Maybe In Another Life

Chapter 9

The two waltzed around the ring for what seemed like hours.

The only exchange between them was the heated eye contact and hot brushes of skin whenever one would attack the other.

Soren, indeed, was relaxing. He made no effort, easily ducking any punch Mavis threw at him, and occasionally throwing his own.

Mavis on the other hand, was beginning to grow frustrated. She was hoping to receive a few punches.

Soren found it amusing. He tried his best to suppress the growing smirk as her punches grew stronger and faster.

Then suddenly, she stopped.

"K, I guess your break is over." She huffed, her mood switching scarily quickly.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't complain.

As he turned his back to her and took off one glove, Mavis took the chance to attack him, knowing perfectly well the consequences.

Soren's reflexes kicked in and he immediately turned, grabbing her arm and twisting it so her forearm was facing upward and her hand was immobilized.

Mavis hissed, but didn't scream, cry, nor fight back.

"Are you fucking insane!?" Soren exclaimed.

She looked up at him through her eyelashes, slyly smiling.

He caught a glimpse of her blue and brown eyes which he observed all throughout sparring, until she turned away, feigning innocence.

"I was just checking your reflexes." She bluffed.

He looked down at her arm, debating whether or not he should snap it in two.

When he did look down, his grip on her loosened.

Her wrists were scarred.

Marked with battle reminders.

He wanted to trace every bump with his finger, but his other hand was still gloved.

Soren looked up at Mavis, who's smile had faded.

She pulled her arm away from his grasp.

"You saw nothing." She spoke steely, before jumping off the ring and running out the gym.

His gaze lingered on the door for a while after she had left, only the smell of her persisting in the air.

The smell of vanilla.

He then walked out of the gym himself, locking the door, along with whatever it was that happened in there, behind him...

After a shower, Soren and his roommate, who's name turned out to be Zayn, headed to the cafeteria for dinner.

Zayn was big guy with a scarred face and odd antics that pissed Soren off.

They took a seat at one of the newly deserted tables on which the group before them had left a mess of papers, plastic utensils and food stains.

Yes, the school had plastic kitchenware.

It was to avoid any murders.

Rumor has it, a student once killed another with a metal fork right in this canteen.

Stabbed him to death.

Now they're replaced by plastic. Not
eco-friendly, but at-least the attendees are safe.

The buffet was slowly emptying, seeing as only half an hour was left before it's closure.

A low buzz hung in the air, matched with subtle shuffling and hushed conversation.

Well, not all were hushed.

The table behind their's was a circus.

It's occupiers not holding back on sharing their tales with the rest of the school.

Boys joked, girls laughed.

Girls laughed, boys laughed.

Boys yelled, girls screamed.

Then chaos erupted.

In a matter of seconds, all hell broke lose.

The table went flying to the other side of the room, along with one of the boys that were seated at it.

The wood of it smashed against the tile floor, piercing into the guy's skin.

Screeching filled the vast room, the wails ricocheting off the barren walls.

It sounded as if someone had set a hoard of satanic spirits free.

"Dude we better leave." Said Zayn, grabbing his muffin off the tray and jogging towards the exit.

As Soren stood, a chair was slammed against his back, and for a second, he found himself pinned to the table.

He looked back at the only person from the neighboring bench left standing.

The boy who looked like a triggered bull, charged at the bleeding one sprawled out under the obliterated table, like the bovine animal would charge at a red flag waved before it.

Soren's blood boiled, his arms itching to get ahold of the neck of this havoc causing disgrace.

But the security guards who usually stood at the doors, beat him to it and tackled the abuser to the ground.

The latter flailed underneath the three armed men, pushing them off and hitting them too before he was tased like the savage animal he was.

Soren stood and watched in disbelief as orders were exchanged and the guy was barely dragged out, leaving the cafeteria empty, with only the strangled heaving of the victim ringing in his ears.

Two nurses rushed in prepared, with a stretcher in hand.

Removing the table from over the boy, they then picked him up carefully and laid his bloodied figure onto the stretcher, then they too, disappeared.

Soren looked around.

The lunch ladies had taken cover in the kitchen or behind the fridges and stalls.

Some students cowered in the corners while other peeked through the door.

From among them, emerged Mavis, stumbling out of the crowd, almost landing face first.

She scanned the area, trying to figure out what all the commotion was about. What she had missed.

Her wide eyes locked with Soren's green ones.

Her throat dried at the sight of him, and she tugged at the sleeves of the sweater she had put on.

His hand reached out to his back as he stretched, grimacing as if in pain.

There was a chair, broken underneath him, and a table disintegrated at the back wall. Underneath it a pool of blood.

What happened?

What had she missed?