Chapter 2
Raven High was the only school in the entire town, so students of different class and status attended the school. Down at the school lab, students moved in and out, wearing white coats and safety goggles.
Liam Ashford sat at one of the rear tables, spinning a silver pen between his fingers, boredom was already dragging at his patience. He glanced at his watch, it was a sleek silver watch that alone displayed who he was, rich and privileged.
The pen slipped once but he caught it before it could fall. Liam sighed and checked the time again. Twenty-three minutes had passed. The class was supposed to start half an hour ago. His legs bounced beneath the table, not from nerves but from growing irritation. He could have been anywhere else, at home, in the library, even at that pretentious robotics club where people at least kept up with him intellectually. But here he was.
He was used to being the smartest person in the room and he wore that knowledge like a badge. It wasn't arrogance to him, it was just the truth. His teachers had learned to tread carefully, some challenged him, most didn't bother. The ones who tried usually gave up.
Eventually, the lab door opened, and Mr. Hart stepped inside, clutching a folder and looking apologetic.
"Sorry for the delay," he announced, already moving to the front desk.
Liam didn't answer, he just frowned and leaned back in his chair folding his arms.
Mr. Hart launched into the lesson without pause, explaining chemical bonds, reactions, and something about energy levels. Liam tuned it out halfway through. This was entry-level stuff. He learnt it a year ago, probably faster than the teacher teaching it. He barely looked up from his pen, still spinning it with practiced boredom.
But Mr. Hart wasn't blind, he saw the disinterest.
"Liam," he called, motioning for him to come forward.
The class went silent. Liam raised a brow then rose to his feet with casual confidence. He walked to the front like it was a stage and he was the headliner.
Mr. Hart asked a question and Liam answered before the sentence was done. Another question was thrown at him and another instant reply was shot out from him. No hesitation and no thought required.
"Give me something harder," he said, crossing his arms. "These are kid questions."
There were a few scattered chuckles, mostly awkward. Mr. Hart didn't laugh. He just nodded toward Liam's seat.
"Go sit down."
The rest of the lesson crawled by. Liam didn't even try to engage. He didn't need to.
As the bell rang, students packed up and filed out. Liam stood to leave but Mr. Hart raised a hand.
"Liam. Stay back."
He paused, then dropped back into his chair with a sigh.
Mr. Hart didn't sit. He leaned against the front table, hia arms crossed now.
"You're a smart kid," he said. "I've seen your grades. Straight A's. Top of the class. You've got potential. But you're not the only person in this room. The world doesn't revolve around you."
Liam blinked slowly.
"If the world is moving slow, maybe I'm just running faster," he said. "If they're struggling with this basic stuff, they shouldn't be here. This is high school, not kindergarten. You want me to slow down for people who can't keep up? That's not how real life works."
Mr. Hart exhaled, the sound came out tired. He walked over, placing a firm hand on Liam's shoulder.
"Everyone deserves a chance, Liam."
Liam gave a hollow laugh as he shook off the hand. "Yeah, right."
"You've got detention," Mr. Hart said, straightening up.
Liam blinked. "What?"
"You disrupted my class, you weren't paying attention. And I heard about the student you insulted earlier. Bullying isn't a thing we do here. You'll be in the detention room after school today."
His mouth opened but no words came out. Mr. Hart was already walking away.
Liam didn't move. He just sat there for a long minute as his fingers started tightening around his pen.
"Damn it," he muttered finally.
—-
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry."
A 17 year old junior student apologized as he bumped into someone. Running down the hallway was Jayden Brooks. He was the captain of the school's football team, and he was late for class. Again. It was the third time in a week he was arriving late, he had alreadybeen issued a warning during the first two strikes. This was the third andhe knew he was in deep shit. He arrived at his Math class and he slowly made his way to his seat, hoping and praying the teacher wouldn't acknowledge him, but the universe had other plans.
"Mr. Brooks," the teacher called out, loud enough for the entire class to turn their heads. "You're late again."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lee. I was held back at football trainning." Jayden said apologetically. But big ol' Mr. Lee wasn't having it. He wasn't ready to let it go.
"No no, Mr. Brooks, you can't get a hall pass for everything you're late for, you can't keep making excuses."
At this point, Mr. Lee had already created a scene, and some of the other students in the class were already filming the scene. Who wouldn't want to get their hot headline for the day. "The math teacher and the football captain, raging!"
"I'm going to have to book you Jay. I'm sorry."
Jayden sighed in defeat as he made his way to his seat. He slumped down on his chair, running a hand through his wild brown hair. His green eyes looked dejected. School hadn't been easy for him, his grades weren't bad but they weren't good either, football was his ticket out of here. But now, it was taking a toll on him. His parents weren't exactly rich but they were a loving household, and the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint.
Mr. Lee went on with his class, like he hadn't just created an unnecessary scene. After an hour of going on and on about Calculus, he rounded up and the class was dismissed.
The day went by quickly, class after class, activity after activity, and eventually, the bell rang across the school. The time was 4 p.m.
Immediately, students started exiting the school, making their way to their homes, except three.
Inside the library, Liam sat on a desk, swinging his legs. It was obvious he was bored and he didn't want to be here. But that's what detention was all about, it wasn't designed to make you comfy.
The door creaked open, Erin walked in gracefully, chin up, she moved like she didn't give a care in the world, and in truth, she didn't. Liam watched her walk over to one of the shelves, she leaned against it as she pulled out her phone.
Usually, when someone walked in the same room as him, they'd acknowledge him, he wasn't just rich and intelligent, he was famous across the school. The Valedictorian, The Brilliant Asshole, people knew that name, so Liam was clearly caught off guard when she didn't even look in his direction.
Regardless, he shrugged it off, he told himself she probably didn't see him. Liam was a narcissist, a smart one at that.
Soon enough, someone else walked in, Jayden. He looked around, he muttered something before he walked off to the east wing of the library.
Just three minutes after he walked in. The librarian appeared out of nowhere, she was a tall woman with a heart shaped glass sitting on her nose.
"Alright, you little delinquent. Welcome to detention." She said with a wide smile.
"Your job is to clean up this place. We have new books coming in tomorrow, we need to get rid of the old ones, and you lots have been tasked with the job, now I don't know how long it would take, an hour, maybe two…" she started walking around, like a villain in a movie explaining their evil plan. "...maybe ten. You're not leaving this school till You. Are. Done."
"Now, phones on my desk..."