Author's Note: Okay so this chapter technically wasn't supposed to exist but then I started watching some clips from the 100, specifically from season three. Which then got me inspired to write this chapter. I'm actually surprised how quickly I finished it, but hey! I'm glad I wrote it because it will really help to set up things once everyone gets to Earth.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think! :)

Chapter Two: Life Lessons

3 YEARS AND 359 DAYS LATER

Fifty-five. Fifty-four. Fifty-three. Fifty-two. Fifty-one...

The only sound that came from the suffocating cell was Kaya's slow deep breaths. She was growing irritated with her breathing but she knew silence would only make things worse.

Thirty. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight. Twenty-seven...

Kaya laid down on the hard floor, staring at her small window as she tried to regain her bearings. She wished Earth was out so she could stare at something other than the dark space and millions of stars.

Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve. Eleven. Ten...

She could feel her back aching for how long she had been there. She stretched her arms, her first movement from the past hour. She felt a tingling sensation run through them and kept them up until she got tired.

Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One...

"And zero," she breathed out and slowly pushed herself up. She groaned as she felt her back crack. She raised her legs and rested her arms on them. She really should have had her panic attack on her slightly less hard bed.

"I'm so stupid. Come on, get your ass up," Kaya told herself and forced herself to stand up. She felt her bones groan in protest but she ignored them. She knew from experience, her back was going to kill her the next few days if she didn't move.

She felt her pulse and was relieved that her heart wasn't racing. It seemed steadier than an hour ago and that was all that mattered. Her eyes lingered on the red angry scratches on her forearm that had started it all.

"Steady hands, steady mind," Kaya muttered, recalling what she was often told growing up. She often had a hard time believing it but now it seemed that there was some truth to those words. She slowly walked to her bed and sat down.

She had always dreaded those moments where the cell was too small, there wasn't enough air, her entire body burned and there was nothing she could do, but lay down on the hard ground and stare at her small window that served as her escape. Those moments were terrible, but were rare and would only last a short while.

It was the moment afterward where she truly hated it. There was nothing she could do to escape that emptiness inside of her. She could just stare at her empty wall and hoped that it would soon become replaced by boredness.

Kaya looked over her pillow and raised it, revealing a worn, almost falling apart book. At the sight of it, she sighed in annoyance. While she was getting tired of hearing about Elizabeth Bennet and her prejudice against Mr. Darcy, it still was the most treasured object she owned. She remembered Thomas subtly slipping it under her bed after one check-up and how it felt opening the book for the first time.

"I can't imagine how lonely it gets being stuck with yourself," he had explained the next time he visited. "At least now you're stuck with them."

Placing the book on her lap, she opened it and pulled out her mother's necklace, which she had used as a bookmark. She put the book to the side and admired the necklace. She didn't wear it often, afraid that something might happen to it. It was likely that would never happen since she rarely left her cell, but she couldn't shake off that irrational fear. Staring at it a few seconds longer, almost like she was using the necklace to regain some of her courage, she then made the choice to wear it.

She flinched at the cold metal touching her but she welcomed it. The last time she had worn the necklace had been almost a year ago, after a particularly difficult day that included her going to the Med Bay, Thomas frantically hovering over her, and Dr. Griffin wrapping her arm with white gauze. Her hand went to her right arm, feeling the scar that had formed.

"What am I going to do?" she asked in the empty cell. From the sound coming from outside her cell, she could tell it still wasn't lunchtime. She had a few hours to waste before someone would come in to disturb her.

Glancing at the book, she picked it up and opened it at a random page. She had read the book so many times, she knew what was going on when she read the first sentence.

"I wonder what the letter might say, Elizabeth?" she muttered mockingly. It felt like she had read for only a few minutes when she heard the familiar noise of something opening the cell door. She glanced down at the page number and realized she had not been wrong.

An hour could not have passed since she started reading. Not having time to wonder if she had truly lost track of time, she quickly hid the book and sat down on the bed, trying to act as nonchalant as she could. She instantly recognized one of the guards that entered the cell. From where he stood, he motioned her to stand up.

"Prisoner 216, get up and follow me."

