"Come in." Mrs. Ryan said. Melissa walked in, frowning and sighing. "Don't give me that attitude!" Mrs. Ryan snapped. "Sit down." Melissa sat down in the chair at the very front.
Mrs. Ryan placed a piece of paper on her desk. "Write 100 times 'I will not bully Amelia and I will respect Mrs. Ryan.' Get on with it! You're not leaving this room until you have written it 100 times."
Melissa began writing. She wrote the phrase over and over again until the word "Amelia" and "respect" started looking like they were spelled wrong. She counted the number of sentences repeatedly. Twenty sentences... Forty-six sentences... Sixty-nine sentences... Eighty-two... Melissa's head spun.
"Let me see." Mrs. Ryan said, snatching Melissa's paper off the desk. "Ninety-three sentences? Well... Hurry up and finish, then you may go." Mrs. Ryan placed the paper on Melissa's desk, before bustling off to do something else. Melissa sighed and continued to write.
"Mrs. Ryan?" Melissa looked up. The room was deserted. Mrs. Ryan was no where in sight. "Mrs. Ryan? I've written the phrase one hundred times." Melissa stood up, glancing around the room. No one. She pulled the door open, tentatively. The hall was empty.
"Mrs. Ryan?" Melissa called again, looking left and right.
"Eh? What are yeh doing here, girl?" a voice sad. Melissa's head whirled around to face the source of the voice. An old janitor was standing at the end of the hall way, holding a wet mop.
"I had detention with Mrs. Ryan. Did you see her?" Melissa replied, trying to keep her voice from sounding bitter.
"Detention with Mrs. Ryan? I saw her heading towards the principal office. Heard she had a meeting with a girl's parents." The janitor said, his gray head bobbing. "Yep, that's what I heard. Well, back to work." Then the janitor disappeared around the corner.
Melissa had almost forgot! The meeting with her parents. Was she supposed to be there? Obviously not, since Mrs. Ryan had just left the classroom with out her. Melissa went back in. She couldn't just stand around waiting for Mrs. Ryan to come back in – the meeting could take a long time. Mrs. Ryan might even forget about Melissa and just walk home. Melissa placed the paper on Mrs. Ryan's desk and left the school.
It was 5: 30, according to Melissa's watch. She turned right, instead of left which was the path home. Walking down the silent road, she suddenly remembered something: Takashi was having dinner with Mr. Lennington at six-thirty. Melissa could go home at six-thirty and not have to see Takashi!
Turning left, Melissa saw the familiar black gates. They were short and Melissa could have climbed over them whenever she wanted.
"Hello. Back again, I see." It was the priest. His eyes were hollow and his blond hair ruffled up. Melissa nodded, not too sure what to say. Pushing the gates open, Melissa went in.
Takashi glanced at the clock. It read six-twenty. He sighed. Running a hand through his hair, he unenthusiastically got up from his chair. Going down the stairs towards the entrance hall, Takashi thought, I must be crazy! Going to dinner with people I don't know. Takashi pushed the thought away and turned the corner that would lead to the entrance hall.
"Takashi! I knew you would come!" A cherry voice shouted. Then someone hugged him. Takashi looked down and was greeted by the sight of a brown haired girl.
"Uh..." Takashi said, unsure of what to do. He gently pushed the girl off.
"Remember me? My name's Abigail, but you can just call me Abby." Abby said, smiling. Her brown eyes glistened. "I told my dad that you would come, but he said 'Don't get your hopes up, Abby!' And guess what? I was right, and he was wrong! My dad should be coming soon."
"Is your dad...?"
"Mr. Lennington? Yup!" Abby replied, she hooked her arm in to his and leaned on his shoulder. Takashi was now filled with dread: this was the girl that Takashi had told Melissa. Abby was the one that had been bothering Takashi ever since he had step foot in the hotel. No wonder only Abby's friends followed Takashi today.
"Abigail, I hate to tell you this, but Takashi only came here to tell you that he can't go to dinner with you and your dad." a familiar voice said. Still in her normal clothes, Melissa stood calmly near Abby. "Right Takashi?"
"I know who you are! You're the mental girl!" Abby said, her voice had suddenly turned shrill. "I heard all about you from my wonderful cousin." She swung out of Melissa's view, hiding behind Takashi's tall frame.
"Uh..." Takashi said.
"Where did you hear that I was mental? I'm pretty sure that you're more mental than I am." Melissa replied.
"Where do you go everyday? After school you go a different path that doesn't lead you home. I'm wondering why no one ever tries to tail you to find out!" Abby's head poked in to view. "Besides, if Takashi was here to say that he couldn't eat dinner with us, then he would have said so. Right Takashi?"
"Uh..." Takashi said.
"My mom just sent me to get Takashi. She needs to talk to him and it might take a while. So quit being a coward and go and tell your rich dad that Takashi's not going to dinner with you two!" Melissa snapped, getting impatient. Abby's as annoying as her cousin, Melissa noted.
"Why should I? How do I know that you're telling the truth? You're just trying to keep Takashi away from me. But you can't keep us apart." Abby said, sticking her tongue out childishly.
"Oh really? You wanna bet?" Melissa asked, stepping forward.
"Sorry Abby." Takashi squeaked. "I'll see you around." Abby stood there, dumbfounded, gaping at Takashi as he was pushed down the hall. Once out of Abby's sight, Takashi turned around to face Melissa.
"Why did you... Uh..."
"Why did I save you? One, because you looked like you were about to be fed to wolves, and two, because I hate Abby! Her cousin is Amelia, and Amelia got me in tr-" Melissa clamped a hand over her mouth. Takashi didn't need to know about her school life or any part of her life.
"Amelia got you in to what? Trouble?" Takashi asked. "And how do you know Abby is Amelia's cousin?"
"Abby looks just like Amelia. Brown hair, brown eyes. Ugh." Melissa stomped off. "I'm getting dinner." She pushed the kitchen door open and was met with sweet smells of roast beef and mashed potatoes.
"Hey, school lets out at three. How come you're here now?" Takashi followed her in, ignoring the big sign posted on the door that read "Staff only."
Melissa purposely took the time to cram her mouth full of mashed potatoes and gravy. When she was done, she shrugged. "I took a detour, what's wrong with that?"
"How can a detour take you three hours to get home? The East area isn't that big." Takashi said. A chef nearby plopped a slice of bread in his hand.
"You're not allowed in here, dear boy." The chef said. "Best get out of here." The chef pushed Takashi out of the kitchen. "And if I were you, don't talk to that girl. She snaps at people at the most random times. So beware her temper." The kitchen door closed and the chef was gone.
Takashi bit in to the bread. It was soft and chewy. He walked up the stairs, heading towards his room, deep in thought. How come everyone doesn't like Melissa? Abby said that she was mental. But I can tell that she's not. There's something about her. She knows someone who's died, that's why she's always so mean to everyone. She's in grief, but how come no one knows that?
