Trigger warnings for Chapter 3- Swearing, Drug mention, Drug dealing mention, Smoking mention.  

Finally break arrives. I leave Geography and head towards the Maths classroom. I pass by the notice board on my way and take a quick glance, though I know exactly what awaits. Sure enough on the detention list there's me. Right at the top as well. I've been promoted. I look down the list. There's a fair amount of people on there. Some I expect, others I don't. My eyes reach the bottom of the list and...shit James is on the list. What the actual hell did that bitch Greenwood do this time?

James ends up finding me before I find him. I've been staring at the detention list for a solid five minutes.

"Hey man," James says holding up a hand for a high five "what'cha looking at?" He follows my gaze. "Oh," he says "shit."

Shit is the understatement of the century. If James' dad finds out about this he'll be here to take him home in half an hour. Although there are worse things he could find out about his son I guess. That's why I'm glad my dad doesn't give a shit about me. It's too much work to follow rules.

Suddenly James' ex turns up out of nowhere.

"Hey Ryan," Jessica Greenwood says, twirling her hair round her finger. God I hate when girls try way too hard to flirt. "You need any help getting out of detention. My mother's running it tonight. I can easily get her to let you off and we can go out together." Ugh, how obvious can she get.

"No thanks Jess," I reply bluntly "I can manage my own shit."

Jessica looks angry "suit yourself," she says and walks off calling out "have fun in detention this evening boys."

After slogging through double Maths, where I'm trying not to kick Greenwood from one side of the classroom to the other. Followed by English and Athletics. It's detention time. One solid hour of sitting in a room with a random teacher and doing whatever that teacher tells you. With most teachers it's usually writing lines, but with Greenwood she gives you a worksheet. For ten minutes you do as much of the worksheet as you can, then after those ten minutes she marks the sheets and shows us how to work out the stuff people got wrong. For nerds it's ok I guess but no one in detention cares about their education.

Greenwood is waiting when I arrive. "You are three minutes late Mr Jamison" she scolds. Like I give a shit.

"Sorry" I blurt out sarcastically. I don't actually mean that apology and she knows.

She says nothing more about it though "sit down Mr Jamison," she says instead "I don't suppose you know where your little friend Mr Jackson is?"

I look up at the rows of desks and it's only now that I realise that James isn't here. It's not like him to not be somewhere he should. Jesus I didn't know he knew how to play truant.

"No" I reply honestly. Again I don't think Greenwood believes me, but she doesn't say anything more.

An hour passes and James never shows up. I don't know what the hell he's thinking. If a teacher I knew hated me was running detention the last thing I'd do is skip it altogether.

"You may all go," Greenwood says at last "Mr Jamison a word before you go." I walk over to her desk and shove my hands in my pockets. I feel around to make sure that the contents of my pocket are still there. They are. She must sense I'm doing something as she looks up. "Mr Jamison, could you give me whatever you are fiddling with in your pocket," she asks, holding out a hand. I can't. If she knew what it was I'd probably be expelled. She doesn't give up "now" she orders. There's nothing else in my pocket so I have no choice but to give it to her.

I pull out the zip lock bag and she stares at it in amazement. Shit it's like she's never seen one before. "Is this weed?" She asks. Jesus she really is clueless.

"No it's tobacco. I roll my own cigarettes,"

"And sell them to other students?" She asks.

"No" I reply.

She isn't stupid "Mr Jamison if this was your own personal tobacco stash you'd have no need to keep it in zip lock bags. You are clearly selling these."

Shit maybe she isn't as clueless as I thought she was. I just pray to god she doesn't look in my bag. She'll find a shit ton of stuff if she looks in there. Coke, Weed, Ecstasy I do the lot. Well I don't DO them but I sell them all, and the tobacco as well. I sell cigarettes individually. Or the tobacco to roll your own. She'd better not check my bag.

Luckily she's too wound up about a little tobacco to consider that there might be more in my bag.

"Mr Jamison, could you come with me please," she asks, placing a hand on my shoulder "we need to have a little chat with the principal." I ask if I can drop my bag at my locker on the way and she says I can. So naive. At least Rogers can't find the rest of my selection.

Rogers says the same old shit when I get called into his office. He's going to send a letter to my dad. Yep that won't do anything. Two weeks detention. Yeah, expected that one. Two weeks of extra tuition with a mentor.

"Wait what?"

I don't realise I've said that out loud 'til Rogers replies "to improve your grades Mr Jamison. Myself and Mrs Greenwood will select another student to act as a mentor. You can have private sessions with them in order to improve your grades."

"I don't need a mentor," I say bluntly "if you do give me one I won't try to improve. I'll just sit there and do nothing." Rogers looks at Greenwood and then back to me "fine, I'll just put you on detention every day until your grades improve" he says.

"No," I reply quickly, "fine, I'll try to get my grades up." Rogers looks satisfied. "

Good," he replies, "that will be all Mr Jamison you may...."

Rogers is interrupted by a knock at the door. The knocker doesn't wait for Rogers to tell them to enter. It's James and Laura, his twin sister. God she's attractive in that skirt. Why do I feel different when she wears the Oakwood stuff? It's the same crap every other girl at Oakwood wears, but damn she makes it look good .

"We need to tell you something urgently sir" James says without waiting to be asked.

"Urgent enough that you felt the need to burst into my office when I was in the middle of something?" He asks. I'm not sure why he says 'in the middle of something' he was literally about to tell me I could go.

"Yes sir" Laura replies "it's um...it's Mr Grey." Rogers doesn't look satisfied with this explanation and I have to admit for someone so smart Laura's doing a shit job of explaining why they're here.

"What about Mr Grey?" Rogers asks.

"Well we were just walking past the science lab as I needed to ask Mr Grey about the homework he set last week," James explains "and when we knocked on the door and didn't hear an answer we just went in anyway."

"So you are here to tell Mr Rogers that Mr Grey is not in his classroom Mr Jackson?" Greenwood asks.

"No," Laura snaps, "he was there, it's just..." She clearly can't say whatever it is. James finishes her sentence for her "when we went into the room Mr Grey was lying on the floor. He looks dead."