Detention Discourse

“God damnit!”

The familiar, aggravated yelling of Vice Principal Torrance, and the slamming of his office door sounded.

Thinking fast, Mercury jumped up from his seat and dodged over to the door, peering out just in time to catch sight of Alvin walking bow-legged down the corridor, a brown puddle forming behind him as he moved away. The smell of espresso hit them, noting that his accident was less embarrassing than it might have appeared.

Swallowing back his laughter, Mercury glanced back at his fellow detentionees, considering whether or not he should say something now or just leave.

Then again, he could use a hand or two on his mission.

Besides, he kind of felt he owed Flash and Aria a break after what happened earlier.

There had never been any love lost between him and the athlete, and if there was a word to be used between the two it would be casual acquaintances. But, some of the stuff Aria had gone through, especially at Mr. Fitz’s hands… nobody deserved that. Personal experiences aside, Mercury wouldn’t wish that on his worst enemy. And Aria had never been that, no matter how much people tried to force the label on the two.

“Let’s go!” Mercury yelled, not an offer so much as a command as he peered out the door once again and was gone in a second.

<Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked by Cage the Elephant begins to play in the background>

Flash didn’t appear to think about the situation much before he got to his feet and went after Mercury, Yuffie, and Spicer following after them.

Not loving the idea of leaving the four alone, no matter how acutely aware Gary was that Jack could handle himself, Gary was soon up from his chair too, following the runaways as they left.

Alice sighed and got up, Aria and Luna following as well.

“Are you coming or what?” Aria asked Momo as she went through the doors, not bothering to hear her answer.

Now alone, Yaoyorozu shifted awkwardly in her seat.

Staying meant being on her own which felt weird. Leaving meant running out on detention, disobeying Mr. Torrance, and being a rebel, which didn’t seem right either.

“Come on, Yaomomo!” Kaminari’s (My Hero Academia) voice floated through her head. “You only live once.”

Yaoyorozu’s lips curved into a smile as she got up from her seat and ran out of the library, the door shutting behind her with a loud thump.

Tearing down the halls, Momo caught up to the others as soon as she rounded the next corner.

“How do you know where Treacherous went?” Jack asked just as they arrived.

“Nope.” Mercury smiled, unable to keep the exhilarated smile off of his face, once again getting one over on ‘the man’.

“And, you don’t know when he'll be back?” Alice commented. While this was a very bad plan, the Brit couldn’t help the smirk that came to her lips at the sheer ballsiness of this guy.

“That’s half the fun.” Mercury stated, as he peered around the next corner and suddenly bolted, barely time for a gesture encouraging the others to follow after him.

“Being bad feels pretty good, huh?” Gary said to Yaoyorozu as they tore down the arcade.

“Yeah, it kinda does.” She nodded, figuring by now that if she was going to be in detention, she may as well have done something worthy of such a punishment. Plus, following Mercury seemed safer than staying behind and having to cover for them.

Yaoyorozu trusted the upperclassman enough to keep them safe, considering he was the resident expert at this kind of stuff anyway.

That trust began to waver a little when the usually good girl realized they were headed for the Teacher’s Lounge; no doubt breaking in was on the cards. She realized a second later how wrong she was as Mercury pulled a set of keys from one of his many pants pockets, dangling them in the light.

“You have a key to the Teachers Lounge?” Gary asked, not sure whether to feel afraid or impressed at the revelation.

“I snagged one of them earlier.” He confirmed, figuring that he was safe in confiding with this particular group of people. After all, they’d be in as much trouble as him if Alvin found out what they were doing.

The second the door opened the group rushed in, taking in the odd little room they had never really seen before. Comfy chairs and a glass coffee table, a new espresso machine, a black mini fridge, everything they might’ve expected.

Needless to say, they were unimpressed.

At least until they realized what Mercury was doing.

“Yes!” He grinned, sliding his hand down the back of the cabinet in the far corner of the room, and produced a bottle of whiskey that he quickly handed off to Gary, then another that landed in Yuffie’s grasp.

