You see, the relationship of Arden Walker and my goal of getting out without a scratch began on first period break, on a rather gloomy Tuesday.

We were classmates in AP History, so while I was about to head out of class, Arden Walker had approached me with a greeting of, "hello," and a genuine smile on his face.

Any normal person would reply with a hi, and smile back.

But Hannah Morret standing by the doorframe with a taunting look, as if she were silently questioning me, 'what are you going to do, Elise?' and perhaps also warning me, had made it impossible for me to be a normal person at that point.

So the foolish Elise simply said, "I got to go."

But no need to feel the urge to slap me right there, because I, myself, felt dismayed of what I did.

"What did he want?" Hannah immediately asked, and I simply shrugged with a carefree smile.

"Who knows."