It’s a Big Deal If It’s Your Problem

Daily Prompt: By the Skin of Your Teeth response.

By the last Wednesday of October, I got home late from school and was caught by the guard. It wouldn’t have been a big deal to me if he didn’t take my i.d., if the principal wasn’t there, and if I wasn’t an honor student.

I cried at the guardhouse when my attempt to beg for my I.d. back failed. My mind raced with the worst disasters that could happen. Like how the record would lessen my luck for college applications and how, maybe, it would cost my participation in a big contest. I was completely heartbroken and hopeless that night.

I stayed long at school not because of mischievous and stupid activities, so my conscience was clear. I only stayed long because I waited for my friends to finish some school work. We all go home, together so it was natural for us to wait for each other. Plus, we do it occasionally, and the school guard knows how clean we are so he usually lets us off the hook.

But that night the principal was kind of in a bad mood and had the school guard to confiscate student’s i.d. of whoever was upstairs in the building. It just so happened that I climbed up not only ten minutes before just so I could call for my friends to hurry up.

Hot damn, I was caught.

I fell asleep that night from exhaustion from crying too much.

The next day we weren’t that punished. We were scolded and interrogated, and that was pretty much it. We were made to write a promissory note and a narrative of what happened, but that’s better than anything else.

I thought all was well and so I was not prepared for the onslaught the next day.

Morning, next day, during the usual announcement of the principal, he mentioned the incident and a few heads turned to our direction but kept quiet(might as well have screamed though. They were wayyyy to obvious). He said, starting from that day onwards, no on was to stay late at  school or else, they’ll be given suspension. (YAY!! We were the reason for the sudden strictness of rules! People will so love us more). He let our identities anonymous but it was pretty useless. News travel fast between teens, you know?

After that, we were called by a teacher whom that in our narratives seem to blame. She scolded us and said that we shouldn’t blame others for our acts—which I agree is true. Then gave us an “ultimatum”. If the six of us can’t change our class within the next four months before graduation, our scores in her subject will be halved. We agreed to her term. Not like we had a choice anyway.

What was it that I escaped from??

Suspension. Because it was the first flaw of our record, we were given a chance and so, no suspension, or deduction of grades. I’m thankful, but I feel sorry we caused everyone else trouble. Because of us, everyone else in school gets a heart attack when the final school bell rings and when the school guard blows his whistle.