Kaya felt like it was too early for her to go take a shower, but she knew from experience that many of the guards didn't take too kindly to being questioned. So, she did as she was told. She reluctantly followed him out of the cell. She glanced around and noticed that she wasn't the only person being escorted out.

She didn't think of it too much until she noticed the guard take a left turn instead of a right turn. She glanced over her shoulder and saw another guard following them.

Oh no, did I count wrong? Is it actually three hundred and sixty-four days?

She was working the courage to ask the guard where they were going when he came to a halt. She did the same and felt her mouth drop a little when she saw a bunch of delinquents ahead of her. They were all in a file line and from the looks of their faces, were as confused as she was.

"Go join them and stay there unless ordered," he told her. She stayed rooted to her spot, slowly processing what was happening. The guard became impatient and grabbed her arm. "Prisoner 216, do as you're told."

"Don't touch me," she said automatically.

"Come on, that won't be necessary," she heard someone say behind her and the guard let her go. She saw that it was officer Evans.

"Get in line, Campbell," he ordered. At his warning look, Kaya reluctantly went to stand behind one of the delinquents.

She looked over to Evans and could see him talking to the guard. Her eyes wandered around the hall, hoping that she would see Thomas but there was no sign of him. She could hear the delinquents quietly chattering among themselves, voicing their thoughts.

"I heard there is a quarantine happening and that is why they are taking us out," she overheard one of them say.

"Don't be stupid. They don't care about us."

"Are we all having our reviews at the same time?"

"Not me, I have two more years left."

"I bet you some dumbass hacked into the system and..."

Kaya wished they would shut up. Their constant chatter was making her anxious. A guard ordered them to move up and as they slowly shuffled forward, she felt someone bump into her from behind. She ignored them until she felt their body pressed against her.

"Um, excuse me," she started saying, turning her head and felt her mouth become dry when she recognized the person.

"Wow, Campbell, you really grew from the ugly duckling phase," John Murphy said in a taunting voice. He loomed over her. "You're almost passable."

Kaya hadn't even considered that she might run into someone she knew in this situation, and now that she had, she couldn't believe it was Murphy.

"Hey!" one of the guards shouted at them. "Keep walking."

She felt Murphy push her, forcing her to keep walking.

"Out of everybody I had to run into you, it had to be you," he continued talking. She could feel his breath at the back of her neck. "I don't know if I should consider myself lucky or unlucky."

"I would say unlucky," she said under her breath. While she didn't hate Murphy, she hated how he would always pick on her for no apparent reason.

"Well, I think I'm lucky you're here," he said, one of his hands going to rest on her waist. "Not so tough without your guard dog, are you?"

"Don't touch me."

"I heard about what happened to him. And in front he sounds of the crime, he's definitely getting floated," he laughed.

The sound of him laughing at the idea of someone she loved dying made her want to slap him. She was glad the guards had ordered everyone to start walking at that moment. She made sure to put a safe distance between them. The guards took them to a room.

Kaya didn't expect to see one of the council members, Kane standing by the door. He didn't say anything as they entered the room. Inside, there was a table in the back with materials and all around the room were rows of chairs.

The delinquents glanced at each other, even more, confused than before. Once everyone was in, Kane got out of the room, taking one of the guards with him, and locked the door behind him. Kaya did a mental headcount and grimaced at the results.

Twenty delinquents in one room with two guards? She already knew this was going to be a disaster.

"Everyone take a seat," one of the guards ordered. Reluctantly, half of them took a seat while the rest loitered around the room, not caring about the order.

"Can you leave me alone?"

"Aw, come on, don't you want to keep company?"

Kaya looked over to see that Murphy had turned his attention to an unsuspecting girl. She looked like she was trying to ignore him but that only seemed to encourage him more.

"Leave me alone," she repeated, sounding more frustrated.

Kaya felt terrible how a part of her was relieved Murphy had left her alone. She planned on ignoring it and walked away, but then she heard Murphy say something that stopped her.

"Don't be a bitch."

Kaya hated that word. She hated being called it, hated it in any context. She preferred to ignore problems and hoped for them to go away, but she found herself not doing that. She liked to blame it on still being upset towards Murphy's previous floating comment.

