school had pride in, not just me.

Opal sighed and started to walk away as Holly was still talking to the others.

“Wait!” I said, going after her.

“Wait here if you want.” Opal said. “I’ve got other things to do.”

Opal wasn’t proud of Holly, at least not any more than usual. She wasn’t all that interested in athletics to begin with. That’s why she didn’t even entertain the thought of getting into track and field with us. From Opal’s perspective, Holly’s recent gain in popularity due to athletics was something that she couldn’t even remotely relate to.

“Opal, please…” I said, following after her.

As I was still trying to convince Opal to wait for Holly, there was no longer any need. Holly rolled up beside us on her bicycle and playfully pinched my side.

“Oh!” I said. “You’re here!”

“I’m here!” She said with a big smile. “Were you two just going to leave without me?”

“Yes.” Opal said in full seriousness.

“No! Well, kinda… Opal was leaving. She said she has some other things to do.”

“My bad! Sorry to keep you waiting! A few girls were asking about my medals.”

“Wow!” Opal said in mock excitement, “Just like the group from yesterday, huh?”

“Yeah,” Holly said. “It’s the first time that someone from our school won a gold medal in that particular competition. Of course everyone wants to see them.”

“Wow! You’re so great!” Opal said.

“I get the feeling that you don’t really mean that…” Holly said, finally catching on to Opal’s game.

“Of course not! Do you know how long we were waiting for you? This isn’t the first time, either. It’s fine if you don’t want to walk home with us, but don’t leave us hanging.”

“It’s not like I was trying to be late. There were just a lot of people that wanted to talk to me on the way outside.”

“Funny, I heard something similar in the library just earlier. Your situation is a more serious case of someone that needs to take a serious look at her priorities.”

“You know, Opal…” Holly started to say angrily.

“Stop it!” I shouted at the two of them. “There’s no need to argue like this.”

“You know I have a point though.” Opal said. “Holly disregarded us to show off to her ‘friends’ once again.”

“I…!” Holly started to say.

She shook her head angrily and then exhaled sharply.

“I messed up.” She said. “You’re right, Opal, it was in poor taste of me to leave you two hanging while I showed off my medals. Can you really blame me though? I spent a lot of time training for this and it paid off in a huge way. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this is the greatest thing to ever happen to me.”

Opal looked away and didn’t challenge Holly any further.

“Let me make it up to you two.” Holly said. “Before we go home let’s hit up that new pizza place on the way. It’ll be my treat. What do you say?”