Needless to say, the group were more than a little surprised to realize that Mercury had just unearthed what appeared to be the Faculty’s secret stash of booze. A bottle of scotch now sat in the freshman’s hands, whilst Gary held a bottle of vodka, and a rather expensive brand at that.

“Nice!” Flash exclaimed with a grin as he noticed the prize they had just scored.

“We are gonna get in so much trouble.” Yaoyorozu breathed.

Choosing to ignore her, Flash, Jack and Gary pointlessly hid the bottles inside of their jackets and the group moved back towards the door, following Mercury’s lead. Alice, who had been at the back watching in relative silence, tapped Aria on the shoulder.

“Why in the world would the teachers even have this stuff on hand?” She asked.

“Recreational purposes?” Luna suggested with a shrug of her shoulders as she checked the coast was still clear and ran for it, her eight cohorts in hot pursuit.

Striding down the hall, Mercury was flanked by Flash, Yuffie and Jack once again, with Alice, Aria, Luna and Yaoyorozu bringing up the rear.

Jack skidded to a stop as he rushed towards his locker and began fiddling with the lock. The prodigy gave a triumphant “A-ha!” as the lock snapped open. Reaching into the top slot of his locker, he pulled out a set of chocolate brownies in two plastic bags, shoving them into the inner pockets of his jacket.

“Are those what I think they are?” Aria asked, eyes wide.

“Yep.” Jack nods, slamming the locker shut. “Hurry up!”

A long way from Alvin’s eyes and ears, they began to relax a little as they made their way back around the main building to where they had started.

“We’ll cross through the biochem lab, and then we’ll double back.” The hooligan mused, planning their journey as best he could so that none of them would end up getting caught.

“You better be right, Merc.” Flash warned him. “If Torrance finds us...”

“Have a little faith, Genie.” Mercury told him, faking an affronted expression. “Besides, when have I ever let you down?”

The jock didn’t have time to answer as they moved off down the hall, around the corner, and through the biochem lab as Mercury had suggested. Unfortunately, they never made it through the next door before Mercury realized he had made a mistake, spotting Torrance and bolting back in the opposite direction, accidentally pushing Alice.

As they came to a junction in front of the rotunda, Mercury went one way and Alice the other. Flash and Yuffie followed after him, with Luna, Aria and Jack going after Alice but Gary and Yaoyorozu both looked somewhat uncertain. Mercury had already made one mistake, but Alice didn’t know if the delinquent could even be trusted to get them out of this mess. Neither Junior was in the mood to pick sides right now, so they decided to wing it.

“I don’t know if we should go that way.” Gary stated. “Alice, you’ll never-”

“I’m willing to trust my own instincts way more than his right now, Oak.” She cut in, continuing on her own way.

It would have been easy just to let her go, but Yaoyorozu knew it wouldn’t be fair. Leave no man behind was a rule she liked to believe she lived by, even if said upperclassman was a relative Ophelia most of the time. Today, at least they seemed to be learning that being a team was better than having nothing.

With an exasperated sigh, she took a gamble on Alice’s sense of direction and Gary followed after them. The two groups conjoined on the other side of the building and headed towards the gym.

“Don’t worry, I know a shortcut!” Luna called out as they ran into the gym.

Unfortunately, their relief was short-lived as the group bounced off the next set of double doors they reached. The very much locked and bolted set of double doors.

“Sonnuva-” Flash muttered.

“C’mon, Merc,” Gary prompted when all Mercury did was turn away. “Keys?”

“These are new doors.” He pointed out. “New doors mean new locks. New locks to doors I don’t have the keys to.”

“Can’t you, like, pick the lock or something?” Jack asked, looking stressed.

“There’s no time.” He stressed, calculating quickly and realizing that Torrance was bound to catch them any moment now.

“Shit!” Spicer swore, looking up at Alice angrily. “Why the hell did we ever listen to you?”

“I didn’t ask you to follow me!”

“We’re dead.” Momo whispered, just loud enough to be heard. “We’re dead, we are so dead.”

Mercury straightened and shook his head in determination.

“No.” He said definitively, handing the whiskey over to a shocked Gary. “You guys get back to the library. Do not drop the brownies or the bottles, and make sure you hide them the second you get back. I’ll take the heat.” He assured them as they ran outside and out into the courtyard.