"You have to harass every person you talk to?" she asked tiredly, going towards them.

"Were we talking to you, Campbell?" Murphy asked sarcastically and turned back to the girl, but Kaya swiftly put herself in between them, blocking the girl from him.

"I don't think anyone wants to talk to you," she told him.

"Campbell, why don't you do everyone a favor and just finally off yourself? We all know that's what's going to happen to you."

She had intended to make him stop talking and then leave but she kept surprising herself that day. Without much thought of the consequences, she stepped forward and kicked his shin.

"Ah, shit, you bitch," Murphy hissed, stumbling back and crashing against one of the delinquents that were standing.

"Hey! What's going on?" a guard barked at them, heading their way. She took Murphy's distraction as her chance to escape.

"Come on," Kaya said, turning to the girl. "There's two seats over here."

She didn't wait for the girl and made her way to the front of the room. She knew Murphy would never follow them to the front. She had just sat down when the girl timidly stood in front of her. Kaya ignored her, her attention focused on her palms. She could see harsh nail marks on them, but there was no blood. Kaya still ignored her when she felt the girl sat down.

"Hey, thank you," the girl said after a few moments of awkward silence.

"It's just a seat," Kaya shrugged.

"No, I meant, about him," she explained, nervously playing with the edges of her long hair. "You didn't have to. So, um, thank you, that was so nice of you."

Kaya glanced over her and saw the girl give her a grateful smile.

"Don't worry about it. It's Murphy."

"Right..." The girl nodded slowly. "He's a... asshole. He probably was arrested for being an asshole."

"No, I think he was arrested for arson," Kaya said seriously.

"No, I meant, like a joke, since you know he's a, you know an asshole."

"Right."

Kaya hoped the girl would drop the conversation but she continued talking.

"So, um, what were you arrested for?"

"Murder," Kaya said, giving her a dry smile.

"Oh," faltered the girl and fell silent. Kaya was glad that had worked, she wasn't in the mood for talking.

"Okay, okay."

Kaya turned to see Thomas walking into the room with an authority that made everyone in the turn give their attention to him. When he got to the front of the classroom, he clapped his hands.

"Alright, everyone who's standing, sit your ass down. And those who are talking, shut up."

The delinquents grumbled but almost everyone did as they were told. Only Murphy stayed standing, looking smug with himself.

"Come on, John, don't be an ass," Thomas warned. "Or else I'm going to let everyone know that you cried like a baby when you were arrested."

Everyone laughed.

"What the fuck, Thomas?" Murphy spluttered. "No, I didn't."

"It's your word against mine. Now sit down before I make the story worse."

Murphy gave him a challenging look

"Come on, John. You don't want to test me," Thomas said in a pleasant tone, but the threat was clear. Murphy reluctantly sat down.

"Thank you, John," he said and then addressed the entire room. "Listen up, everyone. As you've noticed, we're doing something new. You've been given a rare opportunity that not a lot of your previous predecessors had."

"Why are we here?" someone asked from the back.

"I was getting there, Jasper," Thomas said patiently, not bothered that he was interrupted. "But thank you for opening the gateway for what I was going to say.

He waited a moment to make sure he had everyone's attention. When he was satisfied, he spoke up.

"Alright, I want to make it clear because you are considered 'criminals,' does not mean misbehavior will be tolerated. Whether you like it or not, you will act like civilized human beings. That means, when someone is speaking you don't interrupt them."

"Sorry," muttered the boy, making them laugh.

"And when you get to this room, you will sit down properly in the chair, unlike Ezra."

Everyone's head turned to one of the boys that had one of his feet resting on the chair. He quickly fixed his posture. Thomas continued as if he hadn't called out one of them.

"And when you are spoken to, you will listen and not fall asleep like Nathan."

Someone had to slap the back of the head of the boy to get him to wake up and pay attention to what was going on.

"And when you are told to get in line, you will do it the first time you're asked, do you understand, Kaya?"

