She was gone before I knew it. The lingering of a smile on her face as she thanked me, hopping off the desk and racing out the door, lighter laying as a pitiful reminder on the floor.

An alarm went off in an instant, water pouring from the ceiling. Screams, laughter, and shouts were muffled through the crowd. I was too busy in my own thoughts to notice I was already drenched. My clothes clung to my skin, making me shiver, although I was sweating previously.

What had even happened? Why would Jesse do that on her own? She knew she would get expelled if she pulled this, and now she's gone and done it. I couldn't help but feel guilty, I made her do this. For whatever reason, it was my fault.

I carefully guided myself down from the hazardous dripping desks, doing my best not to trip. But before I could reach the door it burst open, revealing binder-over-her-head Olivia and a confused Axel.

"Lukas!" She cried out, somewhat relieved. "What happened? You weren't supposed to actually light the lighter!"

"I-uh-" I stuttered, evidently unable to speak.

"Students, please exit the building in a calm and orderly fashion." The voice on the loudspeaker exclaimed, unsuccessfully I might add, over the chaos of the students. "We are currently dealing with the problem. Please, I repeat, exit the building in a calm and orderly fashion."

A strong hand gripped my arm and Olivia's, and began to pull us towards the exit.

"Explanations later, let's just get out of here," he exclaimed firmly, shaking his head to get the water out of his eyes.

I didn't argue, I didn't have a reason to. We walked quickly to the nearest exit, watching as the students who ran tripped and fell on their faces.

I clutched my arms as we finally got out, the sun a relief on our skin. But despite that relief, I still felt horrible. This guilt that was eating me up from the inside.

I couldn't even look them in the eye when I told them.

"I didn't turn on the lighter," Olivia gave her boyfriend an uneasy look, "she did."

*"*"*"*"*"*"*"*

One week had passed since the incident. The school was forced to keep the students out as they dealt with the problem. Apparently, there was a bug in the system that caused most if not all the sprinklers to go off for longer than they needed to. They had trouble shutting it down. Classrooms and most of the equipment were drenched. Thousands of dollars of computers, projectors, desks, and other school supplies were ruined. It was a mess. And I felt the weight of it all.

If you guessed this was some sort of "freebie" vacation, then you would be wrong. The school sent us consistent updates through our emails, updating us about the school's condition. Our teachers were also instructed to provide us with the work online so we wouldn't fall behind. Typical. I finished everything, of course. But I couldn't help but feel completely miserable.

At home, I was either doing school stuff, or helping my mom out with work and chores. She was super worried when I came home from school soaking wet, but once I explained everything, she seemed okay. I left out the part about me making Jesse do that though. It's not that I wanted to get out of trouble, but I didn't want to worry her more than she already was. She was constantly stressed out with her jobs, trying to make enough to keep us on her feet. I insisted on getting a part time job too, but she practically banned me from it, telling me I should just focus on my studies. I agreed, but I help her out whenever I can. Organize the house, wash the dishes, try to make her meals, it's the least I can do.

I was lying flat on my bed, holding my book above me, trying to read the words as a slight breeze flew from my window. I had finished all my homework and classwork, so I decided to reread another one of my books. My mom was at work again, so I was home alone at the moment. School would resume tomorrow, so this was my last day to relax, before I had to face the students, my guilt, and worst of all, Jesse.

Rrrrr, rrrrr

My hands slipped, and the book I was holding plummeted downwards. I grunted as page 167 slapped me in the face. After a muffled sigh, I pried the book off and grabbed my ringing phone, only to stare frozen at the screen.

Petra? Why is she calling me?

I hesitated for a moment, finger lingering over the answer button. She's been avoiding me for weeks, and just now she wanted to talk to me? I took into consideration the risk of it being a prank, but pushed it away.

My phone gave its final ring, and before it could end I pressed the green answer button, holding it to my ear.

"Hello?" I mumbled nervously into the phone. "Petra?"

"Yeah, it's me." It felt weird, hearing her voice on the phone.

"So, uh, what's up? I thought you were avoiding me."

And then an awkward silence. She let out a long breath before answering.

"Look, I didn't mean to make a big deal of this or anything, but I have something to ask you."

"Oh..." I gulped down something nervous bobbing in my throat, "what is it?"

"The sprinkler situation at school...you were part of that, right?"

I didn't answer, honestly I was just so afraid to. It shouldn't have been that hard, but I couldn't push the words out of my mouth.

"And Jesse, she was the one who did it. Am I wrong?"

I left her hanging.

"Lukas?"

"Look," it came out as a rush, I clenched my fists around the bed sheet, "it wasn't her fault okay?"

"God...damn, dammit!" I flinched as a wide string of curses emitted towards me.

"Petra?" I exclaimed, speaking gently as if I could calm her down.

"I gotta go Lukas. Thanks for the info."

"Wait, but what about-" before I could finish my sentence, the line went dead.

Thanks for your patience! Continuing this book...very slowly asdjdhdhdh

Also please alert me of typos, I've been getting lazy :P