Chapter Twelve ★ Ditch
｡☆✼★━ Daniel ━★✼☆｡
We all stayed close to the brick wall and waited outside the metal doors that led to freedom. Penny looked at her watch and surveyed the pathways. She held up her hand telling us to hold our positions and to keep quiet.
Never had I ever tried to ditch school. This was a first for me but to have a hall monitor that knew the patrolling schedule gave us the advantage. I counted like Jacob and I would have been caught if Penny hadn’t come with us.
She peered around the corner and looked both ways before she waved her hand for us to follow. Jacob wore a big stupid grin on his face as we tiptoed our way down the cement sidewalk.
Penny stopped and turned our way. She grimaced then said, “Guys. If you keep on looking suspicious then we’re going to get caught. Walk like a normal person.”
Jacob shrugged and opted to walk normal. I still skulked for a few feet to irk Penny’s last nerve then felt the sharp pain of Jacob’s elbow in my gut. Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared up at him.
I mouthed, “What the heck?”
He huffed then signed, “Do as Penny says. She’s done this several times that’s why I thought it would be a good idea for her to come.”
“You asked her?” My eyes bugged out as the words choked out of my mouth.
Jacob slapped my back and grinned. He signed, “Well, duh. Penny is the best at ditching.”
I scratched my head and looked at the backside of her head. Penny? Ditch? It never occurred to me that she would be the type to ditch. She always seemed to be of the straight and narrow kind. The one that always did things by the book.
Penny dashed to edge of the building and motioned for us to do the same. We hurried and got behind her. Footsteps of kitten heeled shoes got closer when she jumped out and bumped into the teacher.
“Oaf.” The teacher said as Penny collided with her. They both took a few steps back then looked at each other. The teacher exclaimed, “Penny. What are you doing here?”
“Oh.” She rubbed her head, blushed then turned it slightly and said, “Sorry Mrs. Gloria. I was escorting these boys to the detention trailer.”
Mrs. Gloria looked in the direction that Penny was leading us and then in the other direction. She replied, “Isn’t the trailer on the other side?”
“Uh.” Penny said then placed her hand behind her head and laughed, “You’re right Mrs. Gloria. Silly me. I was taking these boys in the wrong direction.”
“Mmm.” Mrs. Gloria said and nodded her head. “No worries. If you want I can escort these boys so that you can get back to monitoring the halls.”
Penny waved her hand, “No. No. But thank you. It is my job after all Mrs. Gloria.”
Mrs. Gloria scanned all of us and the sidewalk that we were about to travel down. She said, “No, I insist. It seems you need a break.”
“Ah-ha-ha-ha you’re too kind Mrs. Gloria,” Penny laughed then began pushing us the other way. “But I got it. C’mon boys we got to go this way.”
The teacher smiled and watched us as we went the other way towards the detention trailers. During school hours they were used for in school suspension. We wound around the corner and plastered our backs against the wall.
All of us let out an exaggerated collective breath. Jacob signed, “Whew, that was close.”
Penny turned to me with narrowed eyes, “What did he just say?”
“That, that was close. We almost got caught.” I breathed out and took another deep breath. My racing pulse matched my beating heart. It’s too soon to give up.
She sighed and said, “Well… I hate to say this but the gig is up. We can’t ditch today.”
“What?” I half-yelled.
Penny held a finger before her lips and said, “Shhh. Someone will hear you.”
“What do you mean that we can’t ditch today?” I replied in a lower voice.
“Mrs. Gloria is a sharp teacher. She will check in on you both to make sure that you’re in the detention trailer. If you aren’t then I’ll lose my role as hall monitor and we’ll all be in trouble.” She explained then leaned up against the wall and crossed her arms.
She muttered, “What a drag. I was looking forward to seeing the park.”
‧͙⁺˚*·༓☾ – TO BE CONTINUED… –☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