She felt like she was set on fire when everybody's eyes were on her. She couldn't meet Thomas' gaze, keeping her eyes glued to her lap. It was easy to forget that he was one of the people that enforced the rules when he made everyone feel safe and human.

So, it was strange to see Thomas' usually joyful face be severe and calculating.

"No fighting, no shouting, no breaking any rules. Cause if you do, you're going to deal with something worse than being floated. Any guesses what it can be?"

"Angry you?" someone muttered, but since the room was silent it was heard clearly. Someone attempted to hide a laugh with a cough.

"Correct," Thomas smiled, but it was nowhere near his friendly smiles. "You don't want me angry. It's not fun, so let's avoid it, okay?"

Everyone stared at him with silent anticipation.

"So, everyone understands?" Thomas asked coolly. He nodded in satisfaction when everyone in the room nodded. "Good, then I expect nothing but your best behavior."

He then motioned someone at the back of the room. An unknown man joined him in the front. He wasn't a guard from his clothes, so that left the delinquents looking at each other questioningly.

"The floors are all yours, Pike," Thomas told him. "I've got them all warmed up for you."

"Thank you, Hunter."

"I'll be outside if you need me," Thomas said and made his way out of the room.

"Welcome to Earth Skills," he spoke up when Thomas was out of the room. "My name is Pike and I am going to teach you today some important skills, such as building a fire, being able to tell apart poisonous plants from edible food, or how to find shelter. One day, these skills can save your life."

Every delinquent stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Oh, yeah, I'm definitely going to need to know how to start a fire in my cell," one of them said sarcastically, making some of them laugh.

"Great, just what we needed," Kaya sighed. "Teach a bunch of criminals to burn things."

"This is going to be a disaster," the girl said under her breath.

"Yeah," Kaya nodded in agreement.

They had been half right. The delinquents had taken Thomas' warning to heart, but that didn't mean they were going to pay attention to the lessons they were given by Pike. Most of the delinquents found this a waste of time, not seeing the point of these lessons when they were. Half of them slept while the other just zoned out.

Kaya didn't blame them. The lessons were two hours long and filled with a lot of information. Pike went over many basic skills that would have been important if they lived on Earth, but since they lived on the stupid Ark and happen to be a group of delinquents that were going to be floated the day they turned eighteen, those skills were utterly useless.

Kaya was among the few that actually paid attention. It was the most fascinating thing that had happened to her since some delinquent accidentally broke an alarm, forcing the guards to evacuate part of them from the Skybox. Pike was nice enough to take a small five-minute break after they had finished a section. It reminded her of being back in school, but worse since guards were standing by the door to make sure no one then tried to make a run for it.

At one point, Pike had unfortunately picked Kaya during one of his experiments. He forced her to stand in front of the entire class and try to create fire just like he had. She had been relieved that she was able to recreate the fire. She couldn't imagine the harassment she would have received if she had failed.

"I have a headache," Octavia groaned next to her. During their first break, she had introduced herself and Kaya had reluctantly done the same. "This is so much information."

"I think this is a waste of time since..."

"Right?" Octavia interrupted her. "We're never going to go to Earth and let's be honest half of us are just going to be floated."

Kaya stared at her. She was going to say it was pointless because some of this they had learned when they were younger in school. She didn't get a chance since Octavia quickly changed the subject, already something new catching her attention.

"Everyone seems to know each other," she noted, sounding wistful. Kaya glanced around and saw a bunch of the delinquents joking around with each other.

"Well, you've seen the classrooms," she quietly explained. "They're not that big, so unfortunately you get to meet everyone."

Kaya knew about more than half of the people in the room, which honestly was a little depressing if she really thought about it. Kaya glanced over at Octavia and realized she had never seen her before.

"What station are you from?"

"Um, Factory."

"Hmm," Kaya hummed in acknowledgment, not missing how Octavia tensed up at the question. She didn't bring it up and just nodded in understanding. "I've never been in that station."

"So... what about you?" Octavia asked her.

"Mecha."

Octavia perked up and started asking her a question about what it was like to live there when Pike interrupted them.

"Okay, I just found out that we're done for today. I will see you tomorrow and I hope that more of you guys pay attention," he said, pointedly looking at Murphy.