Letting out a loud whoop he jumped up and banged his boots hard against the squeaky clean floor so he could be easily heard.

<Now playing ‘Blackbird’ by Nina Simone>

Mercury: Why you wanna fly, Blackbird?

You ain't ever gonna fly.

Picking up a basketball, Mercury began messing around.

Mercury: Why you wanna fly, Blackbird?

You ain't ever gonna fly.

He dribbled the ball and sang as loud as he could to draw as much attention to himself as possible.

Mercury: No place big enough for holding

All the tears you're gonna cry.

'Cause your mama's name was lonely,

And your daddy's name was pain.

He ran up to the hoop and effortlessly tossed the ball into the net.

Mercury: And he called you little sorrow,

'Cus you'll never love again.

Out in the halls, Alvin overheard the faint sound of Mercury singing and followed after the sound.

Mercury: So why you wanna fly, Blackbird?

You ain't ever gonna fly.

Why you wanna fly, Blackbird?

You ain't ever gonna fly.

He ran around the gym, the soles of his shoes squeaking against the shiny wooden floor and the tapping of the ball echoing inside the empty gym.

Mercury: You ain't got no one to hold you

You ain't got no one to care.

He turned around, tossed the ball behind him, and made another perfect shot.

Mercury: If you'd only understand dear

Nobody wants you anywhere!

He smirked when he heard the sound of Alvin calling out his name.

Mercury: So why you wanna fly, Blackbird?

“Mr. Black!”

Mercury: You ain't ever gonna fly

“Mercury Black!”

Mercury: So why you wanna fly, Blackbird?

You ain't ever gonna fly

Alvin stormed into the gym and saw the grey-haired hooligan messing around in the gym.

Mercury: You ain't got no one to hold you,

You ain't got no one to care.

“Hello,” Alvin said through gritted teeth. “Mr. Black.”

Mercury: So why you wanna fly, Blackbird?

Mercury made another goal and watched the ball bounce before grabbing it and turning around to face the very pissed off Vice Principal glaring daggers at him.

Mercury: You ain't ever gonna fly.

He smiled and slid towards the rack to place the ball back inside.

Mercury: You ain't ever gonna fly…

“Nice pipes.”

“Thank you,”

Walking side by side, Torrance grabbed the delinquent by the back of his jacket and strolled down the halls.

“This seems fun.” Mercury quipped.

“Shaddup,” Alvin snarled as they rounded a corner and came to a stop.

Opening the doors to the school’s darkroom, Alvin unceremoniously shoved the grey-haired teen into the unlit room.

“Well, Mr. Black,” He began. “I’m afraid you’ve left me with no choice. So, let’s see how you fare in solitary for a while.”

“What’re you gonna do? Keep me stuck in here for the rest of the day?” Mercury chuckled, eyes flickering to the darker corners of the room.

“You think this is funny?” Alvin demanded, mistaking the boy’s nervousness for arrogance. “You have been a royal pain in mine – and everybody else’s arse – for the past four years. Maybe some time in here, by yerself, will do you good.”

To Mercury’s horror, the door shut and he heard the lock click and Alvin’s footsteps retreating down the hall.

Grabbing at the doorknob, Mercury began tugging on it.

No.

No no! No!

“Get in the closet boy!”

“Shut up if you know what’s good for you!”

“Quit whining, fag!”

“Stupid cunt!”

The grey-haired teen stepped away from the door, and crouched down, trying to steady his breathing like Roman taught him.

In, and out.

In. And out.

In. And, out.

...Okay, this was better.

Just-just gotta find a way out.

Crawling about the floor, Mercury caught sight of a vent near the far left corner of the room and smirked. Pulling the screwdriver he used for his legs out of his pocket, he unscrewed the bolts, having to squint due to the dim lighting (and physically resisting the urge to break down and not look into the darker corners of the room where he could see-) before lifting the grate open.

Yahtzee!

