*Beep! Beep! Beep!* Maya's alarm clock sounded for the 3rd time after being snoozed twice. Maya groaned and raised her arm out from her covers, slamming her alarm clock with the palm of her hand and causing it to turn off. She threw the blankets off of her body and onto the floor as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, yawning. Her little brother came bursting through the door without knocking, as usual. "MOM SAYS WAKE UP! YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE FOR SCHOOL, LAZY BRAT!" He shouted at her, spit flying everywhere.
"Shut up Jax! I'm up, now get out so I can get changed, you little Gremlen!!" Maya replied with a snarl.
Jax made a face at her and she moved as if she was going to chase after him which caused him to turn on his heel and book it out of her room and down the stairs. She walked over to her door, stretching, and shut it. She managed to half walk, half drag herself to her closet, still half asleep. She always dreaded school. It wasn't that she hated the work, for a matter of fact, she loved it. It was Kian Eaton that made her dread school. He was the most popular guy in the school. Every guy wanted to be him and every girl wanted to be with him. Except for Maya, of course. She sees who he really is and in her eyes, he's malicious. He went out of his way to make "nerd's" lives hell; especially hers. After she got ready for school she stood in front of the full length mirror in the front room. She looked herself up and down and the all too familiar feeling of worthlessness crept into her mind. A feeling that had been growing bigger and bigger ever since 2 years ago when Kian first started targeting her. He never needed to be physical. He molded his words into knives and when they slipped off his tongue, they pierced her mind. She wondered what could possibly go through his head to make him treat his victims the way he does.
Her thought process was abruptly interrupted by her brother ramming his foot into her kneecap, screeching "GO TO SCHOOL!" She scowled at him and without saying anything, walked out the front door.
"Have a nice day honey!" Her mom hollered from the upstairs bathroom, oblivious of what Maya's brother had done. Without saying anything in return she slammed the door and locked it behind her, because god knows that Jax is too lazy to do anything. She couldn't blame him though, it was Friday and a PA day for him. She pulled her phone out of her jacket's pocket and checked the time. It read 8:26am.
"Shit.." She muttered under her breath. Entry bell rang at 8:30 and the bell that marks you late if you aren't in class is at 8:35. 'I can't be late' she thought to herself, silently panicking. Being late would lead to a detention which would not only lead to trouble at home but even more trouble with Kian. He had detention every day, always for a different reason. Rm 112, as always, with Ms. Winsor. The most despised teacher in the school. Maya thought it ironic that Ms. Winsor hates everyone but loves Kian. Whenever Ms. Winsor witnessed Kian belittling Maya she would shrug it off and sometimes even blame Maya saying she 'started it' or she 'provoked' him. Maya swung her backpack onto her shoulder and sprinted to her school. When she reached the front doors she was panting, struggling for air. Sweat prickled down her forehead and she walked in the front doors of the school, pulling out her phone to check the time. It read 8:37. Maya started to panic knowing that her first period for this term is with Mr. Guile and he loves giving his students detention. She didn't bother stopping at her locker because she didn't want to be even more late. The halls were empty besides the usual stragglers who are either late or skipping class. She was hoping that she would get lucky and that Mr. Guile would've not taken the attendance yet, but as she got closer to her math class she saw the door shut and knew that she was out of luck. Dread filled her body and danced in her eyes, as she turned the door handle to the class hoping that maybe just maybe the teacher wouldn't notice. But as she slowly opened the wooden door she found herself standing there with every student and the teacher staring at her.
"Mr. Guile I can expla-" she started but was cut off by the all too familiar word.
"Detention. No ifs ands or buts. Detention." Mr. Guile stated firmly. Maya sighed, wanting to disappear or turn back time and get out of bed early. She sat down at her seat and texted her boyfriend Chris. 'Hey babe. Kill me, I have detention with Kian.' Chris was quick to respond with 'Everything will be ok. I promise. I'm in Ms. Windsor's class I gtg. Love you <3!!' Maya stared down at her phone hoping that was Chris said is true. Maybe for once Kian will leave her alone. Throughout the rest of the school day Maya didn't see Kian once. She was starting to hope that he wasn't at school today but as school ended and she entered room 112, she realized that had just been hopeless wishful thinking. Kian was the first person who caught her eye as she walked in. She looked down thinking maybe he wouldn't notice her but unlike other days they were the only two in detention. And to top it all off, Ms. Windsor wasn't even in the room yet.
