Edith wasn't happy when two monks came to escort her out of her room to detention.
"What is this?" Marcus questioned as he took a seat next to Edith.
"Prolonged confinement designed for behavioral rectification." Petra responded as she rested her head on the desk. "Detention." She whispers.
"What did you do?" Marcus questioned Saya. She glared at him so he awkwardly smiled and turned to tap the desk.
"Sip?" Petra asked Viktor with a smirk.
"Master Lin. All due respect, this must be an oversight 'cause I didn't do-Yeah." Chico trailed off noticing Lin's blank expression. "Fine. But if I'm getting hit for fighting, shouldn't Willie's ass be in here, too?"
"All Viktor did was invite rodent girl to dance." Viktor grumbled trying his best to get out of the 48 hour detention.
"All I did was punch a Nazi, inbred, debutante bi-" Petra was cut off by Master Lin's cane under her chin.
"You all committed the cardinal sin. You were caught." Lin said as he hit Jaden's feet off the desk.
"Ah!"
"Agoge. Spartan instruction that molded petulant Greek boys into the greatest warriors in the world. It had three basic tenets Conformity, discipline, and commitment to Sparta over one's own interests." Lin explained as a monk went to grab Saya's katana.
"You want to keep that hand?" Saya questioned the monk.
"You chose your basic instinct.Rivalry.
You will spend your weekend locked in this room contemplating my disappointment." Master Lin said as he took Saya's Katana.
Edith grabbed Marcus book and pulled it under the table. He looked at her confused but as he watched the monks take everyone possessions and he finally under stood.
He felt the book be placed on his lap as the monk stopped at Edith. She stood up and placed her arms out. He patted her down to make sure she didn't have any weapons. It happened every time she had a detention. She glared at him as he exited the room.
~
Edith's vision was a little blurry at first but after the second bat of her eyelashes she found herself staring down a familiar corridor.
At the end was an open door leading to the employees cafeteria, it was bustling and busy just as she had remembered it. Two guards stood either side of the door, large guns pressed against their chests as if they were proud of their intimidation.
Edith was overwhelmed she had no idea why she was here, though she knew exactly what was going to happen.
"Eeeeee." whispered a sweet voice followed by a small tug at the bottom of Edith's trousers.
She was barely strong enough to look down at the girl without bursting into tears right there and then.
"Amber?" Edith croaked looking down at the girl with her usual pigtails and red cheeks.
"Cmon, E, play hide and seek with me" she begged but Edith felt as if everything was swaying.
"No no no we can't. We can't." Edith panicked looking around, she was so unfamiliar with her own voice that speaking felt foreign.
"Please." Whined the girl, her eyes glossing over as she batted her eyes lashes.
"No. No. No. Amber. No" Edith chanted "We can't. We can't. You can't go in there."
The girl didn't listen and Edith knew that history would only repeat itself but she tried so hard to cry for her not to play.
"Okay me first." Amber carry's on bouncing on her feet completely oblivious to Edith's frantic pleas.
Edith knew this was because back then she had simply agreed to play the game with little thought behind it.
How was she to know what was yet to unfold?
"You're going to count and I'm going to hide." the girl giggled and Edith reached out to grab her but the girl was already gone.
Edith sprinted forward as the girl headed towards the cafeteria giggling as she went but the guards halted her from following Amber in.
"NO DONT GO IN THERE!" Edith screamed trying for her voice to reach the girl who was now dancing between the busy bodies.
She spun on her heels to see if anyone could help her but instead she became faced with herself, a little younger than now, both hands covering her eyes.
"Three." Her younger self counted.
"NO!" Edith screamed but no one seemed to hear.
"Two." The girl carried on.
"STOP IT! GO FIND HER NOW! STOP!"
"One, ready or not here I-"
But like before her father placed a firm hand on her shoulder and whispered for her to follow him, leaving Amber behind as a distant memory.
"NO! DONT GO WITH HIM! GO GET HER! FUCK. GO GET HER!" Edith screamed as her father took her away.
