I grabbed hold of the rope and stared at my quivering fingers as I tried hard to hold firm. I climbed over the edge of the balcony, fully relying on the thin rope in between my sweaty palms to get me down on the ground. 

I began to ebb my way down, feeling the pinching burn of rope slide into my unworked hands. Rose's anxious stare bore through my backside as I continually checked towards the ground, only seeing her wait for me by the exit door.  She was loyal, that's for sure.

As I was five feet from the ground we heard the clamor of underpaid teachers only inches away. I stopped, clinging to the rope with my life. I could see the balding top of Galdis's head coming our way, "Toby, JUMP! We need to get out of here, now! Move or lose it pal. Either we leave here together or we end up in juvie. Please Toby, get your **** down here now!"Rose screeched. She prance around on the tips of her toes, ready to run into the distance once I landed on the ground.

I couldn't hear her anymore, my heart's ferocious beat filled my head with an obnoxious triggering sound. THUMP THUMP THUMP, THUMP, KER-THUMP. Oy, my heart just skipped a beat. I'm not a risk taker. Not even when my criminal record depends on it. But by some divine way I let go. 

 And I landed.

Well, I crashed on top of Rose. Neither of us could untangel the mess of limbs  that I so ultimately created. I lay with my head cushioned in between the crook of Rose's dainty torso and muscular arm. My legs squished their way in betwen Rose's lower limbs and the hard floor. I could feel the brusies forming but it didn't matter.

I was fully and undeniably intertwined with Rose for 2 minutes and 34 seconds. 

That is, until Gladis lift me from my collar off La Rose and right into the hands of some of Ashton's local buzzards, with no better job than hauling kids to and from detention.

Rose lifted her head towards mine as I was being dragged back towards the principal's office. "Toby?" she whispered. He eyes squinted as she tried to understand that all that hard work of escaping only splintered down towards me leaving her to face Gladis's wrath, all alone.

 "For Heaven's sake, man, let me just stay with her! Come on, please, we both banged up the teachers. Listen!  Just let me be with her!" I pleaded to the goons. But they only just clobbered on forward, leaving the dark auditorium in the past, and punishment lurking in the near future.

As I sat staggered between the clutches of balding middle age men, so lovely titled, "security", waiting for my  mother to arrive all I could think about was hiding the pain that engulfed my body. Rose. She was all alone, facing punishment for acts she couldn't control. Unable to digest the fact that you can't handle every student as if they were brain washed, dumbfounded idiots, Gladis and her circus of moronic teachers would harm Rose beyond imagine. 

Rose should not be strangled by their terms of punishment under the immediate stress she was in. I mean seriously, how bad could it be?

 Well I greatly understimated  that statement.  I mean I was held by two hideous men even when my mom did arrive. Its not like I'm gonna do anything now that I'm caught. Seriously, my skin was chaffing from the grip these guys had on me.My mother pulled up a chair as we waited for whoever was temporarily in charge arrive.

 Behind the closed doors of the principal's office I could hear the screetching waspery voice of a girl whos been crying and screaming for too long. It was Rose, being escorted by the sheriff and taken into the patrol car. " Let go of me. I did nothing wrong. He had it coming. That inside out idiot had it coming."

"Settle Down Ms. Johnsen. We just called you're gradfather, he's gonna meet us down at the police station. You better hold your tounge. Anything you say can and will be used against you. I strongly advise you to calm down."

But by then a man in a suit too tight and too tan for him arrived at the principal's desk. He introduced himself as Superattendent Larkins.

"Mrs. Woodstock, has it been explain to you why your son is being held inbetween these two men and why I am here occupying the Principle's chair?"

My mother pinched her lips tight,"No Mr. Larkins. I got a call from the nurse telling me it was an emergency but she refused to elaborate. I came right down."

"Well you see Mrs. Woodstock your son here and his little girlfriend knocked Principal Meyer unconcious."

My mother's jaw clenched tight and her shoulder's rose to her ears, "I can't believe that. Toby doesn't even have the balls," I glared at her, "I mean I raised my son to be a pacifist, not some blood thirsty idiot!"

"Oh I'm sure you did a fine job raising your son, and by no means am I entirely blaming you. I mean your son is struggling against these men over there." My mother twitched when she saw the sweat drip down my face. I was starting to feel the adrenaline rush escape my body. I was dead exhausted, more exahusted than the obese children in my school trying to climb the stairs. Mr.Larkin cleared his throat, "You have two options, and only you, Mrs. Woodstock, can decide what is right. Either he acompanies Rose to the police station down there and wait to see if the school will press charges against him as well, or have him evaluated."

"What do you mean evaluated"? My mother's eyes strained to see Mr. Larkin clearly, she knew what he meant, she just couldn't handle it.

"He would have a complete mental  examination, done by an assigned professional. They will decide, based on their findings, how this case shall be handled. It is possible that they may find him mentally unstable and then the charges will be dropped." The words mentally unstable threw my mother into a frenzy. The room became a stark stubborn confinement for all of us and my mother was deteremined to get out.

"How long do I have to decide?"

"I suggest you make up your mind quickly Mrs. Woodstock, the police are right outside the door waiting to take him." 

My head began to squeeze out a dizzy spell of confusion. I couldn't handle the thought fo being held in a jail cell or being sent to some sadistic bitch to cover me in more labels. Then the room went dark.

"Oh my Lord! Toby, he's fainted." My mother screeched, Mr. Larkin came to her side, "How could you hold my poor son hostage like that? That's just the most backward logic I ever heard of, get out of my way I'm taking him to the hospital". My mother lifted me out of the hands of the the insecure security men and shrieked her way past the police and into her car.