Days of the Old

My fists clenched involuntarily at my sides, and I was pretty sure a certain vein in my forehead was protruding disturbingly as I put all of my willpower in restraining myself.

Larissa, Andy’s girlfriend, stood a few meters in front of me in the middle of the hallway. She thought she was blocking me from going any further. I was trying to get out of the building and go to lunch with Dannii, but if Larissa wanted to do this, I was up for it too. She noisily popped her chewing gum and placed her hands on her hips, staring at me with a look of inferiority.

The way she was acting made me want to break her artificial nose already, but I remembered all of the promises I had made. And she was not the one who started it. She was only following along with whatever Andy was doing because she couldn’t think for herself.

“Do you seriously think you’re better than my Drewberry?” She asked, and her annoying, nasally voice made me cringe.

“Who?” I asked incredulously, looking at her as if she were even more brainless than I thought. Please don’t tell me that’s her nickname for him.

“Uh—duh,” She said, her denim miniskirt whooshing as she took a small step forward. “Andrew—or Andy if you’re that slow.”

Glancing away and back to her, I scoffed. “Sorry to inform you, but I am better than your boyfriend.”

Normally, I wouldn’t have been so confident(Let's call it that) about guitar, but both Larissa and Andy managed to bring out the worst in me. My response seemed to irritate her, maybe because this was the first time someone hadn’t agreed with every word she said. She took another ‘menacing’ step forward, until she was only a few feet away from me.

Never throw the first punch, I kept reminding myself, especially in school.

“Listen, you little slut,” She hissed, her demeanour changing from prissy and arrogant to completely pissed off in a split second. She smirked when she noticed how she had a half a head over me, and at that point I really didn’t know how I was still restraining myself. “You don’t deserve all of the attention my Andy is giving to you. You should be grateful he’s even acknowledging you. But I don’t like it, so you better like, back off!”

I knew then, that Larissa was just as twisted as her boyfriend, if not more. They deserved each other. I zoned out, even though I was leaning for. “Say something, you fucking little whore—”

That was all she got out before I had her tackled to the ground, all thoughts of who was throwing what punch disappearing. But I guess it was my fault for underestimating her because she flipped me over, her overly-manicured nails scratching anything they could reach. This was it, I was fucking sick of their deranged antics and it was going to stop right then.

“Stop scratching, you fucking pansy!” I threw a punch, but one of her hands got in the way just as the other came in contact with my lip. I could taste the blood from the scratch she left. But it didn’t hurt; it only angered me even more. I blocked another punch and gave it another try, this time my fist connected with her jaw, a sickening (or satisfying, whichever way you want to look at it) crunch echoing through the corridor.

With a strangled sob, she rolled off of me and curled into a ball on the floor, holding her chin. I quickly jumped to my feet and looked around, surprised that a crowd hadn’t gathered. It was still just us there.

Larissa let out a howl of pain and I rolled my eyes. “Suck it the fuck up. You started it.” I snapped, flexing the hand I punched her with to make sure it wasn’t broken, because I did hit her pretty hard, and my hand was paining. But nothing too serious was wrong with it, however I couldn’t say the same about Larissa’s jaw. What I said only made her cry more, and I still didn’t feel an ounce of remorse.

“Larissa?!” A voice at the end of the hall screeched, and I groaned. It was Mrs. Hoffmaster, and she dragged her skeletor-like body down the hall as fast as she could. “Larissa, what happened?” She shrieked in panic and kneeled down beside Larissa, not yet taking notice of me.

I knew I should have left when I had the chance, because even though Larissa was still wailing like a banshee, she managed to pry one of her hands from her face and point back to me.

Mrs. Hoffmaster glared at me, and began trying to get Larissa to her feet. “Help me take her to the nurse, looks like you need it too.”

“There’s no way I’m touching that skank again,” I said scathingly, turning around. “Get her there yourself.” I walked away, ignoring the both of them as I made my way down the hall at a leisurely pace.

Over the past few weeks, I’d really gotten to know my way around campus, so I found my way to the nurse’s office quickly. I let the nurse clean me up, but it didn’t take much. A dab of rubbing alcohol on all scratches Larissa left, some gauze on my raw knuckles, and I was soon on my way to the office.

No one else was in the main part of the office, and I had a feeling I wouldn’t be seeing Larissa anymore that day. I was also pretty sure I wouldn’t be going back to class, and I remembered that I was supposed to present my song in music class today.