That moment, the doors opened and some of the guards entered. Thomas was one of them and while the other herded the delinquents outside the room, he headed towards Pike. Catching Kaya's eyes, he gave her a reassuring nod. She smiled slightly.

"He's nice," Octavia said, noticing the exchange. "He always asks how I'm doing when he comes to check-in."

"That seems like him," Kaya muttered and then noticed that the room was almost empty. "We have to go or else we're going to get in trouble."

"Want to sit next to each other tomorrow?" Octavia asked hopefully as they made their way out of the room.

"If there are any seats available."

"I'll save you one," she promised her and unexpectedly grabbed her arm. "So, see you tomorrow?"

Kaya glanced down at Octavia's hand and then at her. She tersely nodded, hoping that would make her let her go. Octavia didn't notice Kaya's tense state and smiled at her widely.

"Come on let's go," Kaya urged her, and subtly shook her off. They joined their line and waited patiently for the guards to instruct them next.

Kaya had forgotten what a routine felt like. She was used to having nothing to look forward to, that she was having a hard time getting used to the guards showing up to her cell and escorting her to those lessons.

Every day, they would come at the same time and bring the same group of delinquents to the same room. And every time, Kaya would sit near the front, with Octavia taking a seat to her left. And during every break, Murphy would try to harass her when he saw her and Octavia became more confident as she spoke to her. And every day, Kaya was filled with that same anxiety that made her want to scratch her skin until she bled.

"They're running late," Kaya noted when Pike didn't show up as soon as they arrived for their fifth lesson.

"I don't care," Octavia said cheerfully. "It gives us more time outside of our cells. It's so boring being in your cell. I don't know how you did it for the past four years."

"Patience, lots and lots of patience," Kaya muttered distractedly and refrained from adding that was something Octavia should learn. "But is it worth being out? We get more time with them."

Kaya nodded in the direction of Murphy and his friends.

"Ugh, right," Octavia groaned dramatically and then slapped Kaya's thighs. "Come on, let's play a game."

"A game?" Kaya asked skeptically.

"Yeah, a game. I'm bored. You can pick it if you want."

"I haven't played one since I was ten," Kaya remembered. She had lost count of how many times she had been excluded from games because the kids found her to meek. "Honestly, I never really played games with other kids."

"Me neither."

"Really?" Kaya said skeptically.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, but I always figured you would have been front and center in those games."

"Really? You think I would have?" Octavia asked, looking pleased.

"I, mean that's what I assume. Were you not?" Kaya asked slowly, a little confused.

"Oh, yeah, I mean, not really. I didn't really play because, uh, I was shy?"

Kaya just stared at her but chose not to question her. She had come to notice that Octavia often tended to struggle when the conversation took a certain turn. Kaya couldn't pinpoint what it was, but it felt like Octavia had a hard time grasping basic knowledge that the others around them already knew. Like one time, Octavia seemed clueless about how the quarantine procedures worked even though everyone was taught about it before they were five.

"Let's play... thumb war?" Kaya suggested, which relieved Octavia.

"Oh, I know this game," she said excitedly. "I used to play it with my br—uh, friend."

"Your friend? As in boyfriend?" Kaya raised an eyebrow. This was the first time Octavia brought up someone from her past.

"Ew, no. Not like that," Octavia denied, looking disgusted at the idea of it, which further amused Kaya. "No, no, no."

"Okay, not your boyfriend. Sorry."

"No, no. He's my friend," she tried to explain. "I would play games with him all the time."

"I thought you said you didn't have any friends."

"Well, no, I didn't. Um, he was more like a babysitter. He played a lot of games with me. He was the only friend I had for a long time," Octavia explained, sounding pained.

"You miss him." Kaya didn't even have to ask to know that it was true.

"Yeah, I do. I would do anything to be able to see him again," Octavia admitted.

Kaya felt Octavia's pain at that moment. She understood what it was to not be able to see that one person who made everything better, how they had been there for you at your lowest moment. How she would give anything to see them one last time, even if it was for one second.

"What's his name?" Kaya found herself asking.

