Abrielle Lewis's Story

Before the skinny girl could say anything else, another kid entered the room and wandered over to the table. This was definitely the most people Ben had seen in detention in a long time. He didn’t recognize this other boy either. Whoever he was, he looked really angry and not someone to be messed with. Ben was wondering why so many people were coming to sit with him in detention. People usually avoided him so they wouldn’t have to ask him about his disease, or they wouldn’t accidentally offend the kid with the terminal illness. But it didn’t seem to be much of a problem with people he didn’t know.

“Hi,” he greeted the angry boy.

The newfound detention kid asked if it was all right for him to sit there, stuttering, and glancing around the room worriedly. Ben wondered what was up with him. It was like he couldn’t look you in the eye, or something. But Ben was determined not to sit in silence the entire day. He tried to get his attention again.

“Yeah, you can stay here,” Ben replied. “So . . . what are you guys in detention for?” He glanced at the silent girl across the table, and the nervous boy.

“Um . . . I got in a fight,” replied the nervous boy, calming down a bit. Ben had never been in a serious fight. He usually got busted for talking back to teachers. He seemed to be very good at getting people angry. But this kid . . . This kid didn’t sound like he had a way with words at all.

“Wow,” Ben responded, “What was the fight about?” He couldn’t imagine getting in an actual, physical fight at school. His opponent would totally kill him—Ben could barely walk, after all.

The nervous kid started stuttering again, and the skinny girl finally spoke up.

“I slapped a girl, and punched her in the mouth,” she mumbled. Wow. Ben didn’t think this girl seemed physically strong enough to take somebody out in a fight. But you never know, some people are just more interesting than they appear. Ben turned around, curiously, as someone coughed. It was another detention student, this time one that he did recognize.

Sitting a few tables over from them was Summer Wilson, the scariest kid in school. She was well know for her bad attitude, and had a bad reputation in general, for all sorts of things. She beat up kids, vandalized school property, talked back to teachers, and generally went out of her way to break every single rule in the school. Ben had only seen her in detention (which they both had frequently), but knew already that it wasn’t a good idea to cross her. He turned around, back to his previous conversation.

“So, um . . . it seems like everyone’s getting in fights these days! Somehow I don’t think I’d have much luck,” He continued, glancing jokingly at his crutches. Ben couldn’t help but make fun of himself every now and again. It was in his nature.

Summer heard people discussing why they were in here. She smirked. "I tried to pierce someone's lip. Apparently I'm not certified enough." Sh got up and sat next to everyone else. "So you really punched a chic? Didn't think a kid your size had it in you." She snickered

"Hey it's a joke! Lighten up! Didn't mean to offend!" Summer had horrible people skills. She wanted to say that was why she acted out, but she wasn't really sure. Her stomach growled. "Hey anyone got any grub? I'm starving!"

Ben swallowed nervously as Summer started conversing with the thin girl. Ben had always (of course) had a little crush on the star cheerleader (who didn't?), but Summer Wilson was pretty hot. But-- a little too dangerous to be real. Ben glanced at the shy, nervous boy, who seemed to be feeling a little left out.

"So," he began, turning away from the girls, "What's your name? I haven't seen you around before . . ."

Ben glanced at the clock, as several of the other kids talked. It was 2:45, school would be over soon in about 5 minutes. He didn't care how long he was "supposed" to stay, he was leaving now. He grabbed his crutches from the side of the wall and shouted a brief goodbye to the other kids, limping to the doorway. He would probably never see them again anyway. Right?

Ben hobbled away, without disturbing the teacher lady, and made his way outside, his backpack hanging over one shoulder. His arms were tired from so much walking around, and he'd accomplished absolutely nothing that day. He peered oddly over his back, only to witness the skinny girl hugging the nervous boy, Ray, who looked shocked. Of course. Everyone was making new friends but him. After all, the disabled were always to be avoided. Throughout history, the weak were left to die, with no encouragement from the strong. They were exiled, on their own, all alone. It was just the way things were. Ben sighed, turning around to walk home. His dad's dump of a car had probably broken down again. Great.