I open my eyes, a chill going down my back. I hate dreaming about back then. It always leaves me feeling…ill. I do my best to clear my head some before finally leaving my bed, stretching my lazy limbs and going to my closet. Upon opening it, there's already a uniform waiting for me, one I had set out specifically for today. Today was going to be special, after all. With that thought in mind, I grabbed my uniform and made my way to the bathroom, where an uneventful shower awaited. I reached out and turned the knob, letting the hot water start to form as I checked my phone I had just pulled from my pocket. A few notifications, none of them appearing too serious.
That is, until I reached a news alert. Weird, those definitely aren’t common around here. I tapped the notif and, after an aggravating half a minute of loading, I’m met with the image of what appears to be a tree, surrounded by police tape and blood staining one of the upper branches. Confused, my eyes moved down to the headline. I feel my heart nearly stop. “Man Found Mutilated and Impaled Through Branch.” I feel myself do a silent double take before reading through it once again. When the hell was the last time something like this happened in Haven’s Spot? I grit my teeth to keep from dropping my phone. Calm down, calm down, it’s so unlikely you’re gonna run into whatever did that. Just…relax. I take a shaky breath before putting my phone down and turning to the shower. Yeah, the shower was looking even more appealing now.
…
Heading downstairs while combing my knotted hair, I see Rei at the table, typing away on her computer.
“Good morning ma’am.” I say. She nods in acknowledgment before returning all her focus to work. I hold in a sigh before grabbing the eggs from the fridge and a piece of bread. I carefully cut a hole in the middle of the bread before grabbing a pan and turning on the head. My average breakfast, egg in the hole. Can’t say when I became so obsessed with it, but something about its simplicity definitely spoke to me. Once the pan was finally hot enough, I threw the bread in and cracked the egg in the middle, watching as it filled up the carved hole.
As it cooked, I took glances over at Rei. She was clearly off her meds again. She definitely didn’t take a shower like she’s supposed to. Matter of fact I’m pretty sure she didn’t do that yesterday either. I sigh quietly, focusing on my breakfast so it doesn’t burn. Once its finally ready, I move the bread to a plate and begin to eat. As I do, I realize that I haven’t laid any groundwork with her yet. I gulp. There…is no way she’d notice, but if by some chance she did. I gulp a little, but turn to look at her again.
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“Ma’am, I’m gonna be late coming home.”
“Ok.”
Perfect…though, that did sting a little. No, it stung a lot, actually. Enough for me to hurriedly stuff the rest of breakfast in my face and leave my plate on the counter.
“Goodbye Rei.” Calling her by her name seemed to make her jolt a little, but it stopped there, and I left to grab my bag from near the door. Opening the front door, I feel a little piece of me want to pull me back to yell at her. Something, at least acknowledge me with something. Don’t you know you aren’t gonna get another chance? I shake my head, and leave. She would never be so nice as to do that. With that depressing fact planted firmly in my head, I close the door behind me and begin walking the usual path to school.
I had lucked out in managing to get into a college within walking distance, though sometimes even this short walk feels like it’s too much for me. Perhaps I’m a bit out of shape, hehe. I groan a little on the inside as I walk past the many different houses and shops, past the many different people with their unreadable expressions. It’s all just…nauseating. I force myself to look down to avoid having a panic attack, or what I think could be a panic attack. It’s too hard to tell. Just let me get to class without incident please…
I look up in time to see my school coming closer. Ah, thank god. I feel myself relax a bit. At least I’m almost safe. That is, until I feel myself bump shoulders with someone.
“A-ah, I’m so-” I’m halted in my apology by the other person’s raging glare. I simply let my throat close up as they turned away and walked back the way I came. “S-sorry…” I still whisper, feeling like crap. People are…scary. I turn back to school, all my comfort completely gone, wanting more than anything to completely disappear right now. Of course, that would be too much of a gift. So, I pathetically hauled myself into the building, feeling the cool of the ac blowing at max settings inside.
At least I can look forward to easy classes today. All caught up on my work for the most part. Maybe I’ll even be able to read all class again, hehehe. I reach into my bag and pull out my e-reader, reaching the student’s sitting area and happily pushing out the rest of the world, till all I perceive is the list of books before me. Something really trashy, to really pull me out of this reality. I settled for some random light novel I probably bought when I was sleep deprived. Naked man in a fantasy world? It better be pornographic or I'm gonna throw a fit. As I feel a creepy smile form on my face, I notice something…strange, out of the corner of my eye. Looking up, I notice a girl with long yellow hair in a pink sleeveless shirt, brown jacket, and black tight jean shorts watching another girl studying. The strange girl looks her up and down and giggles, as if she’s satisfied. I quickly look away. The hell is that about? When I look back, the strange girl is gone, leaving me befuddled.
“The…hell?”