Walking these hallways is like navigating my house, boring and never seems to change. Well technically the extra staff rooms are the "orphanage" that Principal Constance is so proud of.
I don't get how she's so excited to take care of our small group. The majority of us make zoo animals feel like house trained pets. Especially this weirdo.
As I walk into the cafeteria my bunkmate is standing on top of one of the lunch tables while reaching for one of the hang down lights. Reaching higher and higher I notice he's asking for what's next.
Then just as predicted his foot slips out from underneath him. Though unbelievably he doesn't fall, instead he somehow grabs the light and is now holding onto it. He then swings and kicks the table to the side, sees me and shouts.
"Ayyyy! Skye, look what I can do!" He yells and his voice is so loud it echoes off of the empty cafeteria walls.
"Aidan you idiot! Principal Pushy is gonna force you to clean up the entire room if you make a mess this early!" I shout in a tone laced with worry.
If he breaks that and I'm seen with him I'll inevitably be charged with "guilty by association" and be sentenced to death by boring detention homework.
As I step closer I whisper. "Get down you moron! You'll get the both of us in trouble again!" Admittedly I'm a horrible whisperer. And as proof the one person I feared seeing this the most hears my voice and calls from the hallway.
"Skye? Are you in there?" Principal asks with a voice that sounds a little too awake for my liking. Then Aidan chuckles and swings his body, snapping the lights cord and crashing into the cafeteria floor.
This. This right here is why I don't like people. No common sense or a knowing of when the mood says to stop. And then the fateful canon event of the after spring break questline begins. The boss enters.
Now before I continue this part of my past journey, I must ask you to imagine that this next boss battle was aced, flawlessly beaten, and no heals needed. For me? Your favorite story teller, Skye.
*dramatic gasp*
"Skye! Aidan! The first day back starts at nine, it's not even time for breakfast!"
Final Boss of Principality shrieks her battle cry and I wince at Aidan's loud laughter. Then as if he didn't care one bit my fiery bunkmate pointed at me.
"Skye did it!" He shouts as he gets up and sprints through the open door Principal Constance came from.
"Make sure to check for the bag of dead stink bugs in your lunchbox tomorrow!" I shout back to my annoying little—boss fight triggering—bunkmate.
Her Bossyness just sighs at me, before placing her hands on her hips. And unbeknownst to my old self my outbursts gave me a solid debuff in this fight.
"…Surprise?" I say with a dry smile instead of defending myself and my honorable aura. I'm telling you, I was a troubled child to say the least.
"Somehow I can't even be surprised. I bet you might be wondering why that might be Skye." Then she frowns. Which means bad news from Miss Constance.
"Should I go to the morning gathering or the detention room?" I mutter as I pull my bag back over my shoulder and sulk downward in unhonorable defeat.
"Just go to the gathering, I'll talk to you and Aidan about your punishment after I clean this mess up."
"Yes ma'am. I'll inform Aidan of the situation."
"Not off to a good start this week are we Skye."
And with that conclusion of our simple back and forth, I couldn't say anything to make up for the previous encounter. So I decided to take that fine opportunity to escape the cafeteria-turned-battlefield.
Walking down the hallway towards the gymnasium doors felt like an eternity but I succeeded in surviving this battle. Now it's time for the second battle of that very day to come into play, the gathering.
And at that very same time, Luna ended up having the worst of her fears come true. Something she had been dreading since before spring break, the hospital telling her that her parents died.
—Luna's POV—
With my meeting fueling my anxiety I walk down the school hallway. The air seems heavy but I can't tell why. Maybe it's because this part of the school has nobody. No students. No teachers.
The odd situation seems to catch my mind's attention and without hesitation it shouts to my heart saying, "ALRIGHT ANXIETY! ARE YOU READY FOR AN ENCORE?!" There goes the nice quiet.
My heartbeat beats faster and as a nervous habit I take out my phone to check my notifications. To my surprise there is even more unpleasantness.
Notifications from my email app flood my lock screen. Expecting to open one from my Principal, or I guess my Boss now, my heart goes quiet just enough for my mind to hone its full focus.
But then my heart seems to stop beating and I can feel the blood rushing to my head. There's an email on my notification bar from the hospital.
[ Dear Ms. Little, this is the staff nurse from the hospital asking if you could get back to us as soon as possible. The patients that we have in our care have a steadily deteriorating condition.
Our protocol states that we should contact those who might like to be informed of their family members' condition. After inspection of their records we have made the decision to contact you through email since we don't have a more direct form of communication.
Please get back to us regarding the above details which may include an easier and more direct form of contact.
Call this number —1970#######— ASAP for further information regarding Dr. Little and Mrs. Little. Thank you for your support and we wish you and your loved ones well.
Sincerely, The Hope Hospital staff. ]
As I finish reading the message my mind whirls. I step into an empty space near the stairwell of the second floor.
Swiftly tossing my bag on the ground and flopping myself down next to it. My fingers move at lightning speed across the screen, punching in the number of the hospital, and occasionally checking back to make sure that I typed it correctly.
Then I hit the green button to send the call. Tears are already streaming from my eyes as I listen to the sound of the call.
Then not a moment later someone asks. "This is Hope Hospital, how may I help you?" The woman's voice is stuffy and slightly muffled but I don't mind.
"Hi-" Stopping my sentence to swallow hard. "I'm calling about an email from you. My mother and father are patients there." As I finish my sentence I wipe away a couple tears that stained my eyes.
"Yes of course. What is your name?"
"Luna Little."
"Alright… And the patients' names?"
"Desaria Little and Wilder Little."
"Mmmkay… give me just one moment… Alrighty! I'm gonna put you on hold while I confirm your parents' health."
"Oh. Okay…" My voice drops as the phone switches to a different tune. Saying thank you for holding, we will now play waiting tunes for your utmost pleasure.
Then my tears start streaming even harder. The song on the waitlist radio is a happy electronic melody that has absolutely no connection to my mood.
"What happened to them? Why now? Am I too late to say goodbye?" My mind launches question after question into my attention. But with no answers I just feel worse and worse as the time passes.