TWIRLING THE PENCIL in my fingers, I sigh once again as I look up at the clock. It ticks by slowly, counting the milliseconds to my release. My eyes follow the hands as they move and I am almost lulled to sleep.

I am so bored, I might as well just blow air bubbles for entertainment.

Mr. Johnson looks at me again, a quizzical look on his face. He is studying me like a zoologist would study a crazy monkey. His eyebrows raise further as he walks by my desk, sneaking a peek at my completed paper.

I feel annoyed by his intrusion and I bend down, hiding the whole surface with my body. I tap my nails slowly on the table and hum a tune to myself. It is entrancing, watching my fingers beat against the desk.

A loud cough sounds and I look up to find Christina "Chrissy" Morgana shooting a steely green-eyed glare at me from her seat. She throws me a 'stop that or you are dead' stare and I stop. Chrissy can be pissy.

Damn, I slam a quiet slap against the armrest of my chair. This exam has robbed me of my humour too.

Fucking great.

I steal a glance at Chrissy from the corner of my eye. She's huffing and her auburn hair is flying everywhere over her head. She has been scolded for leaving her hair open by numerous staff members but Chrissy wouldn't be found dead with a rubber band on.

Christina Morgana is my best friend. We've known each other since we were in our diapers. That's actually a gross fact but it is what it is. She's been an integral part of my life since the day I learnt the word life. She's my biggest cheerleader and critic and there's no one else I'd rather have in her place.

My attention is now grabbed by a low whistle. I tilt my head ever so slightly. I am not surprised that it is Tyler, a dark haired boy with dreamy blue eyes. The guy who would cheat even in an open book test.

Tyler Hendrich is also the guy you warn your kids about growing up into. He's the bad boy who rides a motorcycle but also the dumbass who falls off of it.

We share a telepathic connection although we only met slightly over three years ago. It happened when he accidentally tripped in front of me and I playfully bullied him about it for a good seven months' time.

Then one day he broke down when he lost his favourite leather jacket and I felt so sorry for the crying giant, I decided to be his friend.

'What's the answer to question number 2?' He implores, urgently. His eyes dart about, keeping a close watch on Mr. Johnson's fine back.

Ew, Cynthia, focus.

I look back at Tyler, disbelief on my face. 'Ty! This is an aptitude test. You cannot cheat on this!'

'I'll manage. You tell me, what's your answer? Come on, Thea, quick!'

I turn my attention to my completed question paper. It's not even that hard. Just a few personality based questions. Some of them tread deep into your inner memories and thoughts but none of them are unanswerable.

I flip my question booklet back to page one and read question number two. Pre-Proclamation Tests, or PPTs, usually start off easy or irrelevantly to put the student at ease. They're also sometimes funny and lighthearted. This particular question says:

2. If you could travel anywhere in the world, who would you take along with you?

A. Your family member.
B. Your significant other.
C. Your best friend.
D. Some stranger you met at the ship harbour.
E. You are going on business so your boss, maybe?
F. No one because you are forever alone.

I roll my eyes at Tyler, who chews on his pen. This is a basic hadesdamn question. You take who you want. Of course, I selected option B. There's no one I'd rather travel the world with than William.

There's a certain charm to seeing the ruins of Agra and broken canals of Venice with the love of your life by your side. We've seen pictures of the actual structures before but post-Hades, everything went kaboom.

Literally.

I turn my head back to Ty and purse my lips. He sees the judgement in my eyes but of course, he isn't going to back down. He whispers again, 'Come on, C, it's okay. Johnson isn't going to beat you to death.'

'You are literally asking me to cheat!' I hiss.

'You and I, we are the same, okay? It isn't cheating if I ask my own brain for an answer. Just tell me yours, I can't make up my mind.'

Now, if there was anything true about Tyler Hendrich, it was his insane indecisiveness. This guy wakes up at four in the morning just to pick out his school uniform and we only have three red and yellow combinations.

I sigh, rolling my eyes. 'Only this one time, okay?'

Ty smiles at me, trying to look hot and sexy. Instead, he ends up looking like a creep on the far end of a bar. 'You know you'll do it again for me, sweetpea. Come on, what did you answer?'

'You are disgusting, Ty.' I shake my head. 'I answered B. There, now go,' I say, subtly shooing him away with my hand.

I expect him to quickly copy the question but instead he keeps staring at my face, awestruck. 'William? William hadesdamn Lane? Him? Out of all the people on this planet, it's William you want to see the world with?'

Ty has never been particularly fond of William and the same can be said about the latter. I have never understood the animosity between the two boys but it certainly is not Tyler's place to badmouth our relationship.

'That's uncalled for, Ty. You know we've been together for three years now! There's nothing he would do to hurt me!' I say, my cheeks flush red and my voice quivers more than I like.

"Miss Meyers, is there any reason for discussing your personal life during an important PPT? Let's hear it, if it's that interesting."

I squint my eyes shut. I knew this would happen before it even did. Talking in Mr. Johnson's class was an open invitation for humiliation and I just did that during a PPT.

A PPT.

Oh, my father is going to hear about this. Welcome to my funeral.

I gulp, pursing my lips and turn to face him. Tyler is biting back a chuckle next to me and all I want to do is smack him across the face. Christina is shaking her head at me from the other side of the class and I cannot help but feel stupid.

"No Sir, I'm sorry." Surprisingly, I feel no rage, no fear. I immediately feel a whole lot better. This is progress, however insignificant or small it may be. After Mrs. Mehana's class yesterday, I was worried my mouth would run a mile again.

I pull my eyes back up to meet Mr. Johnson's. He is furious with me. I understand why this time. It was my fault for talking during a PPT. It is against the base rules and I will not be surprised if I am kicked out.

I can feel all eyes on me and I cower back in my seat. My dad will lose his mind if he learns about this fiasco. I squeeze my eyes shut again, praying to Hades that I come out of this alive. I know it is futile, I must be punished but no one said anything against hoping.

"Go back to your test, Cynthia. Not another word or I am calling in your father," Mr. Johnson says and my heart leaps out of my chest. Relief fills my veins and I nod my head.

He smiles a little at me and walks away, taking everyone's eyes off of me. I look back down at my paper, refusing to look at Tyler or Christina. I love those two with all of my heart but I won't take embarrassment for anyone.

I can feel Tyler's gaze on me; it is boring a hole into my shoulder. I know he is sorry for talking me into giving him my answer because he knows how much I hate being humiliated. But I don't give him the chance to apologise because I participated in it too.

Instead, I look at the last question on the paper.

If you are standing at the edge of a cliff and you look down to see a river of blood, who do you see in it, screaming for help?

A. Your demons.
B. Someone from your family.
C. Someone who wronged you.
D. Someone who tried to steal from you.
E. A world traitor.

The skin on my palm prickles. I suddenly break out in goosebumps all over my arms. With a trembling hand, I pick up my stationary. It's almost automatic and without conscious acceptance.

I erase A, my previous answer, and circle C.

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