TWO MONTHS AGO

            Magnolia wasn't sure about a lot of things. But one thing she didn't have any doubts about. She hated Daniel Berger. Magnolia Clarke hated Daniel Berger so much, she could gag by just the sound of his name rolling off of her tongue.

            The way the man thought he was invincible ( okay, maybe he was, no one had ever defeated him before ). Daniel acted like a usurper. Meanwhile, he wasn't even the boss.

            For now.

            She'd been sneaking around his office for days now, trying to overhear more about the details. Something was going to happen and Magnolia Clarke wanted to know it all. Unfortunately, guards surrounded the office 24/7 and Magnolia had no chance to get in unseen ever.

            She stood behind a wall a little further away, hidden, when Daniel came out of his office, Magnolia duck. He came in her direction, and she couldn't risk being seen.

            Behind her was the door to one of the rooms with bunk beds. The one where the lowest students lived. Magnolia realised this door was always open and slipped in.

            Inside the laughter of adolescent girls died down. They stared at the girl who'd bumped through the door. Magnolia only blinked. She would never have gotten in there, because she could never be at the bottom of the social pyramid.

            From one of the bottom bunks Yuki jumped up. Her shirt still had a few stains from the training earlier. "Magnolia!" She yelled, sprinting forward. "Did you need something? Do we need to go back to training?"

            "I think you trained enough today," Magnolia laughed a little at Yuki's questions. The small girl visibly relaxed. Magnolia's voice turned stern. "But you do need to leave. All of you."

            Ashley, a girl in the back, came forward at the announcement as well. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Why?" Magnolia stayed silent. "Magnolia, what's happening?"

            "I don't know," She confessed lowly. Her voice regained its usual strength when talking. "But something is happening, and you won't want to be here when it does. So I'm repeating, all of you need to leave. One by one, if necessary. But I will not leave by my own."

            The girls started whispering to each other. Magnolia could tell they were on the fence, but Yuki nodded in agreement. "I trust you. If you say so, we will do so."

            Ashley scoffed. "You've been here one day. What makes you think you can decide for all of us?" All the girls confirmed her statement. Ashley turned to Magnolia. "I mean, no offence, but you've been caught up in other stuff lately. Stuff by the name Coach Berger." She cleared her throat, as if to hide the name.

            "You think that's my choice?" Magnolia's gaze turned into a glare. She had to remind herself that her anger wasn't directed towards these girls. It was towards Daniel Berger, and most of all herself. But, oh, how easy it was to direct it towards them.

            She shook her head, ridding her mind of the thoughts. "Listen. Believe me or not. But every minute arguing here is a minute wasted. Please take my word on this one."

            The brunette was surprised they reacted to her this way. Most of the girls looked up to her, so they'd take anything she'd have to say. Magnolia understood, though, some of these girls ( ex. Ashley ) have been here since the beginning and never moved up to better rooms.

            Yuki glanced quickly at Ashley crossing her arms. She said. "I'm coming with you."

            She took a step forward, but Ashley's arm swung in front of her small chest. Yuki widened her eyes. Ashley didn't even like her. It was as if Ashley could read her mind, for she said. "I may not like you, but if you're one of us, you stay with us."

            "You can't force her." Magnolia remarked warily. She looked around the room. The room had five bunk beds, meaning ten beds total. Three girls sat on top of the bunks on the left, two on the right, plus Ashley and Yuki. Three were missing. The rest of the room was completely white, not even a window. It wasn't much different to the isolation room.

            "We'll see about that." Ashley smiled innocently.

            Magnolia rolled her eyes in her mind. She couldn't physically do it, but Ashley noticed her annoyance either way. "Yuki, come with me. Anyone else willing to join can come as well."

            "No. Yuki can stay here," Ashley contradicted. Magnolia saw Yuki's doubts. She looked at Ashley, then to Magnolia, and back and forth and back and forth. The small girl didn't know what to do. "You can get her after fighting me. You can't be all that."

            Magnolia was getting tired of Ashley's attitude, and it started showing in her voice. "I'm not fighting you, Red."

