The week passed quickly, and it was Friday before I knew it. Despite being confined to the school grounds, I was excited for the weekend. I wasn’t, however, looking forward to my detention on Friday evening.
I had to be in the English classroom immediately following the end of the day. When I arrived, the teacher wasn’t there yet, but a few students were. I didn’t recognize any of them, so they must have been from other classes. I made my way to the desk I usually chose in English, pulled out my laptop, and sat down.
My computer was still booting up when Veronica hurried into the room. I was surprised to see her. She was the last person I expected to run into at detention. She seemed like the type of student who would go straight to her parents and have them get her out of it.
She looked on edge as she entered, and given the way she kept her head down as she crossed the room, I got the feeling she was embarrassed to be here. She was probably worried about how it might affect her image, which was clearly so important to her.
Like me, she seemed instinctively drawn to her usual desk and took the seat right in front of me. She placed her bag on the floor beside her and was fishing something out of it when she glanced up and realized I was sitting behind her.
Her eyes grew wide with surprise. “What are you doing here?”
Normally, I would have expected a statement like that to be laced with venom when it came from Veronica, as though she was pointing out that I didn’t belong in this school, let alone this classroom. But today it sounded like a genuine question. It certainly didn’t feel like we’d become friends after our strange conversation in the kitchen, but apparently, we were at least on good enough terms to chat in detention.
“Lisa caught me sneaking out after curfew to see Wes.”
“Really?” She smirked. “I find it hard to imagine you breaking the rules.”
“I’m not a total goody two-shoes.” I shook my head. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
I struggled not to lift my eyes to the ceiling. “Why did you get detention?”
“Oh.” I could have sworn her cheeks were growing pink. “I got caught with a boy too. They’ve gotten so strict now.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “You mean Noah?
“Right, yeah, Noah.” Veronica’s reply was abrupt, and she looked away from me. Why hadn’t she just said his name the first time? It’s not like I didn’t know they were dating. She slowly glanced at me, but when she saw I was still frowning at her answer, her eyes darted from mine once again. She was hiding something.
My eyes widened as I realized. “It wasn’t Noah?”
“Will you lower your voice?” she hissed, which only confirmed my suspicions.
“You’re cheating on Noah?” I asked, more quietly this time.
“No, I’m not cheating on him.”
“But you just said—”
“I can’t cheat on Noah,” she fired back
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t cheat on him because we’re not—” She paused and started quickly shaking her head. “Look, we’re not talking about this. Forget I said that.”
“But…”
Before I could say anything else, Veronica gathered her things and moved to sit at a desk on the other side of the room. Moments later, the teacher entered and called us all to attention.
Once we’d all confirmed our attendance, the class fell silent as everyone buried their heads in their work. I was completely distracted though, and I couldn’t stop myself from flashing looks in Veronica’s direction for the duration of the hour-long detention. Who had Veronica been caught with? More importantly, what was going on with her and Noah?
It wasn’t until after detention that Veronica acknowledged me again. She pulled me aside as we exited the classroom, and she waited for other students to filter past before she spoke.
“You need to forget what we talked about earlier,” she said. “You can’t say anything to anyone. Especially not Noah.”
“Why?”
“You just can’t.” She seemed really stressed out. It was the first time I’d ever seen Veronica lose her cool like this. “Promise me.”
She was almost begging me to help. I didn’t feel like I owed Veronica anything though. She’d put me through a lot since I’d first arrived at Weybridge. Plus, even though Noah and I weren’t exactly on good terms, that didn’t mean I wanted to aid Veronica’s deception of him.
“If you’re cheating on Noah, he probably deserves to know.”
“I already told you I’m not cheating.” Veronica released an irritated breath. “Look, all I’m asking for is a bit of time. Keep this to yourself until after next weekend and I’ll explain. Though it should all become pretty apparent by then.”
“What’s happening next weekend?”
“Just trust me.”
I stared at her, unsure what to do. I definitely didn’t trust Veronica, and I didn’t want to be involved in whatever she was covering up. But she seemed like she really needed this.
“Please?” she asked. “Can you keep it to yourself?”
“Fine.” I shook my head. I couldn’t believe I was agreeing. ‘But if I’m doing you a favor, I want one in return.”
