My day was going perfectly fine. It was like I was walking up a hill that only went up. Then lunch rolled around and I realized the hill was going down.

“Oh my gosh! What the heck happened to you?” My best friend, Ciara, gushed.

“Oh nothing. I just decided that it would be fun to smash my food in my face then jump in a trash can. Help me get out. The leftover fettuccini is getting in my hair,” I demanded.

RINGGG! The bell sounded loudly. The 356 students in the lunch room filed out before the last bell rang. Just as I took a step into the outdoor corridor, rain started pouring down. I lifted my hand up to my eye and felt my mascara running down my face. Could this day get any worse? I walked to my fifth period class as the tardy bell rang. It has officially gotten worse.

“Aaliyah Peruer!” my teacher boomed, “I will not accept your tardiness every day! Go straight to the principal’s office to receive your punishment.”

I knew putting up a fight would only get me in more trouble so I silently turned around b and trudged to the principal’s office. Before I knew it I was in front of the office building. I pushed the door open and welcomed the scent of lemon.

“Hey, Mrs. Matthews,” I greeted.

“Aaliyah! I thought we agreed that you would stay out of trouble! What have you done now?” Mrs. Matthews scolded.

“It wasn’t my fault this time! I just walked into class a little late and Mr. Thompson just exploded. I’ve only been tardy to his class like twenty times. No big deal,” I reassured her.

“Just sit down and wait for Mr. Rasell to call you back.”

I must have been waiting a while because two bells rang while I was sitting.

“Ms. Peruer! Come in!” Principal Rasell called.

If I told you that I wasn’t scared just a little bit then I’d be lying. To be honest, I was scared out of my mind. The last time I was in here I was told that I better clean up my act or else I’ll have detention every day for the rest of the school year. There are like six months of school left. I would never survive. As I walked in I noticed Mr. Rasell’s facial expression and he did not look happy. “H-hey, Mr. Rasell. How’s your day been?” I nervously said.

“My day was going pretty good until now. Ms. Peruer, you are aware that you have been tardy over one hundred times times since the school year started? That is grounds for expulsion, but you are lucky. Since your father in the superintendent you won’t get expelled,” Mr. Rasell to a breath and continued, “But, you will be punished. Starting today you will be in after school detention for the rest of the school year. I hope this will change your attitude about getting to class on time.”

“There has to be some other type of punishment. I’ll mop the floors? Wash the windows? I’ll do anything; just don’t put me in detention. I’m not cut out for that. I’ll be eaten alive. I’m begging you.” I pleaded.

“Sorry Ms. Peruer. You had your chance. Don’t even think about skipping detention because I will make sure you are there. Now, get to class.”

This is just great. My dad will be so mad. I didn’t think that being tardy was that big of a deal but, apparently it is. I was so lost in my train of thought that I didn’t even notice that I had run into someone until I hit the floor. “Ouch. Watch it,” I mumbled.

“Well you ran into me,” he spat.

As I was getting up I looked up at his face and realized something. “Hey! You’re the jerk that smashed my food in my face!”

“Indeed I am. It was actually pretty funny,” he laughed.

“Who do you think you are?”

“I think I am Duke McCallgin,” he said with a smirk.



“Well Duke McCallgin, it was nice chatting with you but I must get to detention,” I excused myself.

“Detention? Shocking. I’ll walk you there. I got detention as well,” Duke replied.

As we arrived we took our seats. I looked over to find Duke scribbling something on a piece of paper. When he was done writing he folded it up and slipped it over on my desk. I opened it and it said:
How could a pretty girl like you get detention?
As I read the note my stomach erupted with butterflies. I didn’t know why I was getting butterflies. I quickly scribbled back something simple:
I was tardy.
I passed it back and not long after he had written something new. When I opened it my mouth opened in shock. It said:
I’m really sorry about slamming the tray in your face. If it’s okay with you I’d like to start over. Hi, my name is Duke McCallgin. I think you’re really pretty and would like to get to know you better. My phone number is 473-872-2947. Text me sometime.
I must have been in shock for a while because before I knew it, the detention teacher, Miss Reynolds was telling me to get out. As soon as I got home I contemplated on whether I should text him or not. I knew eventually I would so I decided to do it now.

Hey. It’s Aaliyah, the girl you shoved food at.

Sorry about that. What’s up?
The conversation lasted for hours. Even though we had only met today I felt like I had known him for years. We had gotten to know each other so well he asked me to be his girlfriend. I couldn’t decline. He was so much nicer now that I actually knew him.

The next few weeks were amazing. They were filled with the smallest surprises but, I loved each one. As time passes I could tell something wasn’t quite right with Duke. Whenever he would get angry his eyes would turn an ugly yellow color. Don’t ask me how that’s possible because I didn’t think it was. Other times he would just randomly growl. I had no idea what was going on with him but I was determined to find out.

“Hey! Duke! Wait!” I ran to catch up with him, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something. What’s up with you? You’ve been acting really weird lately.”

“I-I-It’s nothing Aaliyah. Just stop worrying about it. It’s none of your business,” he stuttered and he ran down the hallway.

As he was running down the hall I noticed that he dropped a paper. I ran to go pick it up. Inside it said:

Meet me at Bay Bridge Park at 9:00 pm. Don’t be late. You wouldn’t want anyone to know about your secret, would you?

I didn’t know what the note meant but I knew for sure that I was going to be a Bay Bridge Park to found out why Duke had been acting so weird. The rest of the day had gone by very fast. Before I knew it, it was time for me to go to detention. After my detention I went home and decided to call Duke. After five rings I got his voicemail. I didn’t know what to do for the next couple of hours so I went out for a run. While I was out I passed Duke’s house. The first thing I noticed was a ‘For Sale’ sign in the front yard. That’s odd. Duke never told me they were moving. Honestly, he never told me anything anymore. Looking down at my watch I noticed that it was already 8:50. I quickly sprinted to Bay Bridge Park before the clock struck nine. Right as I showed up I saw Duke standing by a bench with a few other guys I didn’t recognize. I quietly tried to tip toe over to the nearest tree, but I failed miserably when I stepped on a twig and a bunch of crunchy leaves. The sound was so loud it sounded like I was stepping on three bags of potato chips. I could barely make out their conversation.

“Duke, your time has come. You shall be forever changed tonight,” one guy said. I recognized him to be Taylor Lautner.

“I’m ready. I’m so sorry Aaliyah,” Duke whispered.

Suddenly Duke began to glow. Smoke swirled around him as he looked to the sky. I could faintly see his face before he was completely engulfed in smoke. As I watched I could hear a low growl coming from within. The last thing I saw was a large hairy beast before darkness took over me.

Then I woke up. Beads of sweat were sliding down my face. My heart was pounding. “It was just a dream,” I whispered to myself. I couldn’t believe it. It had felt so real. There was no detention every day. There was no sappy relationship. And worst of all, there was no Duke McCallgin.