Octavia hesitated before answering, "Bellamy."

Even the way said his name, Kaya could feel her despair.

"Bellamy," Kaya said softly, taking in the strange name. "I've never heard that name before. It's a nice one."

"Yeah," Octavia agreed and then began pestering her to start the thumb war. Kaya took that as a cue that Octavia didn't want to continue the conversation and she went along with it. At Kaya's countdown, they began playing. No matter how much Octavia cheated, Kaya won three out of the five rounds.

"Can we just get out of here, seriously?" Murphy's voice was heard complaining.

"You got better things to do, Murphy?" one of the girls questioned him.

"Is that an offer, McIntyre?"

"You're an epic dick, Murphy," she scoffed.

Octavia and Kaya shared a look.

"What about you, Campbell?" Murphy turned to Kaya. "Want to get busy?"

Octavia snorted.

"You must be high on the plants that Jasper smokes if you think she'll give you any of her time."

"And who are you, again?" he sneered, looking over Octavia.

"Come on," Kaya told her, giving Murphy a warning look. "He's not worth wasting our air."

Pike then chose that moment to appear.

"Everybody, take your seats," he ordered and those who were standing immediately did as they were told. "Now! I'm sure all of you will be glad to know that we are officially done talking about Earth Skills."

"Great, in that case—" Murphy stood up and headed to the door.

"Sit down!" he ordered harshly. Murphy didn't sit down, but he stopped walking and turned to face him. Pike went over him. "How would you feel about assisting me with today's lesson, Mr. Murphy?"

"Sign me up," Murphy said dryly.

To everyone's surprise, Pike slapped him right across the face. Some of the delinquents gasped in surprise.

"What the hell was that?" Murphy started demanding but was slapped again by Pike. Murphy stared at him for a moment before raising his hand in surrender. He went back to his seat.

"I know all about you, John Murphy," Pike said, standing in front of Murphy.

"Oh, you do, huh?"

"Yeah, I do. Mother drank herself to death after your father was floated for stealing medicine to save you. That's a tough row to hoe, I'll give you that. So what does he do with the second chance his father gave his life to buy for him?" Pike asked everyone in the room. "Wasted it. Setting the arresting officer's quarters on fire. Say something."

Murphy kept his mouth shut, just stared at him. Pike then hit him again.

"Do something!" Pike shouted at him.

The only thing Murphy did was spit on Pike's feet, and wipe his mouth.

"You know, I get it," Murphy shrugged. "You trying to teach us to fight back?"

"Wrong," Pike said darkly.

Kaya should have seen what happened next, all signs were pointing to the breaking point.

Pike proceeded to grab Murphy by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. Everyone stood up, watching in horror as Pike beat the shit out of Murphy. Kaya wasn't a fan of Murphy, but she was appalled at the scene in front of her.

"Stop it!" Octavia screamed and turned to Kaya. "Somebody do something!"

Kaya couldn't hear the shouting. The entire room had suddenly fallen silent as the rush of her blood screamed. She flinched as she watched one of the boys run to get Pike off Murphy and was easily shoved off. She wished she was back in her cell, alone and without all this chaos.

Kaya snapped out of her daze when she felt a chair fly in her direction. She gasped and immediately grabbed Octavia's hand. She led her to a corner far away from the commotion.

"We have to do something," Octavia whispered in horror as they watched Pike throw Murphy on the ground. Some of the delinquents tried to push him away from Murphy, but he was stronger than them.

"No," Kaya disagreed. "We can't do anything. He's insane, he's going to kill him."

"Who will save you?" Pike kept shouting as he continued his assault. At this point, almost everyone was trying to get Pike off Murphy. "Don't you see? This is life or death!"

To everyone's relief, one of the delinquents managed to get Pike off Murphy by hitting him on the back of the head with a metal pipe. It was then Kane and one of the guards burst into the room. Kane looked around the room, taking note of the mess, the bewildered delinquents, and finally an injured Pike.

"Hey! Charles, you alright?" Kane asked, going towards Pike. Once he was sure he wasn't on the verge of death, Kane then turned to the rest of the room. "Are you out of your minds? What the hell is this?"

