Little Details

Setting: Small town Washington State, USA in present time.

Google terms searched: "fighting high school suspension" and different variations on that same theme.

I've found various high school handbooks online that lay out the rules for fighting and the punishments students will get for partaking. What I'm trying to learn is more of the behind-the-scenes information of how the situation would be handled.

I'm writing a scene where two sixteen-year-old guys are having a verbal disagreement between classes in the hallway. Boy 1 starts to walk away. Boy 2 pushes him into the lockers while his back is turned. Boy 1 picks himself up, lunges at Boy 2, and gets maybe two weak punches in. Boy 2 then proceeds to punch Boy 1 several times in the face and stomach, bruising him.

I'm trying to figure out what would happen next. If none of the students do anything except watch, would it then be up to teachers to break up the fight? If, so what would happen immediately after that? Would the boys be taken to the principal's office? The school nurse? The guidance counselor? Elsewhere? Would they be interviewed about what happened? By whom? Would they be in that meeting together or separately? Would other students be questioned as well? If neither of the boys in the fight have been in trouble at school the past, would their punishments be equal for this? Would their parents be called? Would they have to stay at school until their parents are available or would they be sent home? (They are both licensed drivers.) Would being sent home early count as one of the days of their suspension even if the school day is almost over?

Any information anyone can offer is greatly appreciated! Anecdotes are welcome.


Edit: Thanks so much everyone! Your answers really gave me some useful ideas!

My male character just turned 21 years old. Two years ago, he was released from rehab for his heroin addiction. The night he turns twenty-one, his friends give him a six pack of beer, but he only takes one sip as a celebratory act. He drinks no more after that. I get a message from a reader saying that he shouldn't have drank the beer and that drinking beer after rehab is a bad choice because it fuels the addiction no matter what drug of choice the addict had.

Now I'm worrying. Should I change the scene entirely or would that one sip of alcohol make that much of an impact on him?

Thanks in advance!

Hey folks,

I'm writing a fic [modern times setting, bandom] on which one of the main characters suffers of claustrophobia. I made some researches and I found out about physical/mental symptoms, triggers and causes, but I still have some questions unanswered.

For example, I meant for his claustrophobia to manifest only when the elevator he's in gets stuck, not before, and I wonder if it's realistic or not [if I think about a former friend of mine, it could. It's just that I'd love to turn my assumption into fact, haha].

The second issue I have is about how to deal with his trouble until he's taken out the elevator. He's not alone, but his boyfriend has very little experience on the matter, so he can't be of much help. I assumed that Claustrophobic Guy could try and keep himself somewhat calm - I don't aim at writing a full blown panic attack, since that isn't the point of the story - but I have no idea if a person undergoing so much stress could really do it.

Thanks in advance!


ETA: thank you so much, everyone! You all have really been of help, now I have a fair idea of how I should write this part [which is good because I was awfully stuck] :)