She began to frown. “What do you want?”
“I want you to stop calling the scholarship students rude nicknames—especially Lily. You told me you don’t have a problem with them, so prove it.”
“Done.” Veronica didn’t even hesitate, and I again wondered what it was she was so desperately trying to hide.
It felt like I was making a deal with the devil, but at least I didn’t have to keep quiet forever, and in exchange, Lily would never be called a charity case by Veronica again. “Okay, I really don’t like it, but we have a deal.”
“Good.” Her whole body seemed to relax. “I better run. I hate being late for dinner. There’s never any dessert left.” She took off without another word, leaving me standing in silence by the classroom door, trying to work out what had just happened.
DINNER WAS DRAWING to a close by the time I arrived. Most of the food at the buffet had already been taken away, and there wasn’t much to choose from as I scrounged for something to put on my plate. I guessed most of my friends had already eaten and left as none of them were sitting at our usual table.
I wasn’t too sure where I should sit, but as I started across the room, Lily caught my eye and waved me over. She was sitting with her roommate, Amber, and Eric from my econ class. We hadn’t spoken since he’d helped me pick my books off the floor after class a few weeks back, but he always gave me a smile when we passed in the corridor.
“Where have you been?” Lily said as I took a seat beside her. “You almost missed dinner.”
“I had detention,” I replied with a groan. “And thanks to detention, I appear to have missed dessert.” I probably should have rushed to the dining hall like Veronica.
“You can have my dessert if you like?” Eric said, pushing his slice of chocolate cake over to me.
“Oh my gosh, I’m not stealing your dessert.”
“Please do,” he said with a soft laugh. “This might be my second slice, and it’s more than I can eat.”
Seeing me hesitate, Lily nudged the plate the rest of the way across the table so it was sitting right in front of me. “He’s not joking. He had a massive slice just before this, so you should take it,” she said.
I lifted me eyes to Eric and smiled. “Thanks.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“So, what did you get detention for?” Amber asked as I took a bite of my food.
I swallowed before I answered. “Breaking curfew. I’m also grounded for the weekend too. It’s just lucky this didn’t happen next weekend because I’m supposed to be meeting my dad in New York then.”
“Lucky,” Lily agreed.
“Or unlucky to get caught in the first place.” Amber laughed. “I heard they’ve been cracking down since the pranks. I swear they never used to care much before.”
“Yeah, Lisa mentioned that when she caught me. I guess they’re keen to stop us from smuggling any more roosters into the dorms in the middle of the night.”
“Well, I for one am fully on board with leaving poor Barry in peace,” Eric said with a laugh. “I’m still catching up on sleep after that wakeup call.”
“You guys deserved it,” Amber said
“Totally.” I gave Eric a playful glare.
“Didn’t you get detention this week too, Eric?” Lily asked.
His gaze skirted away as he nodded. “Uh, yeah, but mine’s tomorrow.”
‘You’ll have to say hi to Wes,” I said. “He’s in detention tomorrow for sneaking out with me.”
“Guess Saturday morning detention is for all the cool kids,” Eric joked.
“Are you saying I’m not cool?”
“Oh, I would never.” He laughed.
I poked my tongue out at him, making him smile.
“What did they get you for?” Amber asked him.
He turned to her, and his happy expression dropped.
“You weren’t sneaking out like Wes and Isobel, were you?” Amber added with a light laugh as she nudged her shoulder against his.
“Uh, no.” He rubbed the side of his neck and gave her a tight smile.
“Well, what was it then?” Amber asked. “I can’t picture you talking back to a teacher or submitting an assignment late.”
“No, nothing like that. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said with a nervous laugh. “Anyway, I better get moving. I’m supposed to be tutoring tonight.” He finished the last of his glass of water and picked up his empty plate and tray as he stood from the table.
“Thanks for the cake,” I said. “You’ve pretty much made my night.”
He smiled again before saying a hurried goodbye and walking away.
“What’s his rush?” Amber said
“I’m not sure,” Lily replied. “I didn’t know he had tutoring tonight.”
“What do you think his detention was for?” Amber wondered aloud. “His explanation was way too vague. I want details.”
