My punishment wasn't just longer; it was deeper. I had been assigned Saturday detention. Fuck. Still, as I sat in the empty cssroom on a Saturday morning, listening to the clock tick, I rationalized it. Alvin had a free month. He could walk the halls without looking over his shoulder. The trade was worth it.

  At noon, the monitor dismissed us. I walked out of the heavy double doors, throwing my backpack over my shoulder, ready to lock myself in my room for the rest of the weekend.

  "Daeron."

  I stopped.

  Jessica was standing by the school gates. She wasn't wearing her cheerleader uniform. She looked small, wrapped in an oversized green hoodie, her hands shoved deep into her pockets.

  "What?" I asked, walking past her without breaking stride.

  "Did you just get out of Saturday detention?" she asked, jogging slightly to keep up with me.

  "No."

  "Then why are you here on a Saturday?"

  "None of your business."

  She grabbed the strap of my backpack, forcing me to stop. "Daeron! I just want to apologize."

  I slowly turned my head, looking down at her hand until she let go of my bag. "For what?"

  "For... spping you." She swallowed hard, her green eyes searching my face. "And... for reporting the fight to the counselor."

  My calm facade cracked.

  "What the fuck?" I turned my whole body toward her, my brow furrowing in genuine anger. "You reported that shit? I thought a teacher saw it from the window! Why the hell did you report it? You wanted to get rid of the 'psycho' so bad, you hoped they’d expel me?"

  "No!!! No, no, no!" She stepped forward, shaking her head frantically, her voice bordering on a panic. "I just wanted Brook and his friends to stop bothering you and Alvin! I went straight to the office! I told the counselor exactly what happened!"

  I let out a harsh, dry scoff. "Bullshit. The counselor didn't know a damn thing about what they did to Alvin. She only cared about my brawl."

  "I swear!" she pleaded, reaching out but stopping before she touched my arm. "I told the counselor everything! If you don’t believe me, we can go ask her directly on Monday!"

  "Pfft. I don’t care." I adjusted my backpack, my face returning to an impenetrable mask. "Keep your 'help' to yourself. And stay away from me. You shouldn't hang around a psycho anyway."

  "Daeron! Please! Just listen—"

  I turned my back on her. I didn't say goodbye. I just walked away from the school gates, leaving her standing alone on the sidewalk, and headed home.

  **

  Sunday morning was quiet. My room was my sanctuary—no jocks, no teachers, no screaming cheerleaders. Just the low hum of my console and the AC.

  The peace broke when Alvin walked in. He looked tired, the grief of the st few days still hanging around his shoulders, but he offered a weak smile as he tossed his bag aside and sat on the edge of my bed.

  "Dude. I heard you got detention?"

  "Yeah," I replied, my voice completely ft. I didn't look away from the TV screen. "Got into it with small-dick Brook and his varsity clones."

  "Huh? Why did you fight them?"

  "They ambushed my lunch in the courtyard. Brought a giant with them to try and intimidate me."

  Alvin adjusted his gsses. "A giant? Who?"

  "Think they called him Herald."

  "Oh, shit. I know Herald. He's huge." Alvin frowned. "Wait. You fought Herald? Why?"

  I paused the game. I turned my head slowly, giving Alvin a deadpan, unimpressed stare. "Seriously? You're really asking me that?"

  Alvin scratched the back of his neck, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well... I mean, I wasn't there. They usually only start shit with you when they're trying to get to me. It’s unusual for them to just walk up and threaten you."

  "They got bold because they brought a meat shield," I said, turning back to the screen. "It didn't work out for them. I smmed him."

  Alvin let out a long, exhausted sigh. "Let me guess. You threw him, and then you either stomped his neck or pinned his head to the ground, right?"

  I blinked, genuinely mildly surprised. "How did you know?"

  "Dude, because that’s the exact same thing you did to Brook before the summer break!" Alvin groaned, leaning back against my headboard. "You need to be careful, man. You can't just keep dropping people like that. It's going to get you expelled. Though, I have to admit, it was a pretty stupid move for the jocks to actually report it to the counselor. They look weak."

  "It wasn't them," I said, my tone indifferent.

  "What?"

  "It was Jessica. The ginger girl from the courtyard."

  Alvin’s eyes went wide. "Wait, what? Why would she report it? I thought she hated Brook."

  "I don't know, and I don't care. Ask her." I picked up the second gamepad and tossed it onto his p. The school drama was exhausting, and I was done talking about it. "Boot it up, Al. I haven't seen your desperate, losing face in three days. I missed it."

  Alvin looked at the controller, then at me, the heavy tension of the week finally breaking. A genuine ugh escaped him.

  "Fuck you, man." He grabbed the controller and settled in.

  **

  A week of afternoon detention was mental torture. Sitting in a silent room staring at a chalkboard went against every instinct I had.

  Normally, Alvin would wait for me by the gates, but Saturday detention crossed a line. It ate into my actual free time. When Alvin offered to come sit outside the school in solidarity, I told him to stay home and grind my RPG character's stats instead. I refused to lose my gaming progress just because Brook's crew couldn't fight.

  To be completely honest, though? Saturday detention wasn't the worst thing in the world. It saved me from sitting in my house. My parents traveled non-stop for work. The house was massive, quiet, and completely hollow. At least in detention, there were people to gre at.

