MARIANA

“Tyler is the one behind all of this.” Stanley spoke up, and loud gasps rang out throughout the cafeteria. Even I was shocked that he mentioned Tyler’s name.

“I’m the one behind this?!” Tyler exclaimed loudly, disbelief evident in his voice and expression.

“Really? Tyler is the one behind this?” Principal Raymond asked, gesturing at the cafeteria, which was covered in all sorts of foods. Surely, Tyler hadn’t done something like this before.

“Yes, Sir, Tyler is the one,” Stanley nodded.

“But Sir! This stinky girl here, Mariana, was the first person to dump a plate of spaghetti and sauce on me! Have you seen me?” Tyler pointed at his head and clothes.

“You’re the one behind this?” Principal Raymond turned his accusing glare toward me, and I squirmed under the weight of his stare.

“Erm… huh…” I stuttered, not quite sure how to respond to his scary glare focused on me.

“Answer me with well-formed words!” He barked, making me jump in fright.

“Sir, it’s Tyler’s fault. He put his leg in the way and made me fall. I even hurt my knee in the process, and that’s why I dumped the spaghetti on him.” I explained nervously.

“He made you fall, I agree. But you shouldn’t have taken matters into your own hands. You should have reported him to a teacher who could have handled this properly.” He said, and I couldn’t help but snort inwardly. As if a teacher would do anything to Tyler if I reported him.

“I’m sorry about that, Sir,” I apologized, even though I wasn’t feeling truly remorseful about what I did.

“Sorry won’t be enough. I’m afraid you’ll have to do more than that.” He stated.

“What is that, Sir?” I asked, already scared of what he might ask us to do.

“You have to clean this entire cafeteria. I must not see even a single molecule of food in this place.” He uttered.

“But Sir! I can’t possibly clean this place on my own!” I cried out, not caring that my fellow schoolmates were present.

“Of course, you won’t be cleaning alone. Tyler will be joining you,” he said, and Tyler shouted exasperatedly.

“SIR!!!” Tyler yelled.

“That’s my final judgment,” Principal Raymond said, and then added, “For the rest of you who thought it would be fun to join in the food fight, two hours of detention for you all after school.” Loud groans and protests followed. He turned to walk out of the cafeteria but stopped in his tracks.

“Oh, Tyler and Mariana, you two are not exempt from detention either,” he added, before walking out for good.

“You see what you caused?!” Tyler shouted when it seemed like Principal Raymond was out of sight.

“All of this wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t make me trip and fall in the first place!” I shot back, and he stopped talking for a while.

“I’m not going to clean anything,” he muttered with a scowl.

“Just because you’re the son of the owner of the school doesn’t mean you’re not cleaning up this mess with me. We’re serving this punishment together,” I said, glaring at him.

Soon after Principal Raymond walked out, the students started dispersing slowly, leaving me, Tyler, and a few others still inside the cafeteria.

“Mariana, are you okay?” Vanessa asked, walking over to me with the others.

“I’m fine, Vee.” I smiled weakly, even though my knee still hurt. I tried not to let it show.

“I saw you fall. How’s your knee?” Aiden asked, glancing at my knee.

“I bruised it, but I’ll be fine.” I replied.

“Okay,” he nodded.

“Do you need us to help clean up the place? It’s too big for just the two of you to handle alone.” Damien suggested, and I almost accepted the offer. But they all had to go to class. They couldn’t miss this period because of me.

“It would be great if you joined us, but you have to go to class, so don’t worry about it. Tyler and I will clean up.” I said, casting a secret glare at Tyler.

“I mean, other students were also part of the food fight, but you’re the ones stuck cleaning it all up,” Juliet grumbled.

“It’s fine, guys, really. I’ll see you later, go to class.” I urged them to leave, and they hesitated, grumbling their displeasure before heading out.

When we were the only ones left, I turned to Tyler.

“Let’s get this cleaning started!” I said with feigned enthusiasm, tossing a mop at him. He rolled his eyes.

“How do you use this thing?” He asked, raising the mop in his hand.

“You don’t know how to use it?” I asked, surprised.

“I don’t use mops. We have maids who clean at home, duh.” He replied with a roll of his eyes, reminding me that he came from a rich family.

“Oh, please,” I scoffed, “You don’t have to rub your wealth in. Everyone knows you’re a rich, spoiled brat.”

“Hey!” He exclaimed loudly.

“What?!” I replied, unbothered.

“Never mind. Show me how to use this thing, will you?” He asked, clearly not interested in arguing.

I moved closer and began explaining. “You dip the mop in the bucket of water,” I demonstrated, “then you squeeze it out before bringing it out to mop the floor.”

I showed him how it was done, and he nodded in understanding. I handed the mop back to him.

“Do what I showed you.” I said.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this. A whole me.” He groaned in disgust, but he dipped the mop into the water.

“You brought this upon us. Now we’re suffering for your actions.” I reminded him, and he grumbled something under his breath that I didn’t care to decipher.

“Let’s get this over with!” I said loudly, tying up my hair and getting to work.

|THREE HOURS OF CLEANING AND LOUD COMPLAINTS LATER|

“We’re finally done.” I sighed heavily, collapsing onto one of the cafeteria seats. I was feeling weak all over. The cafeteria was sparkling clean, not a molecule of food in sight, just as Principal Raymond had wanted.

“Finally!” Tyler sighed from the seat opposite me. He looked exhausted, but despite his disheveled state, he was still handsome. Where did that thought come from?

“Let’s go to detention. They must have started already,” Tyler said.

“I’m not ready to go yet. I’ll stay here and rest for a while, just a few minutes.” I replied, and he seemed to agree with me.

“I’m going to rest for a while too. I’m so fucking tired.” He muttered, and just like that, he slouched back into his seat. I rested my head on the table. Cleaning the cafeteria was no easy task. Well done, Principal Raymond. Thanks for wearing me out.