The World's Aftermath [ON MAJOR EDIT]

Chapter 4 [Cleo]

Dedicated to baoxian23 for being one of the amazing readers I've ever had from the beginning! Check out all her amazing works and make sure to follow her! ^^ (more dedications coming soon!)

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The trudging on my neck won't stop. I can't define what it is or even where my current position is, with it's sharp texture and a cold hard surface under my hands. This isn't my bed.

Something-or someone won't stop from shouting my name while the trudging still continues. "Cleo," someone says in a short clear voice, finally able to be heard clearly.

Alarmed that I remember where I was, I blink my eyes open too see my hands laying on a desk, comfortably there like a soft pillow for my head. A current headache is in one side of my head, and there comes that painful prick of something sharp on my neck this time.

"Would you stop that?" I snap in irritation, slowly sitting up with a groan. My eyes sorely sees the empty classroom, quite as ever except the loud noises of students outside and my constant breath ticking nervously. I have never been this bizarrely different my whole life, and that had been counted from the start of this day. I woke up late for the usual morning, literally with an empty stomach, and before I knew it, one teacher and a classroom is about to ruin my whole day. Not that every day has always  been happy and sunshine painted all over for me, these flaws were just always too much inside my head. Especially now.

I take a deep breath, following it with a glorious yawn. Diana sits upright beside me, she makes sure I'm widely awake and hides the sharpened point tip pencil in her hand before I could ask again.

"Cleo," she says with enthusiasm. "You slept until class ended." Her worried look is more into the depths of impatience, I couldn't blame her for that. It was no surprise she waited for me while the others left, but far than surprise is actually being the last person to leave the classroom. No teachers has ever left me in class snoring, I don't intend to–and unfortunately now, here I am.

"Did I miss anything?" I ask with a throbbing headache.

"Kind of," she mutters. Through Diana's thick glasses, I could tell her eyes blinking rapidly, something's always making her nervous. "But you're great at science anyway. Nobody can write the life cycle of every animal as fast as you. Today's lesson was nothing, Mrs. Brown's been bashing out about laws and rules, I swear all this started out ever since The Test started."

"I know," I sigh nervously, gathering the textbooks in a pile with no effort.

I stop abruptly from my disturbing thoughts, a sudden realization flowing in, "Where is she?"

Diana raises an eyebrow in response, "Probably dealing with delinquents outside, better hurry up before she sees you." She shivers and I feel the same traveling in my neck.

"Wait–I'm not in detention, right?" My mouth blabbers as we made our way out of the classroom. Ears booming with shouts and silly screams once again. These students are the only annoying things that needs to be shut down to the core.

"Hmm... You are actually," she mumbles unexpectedly.

"Dang it."

We sigh together in symphony. What a wonderful world to feel each other's symptoms and the definition how horrifying the word 'detention' is in our eyes. Schools are different these days, as far as I know, no adults in this building let off a student easily. Why did any unnecessary apocalypse had to ruin everything? Is it always the school's responsibility to teach respect and survival the hard way?

"Don't worry, as long as you follow their demands for your punishments-and whatever it is, it won't be too much for a first timer," she comforts. "I know you did great at The Test."