30 Deep sleep

Zara put her hands on Veronica's shoulders, "Why was he worried about me? Why are you acting so weird?"

Veronica blanched, "N-nothing Z. I thought we could all watch movies together."

Zara wasn't convinced with Veronica's answer. She shot up to her room as Rose and Veronica followed her. She began upending the bed, pillows and everything else as both Rose and Veronica stood outside her bedroom door. When she couldn't find it she stormed to her mother, "Where is my phone?"

Rose delicately answered, "In the lower drawer of your bedside table."

Zara reached for the drawer and yanked the phone out of it. The battery had died. She rummaged through her room till he found the charger and plugged it in.

The sound of a car tires screeching announced Jake's arrival. They all went downstairs and Zara stifled a yawn. She felt tired and exhausted even after sleeping.

Jake's knocks on the door were usually hurried but now he was pounding on the door. Rose opened the door and Jake asked her with a worried face, "Where is Z?"

Zara called out from the stairs, "Right here buddy" and smiled. Jake took one look at her and bolted for the stairs, crashing into her as he lifted her up. Zara was taken aback by his intimate gesture especially as she could see her mother and Veronica gazing up at them. When she directed her gaze at the two, they scurried away to the kitchen talking about lunch preparations.

Zara punched him playfully on the shoulder, "Woah, if I thought Mom and V were being weird, you just take the cake."

Jake put her down and moved his hand to cup her cheek, "How are you feeling, Z?"

"I am fine, Jake. See" she twirled around to show him that she was okay and slightly lost her footing. "Ouch" she uttered as her feet hit the door stopper. Jake shot out a hand to steady her, "I guess I am not as well as I thought but you guys don't need to worry, ok? Now, let me get to my phone."

Jake shouted, "No Z, wait-" but she had reached her phone and was staring at the screen. An email popped up with the subject "Temporary Detention" and she fell down to her bed.

Jake scooted beside her and gently took the phone from her as she read the mail, "How? How can I be served a week's detention?"

Jake gently told her, "It's been taken care of. The new trustees of the board wanted Principal Wood to be more strict towards students. So, he had to give the punishment for those who missed on completing his essay. The members got wind of the ruckus we had created-remember all the water we had thrown around?" Zara nodded in response.

He continued in the same tone, "Turns out he was ordered to dole out punishments that included a month's detention, a heavy fine and even failing the students in the upcoming exam."

Zara looked horrified, "What?"

Jake chuckled, "Yep, but he was successful in avoiding all the stricter punishments. You only got 15 days detention."

Zara buried her face in her hands and then suddenly looked up, "But wait, the deadline is Friday. Today is Tuesday, I still have a lot of time to complete it, haven't I?"

Jake pulled her hands to hoist her up, "Let's talk about it later, we should watch some movies now."

Zara stayed on her bed, "This is beyond weird, Principal Wood knows me and how studious I am. He would never punish me before I had a chance to present my case."

Jake put his hands on her shoulders, "Z, Z...shh..look at me, please."

Zara stopped squirming and looked at him, his face looked pale and light stubble had grown on his chin. But how was that possible? She had been asleep for only a few hours.

Zara glanced at her mobile and checked the date. She dropped the phone hurriedly, as if it was a nasty ant. It was Tuesday.

She had been asleep for a whole week.