Gone with the Stonehedge

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**“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time.”**
Those were the final words that Lucina had heard from her sister. She was the only one who had heard those words — sheltered by the rain pouring from the sky and the loud chirps of the crickets on that fateful midnight storm. She would be the only one who held the knowledge of Scarlett's disappearance. She would be the only one who knew the reason why. And she would be the only one who knew that she, herself, had caused it.

Lucina scowled as a burly boy forced his way through the crowd, shoving her into a dull green locker. Her newly pressed uniform wrinkled easily, her grey blazer and black khakis folding in upon themselves. The faint but distinct giggles of Maisley in the distance shortly followed as Lucina saw Paris looking over her shoulder to offer a sorry smile, pushing loose strands of her fair hair behind her ears.

Prying herself from the locker, she elbowed anyone that dared jostle her and stomped down hard on fragile toes with her boots. Soon she was able to reach Paris and Maisley (whose braids were getting pulled on). Before Lucina could make a witty comment, Maisley whirled around, forced her hands on her hips, addressed Paris ("Do that one more time and those french braids of yours will get *dunked* on!"), and simultaneously walked backwards while dodging everyone ahead of her.

They were... innocent. It made her smile. But Lucina reminded herself that she couldn't let her guard down around her "friends", lest they find out about her secret and spill it. Her reputation and life would be whisked away in the wind. All her parents’ hard work would be for nothing, and the life for her siblings she’d always dreamed about would disappear faster than she could blink. Worse of all, she would, for the rest of the time, never forgive herself.

Scarlett had reassured her that it wasn’t her fault she didn’t know, but the guilt kept clawing at her mind every time her brain had time to think. It was driving her insane. Until she could find a way to make up for her mistakes, Lucina knew she would never be at ease ever again. Damn her pride.

A flood of noise abrubtly washed over them, interupting Lucina from her thoughts. They had finally reached the cafeteria, which meant she could eat a couple helpings of greasy fast food and go right back to slaving away in her classes. It was a massive, circular room with a high domed glass ceiling, fit to accommodate the entire school if it so wished. Tables were placed in neat, orderly rows, dull and grey. Murals of shimmering forests sprawled across the walls, light filtered in from the ceiling, giving the room an ethereal look that did not match the humans stumbling around in it.

“So, where should we sit today?” Maisley piped up as they ducked their heads to buy lunch, going to the front of the line that snaked throughout the entire room unnoticed. Lucina supposed it went against her morals cutting a hundred hungry students, yet she didn't mind today.

“I thought you were on a diet..” Lucina said as Paris nearly grabbed everything up for lunch.

"Well. I *was*, but you kno—"

Somebody let out a scream, cranked up to the highest octave possible, with a mixture of panic and horror. Everyone, like a single organism, turned their heads, their conversations stopped, and silence fell. Paris silenced herself immediately, almost turning her head 90 degrees just to see the incoming drama. She tapped Maisley and Lucina on the shoulder and the three of them skittered to an empty table.

There was someone was reading a note placed on their table, but something was wrong. They hadn't made any noise, but the girl next to them did. Lucina thought she recognized the girl, yet she couldn’t quite pin the thought down. Squinting her eyes, she could make out a couple defining features. Black hair dyed blonde, sharp green eyes, a periwinkle outfit…

The students watched every move, enraptured by their curiosity. What was the note about? Who was it from? And what was the scream about?

”WHAT IS *THIS*?” the girl yelled, her voice a perfect copy of a genuinely horrified person. The hell was she trying to do?

The half starved children crowded around the table almost immediatly, like characters right out of a storybook. Lucina’s eyes skipped over the people shoving each other out of the way to get a better view of the girl, who had retreated to another table a few feet away from the chaos. She had her arms crossed when their eyes met—smirking slyly.

A twinge of panic shot through Lucina as her thoughts ran wild. Could it be possible the girl knew about her plan? She knew how perceptive she could be, but... Scarlett had merely made an educated guess on what would happen, but everything had fit *too* nicely.

The chatter of the cafeteria soon became its ordinary clamour as everyone hurried back to their seats a moment later after reading the note. It was like nothing had happened.

Lucina scoffed. Thoughts raged in her mind like an inferno. What was wrong with this place? That note, that letter... she... How did anyone in this school even get this far in their lives without dying of their idiocidy? The note wasn’t the most heartwarming thing by far, but for the entire student body to go about their day without even acknowledging it for a second? What happened to everyone’s hearts—did they all freeze to stone? Did at least one person even feel a shred of sympathy, possibly?

...Lucina understood their actions in her own twisted mind, somehow.

**AFTER SCHOOL**