Sacrifice

Chapter Seventeen

hello loves! excuse the author's note. as a thank you for 1K reads on Sacrifice, this will be a special chapter requested by one of you guys. it's about the time between K-12 and Sacrifice. after this chapter, the current part of the story will continue.

love u readers, enjoy <3

The night K-12 was destroyed, the six close friends- a few who were more than friends- let out a few cheers for Crybaby and Ben's bravery, then decided they needed to celebrate being free. So, they all went to Blue Moon Plaza, as it had always been the best place to go for just about any occasion. They shared a pleasant dinner which they all pitched in to pay for. Throughout that dinner, Crybaby and Ben would giggle and glance, subtly flirting every now and then. Angelita had been keeping her jealousy of their chemistry a secret. And after that, they walked each other home.

Crybaby turned her key into her front door and opened it, then looked around. Her mother wasn't in sight. Surprisingly, there wasn't a wine bottle in sight either. She walked through the hallway and peeked inside the open door of her mother's bedroom. The light was off, but she could see her mother asleep in bed. Maybe she wasn't too drunk tonight. Maybe she wasn't drunk at all. "It's temporary," Crybaby whispered to herself as she headed to her room. She put herself to sleep that night with a smile on her face in satisfaction of what she'd accomplished. In the morning, around 9:30, Crybaby walked out of her room and found her mother already awake in the kitchen. It sure was a lucky time for her. "Morning, mom," she grinned. Her mother looked at her, baffled. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?" she asked.

"Oh... The school is gone."

"Gone?"

"Yep. It was destroyed last night," Crybaby said nonchalantly.

"Oh my. They'll rebuild a school sometime soon," she sighed. Crybaby smiled. Her mother continued, "But you still have to go to school somewhere until then."

Crybaby lost her smile, then shrugged with the thought, 'No school could be as bad as K-12.' She nodded, "Okay. Where am I supposed to go?"

"To whatever school is closest. We'll look into it later," her mother said. "Alright," Crybaby agreed.

-

The night beforehand, Angelita got home at about eleven o'clock; her parents were on the couch bickering. They both stopped as she walked in. "Oh, angel!" Her mother exclaimed, "We were worried sick, where have you been? Look at the time!"

"Don't worry, everything's fine. It was prom," Angelita assured them with a smile.

"But you said you would be home before ten," Angelita's father stated.

"Yeah..." Angelita winced, "K-12 was destroyed. So, me and my friends stayed with each other for a little while."

"Destroyed? What happened?" her father asked.

"It's complicated. Very complicated."

Her mother sighed, "You could've called us on a payphone to let us know you were safe."

"I'm sorry, mom. It was just a crazy night," Angelita said.

"Well, looks like we'll be finding a different school for you to go to until they replace K-12," her father sighed, "But you should get to bed. It sounds like you've had a tiring night."

"Okay, goodnight, love you guys," Angelita smiled at her parents and started heading to her room.

"Night, Lita."

-

Ben arrived at his house that night to find his father pacing around with his hand on his forehead. "Son! Do you have any idea what time it is?" he confronted Ben as soon as he crossed the door.

"I know, I know. It's late. The prom didn't end well, and K-12 is gone. I stayed out with my friends a little while after it all happened," Ben explained.

"What are you talking about? How is K-12 gone?"

"You wouldn't get it unless you were there... but a lot happened."

Ben's father just slowly nodded and decided not to question it any longer. "Ben, you can't just stay out for so long without letting me know you're alright somehow. You know we lost mom, and I'm scared of losing you too. Alright?" he explained, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder.

Ben sighed, "Yeah, I know, dad. I'm sorry."

His father playfully rubbed his hair, "It's alright. Get to bed, kid. We'll figure out what's going to happen tomorrow."

"Okay. Love you, dad," Ben said as he went to his room.

-

Everyone's parents had similar reactions that night. Soon the kids were all enrolled in the schools closest to them until their local school was ready. Crybaby attended a school that was a bit farther away for the next school year. The school was called 'Winterville School for Girls', and clearly was an all-girl school. Crybaby had no problem with it; she wasn't looking to get involved with any other boys anyway.

Angelita and Celeste went to the same school, as they lived closer to each other. This school was called 'Palm Valley High'. Kelly also went to Palm Valley. She was still the mean girl she was before; she always would be. But not to Angelita and Celeste. If they passed one another, she would just glare and keep her distance. She didn't want to push it with them after they took down an entire school.

Ben went to a school called 'Summerfield High School'. It was a bit farther from him as well, and it wasn't the best school out there. Ben had walked into restrooms to find promiscuous teenagers locked in a stall, or groups of kids smoking and trading drugs. There were fights quite often, and Ben had to keep his distance. But he would rather have been there than still trapped in K-12.

Fleur and Magnolia went to the same school, called 'Oak Grove High'. It was a middle-upper class, snobby and rushed environment. It was hard for the two to find people they could get along with, but they were fine as long as had each other and the friend group they made in K-12.

It took the next school year and the following summer for a new local school to be put in the place of K-12. The kids who used to go to K-12 transferred from the substitute schools they were in and into the local one for the next year of high school and so on.

And that's when Sacrifice begins.