Goddammit, she had to pick today to fight, didn’t she? A new spurt of rage surged through me just as the Mr. Dunford came out of his office. He looked at me sternly before gesturing for me to go into his office. Once in there, I plopped down onto the chair and tossed my backpack to the side. I seriously didn’t have time for this; I needed to get back to class.

“Mrs. Hoffmaster talked to Larissa and she explained everything,” He said not bothering to sit as he stood behind his desk. He probably thought it would intimidate me a little more.

“I can only imagine what shit Larissa’s talking.” I said, staring up at the ceiling. The rubbing alcohol had really irritated the scratches, and my lip was beginning to throb.

“That it quite enough, Ms. Sanders!” Mr. Dunford snapped, which only made me roll my eyes.

“I already told you, it’s Wilson.” I stated, my voice raising slightly. I was beginning to lose what cool I had left. Couldn’t he just get to the punishment already?

The door to the main office opened, and I leaned my chair all the way back until I could see out of Mr. Dunford’s open door. I was only doing that to irritate him, of course, but I wasn’t expecting the person who came in to be Matt. I tipped my chair back so it was in its original place and rested my chin in my hand, staring straight ahead.

Matt came straight in, and I was guessing he saw me peeking out. He shook hands with Mr. Dunford before sitting down in the chair next to me. Taking my chin in his hand, he made me look at him, tilting my head from side to side to assess the damage. Honestly, I had no idea what I looked like at that moment, but Matt frowned at what he saw.

Mr. Dunford sighed as he sat down in his seat, and after Matt let go of my chin I glared at Mr. Dunford. Of course he would call Matt in. Matt nudged me and cleared his throat, but I didn’t listen.

“Well, Mr. Sanders, from what Mrs. Hoffmaster and I can gather, Payton started the fight, and then had the audacity not to help the girl to the nurse's office. As a result of the fight, Larissa’s jawbone is dislocated.”

Nice. Maybe she knows to back off from now on. Nonetheless, I hastily stood up. “What? She provoked me!” I yelled, and Matt yanked me back down, keeping a hand on my forearm so I didn’t try to get back up. We both glared at each other for a moment before he turned back to Mr. Dunford.

“But, she has graciously agreed not to press charges.” Matt nodded again, and I shifted anxiously in my seat, wanting to leave. “Since this is Payton’s second offence, I cannot suspend her. But I will be giving her the maximum amount of demerits, and she will have two weeks of detention.”

“And what about Larissa,” I asked loudly, trying to pull my arm out of Matt’s grip. “What’s her punishment?”

“I believe her injuries are punishment enough, Ms. Sanders.”

I ripped my arm from Matt’s grip and retrieved my backpack by the door, not once looking back at them.”What the fuck ever, piece of plastic shit.” I grumbled on my way out, slamming the main door as I left, not caring if Matt was following. I walked to the parking lot and got in Matt’s SUV. The day was almost over then, and the chance to present my song today was long gone.

“What the fuck was that?” Matt demanded as soon as he got into the car. I ignored him and stared out the passenger window, refusing to look at him. He let out a loud, frustrated sigh and pulled out of the parking lot.

The drive home was silent, which I was thankful for. I couldn’t handle Matt blowing up over something as stupid as a fight, especially in the car. Hopefully, he would be cool about it, but judging from the look on his face before I looked out the window, I seriously doubted it.

“Go to your room.” Matt said as soon as we got into the house, which only made me roll my eyes. I was planning on going there in the first place, but now that Matt told me to, I made sure I wouldn’t be. I walked straight past the stairs and toward the kitchen, and then I heard the fast familiar footsteps of Jimmy and braced myself.

After crushing me into a hug, he stepped back and held me at arm’s length, assessing my injuries just as Matt had. I noticed everyone else scattered throughout the kitchen, including all the girls. He held up my bandaged knuckles almost proudly. “Mini! I thought you were dead, I thought you were never coming back! You didn't lose, did you?!”

“No, Jim, I didn't lose. A little dramatic though, eh?” I chuckled, my sour mood melting away slightly and was replaced with the bubbly happiness Jimmy seemed to spread around. I sighed when I looked behind my back and saw Matt stand right behind me. “I’ll be down in the lounge.” I said, brushing past Matt.

