Cravings

The punishment

Thirty minutes into her chemistry class and Quinn heard the worst words that could ever come out of a teacher's mouth- "Alright class, I want you to pair up and work on the experiment *cool experiment, I'm dry* the first pair to finish and successfully get the right reaction, gets forty percent free on the upcoming test."

Of course no one was going to want to pair up with 'the mad girl ' and she was going to end up awkwardly sitting alone in her little corner. The bustle of moving students, each excitedly rushing to their friends, made her feel like running out of the room. All the students, except for her and Joshua Marhoet, the idiotic "class clown", settled beside their partners and Mrs. Garnett, much to her dismay, stared at the tall, lean boy expectantly.

"Joshua." She addressed him in her stern voice and the boy dragged out a response.

"Yes Mrs. Garnett?"

"Why don't you pair up with Quinn." It wasn't a request, neither was it a suggestion, it was a command, even though she didn't place it that way, the boy knew he didn't have much of a choice. Murmurs erupted around the classroom, and every single pair of eyes fell on her.

"It was nice knowing ya buddy." One of Joshua's idiotic friends shouted and amused chuckles filled the room.

"Mrs. Garnett, please don't make me pair with Quinn, I'm scared of her, what if she goes psycho and wrings my neck like a thanksgiving turkey like she did to Gary Speen?" Quinn never felt so small, she wished the ground could open up and swallow her, so she wouldn't have to endure the humiliation.

"Quiet." The tall, brunnet woman silenced the cackling students. "That is ridiculous, you're wasting time Marhoet."

"Can't I work alone, like I'm too handsome and young to-"

"Enough! Go over to Quinn this instant before I give you detention." The boy shuffled to the corner where Quinn placed herself and sat next to her with a prominent, sullen frown patched on his face.

"Stop staring at me." He sneered bitterly.

"I know you don't like me, but can you please ignore your dislike of me until we're done with this experiment." Quinn was annoyed as well, she didn't like the boy, he got on her nerves with his stupidity.

"Fine, I'm only doing this for the free marks." He scrolled through the tablet and pretended to search for the experiment details on the textbook, while he texted his friend, Larry Barlon, about his plans to teach 'miss loonie " a lesson.

Subtly, he knocked his pencil off the desk and Quinn reached for it and handed it to him.

The boy suddenly screamed out in feigned pain and clutched onto his thigh, "Ahhhhh..oucchhhh! What is wrong with you?! Why did you do that?!"

Quinn shot him a perplexed stare, "Wha-"

The teacher had faced them right as the sharpened point of the pencil pointed at Joshua and she rushed over to them. "What is going on here?"

"She stabbed me with the pencil because I didn't want to be her partner." The boy cried out in exaggerated grouse.

"What! He's lying, I didn't do anything, I swear." Quinn tried to defend herself, but it was obvious who the woman was most likely to believe.

"Ms. *Quinn's surname * Principal's office now, Joshua, go to the nurse's office."

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That night Quinn laid her head on her pillow, fighting back the tears threatening to fall. She stared into the darkness and allowed the misery to consume her.

"Shhhh..there, there Quinn, you see what I mean, you can't keep being weak, weaklings don't survive." She whispered in her ear and she could almost faintly feel a hand brushing the side of her head.

"Leave me alone." She mumbled, tears streaming down her cheeks. Why was life so unfair? What did she do to deserve this?

"Are you going to let that boy get away with it? He must be punished, he must be punished."

He must be punished.

He must be punished.

He must be punished.

The words rang in her head as she was engulfed by sleep.

She dreamnt of Joshua, walking down the park near the school, the cloudy sky darkening with the approaching night. She followed behind him, creeping like a stalker and being sure not to be spotted. Zipping up his hoodie, the boy sat on a bench in the empty park and withdrew a packet of secrets from his jean pocket.

She cautiously stalked closer and closer, until she stood behind him, casting her shadow onto him and alarming him into turning to his back. The boy gasped in shock, the cigarette consequently falling from his mouth.

"Were you following me?" He fumbled for the zipper of his school bag and struggled with it. "Don't try anything psycho, I have pepper spray."

Quinn took slow steps around the metal bench, towards him and stared him down. "Calm down Joshua," her lips curved up to an unearthing, sinister smile, " I just want to talk."

And that's where the dream ended, or what she thought to be a dream, until she woke up in the middle of a field, with blood dripping from her hands.