"So? How'd it go?" whispered Clarke to Maddy during Ancient History class.

"Umm... There were actually too many students waiting outside, so I'll go later again."

"Right. Well yeah, but-"

"Quiet!" screeched the teacher, a middle-aged man with receding hairline.

The two girls exchanged a conspiratory look, bowing their heads to hide their giggles at Mr. Benson, whose voice sounded laughably lady-like.

Maddy waited a couple of seconds for Mr. Benson to turn his back at them again and start scribbling his impossible-to-read notes on the white board, then asked:

"What about the kids that didn't come to school today?"

"I guess they'll just get vaccinated tomorrow. I mean, it's pretty much inevitable, you know?"

"Yeah... Hey, Clarke?" Maddy played nervously with her fingers under the desk, all shy like a little girl. "Does it... hurt?"

Clarke snorted. "Jeez, Maddy, you're such a baby!"

"I said quiet back there!" yelled the teacher once more, glaring at both of them.

"Ugh, what's his problem?" mumbled Clarke under her breath so that only Maddy could hear her, glaring back at him. "And for the record, yes, it does hurt. Like hell it does."

Amazing. Awesome.

"Great. Perfect." Maddy groaned.

Well, at least I'll be prepared. Can't be that bad. Right?

But her old memories had been torturing her nonstop ever since she had left the infirmary earlier that day, memories of her mother holding that syringe like a true nurse every morning at 6am only to-

"So, when are you gonna go?" asked Clarke.

"Huh?" Maddy's brows furrowed into a frown.

"To the infirmary, you idiot."

"Oh. That. Well, I think I'll just go after all of my classes."

"Ok... You sure?"

No.

"Yeah, I-"

"Excuse me for interrupting your little chit chatting, Miss Wesley, but I thought I had made myself crystal clear when I told you to keep quiet." Mr. Benson pronounced those last words slowly, as if he were talking to a child. Then he raised his high-pitched voice, spitting saliva all over the place. "Are you deaf or something? Or do you want a detention, young lady?"

Maddy felt the urge to laugh - this was starting to get ridiculous - but she cleared her throat and coughed instead, trying to fight it.

"I already got one, sir." The words slipped her lips before she could seal them.

And thus twenty pairs of eyes fastened onto her, overflowing with curiosity, as a wave of low whispers and giggles crashed onto the shore of her ears.

"She got a detention?"

"Maddy Wesley? A detention?"

Okay, but you seriously need to learn how to keep your mouth shut, Maddy, she reprimanded herself.

The bell rang only a few seconds later, rescuing her not only from everybody's stares, but also from a fatally boring lesson.

"Maddy Wesley, the baddie of the day," teased Clarke as the two of them crossed the door of that dull classroom.

"Shut up, I didn't mean to get a detention."

"Yeah, no shit."

"I think I might as well disappear if you keep mentioning it."

"Okay, okay..." Clarke raised her hands up as if to prove her innocence, palms out facing Maddy. "Want some coffee?"

Silently thankful for the switch of subject, Maddy corrected her best friend: "I need coffee."

***

Well, that was it. No more classes. The school day had reached its end, a cinnamon light spreading its rays through the huge open windows of the corridors, a sweet breeze caressing Maddy's cheeks as she sat all curled up on the sill of one of them, right outside the detention class.

No, she hadn't plucked up the courage to walk through the door of the infirmary yet, and she most probably wouldn't.

I'll just do it tomorrow, she told herself.

A bunch of other students were waiting there too, separated in groups: two boys, kinda lanky and unshaved, smoking cigarettes - or weed, or God knows what else - with their backs on the wall; an emo gang of boys and girls with dyed hair, black nails, baggy clothes and too many piercings sitting on the hard floor in a circle, as if they were performing some creepy ritual; a girl scrolling down her phone... oh, and those guys at the corner, gambling like the idiots they were.

And finally, one last group; one that caught Maddy's attention in a strange, somewhat peculiar way, like a metal attracted by a magnet. They were two girls and one boy.

The boy was tall, with broad shoulders and blonde tousled hair - the type of soft hair that makes you wanna ruffle it even more by running your hands through it - ocean blue eyes, high cheekbones and a light, wheaten complexion, golden and bronze and only slightly tanned. And yes, he was sucking a cherry-flavored lollipop.

And then the girls... they were slim like supermodels and drop-dead gorgeous, like angels that got kicked out of heaven for looking so sinfully flawless.