“Payton, I said—” I shut the basement door before Matt could get the rest out. When I got down to the lounge, I paced around one of the sofas. I’d just wasted one of my ‘offences’ on that bitch. Now, if Andy and I were to get into a fight, I would get suspended. Which I didn’t mind at all, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t go over too well with Matt. I didn’t know if I could handle his bitching if I did end up out of school for a week or so.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore, and crept back up the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible. He probably wanted me to go to my room so he could discuss my ‘punishment’ or some stupid thing like that. I hoped he knew what was coming if he tried to ground me or something insane like that. Hell would be coming if he tried to pull that shit.

The door swung open silently, and I heard voices coming from the living room. Once I was sure no one was in the kitchen, I crept through the hallway and pressed my back against the wall next to the archway that led to the living room.

“I think I need to start setting a few rules out for her, guys. She needs to know that there are consequences for her actions.” I held back a gag as I listened to Matt.

“If you think that’s what’s best, babe, then—” I had nothing against Val, but I just couldn’t stand just standing there and listening, so I barged in, interrupting her.

“Matt, you can’t be serious! Rules? How old do you think I am?” Matt looked up at me calmly, unfazed by my outburst. Jimmy was up in a split second though, and he made me sit down next to him and Leana, keeping an arm over my shoulder, probably so I wouldn't try to get up again.

“Calm down, Mini.” He said softly, and I sighed.

Crossing my arms, I glared at the floor, still refused to look at him. “Payton, I’m serious. You can’t be getting into fights like this. What if next time you aren’t able to defend yourself and you get seriously hurt? All because I was too soft to set out some rules.”

He was scared I would get hurt? Come on. I was happy then that he didn’t know about the whole Andy situation, because that would on back his theory up even more.

“Trust me, Matt, rules are the last thing I need. Just... don’t tell me what to do, and I’ll be fine!” I persisted, having no plans on giving up on this.

“Oh really?” He asked, almost amused. “I let you run loose the last few weeks, and in that time, you got detention, ditched, and got into a fight. And I didn’t tell you what to do.”

Not having anything to say to that, I groaned. “Aren’t you at least going to let me explain what happened?” When he said nothing, I took it as my cue to continue. “She’s just some cheerleader bitch, and she’s been annoying me for weeks. We had to end it sometime!”

“Why didn’t you come to me about it?” He asked simply, leaning forward in his seat and resting his chin in his hands.

I had promised I wouldn’t keep anything from, hadn’t I? “It—that was different, Matt. It was just some stuck up bitch. Every school has one, and I never thought it would end up like this.” What I said was true. She was the school bitch, and I wasn’t expecting to get into a fight with her.

“Still, Payton,” He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back on the sofa. “You could have gotten seriously hurt. What if it was that Andy kid who you got into a fight with?”

Okay, he was getting too close to home. “But I wasn’t Matt, and I already told you. I ended it with him like, weeks ago!” I said, trying to deflect the argument to something else, but coming up short.

“Look, Patey, the rules are simple. Just don’t get in trouble at school, which means no more fights or ditching. There’ll be consequences, like uh... grounding?” I almost laughed, he sounded so unsure about it.

“And what does that entail?” I asked skeptically, calming down for just a moment to humour him. I had never been grounded before, and the idea of Matt actually trying to get it to work almost had me laughing out loud.

“Listen to your dad, Payton.” Brian said, and I realized that was the first time anyone other than me or Matt had spoken. That made me want to laugh even more. Synyster Gates was telling me to listen to my father? This was just getting better and better.

Matt smiled in Brian’s direction before continuing. “Well, the normal stuff obviously, like taking your phone and laptop away,” He said, and I began smirking. If I’d have known it was going to be that easy, then I wouldn’t have made such a fuss over it. “But that’s not gonna have much of an effect on you, is it?”

Zacky let out a few laughs when the smirk left my face and I glowered at him. “Well, I guess it depends on what you get in trouble for. But I’d probably take away your guitar, too.”

I’d had enough, and I was practically bursting with resentment. I shrugged Jimmy’s arm off and stood up, glaring straight at Matt. “This shit’s not gonna work Matt, just so you know.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “We’ll see about that.”

“Ugh—just—fuck,” I couldn’t even from a full sentence, so to save myself from any further embarrassment, I stormed out. “You can go fuck yourself for all I care!” I yelled as I stomped up the stairs, and continued cussing and mumbling all the way to my room.

This was not good. Matt could not get all parental now. It would ruin all the progress we had made so far, and I was actually starting to like being there.

Why did he have to worry about every little thing that went wrong? It wasn’t that serious. I was okay. I made myself believe that, so why couldn’t he?