Paralyzed ▹ Luke Hemmings

13

Luke was currently stuck in the most awkward situation of his life.

It was Friday night, the last day of his week-long punishment for starting a fight in the hallways on Monday morning. As promised, Luke has spent every day after school this week sitting in Mr. Stevens' chemistry classroom, alone, until the principle eventually walks by and lets him go at 5:00.

It was frustrating enough spending the past 4 days in this classroom alone, but now Luke was experiencing a whole new level of frustration. Because, now that it was Friday, Luke had to spend his final detention sitting next to Ashton Irwin.

The whole school knew about what happened between the two of them at the beginning of the week. Now, whenever Luke walked down the halls, people watched him and whispered about him as he walked by. They must think Luke is a complete idiot if they talk so much about him; he eavesdrops on everything they say.

A lot of them think it's pretty cool, what Luke did. Up until the game on Wednesday, people actually praised Luke for starting a fight with Ashton and giving him a black eye. People that had never given two shits about Luke's existence were suddenly talking to him; whether he was walking around campus picking up trash or sitting at his desk in one of his classes, people knew who he was now. And Luke wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

Of course, all the hype about Luke plummeted on Wednesday when his school played Baltimore in the Maryland State Championships. Luke didn't go to the game, but he certainly heard all the details the day after. The whole school was raving about how the varsity lacrosse team brought home a win and will be moving on to the next level in December month.

Whether Luke saw it on Instagram, Snapchat, or heard it from Sam, Ashton was literally everywhere. His performance at the game brought him right back on top where he belongs. He made 10 out of the 11 points scored, including the winning shot that took the whole team to victory. Sam hasn't stopped raving about it to Luke ever since it happened, and the only reason why Luke didn't tell her it was bothering him is because he loves her too much to say it.

But, now that the game has been over for two whole days, both Sam and Ashton were back to reality: a Friday night detention.

Mr. Peterson decided it was best to make Sam sit in the detention with Ashton and Luke. Not because she did anything wrong, but because she volunteered to. She figured if she was there, no more fights would break out. And she was probably right.

Luke was sitting at one lab table, Ashton and Sam were sitting at another just a few feet away. All four of them were completely silent; the only sounds in the room were the air vents, the clock ticking on the far wall, and Luke's foot nervously tapping on the tiled floor. Not one of them has said a word in at least 45 minutes. And it was awkward.

With their arms crossed over their chests and their eyes narrowed, both Ashton and Luke were slouched in their seats, staring angrily at the white board at the front of the room. Although Mr. Peterson suggested this time would be a great opportunity for them to "settle their differences", they were both too stubborn to do so.

Luke was still pissed at Ashton for what he did to Sam. Ashton was still pissed at Luke for what he did to him. And Sam just sat there next to her boyfriend, constantly flipping through her Instagram feed to keep herself busy.

Luke looked at the clock. It was just past 4:30. They've all been in here for 2 hours.

Ashton mumbled something under his breath. Luke narrowed his eyes and glanced to the left, meeting his gaze. "What was that?"

"I said," Ashton retorted as he sat up in his seat. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever been forced to do."

"Yeah try doing it every day this week." Luke snapped, his annoyance already starting to show.