"Alright, I'll do it."

"Are you freaking serious?!!"

"Yeah." If that means so much to her, I would do it. Her eyes lit up, dazzling like a diamond.

"Did I tell you that I love you!"

She squeezed me with a bone-crunching hug and broke into a wide smile. I freed myself and said, "Clara, C'mon, we are late for class."

Her smile was contagious and I found myself smiling as if I did not have to write a play for the Annual Theatre Festival in ten days. I took hold of her hand and began to drag her to the classroom.

"Wait, we have to celebrate."

"What? Okay, maybe later but not now." Miss Helen would have noticed that we were not in her class by now. I definitely did not want to hear her lecture on tardy teenagers.

"Mel, What do you mean, later?" She pretended to frown. "You are going to write this awesome play - I'm going to act in it and become famous. The world will finally know what they have been missing!" She took a bow in front of an imaginary audience. I let out a groan and rolled my eyes. She sure does watch a lot of movies. The corridor was almost empty.

"How about we bunk Hecate's class?"

"No. Miss Helen will chop our heads and dance around our corpses."

"You are weird. Besides, not bunking classes is a sin and you HATE Calculus. So, I don't see the problem." She had her hands on her hips like she always did when she was annoyed.

Before I could reply, I saw Miss Helen walking towards us from the other end of the corridor. Her lips were curled in anger and her red heels echoed against the silent corridor. I could tell she was already planning our punishment.

"Hold my hand," Clara whispered to me when she followed my gaze.

"What?!" I shouted, partly out of fear and partly out of confusion.

She took hold of my hand and did the stupidest thing ever.

She ran, pulling me behind her.

"What the hell?! Clara...Stop!" What is she doing? Our shoes made noise against the floor and I felt uncomfortable running with the backpack on my shoulder. Clara ran, ignoring my words, her eyes sparkling with mischievous excitement. I turned back to see Miss Helen, panting and puffing to catch us before she finally gave up. Thank god, she was not slim and athletic.

Not only had we bunked a lecture (which I had never done before) but we had messed with the most hated teacher on the campus. We were going to get into a lot of trouble, that was for sure.  We took a turn around the cafeteria and pushed through the open door. Bright sunlight hit our faces and Clara placed her hands before her eyes to shield them. We had reached the school playground. The grass was soft under my feet, and the vast space spread before me, empty and deserted.

"Clara, stop. I need to take a breath." I couldn't believe I was breathless after such a short run. I placed my hands on my knees and looked up at the grinning girl, standing in front of me. Both of us were panting, though she seemed more excited than tired.

"Again, tell me why did I ever become your friend?" I asked, smiling like an idiot. I wanted to be angry at her for getting me into trouble but I wasn't. I felt like I was having fun after a long time.

"Okay, we have to get going. She will find us soon." She pretended to be serious. I didn't think Miss Helen would bother searching the whole school for us. Still, I wanted to know what she was planning. I nodded and got up, hauling my backpack back on my shoulders.

"We are going to jump over the walls of the playground."

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Author's Note:
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P.S : What is your favourite thing to do when you are free?