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Droplets of melted snow freckled the row of windows above the old secretary's head and dotted the grey clouds that had drifted into view behind it. A dreary glow attempted to brighten the room, but the drowning sun could only give the space so much of itself before it was blotted out by the encroaching shadows. Working in the dim office with only a lamp and a computer screen to light their work was the secretary Miss Miller, a middle-aged woman who had thick bifocals, a tight perm, and a stench that was undoubtedly that of hairspray and mothballs.

I edged towards the white desk while calculating the risk of running out of the exit that was just a few feet to my right. With Miss Miller's attention on her fingers as they tapped one at a time on her keyboard, she presumably wouldn't notice if I left. And by the time anyone realized that I was gone, I could be at home taking a nap.

Why get in trouble today when I can take a rain check for tomorrow?

"Oh, Abbi, there ya are," drawled Miss Miller who had looked up from her work to settle my internal debate. "Hon, how are ya?"

"Uh," I mumbled, temporarily distracted by her shirt that read: MVH 1982 Prom Queen. "Good."

"Would be better if ya weren't in trouble, huh?"

I gave her a tight-lipped smile and agreed, "Just a bit."

Ignoring my irritation at her comment, she continued, "Well, she just returned, so head on in now."

"Thanks," I said as I moved around her desk and towards the principal's office in the back.

"No problem, darlin'."

Stopping at Principal Horner's door, I was met with a collage of Walt Disney quotes that crawled down the wood in colorful comic sans to inspire us heathens to turn our lives around and dream. But dreams were for the rich. For people like me, we only wanted to survive.

I tore my gaze away from the laminated poster and knocked, waiting only a few seconds until I heard a soft, "Come in."

"Principal Horner? You wanted to see me?" I greeted once the door was open.

"Yes, have a seat, Abbi," she acknowledged, motioning to the gray chair in front of her.

Obeying, I slipped inside, letting the door click shut behind me before sitting down in one of the hard seats. Principal Horner's focus shifted from her paperwork to me where she made a show of putting the cap back on her pen like I was inconveniencing her.

"Abbi, do you have any idea why you're here today?" started Principal Horner, her blue eyes unwavering in their stare.

I wilted under her gaze and ventured, "Skipping chemistry this morning?"

"That is correct. You see, I thought we had an agreement yesterday that you would go to chemistry today, and I'd give you a light punishment, but when I came in after my doctor's appointment this afternoon, I find out that not only did you skip chemistry but Miss Flores had no idea where you were for her class. Is there any reason behind this?"

"No reason."

"No reason? None whatsoever?" A long silence stretched between us before she spoke again. "Yesterday, I thought this had to do with Ryan's inappropriate comments last Monday. But, you also weren't in art today, and far as I know, Ryan is not in that class. So, if not because of Ryan, then why have you been skipping?"

"I don't really have an excuse," I muttered, feeling uncomfortable with her maternal tone.

I couldn't even look at her anymore and found myself examining a frame on her desk of Lillian holding a bouquet of flowers. Next to her was a very proud Principal Horner, who always seemed to dote on her niece. A bitter feeling bubbled in me that I'd never know what it'd be like to have a family member love me.

"So, here is what we're going to do. You've skipped three classes now, which, according to our rules, awards you a three-day OSS."

"Three days?" I gasped, now sitting up straight. "You suspend kids for skipping class? Isn't that counterintuitive?"

"Those are the rules. You can read them in the handbook, Abbi. I was lenient yesterday, which you took for granted. Unfortunately, I cannot spoil you again. I want you to finish the day out, but do not come back until Monday. And I have to say, Abbi, the new semester just started last week and already you've had five referrals. Let's not keep this up, else we will have to have a conference with your mom."

I paled at that. "Yes, ma'am."

"Great," she chirped, then looked at the clock. "The period is just about over, so go ahead and spend the rest of that time in the lunchroom. Be sure to stop by Miss Miller for the paperwork on your way out, and Abbi...let's not meet like this again."

"Yes, ma'am," I repeated as I stood from my seat.

After grabbing my suspension slip from Miss Miller, I drifted back to the lunchroom miserable. My mind was swimming as I read the form and let my situation soak in. It terrified me to be in my apartment for long periods of time, wondering if my mom was going to show up and which version of her would appear.

"God, this school sucks," I huffed in exasperation, shifting the blame onto someone else, like a mature adult.

As irritation flashed through me, I felt my fists clench, and the desire to rip the sheet up festered until I found my fingers working to do just that. But my fit was interrupted when someone grabbed ahold of my collar and yanked me backward, causing me to stumble a few feet into a hard chest.

"Careful," rumbled a voice from behind, dragging my attention to the green velvet ropes that encircled a mural of our mascot on the floor right in front of me. I hadn't even realized I was about to walk right into it. "You just about cursed our hockey team."

It was hard to miss the sarcasm in Mason's comment about our school's absurd superstition that touching the mascot would make us lose an upcoming game. But every jock and cheerleader treated that notion like it was a law and saw stepping on the snarling bulldog as an act of war.

"Curse what? They haven't won a game in three years," I snorted.

"Well, maybe if you'd stop stepping on the mascot, they could," he accused as he poked my forehead, forcing a weird noise out of me. "Also, shouldn't you be in class right now?"

"Shouldn't you be at lunch?" I shot back, avoiding his question.

He hiked his book bag up higher on his back and shrugged, "I was trying to do some homework, but McFayden is on the phone talking about how broke he is this month and not paying any attention to the food fight that's about to start. So, I thought I'd walk back up to the freshman center a bit early."

"You're such a-" before I could finish calling Mason a nerd, a curly-haired goblin slammed into me, choking all the air out of my lungs and cutting off my sentence.

"Abbi, you live!" cried Poppy who then subsequently crushed me in a hug to make sure I didn't live for long.

"Poppy, I'm going to die. I'm dying," I croaked out while tapping her arms to release me, but my pleading fell on deaf ears because her attention had turned to Mason.

"Dios mío," she swooned, easing her grip around me. "Who is this cute boy? He's melting my heart!"

A blush had crept onto Mason's cheeks, coloring his olive skin a deep red. His mouth kept opening and closing like a fish as he struggled to find something to say. Eventually, he settled on introducing himself, "M-Mason."

"Aw, he's so precious!" cooed Poppy. "Why couldn't my baby brother be this cute?"

Despite finding enjoyment in watching Mason flounder with Poppy's sociable, if not a bit nonsensical at times, nature, I decided to give him a break by changing the topic.

"So, where'd the kids go?" I asked, after noticing that no one else was there. Not that it surprised me to only see Poppy because she had a free period right now, but I was astonished that Maggie was gone.

Or more accurately, relieved.

"They all left, scared off by you getting in trouble. And I do have $50 riding on why you got called into the office, so you've better have done what I think you did."

"What? You guys bet on me?" I groaned, attempting to ignore Mason's curious stare as the OSS form became heavier in my hand by the second.

"We bet on you out of love."

"You guys have a gambling addiction."

"What else are we supposed to do in school?"

"Learning, I'd assume."

"Yeah, whatever," she dismissed, throwing her hands up. "So, are you going to tell me what happened or not?"

For the second time today, I weighed the pros and cons of running away from my problems. But knowing that there was no way to escape my suspension, I handed her the sheet and waited for her reaction.