This is my new project. It's more of an idea that came to me today, that I just decided to play with. It's fun for me, so just let me see where this goes. If you hate it, let me know.

Based on the characters created by Cassandra Clare in The Mortal Instruments. I hope to incorporate some of the familiar faces and relationships, and maybe even mirror some of the plot - you know, minus the demons and saving the world and all that stuff. I know, it's a paradox, making this crew mundane. No offense! I just wanted to give this a whirl.

The bell to first period rang, shrill. The clanging sound shook the foundation of the brick building. The old-fashioned bell probably could have called in cattle from miles away. It was unnecessary, and meant to be jarring – left no room for excuses. Or for sleeping through to the next class.

There was an eerie stillness in the silence that followed the bell. The shining, buffed hallways were empty. All doors were closed. Bathrooms were vacant. No one traveled outside of their classes unless they enjoyed after-school detention. Passes were mandatory. Tardiness wasn't tolerated. Even on the first day of school.

It was really a cross between a high school and a stay in the juvenile justice system. There were bars on windows, cameras lined throughout the hallway, and uniformed officers waiting at the entrance to the school itself, the cafeteria, and the small quad that served as a yard, which filled with traffic between classes and during lunch. If the school wasn't on lockdown, that is.

So much for the days of Grease and Saved By the Bell. Public high school in present-day New York had taken on a whole new meaning.

After attendance was simultaneously being taken in each classroom, the lectures began. Some of the quiet was broken by the droning sound of teachers following along their outlines, the scratch of chalk writing on old plaque boards. The restless shuffling of teenage bodies in old, creaking desks. Coughing, yawning, shoes scraping across floors, intermittent (rare) bursts of laughter.

First period lasted approximately forty minutes. Then the clanging of the bell, shrill, screeching. The building shuddered. Doors slammed open and students spilled out, relieved to be released. At least for five minutes. Until having to report to second period, that is.

Only to be imprisoned for another forty minutes.