“Mrs. Bran, I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”

The principal stood before me, a cup of steaming hot coffee in her hand. Mrs. Johnson was a stern woman, with short red hair and two evil looking green eyes. I had heard rumors about her and I knew she was ruthless when it came to violence in school.

Sighing, I looked down at my hands. “Like I said I don’t really remember a whole lot. I was very tired this morning, and it sort of went by in a blur. They’ve never liked each other before, this kind of thing was bound to happen.”

The look on her face said “I don’t believe you”, and I didn’t blame her. I remember every single word between Colton and I. I would probably never forget some of the things he said. Either way Mark had started the fight, and if I told the principle than he would surely be suspended or maybe even expelled.

“I want to know who started the fight Sutton,” she said calmly, leaning down and across the desk.

“I don’t know! It all sort of just happened!” I exclaimed.

Mrs. Johnson clasped her hands together and lowered herself down into her chair. I was scared of her, there was no doubt about that, but there was no way I was getting Mark in trouble. I would go down before seeing him go down. Even after the whole thing, I didn’t want to see Colton get in too much trouble.

“So you’re telling me that they just both threw a punch at the same time? Who egged who on, and who threw the first punch Sutton?”

“For gosh sakes I feel like I’m being interrogated for a murder! Fights happen all the time, just give them a detention and move on!”

My outburst even surprised me, and as soon as the words came out I covered my mouth. The surprise in the principals eyes was evident as she stood from her desk and crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine, then you can join them in detention for withholding information. Now get to lunch.”

I grabbed my bag and was out of her office in seconds. Her evil eye almost had me forgetting about what Colton said, but at this point nothing would stop me from thinking. How could he have said that about Melody and I? He knew how sensitive I was about her, yet he still chose the low blow. It didn’t make sense, Colton never acted like that.

Maybe I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did.

Or maybe he was so hurt by what I said that he thought it was alright to hurt me back.                  

“Sutton you’re alive!” Vee shouted just as I rounded the hallway corner.

She threw her arms around me dramatically. “I thought I would never see you after you stepped into her office.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” I said rolling my eyes. “Anyway, what’s the verdict with Mark and Colton?”

“Suspended for the rest of the day, three weeks community service and three weeks of detention.”

“That’s not too bad.”

“For Mrs. Johnson that’s like vacation. What did she ask you?”

“It doesn’t matter. But I get to join Mark and Colton for those detentions, or at least some of them,” I replied as we stepped into the lunch room.

Vee gasped. “What? But you didn’t do anything! She can’t do that!”

“I’ve withheld information, or so she said. This is my punishment for not cooperating,” I told her.

The lunch room seemed to go quiet as we walked over to the lunch line. A few eyes lingered on me a bit longer than “comfortable” but in a few seconds, everyone seemed to be chattering again.

“Misty Evans told me that Colton and Mark were fight over you, and Colton went beast mode on Mark as soon as they started fighting.”

False. Rumors, and false ones at that spread fast. “Well seeing that Misty Evans wasn’t in my homeroom, I don’t think she knows what she’s talking about.”

We passed through the line and took our food to the regular spot. After we sat down, Vee grabbed my arm and looked me in the eyes. “Then tell me what did happen. You don’t have to withhold information from me; I’m your best friend.”

Nodding my head, I stuck with a short and somewhat toned down version of the story. Vee listened contently, “oooing” and gasping at the appropriate parts. I left out a few things, but in the end she had a pretty good idea of what happened.

“So Mark threw the first punch?”

I nodded my head.

“And he didn’t get his ass whooped?”

I shook my head. “There wasn’t much time for any fighting. They both landed a punch before it was broken up.”

Vee sighed. “Colton’s such an ass; I knew he was no good for you.”

“I know what he said was bad, but I think he was just—“

“Please don’t sit here and defend him after what he said about you and Mark. Oh and lets not mention how he brought up Melody. I mean, who does that?”

“Yeah but—“

“There’s not buts,” Vee cut in, “you stand by the people who stand by you, and that’s Mark, not Colton.”

Sighing, I nodded my head. “Yeah, you’re right.”

**

“So they were gone when you got home?”

Vee sat in front of me on the counter, her legs pretzel style while eating out of our industrial sized chocolate ice cream tub. Every now and then she would stop and squeeze her eyes shut when she got a brain freeze.

“Yeah, look at the note.”

Sutton,

Your mother and I have gone to a session with our counselor. He thinks we need a night out to ourselves, so we will be staying at a hotel. The information with the hotel number is written down on a note by the phone. Ms. Bell will be next door all night, and if you need anything, feel free to call her. when we get home, we need to talk about what happened this morning.

-Dad

Ms. Bell was our neighbor, and out of the whole three years she had lived next to us, I had only met her once.

“That’s not like your parents,” Vee admitted just as Mark walked into the room.

There was an ugly bruise right under his eye, but besides that he looked pretty good. “Yeah they usually don’t just leave you home alone.”

I shrugged. “You haven’t seen them lately; they’ve been acting all weird anyway. But you guys can stay the night; we can sleep in the living room and watch some scary movies.”

Both Vee and Mark nodded as if to confirm my idea. Standing up from the counter stool, I made my way over to the freezer and grabbed a pizza. Tonight was a frozen pizza kind of night.

“You read my mind I’m starving!” Vee exclaimed happily.

“You’ve been eating ice cream for the past ten minutes,” Mark pointed out with a smirk.

She shrugged. “Yeah but I only had a burger and fires at lunch today. Usually I have a cookie and a snack during sixth hour.”

“How do you not have diabetes?” I asked sarcastically punching in the preheat number on the oven.

 Mark added, “And how are you not a size 18?”

Giving us both a dirty look, Vee hopped down from the counter ice cream in hand. “When you two are done calling me fat you can join me and Mr. Ice cream in the living room.”

Without another word, she disappeared into the movie room where we would be sleeping tonight.

“I meant to tell you something Sutton,” Mark said seriously.

Leaning up against the kitchen counter, I nodded my head. “Okay?”

“What Colton said, about Melody, and you, I hope you know that’s not how I feel. I mean—“

“Don’t worry I wouldn’t listen to him Mark.”

“I know, but I just want you to know that I do care about you, just as much as I cared about Melody. You don’t need someone like Colton in your life. Don’t listen to a word he said, because I bet you’re better than all the girls he has been with.”

I looked down at my feet feeling my face turn warm. Something about talking about Colton made me uneasy, especially when Mark was the one doing the talking. Thankfully the doorbell saved us from any awkwardness.

Practically running from the room, I made my way to the front door. Whenever I was uncomfortable or upset, Melody would tell me to take five deep breaths in.

One…

Two

Three

Four

Before I could get to five, I was at the door. Quickly, I took my last breath of air before opening the door. Colton stood lazily with his hands in his pockets, an uneasy expression on his face.

What in the world was he doing here?

Okay everyone, I recently went to see the movie adaptation of the City Of Bones. I was disappointed, sadly, but there’s nothing I can do. I was hoping this movie would be as well done as The Hunger Games, but it was far from that. I do agree that it is important for a movie to change some things that happened in the book; otherwise they would never be able to fit the whole thing in two hours, but the City Of Bones ventured just a little too far off from the book. Especially at the ending.  Small things like Simon not changing into a mouse didn’t bother me, but they butchered the end of the movie. Oh well, I guess things can’t always go your way.

Anyway, sorry, another cliffy! Don’t hate me!

Love you guys!

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