Car park

St. Horascious Secondary School was divided into an all-boys and an all-girls campus. The facilities were located next to each other. Schooldays evolved without much interaction between the two, except for sports matches against other school teams around the area. Frankly, Lillian never really understood the reason for separating boys and girls. Her best friend Mariah always said, it would just fuel patriarchal concepts. On International Women’s Day, her English teacher once spoke to the class in love and goodwill (Her words): “You are a distraction to them as well as they are to you. Your education is the highest, most important thing you should strive for at your age, rather than getting the attention from some larrikin.” Till that day, Lillian didn’t know how to feel about that. As soon as they arrived at the car park, which was the only area shared by both houses, Lillian scanned the crowd for a familiar face. Suddenly, two hands covered her sight and she inhaled a sweet scent of cocoa. Screaming, she turned and embraced the other girl, who also fell into a fit of laughter. Logan quietly watched them jumping and spinning hand in hand. “I’ve missed you so much!” “I’ve missed you more,” they whispered to one another. As they let go, Mariah acknowledged Logan with a radiant smile. “Ready for your final year, big boy?” To Mariah’s surprise, Logan too went for a full hug. “As ready as it gets.” He winked at her as he said “Looking cute today, by the way.” Lillian couldn’t help but to roll her eyes at her brothers shameless flirting, though it was true. Mariah had always been pretty. Her big doll-like eyes sparked in a shade of liquid honey. Her skin glowed in deep dark skin. She was petite, yet one shouldn’t underestimate her physique and strength, since she had dedicated her life to ballet for the past nine years. A red ribbon accentuated her voluminous hair. She cautiously stared at him while he casually leaned on his bike. “Thanks,” she answered curtly, and once again Lillian appreciated her best friend’s ability to not fall for any of Logans’ charms. In fact, she was the only one of all her friends throughout the years who happened to not more or less fall for him. Perhaps that was the outcome of pretty much growing up with that idiot. Two guys joined the group and greeted Logan with a handshake. It took Lillian a few seconds to notice they were his teammates, though she’d never seen them outside the soccer field. “Guess what mate”, one said. “Harris just got suspended.” Both were grinning. Though amused, Logan shook his head. “What’s it this time?” ”Broke into the headmaster’s office”, the other one answered. “To do what?” “To have a quick smoke before first period, obviously.” Now none of them could hold their laughter. “You know how he is with Miss Creek. He needed to be properly stoned to cope with the material in maths and the office was a sweet and calm spot. His words, not mine,” the guy said. ” What a bonehead,” Logan chuckled. “First day of school. That’s a record, even for him.” Lillian and Mariah shared a look. “How did he get caught anyway?” Her friend chimed in. “In his state, he forgot to properly lock the door and the head caught him first handed. They handed him to his parents, still high, and called the cops.” Lillian thought it to be a series of very unfortunate events, to say the least. Logan locked his bike and turned to his friends. “Have you seen Alistaire yet?”