1

Mary sucks down her coffee with two sugars and two creams, knowing good and well it won’t keep her awake. She scrubs her teeth with toothpaste and her face with a warm washcloth before pulling on her hoodie and sweats, eager to get the day over with so she can crawl back into bed.

Next, she unlocks her phone to have her morning FaceTime with her father. She knows its excessive, but she calls him twice a day. He’s an army veteran who’s been getting forgetful and drinking more since his divorce, and she can’t help but worry about him.Her phone makes a whoosh sound as his face fills the screen. She is relieved when he picks up. “Hi, sweetie!”

“Hey, Dad. I have my book report due today.”

“On what book?”

“To Kill a Mockingbird.”

“That was a movie too, right?”

“I think so? The book is more famous than the movie. It’s a coming of age novel.”

“I never read in school, so I wouldn’t know. How is school for you?”

“It’s good. The disability services are really good here.”

“To be honest with you, Mary, I don’t think you need to be there. You’re a smart kid. I know you have the tiredness stuff and the falling, but I worry. Are there kids with anger issues there?”

Mary immediately visualizes Josh, swearing up a storm and hissing threats at her classmates. He is definitely something to be concerned about, since the worst he ever gets for a consequence is a slap on the wrist and a trip to the principal.

“..... No.” 

Her dad squints at her suspiciously. “You sure?”

A puppy barks off camera. She thought at one point him getting a dog was a good idea, but now she questions whether he can take care of it without her.

“I haven’t taken the baby out yet. Can I call you back?”

Mary sighs. Every other day he’s busy with something and asks this, despite her calling him on the dot at the same time every day at 7:30. He always takes a long time with the dog, so she shakes her head no. “I’ll call you at night. I have class soon.”

“Oh, okay.” He sniffles, and Mary wonders if she should worry about him catching Covid. Most of her class is in quarantine for the recent spike in cases. “I had a weird feeling about you today. Like something bad’ll happen. Remember our mantra?”

“Stay alert. Stay alive,” she answers automatically.

His bearded face cracks into a wide grin. “That’s my girl. Love you!”

“Love you, too.” She hangs up, wishing they had been able to talk for the full twenty-five minutes.

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Her roommate Anna sits up and yawns, blonde hair perfect despite just waking up. “Crud. What time is it?” she asks.

“Time for you to get a watch.”

“No, seriously. Why didn’t you wake me up?” she asks accusingly.

“I tried and tried. You’re just a heavy sleeper."

“Do you think I have narcolepsy, too?”

Mary feels like she just spit in her face. “What?”

“Because I’m so tired all the time. I dunno.”

Mary scowls. “There’s normal tired and then there’s narcolepsy tired. Don’t make assumptions about things you don’t understand.” She feels bad as soon as she registers how bitchy her voice was.

Anna’s entire demeanor deflates from groggy to upset. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking about it.”

Mary takes a breath, anxiety creeping in. She doesn’t know if she’s imagining it or if she really does feel unsteady on her feet. After bracing herself for a few seconds, she outwardly sighs with relief when she doesn’t collapse. “I’m sorry, too, for snapping. It’s just a sore subject for me, is all.” 

“It’s fine. I wouldn’t like it if someone said somethin’ about my syndrome, so I get it.” She slips her tiny feet into her soft pink slippers. “Sorry.”

Mary doesn’t respond, instead moving on to packing her bag for the day. She's no longer mad, but doesn't want to feed into Anna's apology because if she does, she knows it'll go on and on. Instead, she tells her she'll see her later and departs.

2 

When she arrives to homeroom, Mary quickly sees they have a substitute and very few classmates. Mrs. Walsh has her white hair up in a messy bun with a pencil sticking out of it, snoring loudly at her desk. Mary wonders if she looks this stupid when she’s out, and her cheeks burn in embarrassment.

Her friend Ryan approaches, blinking rapidly. He and her are in the afterschool book club, yearning for more intellectual stimulation. He flips her off. “Good morn– fuck face! How are you?”

“Good. Tired.”

He gives her a look of sympathy. “You can probably take a nap right now. I can – Damn! Shit! Wake you up when the teacher wakes up so she doesn’t,” he sniffs and blinks, “Yell at you.”

“That’s fine.” She looks at the door. “Josh is late. I hope he doesn’t come.”

“Me– CUM! Too.”

“The best thing we can do is pray for him,” Gabriel interjects. He has his hair down today, and because its autumn and not hot, his sleek black hair tumbles past his shoulders, free from his normal updo.

Anna rushes in, her long, pink polka dot dress coming undone in the back. “Am I late?"

“Nope, but come here.” Anna approaches without question, and Mary quickly fixes up the tie.

“You look beautiful this morning,” says Gabriel. He says this to her every day, but Anna lights up like she’s never had a compliment in her life.

“Thank you so much!” She heads up to him, and he leans down to give her a chaste kiss on the lips. They’ve been dating for nearly a month, and from what Mary can tell, the honeymoon period is still going.

“Thank you so much!” echoes Ryan.

The only other person in the room is Alex. Mary comes up to his desk. She likes to think she can read him well, but because of his germophobia, she can never see his mouth behind his surgical mask.

“Hi, Alex. How was your weekend?”

“Good. My brother came down and gave me a bunch of his clothes. And my mom.”

“And that was…good?” 

Alex winces. “She’s coming around,” he says. “Still dead names me, but I think we’re making progress.”

Josh swaggers in, and Mary nearly groans out loud. 

“Hey, losers,” he says, glancing over at the sub. When he sees her unconscious, he clears his throat and spits right on the floor.

The sound of wheels against the white tiles starts off soft, than louder, and Mary dashes for the door before Josh can remember to close it, holding the door open with her foot. 

Nia gives her a grateful smile as she rolls down the hall, curly black hair up in two buns. “Thanks, Mary.”

“Anytime.”

When the two girls re-enter the room, for the first time, Mary notices the black box beside the teacher right as Anna touches the cardboard. She walks back over to her desk and opens it. Mary's dubbed her as a kleptomaniac a long time ago, and has stopped confronting her when her items go missing, simply peeking onto her side and typically finding them in a drawer or on her bed.

Mary would later think back to this moment. Her decision right then and there. Had she heeded her father’s warning, maybe she’d tell Anna not to bother with it. But Mary’s eyes are heavy, and the idea of a nap is becoming more and more of a temptation. “I’m gonna close my eyes for a bit,” she says. “Will you watch me?”

“Of course,” responds Nia. She's new this year, so Mary hadn't known her long enough to trust her (Not that she trusted anyone at all, having been raised to watch her back), but the other girl is slowly earning her respect. 

The morning announcements come onto the intercom, and Mary goes to her usual spot by the potted plant and window. Nia follows, removing her backpack straps and placing it on the floor. Mary rests her head, right as she hears somebody say beneath the principal’s voice,  “It looks like a board game…”

3

Mary’s eyes fly open, suddenly looking at a gloomy gray sky while on her back. She springs to her feet. “Hello?” she calls out, and as soon as it dawns on her that she isn’t dreaming, she hits the forest floor once more. 

She looks around, and when she spies the weapon beside her, she feels like throwing up. 

“Hello?” she calls out again, panicked now.

She yanks her phone out of her pocket with trembling hands. There’s no service. She tries to call 911, regardless, but it doesn’t go through.

“Fuck!” she says. With shaking hands, she picks up the knife. Her wide-eyed reflection glints in the knife’s silver.

Thunder shakes the sky overhead.

Stay alert, her father’s voice booms in her head. Stay alive.