#siaf

Legs aching and out of breath, she reached her classroom, hoping and praying that her teacher remembered her record of straight A's and good behaviour… or at least, remembered enough to excuse her for this one mistake.

But no, Mister Rethwell had given her detention on the spot without sparing her a glance.

"Report to Principal Harald at the end of the day," he'd said.

"'You're late, Miss Darzon'," she said mockingly to her friend Peter as she slammed her locker door shut.

Peter shook his head in sympathy. "It was only one time."

She rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. Suddenly all of my good records and attendance don't matter anymore."

"Tsk. And it's really too bad, Rhen, today of all days. We were gonna hang out with Billy Harper, remember?" Peter said.

Rhen sighed and punched him in the arm. "Well, you better go ahead and have fun without me. Maybe I'll be able to leave early, who knows, right? I might catch up with you guys."

"Alright. See ya."

"Bye."

Rhen watched until Peter exited the doors before turning on her heel. She walked dejectedly toward the Principal's office, dragging her feet. I've never had detention before, she thought to herself.

It was true. Rhen had always been a good student with grades to match and perfect attendance in classes and co-curricular activities. She thought that, perhaps, she'd gained enough favour with her teachers and would one day be able to wiggle herself out of situations like, well, detention. But today she learned the hard way that Aveyond High didn't play favourites.

Rhen reported to Principal Harald and he directed her to Room 8.

Room 8, it sounds as sad as I am, she thought, the sound of her footsteps echoing in the empty hallway.

The door to Room 8 loomed up ahead and her steps slowed as she approached the classroom. Light poured out and voices rose in the air. She sighed, stalling. She did NOT want to go in there.

Who knows what sort of students will be inside? Hmm. Maybe I should make friends to pass the time, she thought dryly, then laughed out loud at the thought.

She reached for the door knob and wondered where Billy Harper would take Peter this time without her. Taking a deep breath, Rhen shifted the weight of her backpack and stepped in the classroom.

The voices stopped.

One guy, dark-skinned and wearing sunglasses, was scribbling on the whiteboard. He had a stubble and he nibbled on one end of a toothpick. He stopped scribbling when he saw her and whistled.

Rhen ignored him.

A tough-looking girl, heavyset with short curly dark hair and what seemed like a permanent scowl on her face, was sitting at the back, with her feet up on a table. She was watching the guy in front as he continued his scribbling.

Another two girls sat on desks side by side in the middle of the classroom. They were both tall, pretty and slender. One was tanned with platinum silver hair and the other was pale, with a lone white streak amidst the striking red of her hair. The girl with the silver hair studied Rhen curiously, chewing and popping her gum. Her friend had a lollipop in her mouth.

A guy sat next to the two girls. He had blond hair and broad shoulders. Rhen recognised him as Galahad, from a few of her classes. He had a textbook opened in front of him. She wondered why he was there; he had good records as far as she knew.

And finally her eyes turned to the last guy in the room.

He was sitting at one of the desks near the front and she was taken aback when she realised he was staring at her. He'd shaven one side of his head and had left his remaining long brown hair hanging over one side of his face. Dark rings circled his eyes. He watched her with an unsettling intensity and Rhen looked away.

She quickly chose a desk at the front, making sure she was as close to the door as possible.

What a bunch of misfits. Friends? Yeah, how about no. Not my type of people at all, she thought, sighing as she cupped her chin in her hand. This was going to be a long day.

"Rhen?"

Rhen whipped her head around at the sound of her name. It was Galahad who'd called her. But before he could continue, the red-haired girl beside him threw her head back in laughter. "You're Rhen Darzon? Perfect student Rhen Darzon?" she interrupted.

"Rhen, what are you doing in detention?" Galahad asked.

"I… uh… I was late for class. Lorad, I mean, Mister Rethwell, well, he…" she trailed off.

"Wow. Even good students are late for class," the silver-haired girl said.

"Class is overrated," said the guy scribbling at the whiteboard, "I'm John, by the way."

"Okay," Rhen said simply. She didn't know what else to say.

"Is this your first time?" the silver-haired girl asked, giggling. Her friend nudged her and they fell into a fit of giggles.

Rhen frowned. She didn't understand what was so funny. "Yes, why?" she shot back.

"Nothing. I'm Elini and she's Te'ijal. You know Galahad. That batty one at the back is Margaret, but you can call her Mad Marge, because, you know, she's mad."

"Hey, watch your mouth," the dark-haired girl, or Mad Marge, said.

