exclaimed, and without warning, leaped from her standing position so her hands clutched onto Sadie's shoulders, knocking both girls down.
From their positions on the grass, they started to slap, scratch, shove, push, and even kick at each other. Paulina even managed to grab a hold of Sadie's hair and pull. The original crowd they had drawn over their antics only grew, and soon, people started chanting 'Fight' before creating a circle around the two girls.
Sadie couldn't say for sure just how long she and Paulina had been going at it. Maybe it was because she was determined to be the cause of the biggest bruise Paulina had ever had on her face or maybe it was because, for a cheerleader, Paulina could actually inflict pain on someone else. But the length of time didn't matter because soon, the audience they had attracted got quiet – some even scattered – and they parted in a similar fashion, compared to the Red Sea.
"Just what do you two girls think you're doing?" a familiar voice boomed. Stewey reached down and grabbed the back of Sadie's shirt, pulling her up and away from Paulina's body.
"Oh, Mr. Stewey!" Paulina whined, bursting into tears that had not yet littered her face since their fight had commenced. "It was all Sadie's fault! She took the first swing, sir. Not me. I would never! I'm a cheerleader, for chrissake's!" She glared at Sadie, knowing her face was an unattractive shade of red. "I was only defending myself, but she, she, she's an animal. You saw her. I was begging her to stop knowing that fighting is wrong no matter how badly I want to do it, but she wouldn't let me. And now my practice uniform is ruined because of her and my face probably has the biggest –"
"Stop for a moment," Stewey said abruptly, trying to keep his annoyance out of his voice. "Well?" he asked, throwing his attention in Sadie's direction. "Is this true?"
"What?" Sadie asked sharply, not fully believing that Stewey would actually entertain the thought that Paulina was actually telling the truth. "No, of course -"
But Stewey interrupted her. "So you're saying you didn't throw the first punch?" he asked, and before Sadie could answer, said, "And remember, young lady, I'm sure we could find a slew of witnesses ready to tell me the real story should you choose to lie."
"Well, I might have thrown the first punch," Sadie admitted, but again, before she could further explain, Stewey caught her off.
"I cannot tell you how incredibly disappointed I am in you, missy," he said, lecturing her in front of a good portion of her peers. From the corner of her eye, she could Paulina smirking triumphantly. "Throwing the first punch when you know fighting is wrong? There is no justification for violence, Sadie. Since it happened off of school's time, I'm not going to call your mother. You should feel very lucky. However, I am assigning you a Saturday school." He glanced over at Paulina. "You, young lady, are getting an hour's detention Thursday before class starts. I know you were just trying to defend yourself, but you still need to be punished." He looked back at Sadie, his eyes hard and unwavering. "I'll see you Saturday. I strongly suggest you control yourself lest you want to make these meetings more habitual." With one final look at both girls, he turned around and stalked off.
It wasn't long before the crowd dispersed, leaving Sadie alone with her thoughts. Despite all that had happened, seeing Paulina's lower face covered with tears, grass, and snot made everything worth it.
Chapter 17
Saturday, October 10 6:58am
To say that Asher was surprised at the fact that he actually showed up for detention early, let alone on time, was definitely an understatement. However, he had nothing planned earlier in the morning – like his friends would even consider waking up at such an unreasonable hour – and he didn't want to hang around his house with his father still awake after coming home from the graveyard shift at a liquor store out of
From their positions on the grass, they started to slap, scratch, shove, push, and even kick at each other. Paulina even managed to grab a hold of Sadie's hair and pull. The original crowd they had drawn over their antics only grew, and soon, people started chanting 'Fight' before creating a circle around the two girls.
Sadie couldn't say for sure just how long she and Paulina had been going at it. Maybe it was because she was determined to be the cause of the biggest bruise Paulina had ever had on her face or maybe it was because, for a cheerleader, Paulina could actually inflict pain on someone else. But the length of time didn't matter because soon, the audience they had attracted got quiet – some even scattered – and they parted in a similar fashion, compared to the Red Sea.
"Just what do you two girls think you're doing?" a familiar voice boomed. Stewey reached down and grabbed the back of Sadie's shirt, pulling her up and away from Paulina's body.
"Oh, Mr. Stewey!" Paulina whined, bursting into tears that had not yet littered her face since their fight had commenced. "It was all Sadie's fault! She took the first swing, sir. Not me. I would never! I'm a cheerleader, for chrissake's!" She glared at Sadie, knowing her face was an unattractive shade of red. "I was only defending myself, but she, she, she's an animal. You saw her. I was begging her to stop knowing that fighting is wrong no matter how badly I want to do it, but she wouldn't let me. And now my practice uniform is ruined because of her and my face probably has the biggest –"
"Stop for a moment," Stewey said abruptly, trying to keep his annoyance out of his voice. "Well?" he asked, throwing his attention in Sadie's direction. "Is this true?"
"What?" Sadie asked sharply, not fully believing that Stewey would actually entertain the thought that Paulina was actually telling the truth. "No, of course -"
But Stewey interrupted her. "So you're saying you didn't throw the first punch?" he asked, and before Sadie could answer, said, "And remember, young lady, I'm sure we could find a slew of witnesses ready to tell me the real story should you choose to lie."
"Well, I might have thrown the first punch," Sadie admitted, but again, before she could further explain, Stewey caught her off.
"I cannot tell you how incredibly disappointed I am in you, missy," he said, lecturing her in front of a good portion of her peers. From the corner of her eye, she could Paulina smirking triumphantly. "Throwing the first punch when you know fighting is wrong? There is no justification for violence, Sadie. Since it happened off of school's time, I'm not going to call your mother. You should feel very lucky. However, I am assigning you a Saturday school." He glanced over at Paulina. "You, young lady, are getting an hour's detention Thursday before class starts. I know you were just trying to defend yourself, but you still need to be punished." He looked back at Sadie, his eyes hard and unwavering. "I'll see you Saturday. I strongly suggest you control yourself lest you want to make these meetings more habitual." With one final look at both girls, he turned around and stalked off.
It wasn't long before the crowd dispersed, leaving Sadie alone with her thoughts. Despite all that had happened, seeing Paulina's lower face covered with tears, grass, and snot made everything worth it.
Chapter 17
Saturday, October 10 6:58am
To say that Asher was surprised at the fact that he actually showed up for detention early, let alone on time, was definitely an understatement. However, he had nothing planned earlier in the morning – like his friends would even consider waking up at such an unreasonable hour – and he didn't want to hang around his house with his father still awake after coming home from the graveyard shift at a liquor store out of
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