She turned to watch through the guards shoulders as the employees carried on with their usual day to day life.
Suddenly everything goes black.
There's a loud crackle of static and an ear splitting bang and as Edith clutched her knees to her chest there's a familiar pained scream.
"E!"
Edith woke up and screamed, she pushed her body forward in panic and was met with the stares of everyone in the room, each of them in complete shock.
She had a thin layer of sweat dripping down her forehead. Her breathing was heavy and her heart was racing. She daren't look at anyone, she felt embarrassed, vulnerable almost.
She sat up and pulled her knees into her chest. She ran her fingers through her hair and tried to control her breathing.
Everyone seemed to return to their conversation, so Edith climbed down the bookshelf as quietly as she could before grabbing a pen and paper.
She walked over the board and slammed the paper to it with a knife she had tucked away in her jacket. It was secret pocket that the monks always seemed to miss.
Marcus read the note first.
'If anyone says anything, I'll personally kill you'.
~
"I propose we conduct an experiment Evolve past the chimpanzee stage. And open ourselves to free love, crunchy grooves, and drinking the soul's sweet, sweet stardust. Let's at least pretend to like each other." Marcus suggested.
He was worried about Edith, she sat at the back of the classroom with her head on the desk, she glared at anyone who even looked in her direction.
"Torture Town, USA." Petra mumbled.
"Two bags of chips for two days. That's torture." Jaden said staring at the desk.
"There's enough monosodium glutamate in there to kill a rhino." Petra shrugged.
"Mm, MSG."
"The monks are gonna bring more food, right?" Marcus questioned, sneaking a glance at Edith. She just stared back at him, nothing behind her eyes but pain.
Her eyes were glossy with tears. He didn't say anything, he didn't want to make her cry.
"One box per detention." Petra turned to look at him.
"Lucky one of my superpowers is starving." Marcus sighed.
"What is other? Sitting on man's horkum?" Viktor laughed. Marcus went to laugh but rolled his eyes instead.
"You know, if it's junk food you desire, we could break into the vaults of Valhalla." Everyone turned to look at Petra. "There's a chest this big full of diabetes-inducing treats, among other glorious contraband."
"This is your brain on drugs." Jaden said looking to the girl. "The confiscation room is impenetrable, man."
"Like Edith's panties." Chico said with a smirk. She clenched her jaw and showed him the middle finger, though she wished she could've smashed his head into the nearest wall. She wasn't in the mood he should know that.
"It's been done once. Lin's cornucopia was pried open by a group of industrious detention attendees. The robbers inscribed their deeds on the rooftop. The golden door on the secret floor." Petra smirked, he hands resting on the tables beside her.
"I bet that's where my sword is." Saya said slamming her hand on the desk. She got up and walked over to kick the door open.
"You're such a spaz." Saya commented as Marcus walked over to the door and began to pick the locks.
"Oh, God, it's so obvious." Marcus scoffed.
"What?" Saya questioned.
"You want to get married and have babies and hump on the washing machine all day and-"
"Or you're my pledge, and I'm obligated to keep you alive, which means anything you do comes back on me. It's like being tethered to a large, dumb thing that is sinking in quicksand. Hence our current situation." Saya corrected as Marcus finished unlocking the door. He cracked a smile as he opened the door.
He retreated back over to Edith slowly.
"Hey." He sat himself on the desk. "You doing okay?" He questioned awkwardly. Edith glanced up at him through her lashes. "You wanna talk about it?" Edith rolled her eyes. "No. Right Okay. I get it. But I'm not leaving you in here alone. So up you get."
He said jumping of the table and grabbing her hands. Edith gave him a blank look like usual.
With one swift tug, Marcus pulled her from her seat. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. His fingers traced random patterns on her back.
"If you ever want to talk, or write me a note. You can. Okay? You can trust me." He whispered going to pull away, but she finally wrapped her arms around him. She gripped his shirt tightly. She felt safe in his arms, and that's all she ever wanted to feel.
Safe.