Everyone looked at him in disbelief. If only Kane knew that it was the teacher that had caused the commotion.

"This is graduation," Pike spoke up, sounding out of breath, and looked around the room. "Congratulations. Class dismissed."

Pike walked away without another word. From the corner of her eye, Kaya saw Murphy stumble to the corner where Octavia and she were standing. Glancing at each other, the girls went towards him and tried to help him get up.

"Don't touch me," he snarled, shoving Octavia away from him. She stumbled but Kaya was there to catch her. Steading her, Kaya rounded Murphy and shoved him against the wall.

"Don't touch her," Kaya hissed. "She's trying to help you even when you don't deserve it."

Murphy straightened up and glared at them.

"What are you going to do about it, Campbell?" he said, jabbing her shoulder. She stared at him, her frustration growing. Murphy scoffed. "Nothing. You're weak, pathetic. You can't do shit."

"That's funny coming from someone who just got the shit beaten out of today," Kaya reminded him, taking a step closer to him. "I may not be strong, but at least I'm not as weak as your pathetic mother."

Murphy's face twisted into something dark and before Kaya could react, she felt pain radiating on her nose. He had punched her on the nose and then grabbed her by the neck.

"What the fuck?" Octavia shouted and tried shoving him away from Kaya, who turned her head to sink her teeth on his hand. Murphy shouted in pain but didn't loosen his grip on her throat.

"Hey, hey. That's enough," Thomas shouted, pulling Murphy away from her. Kaya gasped for breath and then spat when she tasted blood on her mouth. Thomas looked at the two of them in disbelief. "What the hell is wrong with you two?"

"Wow, look at that," Murphy laughed, examining his bloodied hand. "You finally grew a spine after eighteen years. You should have done that when your dad beat the shit of you."

Kaya tried to hit him back but Thomas grabbed her by the waist, holding her back. She still tried to kick him from where she was but wasn't able to reach him.

"I have no idea what happened today, but this is unacceptable."

"I was just defending myself," Murphy said sarcastically, raising his hands as if he was innocent. "Wasn't that the point of today's lesson? Live or die?"

"Shut up, Murphy," Kaya said tiredly, tilting her head down as she tried to not choke on the blood that was coming from her nose. She could see red staining her hands. "None of this would have happened if you kept your mouth shut."

"My fault?" Murphy snapped and took a step close to her. "Pike is the one who lost his mind and started beating the shit out of me."

"You deserved it."

"Both of you shut up," Thomas shouted, forcing the two of them to stop talking. "Murphy, go to Carter and make him take you to the Med Bay."

"No thank you," Murphy said, wiping his bloody mouth carelessly. He looked over at Kaya and smirked. "You should check out your nose, that looks like it hurts."

Thomas tightened his grip on her anticipating her next move.

"If I ever see you again, I'm going to break your nose," Kaya warned him, taking one last swipe at him.

"Oh, I look forward to it, Campbell," Murphy said mockingly.

"John, just go," Thomas sighed. With one last glance at Kaya, Murphy walked away to join the rest of the delinquents. Thomas turned to look at her. "If you try to attack him, I will restrain you, do you understand?" When Kaya didn't say anything, she felt him dig his nails into her stomach. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," she said shortly and when his grip on her loosened, she pushed Thomas away from her.

"I think you should..."

"No," Kaya immediately shot him down. "It's a bloody nose, I'll survive."

"Kaya," Thomas said gently. "I think it's broken."

She threw him a disgruntled look before she did the same as Murphy and joined the rest of the delinquents, who were being forced to organize the mess that was made. One of the guards immediately ordered her to start picking up the chairs.

The adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins when she faced Murphy had quickly disappeared as it appeared. She felt exhausted and just wanted to go back to her uncomfortable bed. She winced when she exhaled and tentatively touched her nose. She regretted acting rashly on rejecting Thomas' offer to go to the Med Bay.

"Are you alright?" Octavia asked her, joining her side, and started picking up one of the chairs.

"Yes," Kaya said shortly. She glanced over at her and looked at her over. "Are you alright?"

