Prepsworth Academy

Chapter 32 - "I'm sorry."

Tom

After what had happened, I seemed to lose my appetite for revenge. Whenever Rose tried to talk to me, I shut her down. I seemed to have grown sick of plans and tactics to hurt people. Rose and I had acted like we'd started dating for a while, but whenever we were away from everyone else, we were silent and cold. I didn't think that we hated each other, but we at least distrusted each other. The plan was purely because we wanted the other's power, and it was a secret to neither of us. Something about Rose seemed off, and the more time I spent with her, the more prominent it was. She seemed to exude a sense of wildness, like fire, uncontrollable and destructive. I knew that Rose was manipulating me, using all of my flaws against me, so I mostly ignored her and her subtle threats.

I avoided Lily as much as I could, and every time accidentally saw her, a pang of regret shot through me as memories of us floated through my head. We'd gone to dances together, cheered each other on at sporting events, had laughed and spilled secrets. The memories used to be tinged in a hazy, soft light, but now they were harsh and grating. The entire time Lily had been lying to me. All of the smiles, the compliments, the jokes had been lies. I was sick of being lied to. I just wanted the truth, for once in my life. And, strangely enough, I had a pretty good idea of where to find it.

Dylan

I walked around Prepsworth's grounds aimlessly, my mind bursting full of thoughts. Id tried to go back to my old life, to partying until I thought of nothing but music and dancing, but something had stopped, a whisper of guilt. So instead of losing myself I tried to have fun with it, to do something that I wouldn't have done before, to join the crowd instead of get lost in it. The only parties I'd gone to for the two weeks since Prinicpal Verne had enforced the curfew and teacher supervisor rule were the ones off-campus, which were mostly held by university students and ex-Prepsworth students. The security was stricter, but I managed to sneak out through a tree which was conveniently set next the fence and was hidden by a clumped group of trees.

When I wasn't at the parties, I tried my best not to think about her. I succeeded most of the time too. I managed to get an ever-increasing amount of late arrivals and detentions, which I only went to if I was bored. Most of the time I could get away with not going, and then, I spent time with Andy and Spike, and occasionally Lukas. The four of us had gotten somewhat closer from going to parties together, mostly because Lukas seemed to care less than he had before and I cared a bit more, despite my best attempts.

I wanted to go through life like I had before, with a smirk on my face,, barely thinking, barely caring. Caring only got you hurt. That kind of philosophy was smart, no matter what others might say. The events of the first week had all happened because everyone had cared too much, and I didn't want to end up broken hearted or crazy. I knew that the teachers all judged me, tossing me concerned or condescending looks whenever I bothered to show up to class, and that Elle definitely was. But, who was I to care about them? They were all the same in my book; nothing. So, when I was Elle walking across campus, piles of books in her hands, her hair frazzled and falling out of her signature ponytail, I tried to remind myself how she was; nothing. Sometimes it didn't work, and my heart missed a beat, and that was when I reminded myself that I was nothing to her as well. And then I was able to turn around and move on, sprinting blindly through life. But at least it was better than stopping completely.

Harry

I had been drowning, trapped under the ocean, falling into the depths, falling into the darkness. But slowly, I was swimming up towards the light, hoping to break the surface, to feel cool gasps of air grace my lungs. I felt if I looked beside me I would see Elle, Rose, Emma, Amy, Lily, Jake, Lukas, Tom and Dylan. They'd all been drowning too, even if they didn't know it. They still were. I'd grasped Emma's hand and kicked towards the surface, pulling her with me as her eyes fluttered open and she joined me in swimming upwards, in living. The sun was so bright and full of hope, and I felt that soon I would breathe fresh air, tinged with the salt of the ocean. But then I looked down and saw everyone else falling, like I once had, so recently and yet so long ago. Perhaps in their heads everything was fine, but I could see them being dragged down, pulling each other down with them, heavy cables connecting between them, drowning them as they floated down, oblivious. I looked up and the beautiful sun, shining through the water and enveloping Emma and I in a soft glow. I was so close to the surface, so close to life, to air. I looked to the side and I saw a beautiful island, it's trees covering it in lush colours of emerald green. The water lapped at the rocks near the shore, and looking up, I could see mountains, covered with green grass and small bursts of colour, which I guessed were flowers. A waterfall cascaded down from a cliff, the water catching the sunlight and shining shades of aqua and blue. I realised, with a flash, that It was the forest Emma had described to me. Her dream, or at least similar to it. The forest hadn't been an island, but I recognised it, the mystery and serenity that surrounded it. I knew, with a jolt of pain, that I couldn't go there, not if it meant leaving everyone else behind. I looked towards Emma, her eyes now open wide and looking questioningly into mine.

"I'm sorry." I tried to say, but the words disappeared in a flurry of bubbles. Emma's eyes widened further and she began to shake her head, but I was already swimming down, aiming for the darkness, aiming for my friends. I felt Emma swim behind me, and fear coursed through my veins. What had I led her into? Still, there was no choice. I had to save them, and she had to save me, But, of course, I didn't know that yet, all I knew was that it was a dream, and nothing more.