my dear playboy

Two Weeks with Jackson

Sri and I were standing in the principal’s office, exchanging confused glances. What’s going to happen now? we both wondered anxiously.

The principal looked at both of us in surprise, then shifted his gaze to Soba, who was sitting on the chair, her head completely covered in noodles, crying her heart out. His expression turned from confusion to sheer disbelief.

I had only ever entered the principal’s office to receive appreciation or for important matters. Those moments always felt like an honor. But today, standing here like a criminal under investigation, I felt nothing but embarrassment.

The principal looked around, utterly puzzled about what was going on. Just then, Jackson entered the room.

As usual, he couldn’t keep quiet. The moment he walked in, he greeted the principal with a mischievous grin, "Hey there, Mr. Moustache Sir!" His casual tone and laughter made my jaw drop in shock. How could he be so carefree after causing trouble? How did he have the audacity to mock the principal after getting into trouble?

But the principal, instead of reacting, simply sighed as if he had figured everything out. "You? I knew it! Whenever something unusual happens, I always find you at the center of it!" he said, shaking his head.

Then, turning to us, he asked, "Alright, someone tell me what’s going on here. What’s the problem? Why are two of the best students in school standing in my office like this? And why does this student have noodles all over her head? I need an explanation!"

Sri and I exchanged nervous glances, unsure of how to respond. Before we could say anything, Soba, who had been crying nonstop, suddenly wiped her tears and wailed, "Sir, look at what they’ve done to me! Look! My expensive shoes got ruined because she spilled her dirty water on them! Look at how messed up they are!"

The principal leaned forward to examine her shoes. They looked… perfectly fine. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "They seem perfectly fine to me. This is the issue?"

Soba, frustrated, continued, "No, sir! That’s not all! When I questioned them about it, they poured noodles on my head! You can’t let them get away with this!"

Hearing this, the principal nodded seriously. "This is a big problem," he said, turning toward me. I gulped. I was already on the verge of tears.

Then, in a strict voice, he asked, "Who poured the noodles on her head?"

Before I could respond, Jackson stepped forward confidently and said, "It was me!"—as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

The principal sighed, unsurprised. "I should’ve known," he muttered before looking at Jackson sternly. "Why did you do it?"

Jackson shrugged nonchalantly. "No reason. I just felt like it."

The principal’s face twitched in disbelief. "You just felt like it?"

Jackson nodded with a straight face. "Yeah! Why would I lie to you? I only speak the truth!"

The principal was clearly trying to contain his anger. But scolding Jackson seemed pointless, so he took a deep breath and said, "Alright, since you admit your mistake without hesitation, I’m suspending you for three months."

Jackson barely reacted. "Okay, cool! Do what you gotta do!" he said, smirking. Then, as if this was a casual conversation, he asked, "So, are we done here? Can I leave now?"

The principal, shaking his head in exasperation, said, "Wait, let me write your suspension letter first."

As I watched the scene unfold, guilt weighed heavily on my heart. No matter how much trouble Jackson had caused, in the end, he had taken all the blame upon himself. If he hadn’t shown up at the right time, things could have escalated even further. In a way, he had saved us. And now, he was taking the punishment without hesitation.

I turned to Sri, who let out a sigh of relief, happy that the ordeal was over. But I couldn’t accept it so easily. I couldn’t let Jackson take all the blame alone.

Summoning all my courage, I spoke up. "Sir!"

The principal, in the middle of writing the letter, paused and looked at me.

I took a deep breath. "Sir, he wasn’t the only one responsible. I was also involved."

The moment I said it, I regretted it. What did I just do?! Sri stared at me in shock. "Are you out of your mind?!" she hissed in a whisper.

I leaned toward her and whispered back, "I felt bad for him! I didn’t mean to say it!"

She rolled her eyes. "You i***t," she muttered, kicking my foot under the desk.

Meanwhile, Jackson looked at me with a mix of shock and amusement, as if he couldn’t believe what I had just done.

The principal, now even more surprised, asked, "So you both did it together?"

I hesitated before nodding. He let out a deep sigh. "Fine. If two people committed the mistake, both should receive the punishment."

Then, looking at us sternly, he announced, "Both of you will attend study classes after school for two weeks. And Jackson, if I receive even one more complaint about you, I’ll expel you. Understood?"

Jackson simply smirked. "Got it, sir!"

Then, turning to me, the principal said, "Roseline, I never expected this from you."

Hearing that, tears welled up in my eyes. No teacher had ever scolded me before. This was my first time being punished, and I couldn’t handle it. I started crying.

"Alright, now what’s the point of crying? Go on, leave," the principal said, dismissing us.

My heart felt unbearably heavy. Why did we do this? I kept asking myself. As I continued sobbing, Sri gently led me out of the office.

Once we were outside, she immediately turned to me and said, "What the hell was that?! Have you lost your mind? Jackson had already taken the blame! Why did you confess?!"

Still sniffling, I replied, "Didn’t it seem unfair that he took all the punishment for something we both did? I just felt bad! This is the first punishment of my life, and it feels awful! And if my mom finds out, I’m dead! I’m so scared!" I wailed.

Sri, who had been scolding me, sighed and softened. "Okay, okay! Stop crying already! You made this choice, right? It’s just two weeks of study class. No big deal. If you don’t want to tell your mom, just say it’s extra classes. Two weeks will pass quickly."

I wiped my tears. "Okay," I said, trying to be brave.

Then, as Jackson walked out of the principal’s office, he looked at me and smirked.

“Wow! I didn’t expect that at all! That was some gutsy reply! Well done, baby girl!”

Saying this, he casually adjusted my glasses with his index finger before strolling away, humming some random song as if nothing had happened.

I watched him leave, feeling a strange heaviness in my heart. Turning to Sri, I sighed, “Two weeks of detention isn’t the problem, Sri. What really scares me… is spending those two weeks alone with him!”

Sri immediately rolled her eyes. “Why are you overthinking this? You know how he is, don’t you? And you’re not the type of girl to fall for nonsense! So just ignore whatever he says, focus on your work, and most importantly—don’t get involved in any of his problems. It’s just two weeks! You got this, okay?”

I nodded hesitantly, still watching Jackson walk away.

And then—he suddenly turned back and winked at me.

My heart skipped a beat. No, it pounded wildly in my chest. What is this? Why do I feel this way? It was a strange kind of rush, something new, something… unexplainable.

But what I didn’t realize in that moment was that these two weeks… were about to turn my entire world upside down.