We sat in the detention room, the silence heavy around us. Mal leaned back in her chair, tapping her foot nervously, while Warwick stared out the window, clearly lost in thought. I folded my arms, glancing around at the empty room.
“So… now what?” Mal whispered, her voice barely above a mumble.
I sighed. “We wait. And hope Ms. Daniels doesn’t report us to the principal.”
Mal smirked, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, because we haven’t been in enough trouble lately.”
Warwick chuckled softly, his eyes still focused out the window. “If they report us, it’s just another mark on the record. What’s one more?”
I leaned back in my chair, shaking my head. “Easy for you to say. Some of us actually care about graduating.”
Mal pulled out a small crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and started folding it into a rough paper airplane. “Think this will fly?”
“Of course it should. There are a lot of students that has sneaked out of school before. We are not the first and would not be the last.”
Mal threw the paper airplane across the room, watching as it veered left and crashed into the wall. She shrugged, unimpressed. “Guess not.”
Warwick finally turned from the window, a slight smirk on his face. “You know, if we’re going to be stuck in here, we might as well make the best of it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And what exactly does that mean?”
Warwick pulled out his phone, glancing toward the door to make sure no one was watching. “Ever tried hacking the school’s Wi-Fi? I could pull up some movies or something.”
Mal’s eyes lit up. “Now that’s what I’m talking about! Do it.”
I shook my head, but couldn’t help but smile. “You’re ridiculous.”
Warwick started tapping away at his phone, while Mal leaned forward, watching him closely. “Think you can actually pull it off?”
Warwick didn’t look up. “Give me a few minutes. I’ve bypassed bigger firewalls than this.”
I leaned back in my chair, glancing at the clock. “If Ms. Daniels comes back and sees you doing that, we’re definitely getting more than detention.”
Mal shrugged. “Like Warwick said, what’s one more mark on the record? Besides, what’s she gonna do-suspend us?”
Warwick’s fingers moved quickly across the screen. “And… done. We’re in.”
Mal grinned, nudging me with her elbow. “See? We might actually survive this after all.”
Warwick swiped through his phone, searching for something to keep us entertained. “What are we in the mood for? Action? Horror?”
Mal leaned in eagerly. “Definitely horror. Make it something good, though-none of that jump-scare nonsense.”
I rolled my eyes. “You realize we’re in detention, right? Maybe we should keep a low profile, not watch movies.”
Mal waved me off. “Relax. We’re already in trouble. Might as well enjoy it.”
Warwick nodded in agreement. “Exactly. We’re already here. No sense in being miserable.”
I glanced toward the door nervously. “If Ms. Daniels catches us, I’m not taking the blame.”
Warwick smirked. “Don’t worry, I’ll take the heat if she does. But trust me, she’s not coming back for a while. Teachers like to leave us to stew in detention.”
Mal leaned back, satisfied. “Horror it is, then.”
Warwick settled on a movie, and the three of us huddled around his phone, the glow from the screen casting faint shadows across the room. The eerie music started, and Mal grinned, clearly in her element.
The tension from earlier seemed to melt away as we got absorbed in the movie. For a moment, it didn’t feel like detention at all-just three friends killing time.
About halfway through, I couldn’t help but glance at Warwick. “How do you even know how to do stuff like that? Hacking into the school’s Wi-Fi, I mean.”
He shrugged casually. “I pick things up. It’s useful when you don’t want people tracking what you’re doing.”
Mal nudged him. “Our resident tech genius. I knew you were good for something.”
Warwick chuckled. “I try.”
The sound of footsteps suddenly echoed down the hallway, and my heart leaped into my throat. I sat up straight, eyes wide. “Someone’s coming.”
Warwick quickly turned off his phone, shoving it into his pocket. Mal tried to stifle a laugh as she sat up, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
Ms. Daniels appeared in the doorway, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the three of us. “I hope you’ve been reflecting on why you’re here.”
We all nodded innocently, but I could still feel my pulse racing.
Ms. Daniels gave us a suspicious look before stepping out of the room again, closing the door behind her.
Mal burst out laughing. “That was close!”
Warwick grinned, clearly unfazed. “Told you she wouldn’t catch us.”
I exhaled slowly, shaking my head. “I can’t believe we just pulled that off.”
Mal leaned back in her chair, a satisfied smile on her face. “This detention might actually turn out to be fun.”
Warwick leaned back, looking more relaxed than ever. “Told you, detention doesn’t have to be all bad.”
I shook my head. “You’re insane, both of you. But that was kind of thrilling, I’ll admit.”
Mal grinned, tossing her paper airplane in the air again. “Admit it-you had fun.”
I glanced at the clock. “Well, as fun as it is, detention’s almost over. We should probably look like we’ve been doing something, you know, less illegal.”
Warwick pulled his phone out once more, but this time it was just to check the time. “Guess we should get back to being model students.”
Mal rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. But we’ll survive. What’s next for the rebels of detention?”
I chuckled, leaning forward. “Maybe next time we don’t push our luck with horror movies.”
Warwick smirked. “Or maybe next time, we hack into something bigger.”
Mal’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “Oh, I like the sound of that.”
The bell rang, signaling the end of detention. We stood up, gathering our things. As we walked out, Mal nudged me. “Same time next week?”
I smiled. “Let’s try not to make it a habit.”
Warwick grinned. “But if we do, I’ll bring the entertainment.”