            The redhead got aggravated by the name. "Why? Because I'll beat you?"

            Magnolia remembered when Ashley first arrived at the Academy. She was only one year older than her. The day she came, everyone knew her name already. She could be heard from down the hall, screaming about the red colour of the uniforms clashing with her hair. After that, they didn't see each other much anyone as they were in different classes, but whenever they spoke, Magnolia called her Red. Ashley always got angry at the nickname, but that was the fun about it.

            "No," Magnolia said. "Because I'll hurt you." Even someone like Ashley didn't need to be put down. Not even when you really feel like doing so.

            Ashley scoffed cockily. She charged forward, swinging her right arm to hit Magnolia in the face. Magnolia swerved away easily. She walked backwards to the middle of the room, where the rest of the girls moved away. "I don't want to fight you." She told her, this time more clearly.

            Ashley's arm swung again, and again Magnolia avoided. Ashley's attacks kept coming quicker and quicker, and Magnolia realised she had to do something to stop her. Something small, yet effective.

            When Ashley came for her, Magnolia turned her back to her, slapping the back of her hand against Ashley's nose. Magnolia could bring strength in all her punches, no matter how they were dealt. Ashley fell back, reaching for her nose. Through the gaps of her fingers, Magnolia saw the blood spilling.

            "Come on, Yuki," She grabbed the young girls arm. Magnolia glared at the redhead. "We're leaving this place," They were ready to leave the room when Magnolia turned around. "If you do get some sense, you can meet me by the MC3."

            Magnolia opened the door, checked both sides of the hallway twice and crossed it along with Yuki. She stopped her around the corner. "Listen, we're gonna have to stop by my room, okay? Stay quiet, and do everything I tell you, and we'll be okay."

            The young girl nodded as she followed the older girl through the dark hallway. The sun had gone down long ago, but the lamps were in desperate need of replacement. They flickered through the long hallway, giving it an eery vibe.

            Magnolia reached for her key in the back of her jeans. She stopped at the door to open it when she heard three sets of footsteps coming in their way. She pushed Yuki inside the room before the presumable guards could see or hear them.

            "Wow," Yuki marvelled. "I didn't know people had these rooms. I thought this only existed in movies," Yuki jumped down on the bed, laying on her back. "You know, back at my grandparents' I slept with the goats."

            Magnolia was headed for the bathroom, where she kept the backpack. She looked in her mirror for ( what she thought to be ) the very last time and sighed deeply. Breathe in. Breathe out. Then she put the backpack on her shoulders and went back to Yuki.

            "I promise you that wherever we go, you will not be sleeping with any more goats," Magnolia promised. "Though goats are very cute."

            "You won't think that anymore when you know what they do when they're among each other." Yuki's stare became intense. Magnolia looked around with an uncomfortable smile, muttering an okay under her breath.

            Before opening the front door again, she put her ear to the door to listen for anyone walking passed. There was one set of footsteps.

            And it was coming her way.

            "Quick! Closet!" Magnolia whisper–yelled towards Yuki. She opened the door to her closet. Before the window hung Venetian blinds through which Yuki could see what was happening.

            A knock came from the door and Magnolia turned to Yuki. "Just stay quiet." She told her. Magnolia didn't want to open the door, but she knew she had to. She did so reluctantly.

            Behind the door stood Daniel Berger in all his pride and arrogance. He didn't speak before coming in. Magnolia closed the door behind him with doubts. She glanced at Yuki in the closet momentarily. She hated what the young girl was about to witness.

            Daniel kissed Magnolia on the lips for a few seconds than hugged her. Magnolia kept her nausea for herself, as she always did. She realised Daniel's face was turned to the closet and quickly pulled him away.

            However, it was too late, for Yuki had already been spotted.

            He didn't tell, though, and he wasn't planning on. Daniel put his hand on Magnolia's cheek, giving her a soft glance. "Shall we go somewhere else?"

            "It's actually a really bad timing," Magnolia tried to shake him off. "I'll meet you in your office in a bit—"

            "No," Daniel dragged the o. "You've got nowhere to be. Walk with me."

