The Lighting

One

All Maia wanted to do was go home; she was not ready for a history lesson. A lazy smile tugged at her lips as she remembered what had made her so tired. The cute bouncer that put the underage stamp on her hand, the loud energetic music, her friends laughing as they each took turns showing off their special dance moves. It was the first time she had gone out in a month; her mother had been keeping her prisoner at home because it wasn't "safe" to be out late. Maia rolled her eyes at her mother's nervous protection as she doodled on the corner of her notebook.

Her friend Kenzie nudged her elbow and pointed her caramel brown gaze at the teacher. Maia's eyes moved to the front of the classroom, where her teacher seemed to be waiting expectantly.

"Sorry?" Maia said, waiting for the short graying woman to repeat herself.

The woman sighed. "What do you think caused so many people their lives during this war, Ms. Garland?"

Maia's thoughts had spent too much time on last night's dance floor to know which war was being referred to. "Umm, same things that cause so many deaths during every war? Blindly following orders, killing without good reason, stupidity." Maia ticked off each finger as she listed her reasons. A boy two seats over let out a small laugh, which turned into a cough when the teacher glared at him.

Mrs. Ackers pursed her lips and focused a sharp gaze on Maia, silently willing Maia to provide a more mature answer. Maia shrugged, but did not provide one. The teacher sighed, moving her gaze to a girl in the front row, whose arm was raised so high it was practically out of its socket.

"Yes, Natalie, go ahead," Mrs. Ackers resigned.

Maia looked at the boy who had laughed, and smiled at him, happy that at least someone had appreciated her answer. Danny, the blonde basketball captain, gave Maia a smile in return, and turned his attention to the girl answering the question.

"You okay?" Kenzie asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kenzie's skepticism was written all over her lifted eyebrow and Maia knew her best friend didn't believe her at all. She sighed and conceded, "I'm just exhausted from last night, you know?"

Her friend pressed her lips into a smile, knowing that it was her fault that Maia was so groggy. It had been Kenzie who had pleaded with Maia to come out with the group, and Kenzie who had helped Maia sneak out of her bedroom window. Of course Maia couldn't say no to her, even if she wanted to. She and Kenzie had been friends for years, five to be exact. Until then, Maia had lived in Florida, Barcelona, Ireland, Morocco, Bolivia, and New Jersey, in that order. Her mother said it was because she loved to travel, but her father finally put his foot down when they arrived in New Jersey. Maia met Kenzie and hoped that her father's stubborn nature would beat out her mother's incessant need to uproot their lives every couple of years.

"Maia Garland, please report to the Main Office. Maia Garland, Main Office" The classroom's intercom spouted out, interrupting the girl's rambling explanation about death tolls during wars.

The class oohed in reply to the announcement, making Maia roll her eyes. For seniors in high school, these kids sure knew how to act childish. She waited for the teacher to nod in consent, picked up her bag, gave Kenzie an explanatory shrug of her shoulders, and walked out of the classroom.

Maia sauntered into the Main Office, where Principal Wallace seemed to be waiting for her. She ran over the week's events in her mind. She hadn't done anything in need of rewarding and she also hadn't done anything that would get her into trouble. It was only first period, after all. And school had only started a couple of weeks ago.

"Hello, Maia," Dr. Wallace said with a smile when she reached him. A smile is a good sign, Maia thought. He readjusted his glasses, which seemed to fall lower on his hooked nose every time Maia saw him. He wasn't very tall, but his military build intimidated most of the students into good behavior. Except for Maia. She knew Dr. Wallace better than most kids, since he was a good friend of her father's. She had grown accustomed to calling him Joe whenever they weren't in school, but Maia knew well enough that he would not appreciate the sentiment in front of the other students.