  At noon, the monitor finally dismissed us. I walked out the front doors, tossing my bag over my shoulder.

  Jessica was standing by the school gate.

  I didn't break my stride. I just kept walking right past her.

  "Daeron, please! You’ve ignored me for a whole week!" she called out, jogging to catch up.

  I stopped, letting out a slow, measured breath. "What do you want, Cheeto?"

  "I just wanted to apologize properly. And to tell you... your punishment has been shortened to two weeks."

  "Huh?" My ft expression faltered for a second. "Why didn't the counselor tell me?"

  "Listen! I went to Alvin, and we talked to the counselor together. We expined the whole context about how they target him. After cross-checking with some other students who saw the courtyard fight, the counselor agreed to reduce your sentence. They couldn't wipe it completely because you did technically start a brawl."

  "You didn't answer the question," I said calmly. "If this is true, why didn't the counselor or Alvin tell me?"

  "Because I asked them not to." She looked up at me, her green eyes earnest. "I caused this mess. I wanted to be the one to tell you directly, and I wanted to apologize. So... can you forgive me?"

  I stared at her. She had actually rallied Alvin and witnesses to fight the school administration for me. No one had ever done that before.

  I turned around and started walking away.

  "Please, Daeron! I’m sorry!"

  "Yeah, I forgive you," I said in a deadpan voice.

  "Really????"

  "No." I stopped and turned back to her, crossing my arms. "If you want actual forgiveness, you have to buy me food."

  "Deal! Let’s go!"

  "Just to be clear," I stated smoothly. "You are paying. Understand?"

  "Yes, yes! Come on, I know a great pce."

  She dragged me several blocks away from campus. I figured we were heading to a hotdog stand or a burger joint. Instead, she stopped in front of a sit-down Italian restaurant with cloth napkins on the tables.

  "Whoa, Cheeto. What are you thinking?" I stopped on the sidewalk. "Let’s just go find a hotdog cart."

  "Let’s eat here, Daeron. You order pasta at the cafeteria every single day. I know you like it. Come on."

  She walked inside before I could protest. I followed her, shaking my head.

  We slid into a corner booth. The warm smell of baked dough, garlic, and rich tomato sauce instantly made my stomach growl. She handed me a menu and insisted I order whatever I wanted. Not wanting to bankrupt her, I ordered a simple Bolognese.

  "I'm confirming this one more time, Cheeto. Are you sure about this?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "Yes, Daeron. Chill out and enjoy the food." She smiled, a bright, genuine expression that actually managed to crack my stoicism. I rexed slightly into the booth.

  "Alright then. Thank you. For this, and for the counselor."

  "I should be thanking you," she said softly. "I’m really sorry you had to suffer through detention alone."

  "Meh. It’s fine." I took a sip of my water. "Honestly, having them locked in a room with me every afternoon gives Alvin some space to breathe. It’s a fair trade."

  She rested her chin on her hand, looking at me with a soft amusement. "You're always thinking about your best friend, aren't you? Even when you're the one facing the hardship."

  "I just do what I have to do, Jess."

  "Just like a superhero," she giggled.

  "I’m not a hero."

  "Right, right. You’re a firefighter." She stirred her drink with her straw, her eyes glinting mischievously. "But you know, after I heard what you told the counselor... about refusing to let Brook 'escape from your cws'... you sounded a lot less like a firefighter and a lot more like a Tiger."

  I stared at her, completely unimpressed. "Ugh. That’s incredibly corny. You downgraded me from a public servant to an animal?"

  She burst out ughing. A moment ter, I found myself chuckling with her. The food arrived, but she didn't drop the joke.

  "I'm serious! You’re definitely a Tiger," she teased, pointing her fork at me. "Big, firm, intimidating, incredibly charismatic... buuuut, deep down inside, you're basically just a soft little kitty. Hahahahaha!"

  "Fuck off, Cheeto," I said, my mouth full of pasta. "Let’s just eat."

  We ended up sitting in that booth for hours. We talked about absolutely nothing, trading insults and sarcastic banter. I realized I hadn't talked this much in months. Eventually, the sky outside grew dark, and we had to call it a night before we missed our buses.

  Jessica waved the waiter over with a confident smile and asked for the check. A minute ter, the leather booklet was pced on the table. She opened it.

  Her confident smile instantly vanished.

  "Daeron!" she hissed, sliding across the booth toward me in a panic.

  "What?"

  "I only brought thirty dolrs... the bill is forty-five! Help me!"

  "Uggggghhhhh."

  I closed my eyes, letting out the longest, heaviest sigh of my life. I pulled out my wallet, pced two twenties and a ten on the table, and stood up. I ended up paying for my own apology dinner.

  "Thank you, Tigerrrr!" she beamed as we walked out onto the street.

  "I didn’t know it was going to cost more than thirty bucks!” She bit her lip, looking up through her eyeshes with a guilty, triumphant smile. "But you're my hero, right?"

  "Yeah, yeah," I retorted, shaking my head. I had been completely scammed.

  "Don’t be upset, okay? I’ll make it up to you next time, Tiger!"

  "Ugh." I shoved my hands into my pockets to hide the fact that I was smiling. "Stop with that pet name, Cheeto."