"Hi," Te'ijal said, waving.

"And that emo one at the front is Dameon. He's weird so just ignore him," Elini said, popping her gum again.

Dameon stared at her silently and once again, Rhen looked away, feeling uncomfortable.

"Okay," Rhen said slowly. I don't understand… they look like they enjoy being here. Well, except for Galahad, she thought. I wonder what they did to get detention.

"So, uh… what did you guys do? I mean, how did you end up here?" she asked.

"Punched someone," Mad Marge said.

"Set Harald's car on fire," John added.

"What?!"

"Joking. Decorated Harald's car. You should've seen his face," John said, grinning.

"Played hookey, both of us," Elini said cheerfully, gesturing to herself and Te'ijal.

Te'ijal nodded. "And we would've gotten away with it too, if not for this asshole over here," she said, pointing her lollipop at Galahad.

"Yeah. He's such a goody two shoes. He reported us," Elini said, rolling her eyes.

"It is the rule of this school to report any who skips class or 'play hookey'," Galahad said, annoyed.

"Hang on," Rhen interrupted, "why are YOU here, Galahad?"

Galahad scowled. "I was following them. I wanted to bring them in, to report them. But when Harald interrogated us they… SHE said I was with them." At the word 'she' Galahad pointed at Te'ijal.

Te'ijal laughed and ruffled his hair. "Isn't that cute? Reporting us? Ha! Just admit it, you were following me."

"I wasn't!" he growled, swatting her hand away.

"Um… right. Okay," Rhen said blandly. Now that she got to know her detention mates a little better, she REALLY couldn't wait for the day to end. Rhen turned back in her seat. Reaching into her backpack, she took out her dead phone and tried to start it up, but to no avail. Frustrated, she tossed it back into her backpack and cupped her chin once more in her hands, brooding.

The door to the classroom opened and every head turned to see a green-haired boy stride in. Rhen recognised him; she knew him by reputation. Lars Tenobor. He was rich, he was snobby, and looked down on practically everybody. He was also rumoured to be related to somebody important, but nobody really knew who.

He stopped in his tracks and surveyed the room with a bored look on his face. His gaze met hers. Then he rolled his eyes and took a seat, running a hand through his hair.

Rude, Rhen thought, I wonder what HE did to end up in detention.

"Lars Tenobor?" Te'ijal practically shrieked in amusement. "What is HE doing here?"

"More and more surprises," Elini agreed.

Principal Harald stepped in soon after and studied them with a serious look on his face. "Good. You're all here. Hello everyone," he said.

Nobody replied. He sighed.

"Okay, so here's how it works. All of you are going to stay put and behave, for four hours. Any sign of mischief, any shenanigans and I'll add one more day of detention, on SATURDAY, for all of you. I don't care who starts it; ALL will get one day's detention on Saturday, do you understand? Now, this should keep all of you from doing anything stupid AND teach you the meaning of teamwork, yes?"

Satisfied, he left the room.

Te'ijal snickered.

Rhen groaned and watched the clock. Four hours! So much could happen in four hours! How were they supposed to do what Harald said? If it was only her and Galahad there wouldn't be much trouble, but these people… well, these people didn't look like they COULD stay put. They enjoyed detention, for goodness' sakes.

"Something on your mind?" somebody asked behind her.

Rhen turned around and found herself looking at Dameon. He'd left his seat and had settled at the desk behind hers.

"Erm…" she started carefully, "well, yeah. Sort of. Just can't believe I'm here."

Dameon said nothing.

"So… why are you here? What did you do?" Rhen asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"It's not important," he said in a low voice.

Elini cleared her throat. "I'm craving for Starbucks! Anyone care to join me?" she called out cheerfully.

"Me!" Te'ijal said, stabbing her lollipop into the air.

"Good. John? Are you joining us?" Elini asked.

"Count me in," John said, spitting out his toothpick.

"I'm going too," Mad Marge added. Elini frowned and rolled her eyes. "Nobody asked YOU," she said.

"Are you crazy?" Rhen cried, standing up. She glared at them. "We're supposed to stay put. Didn't any of you hear what Principal Harald said?"

Now unsure, he considered leaving and giving her some privacy… but it was too late. She looked up, surprise flashing across her face.

"Lars."

"Rhen."

"What are you doing here?"

"Everyone's worried about you."

"Oh."

Rhen looked away briefly, her hair gently blowing in the mountain breeze. She then turned back and gave him a small, reassuring smile. A comfortable silence fell between them, and Lars took the opportunity to seat himself down right next to her. She passed him a small pebble and he dutifully threw it into the stream.