Octavia seemed surprised at the question but nodded. Kaya pressed her lips in a thin line and resumed her task.

"What a way to end these shitty lessons," Octavia commented, trying to lighten the situation.

"And I only made it worse," Kaya said glumly, one of her hands going to her tender nose. She shouldn't have attacked Murphy. She acted on impulse and that was never a good thing.

You're so stupid, so stupid.

"No, you didn't. Murphy did it," Octavia whispered harshly, looking over her shoulder. "You helped him and then defended me."

Kaya stared at her and felt a sudden wave of affection for the stranger girl she had just met. She may not know what she was arrested for, or why she had poor social skills, but Kaya knew if they had met in other circumstances, they could have been good friends.

"Thank you," she said quietly and without another word, they finished organizing the chairs. It didn't take long to get the room back to its original state. The guards started ordering everyone to get in a file line and made them wait down the hall. Kaya stood in front of Octavia and could hear her grumbling about the guard's harsh attitude towards them. One by one the delinquents were being escorted to their cells. There were three of them in front of Kaya before it was her turn.

"So, that's it?" Octavia asked no one in particular. "We're done with these lessons and now we go back to our boring days inside a cell?"

"That will be you," Kaya muttered. "I have like two more days before I have my review."

"You're turning eighteen?" Octavia asked, sounding dismayed.

"Yep," Kaya nodded and touched her necklace, the bitter reminder of the day everything went very wrong for her.

"Well, um, good luck. I hope it goes well for you."

"I doubt it. I'm definitely getting floated after this shitshow," Kaya said in dismay and took another step forward as there was one less person in front of her.

"I mean that depends on what you were arrested for," Octavia reminded her. "What really did you do to get arrested?"

"Assault," Kaya said dryly and before Octavia could object, she glanced over her shoulder and gave her a small smile. "It was nice meeting you, Octavia."

"Really?" Octavia asked, looking happy to hear that. "It was nice meeting you too. You're really nice. I... I wish we could've been friends."

Kaya found herself taken back hearing that, and before she knew it, said, "Well, who says we're not?"

Octavia's smile was probably the best thing that happened to her that day.

When Kaya turned back, she saw there was no one standing in front of her. She tensed when one of the guards grabbed her arm and started steering her. Her eyes were trained on the floor the entire walk. She could hear the clamoring once they reached the SkyBox. The guard threw her inside carelessly to her cell but she didn't care. Never had she been happy to be in her dull cell.

"Lunch will be delayed by an hour," the guard informed her. She didn't bother responding and just headed to her bed. She heard the cell door close behind her, finally giving her the solitude she had been craving during the terrifying rampage she had witnessed.

Sitting down on her bed, she took off her shoes and jacket, carelessly throwing them to the ground. She touched her face and she could feel some dried blood. She tried to wipe it off but no matter how hard she rubbed, it wouldn't come off.

Why am I so stupid?

Letting out a frustrated shout, she laid her head on her hands, trying to regain her composure.

One hundred. Ninety-nine. Ninety-eight. Ninety-seven...

She tried to focus on her breathing, but all she could feel was her nose throbbing and the dried blood sticking to her face and a headache forming.

Sixty-four. Sixty-three. Sixty-two. Sixty-one...

She couldn't even close her eyes. Every time she did all she could see was Murphy being beaten by Pike. How helpless he had been, even when he had half of the room trying to help him.

Forty. Thirty-nine. Thirty-eight. Thirty-seven...

Maybe that was why she tried to help Murphy. She had been in his exact shoes at one point. Except that no one ever tried to help, she had been on her own.

Twenty-five. Twenty-four. Twenty-three. Twenty-two...

It was funny how she had spent the majority of her life being on her own, and still had not become used to the loneliness that came from solitude.

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Four. Five...

"Three. Two. One. And zero," she breathed and slowly raised her head. Her entire body felt numb, which was exactly what she was hoping for.

Deciding she had enough of that day, she laid down on her, wrapping herself on her blanket. She closed her eyes and tried focusing on the millions of stars that surrounded them. She counted them until she could no longer think.

*Rewritten: January 14, 2020*