            He practically pushed her out of the room. Magnolia's nerves raised to the point where a lump took its place in her throat. Daniel looked back to the closet, waving eerily. Magnolia didn't catch the interaction, but if she had, she would have done something earlier.

            "What's the backpack for?" Daniel asked as they walked through the hallway slowly.

            Magnolia's eyes widened a little as she thought of a believable lie. "Oh, you know. I needed something to put my tools in. I'm going to the boats." She was proud of herself for thinking of the lie.

            "Tools are in the harbour already. You know that." Daniel replied warily. A split second, Magnolia widened her eyes further. Daniel spotted it, recognising it as her being caught in a lie. He pushed her through an open door, holding her by her neck.

            Magnolia looked to her surroundings. It was one of the storage rooms, the one where the cleaning supplies were. Daniel held her by her neck against the wall. Magnolia was grasping for air. Her slapping arms became weaker and weaker.

            Until Daniel let go, Magnolia thought she'd be a dead girl. When he let go, he stepped back for a bit. Magnolia leaned against the wall with her hands on her upper legs, trying to catch her breath.

            She looked up to the other side of the room. A rack of brooms and mops covered the wall almost entirely. Magnolia crawled towards the wall. Daniel knew what she was doing, but he wasn't stopping her.

            He was waiting on the challenge.

            A challenge he wasn't going to get.

            A challenge Magnolia avoided. For she didn't use the broom she took as a fighting weapon. She used it to swiftly bring the man to the ground. In the few seconds it took Daniel to get off the floor, Magnolia had run out of the room and used the broom to stick through the handles of the door, blocking it from opening.

            Magnolia ran away, leaving Daniel in the room. She was far, far away already when Daniel's pounding on the door attracted Richard. "Hello?" The man called out.

            "Richard?" Daniel stopped pounding. "Richard, please, open up."

            Richard took the broom out of the doors' handles. Daniel pushed the door open harshly, a furious look on his face. He pointed at Richard's face. "Your daughter—"

            He was too aggravated to say anything else. He stormed in the way he imagined Magnolia to have gone in. The harbour. Richard became curious by the mention of his daughter and followed.

            Daniel made it to the harbour just in time to see Magnolia starring up her boat. She looked up, a frightened look on her face. Once she saw her father, she'd imagined she'd be a little more settled, but it was the opposite.

            Richard caught a glimpse of Daniel's hand reaching for the gun slipped in the hem of his jeans. He saw how Daniel took it out smoothly and pointed it at Magnolia's boat. She raced to get the knots out of the ropes in time.

          The first shot rang once the knots were loose.

            Thankfully, it was miss. Richard stood in front of his partner with his hands before him protectively. "Hey! We can talk about this. Whatever it is she did, we can talk. You and me."

            "Entschuldigung, Brüder," Daniel apologised. "But there can only be one leader." He shot a bullet right through his forehead.

            The last thing that went through his mind: I should've listened to my daughter.

            Magnolia's eyes filled with tears as she looked at her father's now lifeless body falling into the water. She didn't bring a gun with her, but would it have laid there, Daniel would have been next. And he will be.

            She knew she couldn't risk getting shot as well. Her father's death would have been for nothing. Turning on the boat, she duck for any shots to come. The boat sped away in a tempo no ordinary boat that size could do. Magnolia sniffled, but tried to quieten herself, driving away.

            Back at the harbour, Daniel lowered his gun. He missed his chance. But maybe it was better this way. He knew she'd come back, and then she could fulfil her purpose of being by his side for eternity.

            But that was not the same girl anymore. That was Magnolia Clarke. But by the time she'd be back, she'd be Maggie, a Pogue by heart.

uhhh hello???

its been a minute but we move on. no more flashbacks anymore 🥳🥳 theyre all doneee

im gonna be honest imma miss richard. he may not have had a lot of screen time but i liked the dude. he LITERALLY lived and died for his daughter. i mean the dedication??

idk i think probably bc the flashbacks are done the updates will become more recent bc the flashbacks really stole my motivation man.

i guess thats it. see ya in s2, charleston. (the teaaa)