“Beats me,” Lily said. “But I doubt it’s for anything serious. Eric never gets detention. Us scholarship students can’t afford to get into trouble.”
“I didn’t realize Eric was here on a scholarship,” I said. “I only just met him, but he seems really nice. Do you guys usually hang out with him?”
“We do when we can drag him away from his books,” Lily said. “He’s always studying.”
“Sounds like someone I know,” Amber added, smirking at Lily.
Lily rolled her eyes before focusing on me. “How was your detention?”
“It was okay. I got a bit of homework done, but I kept getting distracted.” I managed to refrain from telling the girls why I’d been so distracted, but I couldn’t stop myself from glancing at Noah’s table as I thought of Veronica.
The boys weren’t there tonight, and neither was she. Instead, Veronica was seated one table over with a couple of her friends. It was the first time I’d seen her at her usual table in weeks, but I didn’t read into it too much seeing as Noah wasn’t around for her to be fawning over him.
I couldn’t get our conversation from detention out of my mind, and I wondered again if I was doing the right thing in keeping it quiet. It seemed a small price to pay if it meant she’d leave Lily and the other scholarship students alone, but it didn’t stop me from feeling guilty. Veronica had said she wasn’t cheating, but what if she was lying? And, if she wasn’t lying, then what was really going on with her and Noah. And the most important question of all—how was I supposed to last more than a week without answers?
I turned back to the girls, wondering if there was any way I could gleam a little more information from them.
“Unusual to see Veronica here without Noah,” I said, trying to sound casual. “Do you think there’s trouble in paradise?”
Their faces filled with pity, and I realized they must be thinking I was bringing it up because I was still hung up on Noah.
“I’m only asking out of curiosity,” I quickly added. “I’m completely over Noah.”
Neither of them looked convinced.
“They were sitting together at lunch,” Lily replied, her tone soft as though she were trying not to hurt my feelings.
“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if things were a little rocky between them,” Amber said with a shrug. “On paper, they’re the perfect couple, but I’m not sure the romance is there.”
‘What do you mean?” I asked.
“She does have a point,” Lily agreed. “Veronica seems to treat Noah like he’s some sort of trophy, and Noah barely even looks her in the eyes. It doesn’t begin to compare to the way he used to look at you.”
“Guys, I told you I’m totally over Noah. You don’t have to say what you think I want to hear.”
“We’re not,” Amber said. “Lily’s spot-on. Anyone else who’d ever witnessed your relationship with Noah would tell you the same thing. His eyes just sparkled when he looked at you, and he always seemed like he was struggling not to smile.”
“Seriously,” Lily added. “We all saw it. It was like he couldn’t imagine something more perfect.”
My heart lurched slightly, but I kept my face neutral so the girls wouldn’t notice my reaction to Lily’s comment. It was sad to think of the way Noah used to look at me. I could so easily picture the way his eyes lit up when he saw me, just as Amber had described. How he so rarely allowed himself to smile until we were alone, and his smile broke free like the sun peeking out from behind a cloud. Seeing those expressions on his face felt like a dream. Things were so different now a part of me felt like I must have imagined them.
“So, do you think they’ll last?” I asked.
Amber shook her head. “Doubtful. Everyone thinks they’re only together because their families are so close.”
“Which is really sad if it’s true,” Lily said.
I nodded because I knew firsthand how hard it was to have a relationship affected by your family, though I couldn’t imagine having to date a guy just because it was what my parents wanted.
“Has Veronica ever dated other guys at school?” I asked.
“Not really,” Lily said, her eyes thoughtful as she considered it. “She’s always just seemed set on Noah. No one else lives up to her expectations.”
I nodded as I reflected on what the girls had told me. Thankfully, they didn’t ask what had prompted my questions. They probably still assumed it was because Noah was my ex.
I left dinner feeling no more or less certain if I was doing the right thing in keeping quiet for Veronica. My conversation with the girls sure hadn’t helped convince me either way. The only thing I seemed to have learned was that I wasn’t the only one who thought they were a terrible match, which, although reassuring, wasn’t going to help me sleep better at night.
I’d told Veronica I’d keep the information to myself until next weekend though. So, I was just going to have to stick to my word and hope the time passed by fast so I could hear her explanation sooner rather than later.
