Interference (ON HOLD)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“It’s way worse than drat, but if you swear in here, you’ll get another detention.” A voice sounded from the corner behind her. Davey swung around to see Carly curled up in the corner on a small metal bench.

“Carly!” Davey ran across the room, dropping to the ground in front of her friend. “What the hell is going on here? Detention is in a dungeon?”

“There’s no point fighting it, Davey. This is what happens when you don’t conform.”

“What do you mean? Don’t conform?”

“If you don’t fit in. If you talk back. If you break the rules. You’re sent down here. You serve your detention. You learn not to make waves.”

“Why are you down here?” Davey sank to the ground at Carly’s feet, suddenly exhausted.

“I talked in class and spoke back to Mrs. Falcone this morning. I’m serving out my sentence.”

“You’ve been here since this morning? In this horrible little room? That’s completely unfair. You didn’t do anything. “Let her out of here!” Davey called into the air. A wave of frigid air rolled over the room.

“Don’t fight it, Davey. The more you fight it, the worse it gets. I’m used to it. I’m down here all the time.”

“What? Why?” Davey felt heat rise in her cheeks.

“I don’t fit in. You can tell. I don’t look like the other students. I don’t act like them. I don’t follow the clothing requirements. No one likes me. At least down here, no one is laughing at me.” Carly sunk further into herself. Her pale skin seemed even greyer than it had earlier in the day. She picked at her finger again.

“Carly, you can’t let them do this to you.” Davey pushed herself to her feet and ran to the door. There was no handle on the inside of the flat metal. “You can’t do this! Let us out of here!” She yelled, banging her fist on the door. “This is unfair!”

There was no response from beyond the metal door. No hint of human life outside this room. Davey rubbed her arms against the cold. Nothing about the lacey top of the dress provided any kind of protection. She wished for the sweater in her bag more than anything. She would deal with the two hours in this room just to have that tiny cardigan. She returned to the spot on the floor beside her friend. Maybe sitting together would help warm them both up.

“What are you doing here, Davey?” Carly’s voice seemed disconnected from her body.

“I tried to skip last class. It seemed pretty pointless to go when you weren’t there.”

“Never skip. You’re lucky you’re in here and not in the… never mind.” Carly’s cuticle found its way to her mouth.

“In what, Carly?”

“Not important. What I mean is, what are you doing in FauleryValley? Why did you come back here? It’s been six years. You left without a word. Without a goodbye. And now you come back, looking all sunshine and roses and expect to just pick up right where we left off.” For the first time all day, Carly’s voice actually contained a touch emotion. Not much, but a little.

“It wasn’t my fault that I left.” Davey took the other girl’s hand in her own, “I was a little girl. My parents moved. I had to go with them. I couldn’t stay here without them.”

“You could have said goodbye.” Carly wiped her nose with the end of her sleeve. “I was in the hospital and you just left me there. I was humiliated and broken and no one, not one single person, came to visit me. Do you know what that did to me?”