"I'm alright. Just needed some time."

"Oh. Should I…?"

He started to get up.

Rhen shook her head. "No, it's fine. You can stay. I needed to get away. From Pa. From everyone. Especially from all the stares… I can't bear it," she sighed, looking up at the blue sky.

Lars looked up as well.

"You're a Princess."

"Apparently."

"You're the sole heir to the throne of Thais."

"Stop."

"It's really unexpected news."

"You don't say."

They exchanged smiles. His smile widening into a grin, Lars looked around. "So anyways, Clearwater, huh? This is where you grew up in."

Rhen nodded. "The one and only. It hasn't changed much though. Everything pretty much looks the same." She then told him about Clearwater's cultures and traditions, about the highly anticipated annual harvest festival, and most importantly, the village's obsession with apples. She then pointed to a distant farm across the stream and laughed.

"That's Billy Harper's farm. He had so many sheep back then, everyone's lost count. I used to chase all of them. With my friend, of course, Peter…"

She trailed off, disturbed.

Lars saw a small frown forming on her face.

"That's where it all started," she said softly, pointing to a path that led away from the stream. He noticed a slight tremble in her hand.

"What started?"

"Everything."

"You're losing me."

She looked at him slowly, sadly. "That was where I was kidnapped. The exact spot. He asked to see the village. I thought he looked nice - he had that sort of face, you know? But he… anyways, after that I was taken, shipped away to the Eastern Isle. That's how I met you. That's how all of this started."

"Oh."

Another silence fell, this time uncomfortable. Lars couldn't meet her eye, so he stared off into the distance, feigning interest in the green mountains. For a while they listened to the birds chirp in the trees. Then he spoke.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, looking her in the eye.

"Why? It wasn't you."

"I know. But I really am sorry… for what came after, I mean. After everything you've been through, ripped away from everything you know…" He pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice cracking, "All you needed was a friend, and I treated you horribly."

"Lars," she started but he interrupted her.

"Thinking about it, what I did - and for no good reason at all - it's horrible. I felt so insecure with myself. I guess I thought I would feel better if I picked on somebody else. And you were there, and the easiest target, and I just -"

Rhen cut him off. "Lars, wait."

"I'm sorry."

"I know," she replied softly. "Look, we've been through quite a bit, haven't we?"

"Plenty, actually. Harpies. Oh, crazy bees?"

"Killer Hinds!"

"Vampires, for goodness' sake." Lars let out a small laugh.

Rhen joined him. "Exactly! You and I. I mean, we've fought demons. Together. You had my back, I had yours. What happened back then… There was no excuse, that's true. And it's no lie that I absolutely hated, no, loathed you back then."

Lars winced.

Seeing his reaction, she grinned. "I don't now, not anymore. I think."

"Greaaaaat."

Rhen punched his shoulder. "How are you always sounding sarcastic in everything you say? Anyways, it's hard for me to admit it too, but you've changed."

Lars rolled his eyes. "Not too much, I hope."

"Just enough."

"Sounds good to me." They exchanged smiles. She passed him another pebble, but he studied it instead. "They must be wondering where we are. Are you feeling better?"

Rhen sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I suppose so. I can't exactly change things, can I?"

Lars thought for a while.

"You know, if I practiced magic under a Time Master, I could learn to change the laws of time. One day, maybe I could travel backwards in time and help change your destiny. Implant an idea, move an important rock, step on a butterfly, that sort of thing."

Rhen's eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped. "You can do THAT?!"

Lars stayed silent, watching her face. Then he burst out laughing.

"No, I can't! Time Magic doesn't work that way!"

"You i-di-ot!"

"You should've seen the look on your face!"

"I take it back, whatever I said earlier. I hate you!"

She cupped some water from the stream and flung it at his face. He gasped and reeled back in shock. "It's COLD!" Immediately, he bent down and did the same, making sure to recite a little spell under his breath to make it a little colder before aiming it straight at her face.

Rhen glared at him, droplets flowing down her face. "That's cheating!"

She got up quickly. Before she could take a step forward, Lars held both his hands up in peace. "Truce?" he asked, laughing.

Rhen narrowed her eyes.

"Fine."

She held out her hand and helped him up, reaching for her scabbard and shield after. Lars bent over and shook out his hair, causing water droplets to fly around.

"Hey!" Rhen exclaimed, then laughed. "You're like a dog. A wet dog."