Is he the one that got away???

Chapter 11: I met his friend

Today is finally Friday, yeiiii, first weekend finally.

I am excited about it, definitely the week passed faster than expected but it was really different from what I could have ever expected, most definitely.

I rushed out of my house, because last night I forgot to save all my things on my backpack, so I lost really valuable minutes.

Thankfully I got in time, just barely, as I was crossing through the door frame to get in the cafeteria the bell rang and our discipline dean immediately closed the door, she left some people out, ruthless woman may I say, I sense some punishment for those poor souls at the exit time.

I walked quickly to get to my class before my technical drawing teacher, and I did it, I won for a split second.

But I just realized while I sat on my place, I am doomed, I forgot the drawing block, damn it, I was in a rush that I totally forget go and take it from my bedroom, nooooooo, damn it, and this teacher is a bit picky, daaaaamn, I will try to hide that I do not have my own.

I asked Lou for one sheet from her own block, took my materials out, pencils, ruler, eraser, etc., and started working as he instructed us.

He was walking through the seats’ lines, and the first time he passed me, he didn't notice I was missing my block, because I put my arm at the edge of the sheet, gosh I am saved.

I just forgot about him and continued working, and when Sandy asked me something and I turned at her to explain how I was doing the drawing, the professor stopped and then called my name.

I felt like a cold-water bucket was poured over my head and went all over my body, slowly I turned to face him and as I was dreading as soon as he saw directly to my eyes, he said “go to the discipline dean for a report, tell her you don’t have your material”

Shit, f uck, damn it…

I didn't even try to defend myself or explain, I just got up, crestfallen walked out of there to the principal office, looking for the dean.

I walked in and there she was, that woman was scary, not for me, but I hate being scolded or punished by something I could easily avoid by putting my things on the backpack the night before, damn it.

I explained everything to her, I told her I was actually working, that my drawing block was missing, but it was not an impediment to work today, and I will not forget it again.

She just let me talk and finally said “Alright, I will see you after classes, you will write three hundred times ‘I must always have all my technical drawing class materials with me’ and she just told me to go back to my class.

F uck, three hundred times… I think she overreacted, damn, is it better not to argue with her? Last time I did 100 it took around 30 minutes; now will it take me an hour and a half????

Oooooooooooo mmmmmmm ggggggggg, I will arrive home after my mom, and that will make her ask me why and will have to explain why, daaaaamn it.

I waited until the stupid drawing teacher left our classroom, I am mad at him, I know it was my fault to forget my block, but I was actually working, I was not doing noises or standing or disturbing the class in no way.

I saw him enter another classroom and hurry to enter mine before the math teacher.

I worked in every class on my own, I was a bit serious because I could not afford any other discipline report today.

When the recess bell rang, we did our usual new routine, we got to the cafeteria and then to our bench in the third section backyard, luckily it was not occupied.

I was a bit serious, and the ladies got it, they knew why, I told them about the 300 times I must write as my penance, and they also thought it was an exaggerated punishment for a first-time offender.

Andrew was in his usual spot surrounded by all his friends, but always the guy with the beautiful greenish eyes next to him.

He was looking at me with a different expression I had never seen before, what it was? not sure, but I was not even in the mood to think about it, trying to decipher this new face, I just put it in my Andrew’s facial expressions catalogue.

When the recess ended, I walked faster than usual, so I got to the entrance of the passageway before other people, Andrew saw me with different eyes and I saw him trying to say something, but I just entered the passage and missed it, I cannot afford to be late today. 

I worked in complete silence in my next three classes, and I tried to work as fast as possible, and start making lines in every spare minute I had so it will not take me so much time after classes, I can afford to spend in the punishment area at max, 45 minutes, so I could be back at my house before 3:00 pm.

I managed to do all my classes’ exercises and activities, plus one hundred and fifty lines, so I am halfway through this horrible and unfair punishment.

As soon as the end of the day bell rang, I said bye to the ladies, she waved me goodbye with sad eyes but tried to cheer me up.

I walked almost running to the entrance of the school to look for the discipline dean and there she was.

She told me “Start now your punishment on one of those stone pillars and when you are done get inside the principal office to give them to me with your name on each page, understood”

I just nodded and stood there in the first stone pillar with my notebook, where I already have some lines and started with a new page.

Then other people arrived looking for the dean, among them there was Andrew’s friend, the one with greenish eyes, and as he was the second person to get to the dean he stood in the second stone pillar, next to me.

He saw me and just nodded at me, and I smiled and nodded back at his kind of greeting.

We were ten people there, each one of us with their own penance and each one of us in silence and writing as quickly as we could write.

 When Andrew and his other classmates walked in front of us, he stopped just in front of his friend and then he reached to him, making his friend leave the place on the stone pillar, get close to the metal railing and to bend over it to get close enough to let Andrew speak at his ear, they both smiled and then his friend returned to his specific spot, Andrew waited until he was all set again, looked back at him and nodded, then Andrew nodded back and started walking, as he was passing in front of me he gave me a bright big smile.

As I was close to two hundred lines, I was not that worried / sad / angry anymore, so I managed to answer him back with a small smile, nothing to obvious, just perfect to let him know that I saw his beautiful smile.

I followed him with my eyes, looking at him as he got out of the school and walked to the house, I saw him before, direction, before I lost him completely, I saw him turning back and looked at me for the last time before he was out of sight.

I looked back at my notebook and continued writing as a madwoman.

Then, out of nowhere, his friend stretched his arm to place over my notebook a little piece of paper, that we all know was our messenger or chat app back then when no cellphones existed.

As we were not allowed to talk in the punishment area, we needed to be careful not to get caught because that only caused your punishment lines count to increase.

I looked back to be sure we do not have the evil dean around, and carefully unfolded the little piece of paper.

I read “Why are you here?”

I wrote under his question “I forgot the drawing block”

Then he asked, “How many lines did you get for forgetting that?”

“Three hundred freaking times” I wrote

He then told me in a not slow tone, making me look at him “Why? that is crazy!”

I hush him, putting my index finger over my lips, he smiled while shrugging.

We both, silently laughed. I said in a lower voice while still laughing a bit “I know right!”

Then we wrote “Your name is Vanessa, right?”

I looked at him and nodded. I wrote under his question “How do you know?”

And he replied to my question with “Andy told me”

I looked back at him, and I raised an eyebrow at him, he saw me with a funny smirk.

I wrote “Why?” 

He just laughed and then he gave me back a new piece of paper, because the other was full of questions and answers, “I asked him your name, when he asked your friend the other day”

I said “huh” in a lower voice and then wrote “What is your name?”

He smiled and then he wrote “My name is Lawrence, you can call me Larry, but my friends call me Erased”

I looked back at him with a strange face like asking why, raising my hands and making a strangeness gesture with both hands.

Then he pointed his eyes, I left my place and got really close to him to have a better look of his eye.