Cara walks into school - she is late due to a traffic issue in which her mother Sue could not find a place to get out of the way of a traffic jam! Cara does not mind being late, only when she walks into class she sees her crush Paul at the front of the room orating a speech he has ill prepared. As Paul fumbles with his words Cara laughs under her breath - her heart-beat is going a mile a minute and she feels giddy inside. Quickly Cara sits down in her chair as she looks at Paul - he is a character she can admire, but she has only seen him not known him.
Anne passes Cara a paper and Cara picks it up. Cara reads an insult and as she draws on the paper teacher Eric Sanders snatches the note and scowls.
"This is ill manners!" he whispers to Cara. "Detention!" he mutters under his breath.
Cara sulks as ahe puts down her pen, only her smile rises as Paul look at her and begins to pick up his mood. He seems to fumble less and Cara wonders why? She wants to imagine there is a reason, however his next mistake in forgetting his speech makes him drop his notes and the idea that Cara has been an intelligent mental stimulation wears off and disintergates as Paul tells the class he is finished.
"So you are!" tells Eric as he pats Paul on the back.
Cara claps with the class and then her name is announced and she is forced to tell the teacher that she has no speech prepared. The teacher gives her double detention and Cara sulks before a blush of shame rises up on her cheeks - she doesn't want to say anything more lest she get more detention.
At detention Cara sulks in a lone room as Eric supervises. She scrawls the words 'I don't care' on a pad of paper over and again while she is supposed to sit still. Cara wishes that Paul were near then she would have someone to look at - however he is not there at all; as far as she knows he has never been on detention!
A knock on the door breaks Cara's attention and Paul enters the room to talk to Eric. Cara smiles under her stare as she listens as Paul asks Eric if he can do the speech again?
"My fingers slipped!" tells Paul as he feels his head turn warm.
"I am sorry Paul you only get one chance at doing the speech;" tells Eric as he shrugs.
Pauls sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He wants to ask Eric if he can double his grades some other way, but he knows he can't! Paul retreats as the bell rings and Cara slips out of her chair to leave.
"One minute Cara!" tells Eric as he watches Cara pack.
Cara stops as Eric nears, and she blinks as Eric reads her scrawl.
"Detention tomorrow;" tells Eric as he raises his brows. "No pen, no paper, just you;" he adds.
"Okay!" sings Cara before she packs her pad and leaves.
Outside of the classroom Paul catches Cara's arm.
"Hey there;" he mutters in a shy tone. "How was juvenile hall?" he asks.
"It's detention not jail!" tells Cara with a laugh. "And it's both fine, I am fine, my temper is fine; I just failed to complete a speech!" she tells.
"Unlike me, I failed with a C minus!" tells Paul as he grows bashful. "I was aiming for straight A's but for some reason I fumbled and the rest ruined my grade!"
"That is a shame Paul, a dire shame!" tells Cara as she shrugs.
"I wanted to talk to you about it, but you so jammed up with detention I could not tell you that..."
A spell of shyness causes Paul to stuff his words inside of his chest. Cara shrugs as she glares at the crowds of students flocking to their school rooms - Cara wants to do the same, however she stands still as Paul peels his shyness away.
"I noticed you;" tells Paul as he swallows his last flint of dry tongue. "I wanted to tell you that I noticed you;"
"No way Paul I noticed you too!" says Cara as she smiles. "I like to notice you, it makes my heart beat!"
"Really?" asks Paul as he smiles. "Mine too, I just wanted to forget about it but it comes... I like you;" he whispers.
"Really?" asks Cara as she feels a flint inside of her chest.
The teacher Eric pops his head out of the classroom and narrows his eyes as Paul takes Cara's hand.
"I would like to go out with you;" states Paul, however Eric clears his voice and Paul drops Cara's hand as though it had turned into a bag cockroaches!
"Too class you two, and Cara detention!" tells Eric as he points at Cara.
Cara shrugs and then she looks to Paul as her lips ache to offer him some encouragment. She wants to tell him that she will go out with him, however with Eric's stare on her she backs away.
"Maybe we'll talk tomorrow!" cheers Cara as she waves.
"Look forward to it!" tells Paul before he drifts with the last of the crowd to a nearby classroom.
Cara wanders down the hall and it takes ten minutes to reach her classroom, by that time the teacher inside has started class and Cara no longer wishes to go inside of the room. So Cara walks away and finds herself a cozy place to sit outside on the garden where there are heaps of trees and few spectators. Cara bothers to eat a sandwich and then she lays down for a nap.
When Cara wakes there are three students hovering over her as they smoke.
"Hey there lay about!" tells one named Sue. "Having a nice nap?"
"Cat nap!" mutters another student named Pearl.
"Cat walked out of class!" mutters the third student named Lilac.
"I am not a cat!" tells Cara as she sits and brushes the grass from her hair. "I just didn't want to go to class;" she adds.
"Neither do we!" tells Sue as she offers Cara a cigarette.
Cara knows better then to refuse the cigarette and she takes it and allows Pearl to light it. The taste of the cigarette is strong and smoky and Cara chokes on it for a minute before her lungs ease into the inhale.
"These are awful cigarettes!" mutters Cara as though she knows her brands.