One of them had strawberry blonde hair pulled up in a jaunty ponytail, her baby hairs falling gracefully on her shiny forehead. Her cat eyes were a light brown, warm as chestnuts roasting on an open fire. She scrunched her cute, upturned nose as her cupid-shaped lips curved into a smug grin, dimples drilling holes into her rosy cheeks. She looked stunning, yet her expression gave off an air kind of... sour, cold, unapproachable.

The other girl, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Her silky skin was a dark chocolate hue, like the most savoury of cocoa beans. A pair of welcoming black doe eyes hid behind those long eyelashes of hers, and her jet-black hair formed fluffy, yet neat curls falling just above the height of her shoulders.

Then Maddy realized what it was that made the three of them stick out like a sore thumb: they weren't wearing school uniforms. Instead, the boy was wearing leather boots, a pair of ripped jeans and a white shirt, unbuttoned enough to reveal part of his sculpted chest. The strawberry blonde girl was wearing black Converse shoes, relaxed-fit jeans and a cropped purple cardigan. The other girl looked sportier, though, with a pair of sneakers, black leggings and an oversized grey hoodie.

Okay, but how hadn't Maddy noticed them before? They sure looked like the popular guys of the school.

"You kids ready for detention?" A man's hoarse voice drew Maddy's stare away from the three students in the corner: the caretaker's voice.

"Hey, Rob," greeted him the blonde guy, the one who looked like a Greek god even in his ripped jeans.

Maddy shifted awkwardly at his casual tone and the way he addressed the old man on first terms.

What on earth am I doing here?

Mr. Rob's wrinkled eyes widened as he noticed the three of them, the boy and the two girls.

"You kids again? Jesus Christ, don't you ever get tired of the detention class?" he exclaimed, a smile somewhat nostalgic of his own youth taking over his expression. His scrawny fingers were shaking a bit as he grabbed the large key ring jangling on his waist, searching for the right key.

"Nah, we're used to it. Feels cozy after so many detentions, you know?" joked the boy.

Mr. Rob opened the detention class, then shouted: "Oh, c'mon Jimmy, put the cigarette down! How many times do I have to tell you to quit smoking? You too, Ricky."

The two guys smiled a bit, then crushed out the flame of their cigarettes and tossed them in the rubbish bin.

"Good. I'll be back in two hours, kids. Don't burn the whole school to the ground or anything, get it?"

"Don't worry, Rob." The curly-haired girl laughed, and it sounded like thousands of bells ringing. Her voice was sweet like chocolate, matching her skin.

The two boys who were smoking earlier had already joined the gambler idiots, sat in one corner of that stifling classroom, immersed in the shallowest of conversations, and the emo gang had already tucked their earbuds in their ears, vibing to whatever music they were listening to. The three students that had caught her eye from the beginning took their seats near the window, leaving Maddy in the safe distance of a few meters away, sat on the sill, legs dangling in the air.

The old caretaker walked gently out of the classroom, dragging his feet one after the other.

Maddy watched the door slowly close and stiffened, feeling like a fish out of water as she was trying to process the fact she was gonna spend the next two hours locked up in a classroom with those wild teenagers that she had nothing to do with, that she was nothing like.

The door was only an inch far from being completely shut.

But it didn't.

"Wait! Rob, wait!" A voice shouted from the corridor outside the detention class, and Maddy thought it sounded familiar. Fast-paced steps echoed loudly, the sound of someone in heavy boots running.

"Isn't that Carter?" murmured the strawberry blondie, turning to face her two friends.

"Late for detention, Carter?" Mr. Rob laughed kind-heartedly.

"Sorry, Rob," replied the voice, closer now, panting, and somehow Maddy knew the boy was grinning.

"C'mon, get your ass in the classroom, boy."

The caretaker opened the door once again for this "Carter" guy to get in.

His silhouette appeared on the doorframe, and, when Maddy laid eyes on him, her jaw dropped to the floor. His gaze almost instantly met hers, and that pair of raven eyes set on her like a frosty, biting-cold iceberg. Both of them had the same shook expression spread all over their faces.

No. No way.

This must've been some kind of grim farce, a sick joke, a nightmare she wanted so desperately to wake up from.

The caretaker finally closed the door with a deafening click, and then the key made a rattling sound as he turned it twice inside the lock.

Maddy was still staring at the guy who had just walked in. A furious, frenzied flame flickered inside her eyes the same moment amusement lit up in the boy's eyes.

"You."