"Hey cow! Have you seen Maya? I heard that she got detention today." Kian snapped with a smirk that Maya wanted to punch off his smug face. Maya didn't say anything. She learnt over the years that if you don't respond at all its better. He made remarks like these all throughout detention even when Ms. Windsor was present and of course, as usual, she did nothing. After what felt like hours to Maya, detention was over and they were dismissed. They went their separate ways and as Kian was approaching an alley way that was a shortcut to get to his house which he took almost every day, an elderly woman dressed in weird clothing stepped in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.
"Move out of my way HAG. I want to get home." Kian said with the utmost disrespect, trying to shove his way past the lady.
"I've been watching how you treat people, Kian Eaton. It's not very kind, not kind at all. You will regret your actions, I promise you that. Especially how you treat Maya. Don't underestimate the power of karma, my boy. What goes around comes around but you won't except that. That's ok son, soon enough stakes will be higher and you will learn." Said the lady, her rotten yellow teeth forming into an eerie smile directed at Kian.
"Whatever freak. I'll let Maya know that I met her grandma. I mean, I see the resemblance. Now move the hell out of my way and go back to the nursing home where you came from." Kian snarled, hiding the fact that he had a sinking feeling in his stomach wondering how this lady knew his name. He managed to push past her and as he was speed walking away he heard the lady call,
"Sleep well my boy! You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow!" And barely in ear shot he stopped and heard the lady cackle. "Possibly even your last." This terrified him and he whipped his head around to make sure that the lady wasn't following him, but she was nowhere in sight. It was like she vanished into thin air.Terrified, Kian sprinted home. That night as he lay in his bed, he reassured himself that 'it was probably an insane woman' or 'it was probably a prank' but in the back of his mind, fear was growing and he kept wondering and wondering how she knew his name. Deep in the pit of his stomach his body was telling him that something was off, that something bad was going to happen. He lay there in his bed with the sinking feeling until he finally drifted off into dreamland. . But his dreams quickly turned into nightmares as he found himself sitting on a chair in a dark room. He tried to open his mouth but words wouldn't come out. He couldn't move, he couldn't even close his eyes. A light flickered on above him and he was blinded for a moment. When he regained focus on the room his stomach dropped. It was the lady. She was standing right in front of him. Something was different about her though. She no longer seemed frail and old. She radiated with power and her green eyes seemed to glow in the light of the room. He couldn't move his head, he was forced to stare at her. She looked deep into his eyes as his breathing quickened and shortened. She began chanting,
'I've been watching how you treat people and its very unkind, when it comes to pain you are so clearly blind, so because of the words and the actions you choose, I've taken it upon myself to put you in their shoes, you have until midnight so you better be clever, because if you don't earn forgiveness you'll be gone forever.' She started quietly and distant and every time she repeated herself she came closer and got louder. Over and over until she was screeching the chant in his face. He shot out of bed panting, grateful it was only a dream.
'I seriously need to forget about that witch.' He thought to himself. He rubbed his eyes, yawned and reached for his watch on his bedside table. Something felt uneasy. His watch read 5:08am. 'no wonder I'm tired' he thought to himself. 'I should be sleeping right now.' He planned to go back to bed but as he placed his watch back on his bedside table he noticed a slip of paper that hadn't been there when he went to sleep. He figured that his mom left him a note because she leaves for work at 4am every morning but as he picked the paper off of his dresser, the atmosphere of his room changed. He suddenly felt cold, the hair on his neck and arms raised as goosebumps covered his body. He shivered and unfolded the note and as he read it he realized that this was no note from his mother. In messy letters it read, 'you'll want to keep this note my dear. It will tell you how many people you need to earn forgiveness from. Right now you're at 0/5. You have until midnight. Oh sweetie, you think the dream last night was horrid? It was only the beginning.'