"It's the best!" tells Lilac as she smiles. "Tripple dose of cancer all in one bite!" she adds.
Cara smiles and she hesitates in taking another inhale, however after a few seconds she does inhale.
"You are cool!" tells Sue as she smiles. "Want to come over to my house after school?" she asks.
"I'm meeting someone else;" tells Cara as she smiles. "It is someone special;" she adds.
"Oooh a boyfriend!" sings Lilac as she snickers. "Who is it? Toby Ashwood is a hot flame!"
"No, Paul Hayden;" tells Cara as she shrugs.
"That guy it hot!" tells Sue as she draws in a breath. "He got Ashley Brooks pregnant last month;"
"He what?" asks Cara as she feels her heart drop.
"Ashley Brooks went out on a date and got herself banged up!" tells Sue as Pearl snickers.
"He was hot for the dollar!" tells Pearl in insult.
Cara feels the light around her mind turn dark and she smokes to hide the drop that she has discovered.
After school Cara walks home - she no longer wants to look at Paul even though he waits for her by the bus-stop. Cara avoids him by hiding herself amongst a group of peers, and then she moves on.
"I can't like him now!" tells Cara as she feels ice cold wind slide her hair to one side. "I don't know what to do - it makes me feel sour that he has gotten someone else knocked up;"
Cara tells herself that she will no longer like Paul, only time moves to challenge her at school the following day.
At school Paul catches Cara as she enters the gate. He leads her to a quiet spot where they chat under the shade of a gum tree.
"I've been thinking about you all night;" tells Paul as he feels his eyes glint from the drugs he has taken to cover the fact that he has not slept a wink.
"You have?" asks Cara as she feels her heartbeat tripple. "What were you thinking?" she asks.
"I would like to go on a date with you!" tells Paul as he smiles.
"You would?" asks Cara as her feet shuffle back a notch. "That is so wild, but for you I only want to be friends;" she tells as she feels that cloud of black as it floats over her brain.
"Friends?" asks Paul as he raises his brows. "Why friends, yesterday you were close to saying you wanted to be with me;" he tells.
"I never gave you an answer Paul;" corrects Cara as she feels a stitch rise over her spine.
"I'm sorry!" gasps Paul as he hangs his head. "I was so sure that you wanted to go out with me!" he mutters.
"I am sorry I gave you that impression Paul!" tells Cara as she shrugs. "I really just wanted to say if you need a friend I am here;"
Paul shakes his head as he thinks - he can't believe that Cara does not want to go out with him; his brow is a mess of hot rivets until the bells distracts him from his thoughts.
"I lost a night of sleep for you;" he mutters as Cara turns her head. "Are you listening to me?" he asks in a sharper tone.
Cara walks away unable to look at the guy with the sore heart behind her who stands as one who feels ultimately let down.
Inside of class Cara sits through her lessons talking the least out of all students. Her mind is sore from telling her brain that she was wrong to let Paul go - however Cara knows inside of her heart that she will only be his next gossip and not his next flame.
"He is just experimenting;" tells Cara as she glares at the paper in front of her chest. "He does not love me!" she wars.
At detention teacher Etic looks at Cara as she sits staring at the floor. He sees that she is close to crying as she sits on her brain which is busy and he wants to tell her to leave, however he does not say a word as she sits through detention quietly.
"You still have a speech to prepare;" tells Eric to break the silence. "How about you work on it?" he adds.
Cara nods and she takes out a pad of paper and a pen, however her hand can only scrawl the words 'I am sorry'.
At the end of the school day Cara meets Paul as he catches her by the bus stop. He looks at her searchingly as his mind grows depressed over her refusal to go out with him.
"Why aren't you wanting to come for a walk with me?" he asks.
"I just think we are on different mental planes;" tells Cara as she feels a pang inside of her chest. "I don't want to go out with you; I don't want to be serious with you; I just want to be friends!" she adds.
"Friends are not even close to what I want!" tells Paul as he feels strain inside of his chest. "You come for a walk with me!" he challenges as he takes her arm and pulls. "Come now, we'll have fun!"
"Paul!" gasps Cara as she takes back her arm with a yank. "I can't!" she tells.
"Why not?" asks Paul as students turn their heads to look at their quarrel.
"You're not seeing the world, you are just seeing you;" tells Cara as she feels her mind sulk over the scratches on her arm.
"I am seeing you!" swears Paul as he grows a beat inside of his brain that turns his brow moist.
"I don't want to go out with you!" tells Cara as she crosses her brows. "You've hurt my arm!" she spits.
"I'm sorry;" mutters Paul as he wipes a hand through his hair. "I am frustrated, tired, and alone;" he mutters. "I want to walk you home;" he adds.
Students nearby cheer for Cara to say 'yes', but all she can do is say 'no' with a shake of her head.
"I'm sorry Paul, you are a loser!" she spits as a bus moves towards the bus stop.
"Loser!" whispers Paul as tears film his eyes. "Forget you then;" he mutters before he throws himself in front of the bus.
Students gasp as Paul bumps against the bus, however the bump is too weak to throw him to the ground he only bounces off the front as the horn blares and then he runs! All around Cara people hiss and she walks away as well to be able to disappear!
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