Chapter 4 Detention

But my gaze was, however, fixated on the one person who ghosted me for two weeks.

Rhea Genova McMillian.

I stare at her dumbfounded. I feel the crowd around us slowly fade away. Feels like forever since I last saw her beautiful face. And right now, I wanted nothing more than to take her in my arms and hold her, ensure that she was standing in front of me and I wasn't hallucinating. I feel my legs take me towards her.

"Take your seat" I hear her voice, which stops me in my tracks. The coldness in which she speaks causes my heart to shatter into a thousand pieces.

I look into her grey eyes, I wasn't sure what I was looking for, maybe a sign that I wasn't the only one shocked by this situation, but all I saw was an emotionless look. She looked at me like I was any other student.

"Take your seat Miss, you're interrupting the class," she says again with more sternness in her voice. Defeated, I make my way to the back of the class, not missing the whispers I heard as I walk.

I take my seat next to a red-haired girl who looked a little too happy for the first day of school. I focused my attention back on Rhea, who walked up to the board and wrote her name in full.

Rhea Genova.

"Good morning class and welcome to Chemistry. I will be your teacher for the school year, you can call me - Rhea Genova McMillian," she says out loud as she scribbled her name on the board.

"I will start by taking attendance. Please answer 'present' when your name is called" Rhea says, clapping her hands and picking up a piece of paper.

Trinidad Ramos.

"Present"

Laure Mackintosh

Present.

The voices slowly fade away as my gaze focuses on the mesmerizing beauty that stood in front of the class. How could she have acted like she didn't know me?

As if the last two weeks didn't exist.

As if the kiss never happened.

How could she have forgotten about me so soon?

"Devon Deya LaCruz"

It wasn't fair, to act that way toward me. Ghost me for something we both wanted and then act like she's never met me before.

"Devon Deya LaCruz"

"Are you not Devon?" I hear the girl by me say, snapping me out of thoughts

"Yes, why?" I ask with an annoyed look on my face.

"Wow! Calm your horses, your name has been called three times now" she says in a defensive tone and I suddenly feel guilty for snapping at her.

"Oh," I say before turning my attention to face the class and my gaze locks with Rhea who doesn't look too pleased. I rolled my eyes, and to top, it all, did she have the guts to look annoyed?

The nerves.

She looks at me, trying to intimidate me and I stare back, not backing down from the staring contest and not giving a damn that the entire class was possible staring at us. Finally, she rolls her eyes before looking down at the piece of paper.

"Devon Deya" she calls out, looking at me. Instead of answering, I lift an arm, marking myself present.

She rolls her eyes again, before putting the piece on the desk and proceeds to scribble some rubbish on the board.

My mind was everywhere but here. I had to talk to her.

No scratch that, I needed to talk to her.

She ghosted me with so many unanswered questions.

The red hair girl who sat next to me bumps my shoulder to get my attention before saying "girl, you better pay attention, the teacher be giving you weird looks" she says seriously, but her eyes hide a hint of amusement.

"Honestly, if I gave fucks about her looks, I wouldn't be here" I retorted

"Well damn. Feisty" she says nodding her head and smiling

"What's funny?" I ask with annoyance written on my face.

"Nothing" she shrugs and I roll my eyes.

I tend back to face the board and was shocked to see Rhea's gaze stuck on mine.

She wasn't happy with my little discussion with red hair.

As if I gave any fucks?

She ignores my little stunt and continues lecturing. My notebook wasn't even out of my backpack yet, which explains how much interest I had in this class. I was ready to call it a day.

But I couldn't. I still had three more periods to sit through, of which if I'm totally honest, I don't see the need for considering I validated Entrepreneurship and English. The subjects which were alien to me were Arts and French. And as for Chemistry, well, that was a deal so it wasn't my first time.

Come to think of it, what happened to the other douchebag lecturer we had last year for chemistry. He was part of the reason why I couldn't pass chemistry.

Not only was he a bad teacher, but he was also a creep.

Always giving me weird looks and wanting me to stay after class. One time he made a comment when he asked me to stay after class and help him carry some items back to his office. He said 'I bet underneath those baggy clothes is some real assets eh?', I had never been so scared, considering last year I took chemistry last period, so the hallway was almost deserted, if anything were to happen, the guards wouldn't hear me scream.

Reasons why for this academic year, I chose second-period chemistry. What could have happened to him? I'm not asking because I am worried, but it will be nice to hear that he got run over by a truck.

"Care to explain why you're smiling Ms Deya?" Rhea's voice gets me off my thoughts. The way she calls my name gave me butterflies because she pronounces it with a Mexican accent, which makes a certain part of my body twitch.

"You wouldn't want to know miss," I say with a smirk. How do I tell the entire class that I was smiling because I pictured Mr Xyning being run over by a truck?

