Chapter 17: Locked In
1084 Words
The rivalry officially stopped being academic on Monday morning.
It started with a pen.
A stupid, harmless pen.
At least, that's what Ava told herself.
She arrived in class a few minutes before the bell and immediately noticed something was wrong. Every single pen on her desk had been arranged in perfect size order, lined up with ridiculous precision like they were part of a museum display.
Ava frowned.
She never organized anything like that.
Her eyes immediately moved across the room.
Ethan was reading a book.
Or pretending to.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Ava narrowed her eyes.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The bell rang before she could do anything about it.
But revenge came quickly.
---
The next day, Ethan arrived to find every single item on his desk covered in sticky notes.
Not a few.
Hundreds.
His notebook.
His calculator.
His textbooks.
Even his chair.
The classroom erupted with laughter.
Noah nearly passed out.
Liam took pictures.
Jace simply looked disappointed in humanity.
Ethan stared at the disaster for several seconds.
Then looked directly at Ava.
She smiled sweetly.
"Good morning."
Ethan shook his head.
"You started something."
Ava grinned.
"No. You did."
---
The war escalated.
Quickly.
Too quickly.
By Wednesday, Ethan had secretly changed Ava's phone wallpaper to a cartoon image of a crying loser.
By lunch, Ava had replaced his expensive pen collection with identical blue pens from the school supply store.
The look on Ethan's face had been worth every second.
By Thursday, Ethan somehow convinced half the class that Ava had volunteered to answer every question in History.
The teacher called on her seven times.
Seven.
By the end of the lesson, she was ready to commit crimes.
Naturally, revenge followed.
Ava printed dozens of tiny photos of Ethan's face and hid them throughout the classroom.
Inside textbooks.
Under desks.
On ceiling corners.
Nobody knew how she'd managed it.
Not even Ethan.
Students kept discovering them all day.
Every time somebody found one, the class lost its mind.
"No way."
"There's another one."
"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY?"
Even teachers started finding them.
The prank became legendary within twenty-four hours.
---
Unfortunately, their luck eventually ran out.
The disaster happened during lunch.
Ava had been planning something simple.
Embarrassing.
Nothing dangerous.
At least that was the intention.
The execution was another matter entirely.
She had attached a small paper sign to the back of Ethan's blazer.
A harmless sign.
One that simply read:
SECOND PLACE.
Ava had expected a few laughs.
Maybe some teasing.
What she hadn't expected was Ethan immediately noticing.
Or catching her in the act.
The moment his hand touched the paper, the cafeteria went silent.
Ava froze.
Ethan slowly removed the sign.
Read it.
Then looked up.
Directly at her.
"Oh."
That was all he said.
Just "oh."
Which somehow felt more dangerous than shouting.
Noah immediately buried his face in his hands.
Liam started laughing.
Jace stood up.
"Good luck, everyone."
Ava didn't have time to ask what that meant.
Because Ethan grabbed a packet of ketchup.
And threw it.
Not at her.
At her tray.
The packet exploded.
Students screamed.
Food went flying.
Somebody recorded it.
Chaos erupted.
And unfortunately...
So did a teacher.
---
Twenty minutes later, Ava and Ethan sat outside the principal's office.
Neither looked happy.
The silence stretched.
Then—
"You started it."
Ava stared.
"You threw ketchup."
"You called me second place."
"You are second place."
Ethan looked horrified.
Ava looked pleased.
For approximately three seconds.
Then the principal's office door opened.
---
Detention.
Three hours.
After school.
Together.
Neither of them took the news well.
---
The following afternoon, Ava entered the detention room and immediately regretted her life choices.
There were only two desks.
Side by side.
Of course there were.
The supervising teacher sat at the front reading a novel and looked completely uninterested in human suffering.
Ava dropped into her seat.
A few seconds later, Ethan arrived.
Neither spoke.
The teacher looked up.
"Any talking, you're staying longer."
Wonderful.
Just wonderful.
---
For the first hour, silence ruled.
Ava worked through assignments.
Ethan reviewed debate notes.
The clock moved painfully slowly.
Outside, rain began tapping against the windows.
The room felt smaller somehow.
Quieter.
Eventually, Ava noticed something.
Ethan wasn't actually studying anymore.
He was staring at the same page.
Over and over.
She frowned.
Then noticed a photograph sticking out from one of his books.
Only partially visible.
A family photo.
For a second, she caught sight of a younger Ethan standing beside a woman she had never seen before.
The image disappeared quickly when he noticed her looking.
His expression changed immediately.
Not angry.
Protective.
The kind people wore around sensitive subjects.
Interesting.
---
An hour later, Ava's phone buzzed.
Just once.
A message from her mother.
The preview was enough.
Don't forget to pick up the medicine on your way home.
Ethan glanced at the screen accidentally.
Ava immediately turned the phone over.
Too late.
The words had already been seen.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Ethan looked away first.
As if pretending he hadn't noticed.
As if giving her privacy.
The gesture surprised her.
---
The rain continued outside.
The room remained quiet.
And somehow, the silence felt different now.
Less hostile.
Less sharp.
Eventually Ethan broke it.
Quietly.
"Your father?"
Ava looked up.
He nodded toward her phone.
For a second she considered ignoring him.
Then sighed.
"Yeah."
Ethan waited.
"My dad needs medication."
A simple answer.
But enough.
Ethan nodded slowly.
No jokes.
No sarcastic comments.
Nothing.
Just understanding.
Ava found herself asking a question before she could stop herself.
"The woman in the picture."
Ethan's eyes immediately moved to the book.
For a second she thought he'd refuse.
Instead, he looked toward the rain-covered window.
"My mom."
The answer was quiet.
Almost too quiet.
Ava didn't know why, but something in his voice made her stop there.
No follow-up questions.
No curiosity.
Just silence.
The kind silence people shared when they accidentally stepped into something personal.
For the first time since they met, neither felt like rivals.
Just two teenagers carrying things nobody else could see.
The moment didn't last.
The detention bell rang seconds later.
Both stood immediately.
Back to normal.
Back to arguing.
Back to rivalry.
Or at least that's what Ava told herself.
Because as she packed her bag, she couldn't stop thinking about the photograph.
And across the room, Ethan couldn't stop thinking about the message on her phone.
- Writer