A wide grin overtook the delinquent’s face as he glanced over to the locked door and crawled inside the vent. Peering out the other end of the vent, he poked his head out of a bush and made sure the coast was clear before sprinting back towards the library. And, by some miracle, Mercury made it back, completely unseen, walking in on his fellow detentionees sitting around and talking quietly.

“Honey, I’m home!” He cheered, making them all jump, none more so than Gary who had been leaning back on his chair.

Unfortunately, Mercury’s overly dramatic entrance caused the poor boy to topple over onto his back, and crash onto the floor. Alice was up from her seat in a second, rushing to see if the underclassman was okay, whilst the others (Luna included) couldn’t help but laugh at the dumbass who, despite his tumble, was fine for the most part.

“Torrance said he put you in solitary.” Gary winced as he stood up.

“Well, what can I say?” He smiled. “I’m...”

“What the ‘ell is going on in here?!” Vice Principal Torrance yelled as he got out of his office and stormed into the library.

He half expected to find Mercury standing there, having somehow made his way to the library, or that some kind of fight and/or party was in full swing behind his back. Instead, he was shocked to see all eight students, sitting in their rightful seats, hands folded on their desks, mouths closed. It was too quiet and perfect a scene; Alvin (rightfully so, I might add) didn’t buy it for a second.

“What the 'ell was that?” He demanded, staring the assembled group of detentionees down, receiving no answer he pointed to Yaoyorozu. “Momo!” The girl in question jumped in fright. “What’s going on?”

The heiress swallowed thickly as she felt seven other pairs of eyes drift towards her, making her all the more nervous.

“Nothing, Sir.” She lied, shocking herself and everybody else.

Alvin remained unconvinced and narrowed his eyes at her, then, Alice’s knee suddenly hit the underside of her desk, making everybody jump with surprise.

“What was that?” The Vice Principal demanded as he stalked over to the emo Brit.

“What was what, Sir?” Alice replied, feigning innocence, though God knows how she could be so straight-faced with a boy crouched under her desk, head caught between her knees, nose buried in the fluff of her petticoat.

Wow, Mercury thought. She does wear all black underneath.

“Something fishy is going on here.” Torrance said with conviction. “I heard that noise.”

The slam of Alice’s knee against the underside of the desk occurred again, hard enough to make her wince.

Christ, she was going to make Mercury pay. Though the troublemaker in question remained all but silent, Alice could practically see the shit-eating smirk he was no doubt sporting.

“Oh, that noise.” Yuffie said suddenly, deliberately averting attention away from Alice (and more importantly Mercury).

“Yeah, that’s not Alice’s fault, Sir.” The freshman assured. “She gets this weird, leg cramp thing. Apparently, it’s a side effect of her meds. I completely sympathize, I get it too.”

As if on cue, Mercury caused Alice to flinch one more time and Yuffie shot Jack a look, hoping that the tech genius would catch on. And the goth seemed to understand, and soon all eight detentionees were deliberately making noise, knocking their knees beneath their desks until Mr. Torrance genuinely believed that he was going insane.

“ENOUGH!” He yelled, to which the banging halted. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re all playing, and I honestly do not give a care enough right now to try and unravel your childish behavior.” He raised a finger and said. “But, so help me God, if I have to come back in here one more time because of some kind of ruckus, heads will roll!” With that declared, Alvin strode out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Unbeknownst to Alvin, he didn’t leave eight fearful, quaking figures in his wake; in fact, it was laughter that had them shaking, as Mercury pulled himself out from under an infuriated Alice’s desk in a fit of laughter over what he had done to her.

“Oh my God.” The delinquent cackled as he stood up, only to bend over double from laughing within a second. “You are so easy.”

“You are my hero!” Jack says with a grin.

“I hate you.” Alice seethed, trying to sound mad, but was having just as much trouble containing her laughter as she swatted at his back.

“Hey, Spicer,” Mercury said, turning towards the mad scientist in the making. “Where’d you stash the bottles?”

“The last place the Treacherous would think to look.” He said pointing towards the underside of Luna’s desk.

“We’re gonna get in so much trouble for this.” Yaoyorozu moaned.

“Not if we get caught.” Gary says with a smile. Standing up, he says, “Now, we celebrate!”