I was wrong when I believed that life was like a chessboard - it was far more complicated than just being a mere game of war.

Unlike in chess, life was not segregated into black and white - there was no such thing as true, pure evil or angelic goodness. People (and life, of course) were both black and white - a swirl of the two colours that mixed and moulded them into blurred, grey patches. Sure, some had souls of darker shades, others paler- but it was what being human was about. Humans were ambiguous; they were both good and evil, both full of strengths and weaknesses.

In life, there were just shades of grey, flowing in an ombre from light to dark. (No, not fifty shades. And they didn't turn darker or get freed. Stop it.)

And of course, pizza.

Courtesy of Mrs Walters, bio class had been transformed into a pizza party for a reason that seemed crazy to me - the fact that I was leaving the country in a few hours. Instead of being excited to get the hell out of the school, I felt slightly sad about it for the first time in a while as the entire class shoved Hawaiian slices into their mouths greedily.

It was just really... nice of Mrs Walters to do this for little old me. If there was one thing about me that would remain uncorrupted by everything I had done, it would be my respect and adoration for Mrs Walters. She was still the sweetest teacher in the school and a real MVP. For that, she was the one teacher that I made a card for - and I was happy to see her eyes brighten up when I handed it to her.

As I shoved my second helping into my mouth, I was somewhat shook at the sight of Angeline. Her face was twisted into disdain as she narrowed her eyes at her slice, picking the pineapples off the pizza like it was some kind of venomous bug. When she noticed me staring, she simply said, "I hold firm on my beliefs that pineapple does not belong on pizza."

She then continued to remove the last piece before she ate the slice.

Nothing about exposes, snitching or being a saboteur?

That was when I felt a tap on my shoulder, and a wrapped present being shoved in front of me. I turned to see Tina Lee with an amused expression.

"For you, Selene. Stay in touch."

"Oh! Uh, thanks!"

Tina smiled - this gift was obviously part of the nice-kid package that she adhered to strictly like any other student - and flounced off towards Annabelle.

At that moment, I realised I had only ever viewed Tina as one singular thing - ringleader of the K-Pop Kids who screamed at boy bands and watched too many K-Dramas. She liked things I wasn't a fan of, and I'd focused on that.

Never once did I think she would be one to hand me a gift on my last day in Rifton. I guess this was how it was - as much as I hated how everyone judged and nitpicked my every awkward mannerism, I had disliked their eccentricities too.

Ironic indeed - even if Tina Lee was an annoying, over-excited K-Pop fan with a voice that could give Pinkie Pie a run for her money, perhaps she was the definition of being apologetically herself.

I was washing my hands in the same toilet. The same one when I realised that Natalie had stabbed me in the back and made me realise that this world was brutal. The one in which I realised that the smiles on faces were too saccharine, where I felt the world had suddenly gone awash with darkness.

As I scrubbed my hands with school toilet soap that strangely smelled good, I sensed footsteps approaching - soon enough, one look in the mirror confirmed that I wasn't hearing things.

Natalie Kingsley's honey-coloured ponytail swished as she headed over to the neighbouring sink, shooting me a smile. The same sugary smile that I'd seen on the first day I met her in school; a smile that I later hated along with everything that she was.

But this time, I didn't think anything.

"Hi Selene."

"Hi Natalie."

"So... you're leaving? Today?" Natalie asked in a voice with a tone I couldn't really place as she squeezed some soap and turned the tap on.

"Yeah. It still hasn't quite hit me yet," I said, letting the joking tone fill the air, "Oh well, I might get homesick later but whatever, I'll face it."

And I would face it right.

I flicked the water off into the sink and wiped the rest on the side of my skirt - but before I could leave, Natalie called out.

"Wait."

When I turned around, the one thing I didn't expect to happen, happened. Natalie's eyes gleamed with something that seemed like... guilt?

"I want you to know that, well, I'm sorry."

The heck?

I blinked once. Twice. Was she really... no, impossible. It just wasn't -

Natalie sighed, sweeping the long blonde ponytail behind her back. Something about her felt different. The vibe between us - there wasn't anything similar to any of our past interactions. No air of superiority from being the unanimously acknowledged ruler, no inferiority from being branded an outcast. There were no 'levels'.

Just two peers talking - and this conversation with Natalie felt genuine, for the first time ever.

"Yeah. I think you know what I mean. I didn't understand what it was like on the receiving end, and I was a total bitch," she continued, not even wary that she'd sworn, "So yeah, I owed you an apology. Good luck with the future, Selene. I wish you the best."

And then she smiled one last time, walked past me and through the door.

Oh God. Natalie Kingsley apologised to me.

She freaking did.

But why?

She really shouldn't have done that; she was only going to regret that in a few hours and wish she never spoke to me today -

No, I couldn't waver now. If Natalie Kingsley could get her shit together to be a decent person for once, changed by this period of time that I'd put her through, so could I.

It was the only way I'd get the deadly weight off my chest before I flew out of the country.

"Angeline."

Angeline Whittaker turned from her open locker in surprise, definitely shocked that I, the snitch, had appeared at her locker on my own accord. After all, we hadn't really spoken since the confrontation that day. Honestly, I didn't really want to talk to her because it was totally awkward, but I was going to tough it out on this one. "Oh! Hi?"

I handed her a little, wrapped-up box - a gift that I'd found last minute at home. "For you."

The girl blinked - after all, we'd just gone through that nasty run in two days ago, and it was highly illogical that I'd give her something when it appeared that my gifts were exclusive to members of the chess club. "Oh, you didn't have to..."

"Take it," I insisted with my best poker face. "I think you'll like it when you open it. Come on!"

Angeline gave me a weird look as she accepted it, as if the gift wasn't a pack of mildliners but a dubious bomb that would blow vomit in her face. "Um, thanks?"

"Oh," I hurriedly continued, "But don't open it yet. Wait until tomorrow."

Angeline narrowed her eyes, "Why?"

Oh, yeah, that's what I was worried about. She wasn't going to listen to me.

"It'll just make more sense, okay? Trust me on this - it's not some kind of bomb that activates upon touch or anything. You know I don't have enough brain cells to make an explosive," I tried my best, but wasn't sure I'd succeed in persuading her.

Angeline gave me an even weirder look.

Awkward 100, but it's too late.

"Uh, sure... I guess I will... open it tomorrow. Bye, Selene."

"Bye, Angeline."

I smiled once back at her as I headed out of school, finally meeting the school gates as a burst of sunlight hit my dark blazer. As I stepped out of the intricate black gates, I took one last moment to look back at the grand, castle-like campus in shades of black, white and blue and the block letters engraved on the entrance, in a perfectly regal sans serif font.

No matter how much I'd despised my time in this school, I had to admit that I had learned a few things from it, about life and the reality of the outside world. Perhaps I'd used the things I'd learnt wrong the first time, but I guess this departure was supposed to set things straight, a golden opportunity from the heavens for a clean slate, in a new school, where my opinion of the place wasn't as horrid as it had been here.

It was time for a new start, a new Selene.

For the first time in many days, my smile wasn't one of cruelty and chaos - but one that was happy, happy that I'd been given a second chance of sorts to fix myself and become a better person with genuine connections.

For the first time, I felt like I had some hope for a bright future yet.

No more faking. No more lying. No more secrets.

No more masks and facades.

One day, I would find the balance, and find my place in a world simultaneously encased in darkness and light.

I turned away and went on my way, towards the familiar silver-coloured car waiting in the school's parking lot.

Goodbye, Rifton Girls' High.