"Try us. I think the entire class will want to know" she pressed. She was daring me. Two can play this game.

I knew what I was about to come out of my mouth will warrant detention after school but I didn't care. If anything, it will give me chance to have a one of one talk with her.

"Miss, I was looking at your lips moving and I couldn't help but think how pretty your lips are and I would love to feel it on me," I say, taking her by surprise while the entire class gasp.

If looks could kill, I will be dead by now. I am not the typical bad boy or bad girl who talks back at teachers or who makes fun of them as they teach, but I had to today, I needed to talk to Rhea and if I meant saying what I said, then so be it.

I knew there was no way she was going to let it slide. I had openly stigmatized her. Every gaze that was on me turned to her as she wondered if she was going to let this slide since it was only the first day at school.

"Detention for one week," she says and I smile.

Yes!

Now I just had to seat through three periods and then I will be able to talk to her.

"You don't look upset about getting detention" red said next to me

I looked at her "what makes you say that?" I ask

"You mean other than the obvious smile on your face when she said detention after class?" red bite back

Oh! Was I that obvious about being happy about getting detention?

I don't reply to her question as I turn to face the front of the class, pretending to be interested in whatever lecture was going on.

"So, do you know her personally?" I hear red whisper by me

"What?" I say

"I asked if you knew her personally because you don't look like someone who will purposely want detention," she says, and I look at her.

I ignore her and turn back my attention back to the lecturer who was giving me a death glare.

Okay, this one I didn't do.

She continues lecturing and this time I tried to pay attention but red wouldn't let me as she pokes my side and continues whispering nonsense to me.

"Can you stop?" I say a bit too loud because the entire class turns and looks at me, Rhea inclusive

"That's it, to the principal's office," Rhea says slamming the folder she held on the desk, the anger visible on her face.

"But I didn't-" I tried to contest but she wouldn't let me, not that she said anything. I would have preferred if she had verbally shut me up because the look she gave me was way worst.

Defeated, my backpack on my back, I carried my things and walked out of the classroom. This was not what I thought my first day back at school will look like.

The principal's office was on the other side of the campus- the main building. The same building where I had my first period, which means I will have to walk all the way there. It was called the main building because that is where most administrative offices were found and only a few classes were held on that side as a campus.

As I walked through the deserted paths, I had time to rethink the choice I made back in my class. My father was going to hear about it, and he was going to know about it. Which I deserved by the way.

"Where are you going to Devon?" Wanda asks, adjusting her glasses so they lie on the tip of her nose and looking at me.

I rolled my eyes. Could this day get any worse? I could tell her I was going to the toilet, which will have her ask me why I decided to walk to the other campus to use the toilet, or I could tell her I was sent out of the class and have her gloat, or better still, I could tell her it was none of her business.

I settled for option two.

"I was sent to the principal's office," I said and prepared myself for her unsought opinion.

"Aha! I knew having you back here will be trouble. Day one and you are already being sent to the principal's office" she blabbed on and on and I was not in the mood for this, so I left her standing there.

I don't know what it was I'd done to Wanda but she had already made it crystal clear that she didn't like me.

As I said, I wasn't a troublesome kid.

Although my parents were rich, I didn't use that as an advantage to misbehave because I knew daddy's money will fix it all. I wasn't that kind of student.

I was the loner. I liked being alone. If I'm not behind my camera taking pictures, I was in some corner, headphones on and listening to music.

So what pissed me off at the fact that she and I certainly many others, have painted me as the troublemaker.

What I did back there in class is something a troublemaker will do, but it was for the right reasons. Rhea will never have willingly accepted to talk with me.

Because if she wanted to, she would have picked up my calls or answered my messages. I hadn't meant to stigmatize her like that, but in all honesty, she had it coming.

She dared me.

There was no way I was telling the entire class about what I was truly thinking. That will just make everyone see me as a psychopath. True I could have come up with something else, but I didn't want to.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

And it had consequences, which I was going to face.

But right now, I was facing the consequences of an act I didn't commit which pissed me off the more. This was all red's fault. And I bet rhea just wanted me out of her class because I had caught her looking in my direction so she saw that red was the one talking.

And I ignored her.

There was no way I was going through this school year without drama.

I knocked lightly on the principal's door and waited until she permitted me to enter. I pushed the door opened and peeped in, meeting his gaze and he signalled with his hand for me to come in.

He wasn't alone I could tell that for a fact, reasons why I was a bit hesitant to enter his office.

From the back, you couldn't tell who it was. But I knew who said there. Because there were very few people who were built like that and had grey hairs in a particular spot in the back of his head.

My dad.

Anthony LaCruz.

What in the hell was he doing here?

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