Welcome To Carlsonton Academy

Chapter XXIX

My mother was so pissed off, it's not even funny. The only way I can fully explain the gravity of the situation is by writing a fifty page thesis. Never in my sixteen years of existence had I ever seen a person this mad. If I had met her face-to-face, she would have surely murdered me. All because I was sent to detention.

Well, actually it was because I almost beat up Denise, which ruined her friendship with the Richards', something I thought was already ruined. My mom couldn't ground me, but she could still punish me. She told me she never wanted to speak to me again, which wasn't really a punishment, to be honest.  It was more like music my ears. I didn't care though. Finals was in two weeks anyway, so I'd spend my time buried in my books. Besides, my mom called me three days after the incident to tell me that the divorce was final.

I didn't have the time or patience to worry about my parent's relationship. What they were doing with their life was their problem, not mine. I'd played my role, now it was their turn to close the curtains.

My sister was my problem. She'd tried reaching me through every way possible. She even wrote a letter. I was still mad and I didn't bother replying. An apology wasn't going to change anything.

"You know what they say, Val. Forgive and forget."

Peyton and I were together in the Biology Lab class. She was wasting her energy in futile attempts of trying to convince me to forgive my sister.

"You can't just forgive someone like that, Peyt."

"Of course you can! She's family for heaven's sake!"

"She betrayed my trust!"

"Miss Valentine and Miss Strutter, I'd rather you study your specimen than carry out a conversation." The teacher looked at us, annoyed.

"Sorry Ma'am!"

We shut up and took turns in studying the red blood cells under the microscope and noting down the observations. It was fascinating. I tried my best to enjoy the slide and its contents, but Peyton's words rang in the back of my mind. I mean, for how long was I going to hold a grudge? She was my sister after all.

"Do what you want," said Peyton, annoyed. "But don't leave yourself any regrets."

I know my sister was truly sorry about what she'd done, and she was trying her hardest to make me forgive her. I still wasn't very convinced, but maybe it was time to reconcile things.

***

During Finals' weeks, I completely forgot about all my problems, including my love life. I drained all my energy in my studies. Math was my first paper, and for the first time in the history of the universe, I did not screw it up. It was so good, and what made it even better was that everyone else messed it up. Everyone except James, that is. That boy never made a single error.

The other papers also went great, and this was the best year in terms of academics. If my mom wasn't mad at me, she would be proud.

Our last exam was Physics, a subject I was petrified of. I never understood anything in it, mainly because every teacher I've ever had has sucked. The concepts went over my head. Half the time, I didn't even know what I did know. It was easier memorizing the Periodic Table.

One day before the exam, I'm trying to learn the different kinds of circuits and how they work. Every piece of information is muddling with my head. All the various principles and theorems were killing me. My biggest problem were those crazy numericals. Like, how the hell does knowing the velocity of a ball thrown upwards from the top of my building affect my existence? Physics seemed like a very pointless subject, and I loathed it.