Wammy House
H and Linda’s Room
Winchester, England
October 31, 2004
Linda St. John straightened her wig before looking
back at the bed, seeing the lump underneath the covers. “You’ve been there
since forever,” the blonde thirteen-year-old whined, “Get up, H. They’re giving
out candy per classroom and then there’s going to be an activity later.”
The form didn’t reply and she huffed angrily,
stomping towards the green bed and ripping the covers off. The girl underneath
protested, Linda dumping the covers on the floor and scowling. “Get your tired
butt up, H. Do you want me to drag you out in those pajamas?”
H buried her head under the pillow. “Please don’t.”
“Then move! Goodness,” she sighed. “It’s like I’m
the only one who’s legitimately excited for these kinds of things.”
Because
you *are* the only one, H thought glumly. The blonde
sighed, sitting by her feet.
“You know, A wouldn’t like it if you just moped like
this.” She saw H’s body tense up and she put a hand on her back, rubbing it
gently. “It’s been months, Heather.
Months. I know you’re still upset. I am, too.”
“It’s not about him…”
“Sure it isn’t. But keep this in mind: he doesn’t
want you to cry over him. Okay?” when Heather didn’t bother moving, Linda
merely sighed and stood up, her witch costume still perfectly pieced. “I did
your costume just in case. Just look at my bed. At least come for dinner.”
“…I’ll consider it.”
With those words spoken, Linda sighed yet again and
stood up, leaving the room and the door closing with a soft click.
H opened her eyes, peeking out from the pillow. “What
do you know, Linda,” she mumbled, rubbing her tired eyes. “It’s like you forgot
about A. You changed your hair and got all different after three months, it’s
like…” with a whimper of her own, she buried her head under the pillow once
more, feeling her eyes sting for the nth time.
A should be with them right now, knocking on the
door angrily and telling them to hurry up. A should be there, wearing his devil
costume and spooking everyone by jumping up from hidden corners. A should be
there, sneaking her glances and teasing her. And she’d get angry right back.
But instead, he was six feet under.
“A
wouldn’t like it if you just moped like this.”
Her mind reeled back to months before, almost a year
back.
Charles Hall
November 4, 2003
It was the monthly updating of the Top Ten list near
the very office of Roger. For the past few months, there was no change at all.
That month, however, had been just the ending of their exams – and results had
been tabulated.
H stood there with Linda by her side, the former
crossing her fingers while the latter yawned and looked through her sketchpad. “You
should relax,” Linda chastised, rubbing her dirtied fingers on her jeans. “You
aced all your exams.”
“Not all of them,” H mumbled. The kids behind them
were getting more impatient. She picked the sides of her fingers in
nervousness, “I nearly messed up on my piano presentation, remember?”
“Yeah, but you skated over it like a pro.” Linda’s
eyes met H’s, “Don’t be too harsh on yourself, okay? A would kill you if he saw
you like this.”
“Don’t tell him!” H (nearly) yelled, Linda’s face
turning frustrated to amused in less than a second. “He – he shouldn’t know
about any of this!”
“Alright, calm down. Ooh, the Senior’s coming!”
The children around them fell silent as the Senior
Supervisor came, holding the eraser and whiteboard marker, as well as a few
pictures. Linda raised a blonde brow and they all made way for the man, who
paid no attention as he got changing immediately.
The Top Three didn’t change. Heather felt a small
pang of disappointment.
Instantly, there were gasps and frustrated moans. Heather’s
eyes perked up and she stood on her toes, attempting to look around. The last
three positions had changed – the number ten person had been replaced by…
“…oh my God!” Linda squealed, “Why are they using
that picture of me?!”
H’s reaction was instant. She stumbled back and ran
off, trying to shake off the feeling of tears prickling in her eyes. As she ran
to wherever her feet took her, she didn’t notice her name being called out by
two different people.
The only difference was, the first voice chased
after her and the second held back.
Classroom Cluster A
October 31, 2004
Matt scratched his arm and peeked around, seeing a
blonde female wearing a witch’s hat. He blinked at her lack of companion and
stepped forward, waving her over. “Linda – Linda!” her eyes met his and she
blinked, rushing to him with a confused expression. “Where’s your roommate?”
“H? Oh. She’s still inside,” Linda replied, a hint
of irritation in her voice. “She doesn’t feel like coming out tonight. I got
her a costume and everything.” She looked Matt and blinked suddenly, “Do you
think you can get her out of that vegetative state? Please?”
“I – I’m not sure if I can,” he stammered, suddenly
red in the face. Linda huffed.
“Just try! Get her out of the room,” she said soon
after. “She needs to smile again.”
Upon hearing those words, Matt nodded numbly and left,
Linda smiling slightly at the male’s agreement.
He found himself situated in front of her door and
knocked gently, shuffling from one foot to another. The door opened a few
minutes later and he saw her eyes red and puffy, as if she had just come from a
long crying session. Those same eyes widened upon seeing him.
“Oh…it’s you.” Matt tried smiling.
“Yeah, it’s me. Are you planning on coming down?” H
sighed, frustrated, and stepped back to close the door.
“No. Please tell Linda it’s none of her business.”
“Wait – come on, hear me out.” She looked back at
him and he opened the door a bit more, seeing her in nothing but her pajamas.
He cleared his throat. “This is the only time of the year they’ll give out free
candies and stuff and let us have fun. Do you really want to miss that?”
“There are other days,” she attempted, but Matt
shook his head firmly.
“Linda is worried about you, Heather. She just wants
to see you smile again.” And so do I, he
added glumly in his head. You don’t smile
anymore, or play happy tunes on the piano. “Just give her this chance to
make you happy.”
She looked conflicted. H looked behind her, as if
studying something, and then back at him.
She nodded.
“Please don’t wait for me; just tell Linda that I’ll
meet her by the music room.”
And the door closed.
Matt soon found himself waiting as well, munching on
a select assortment of sweets. The children were moving from classroom to
classroom, engaging in different activities that the academic department of the
orphanage offered.
And he heard Linda gasp.
“I told you you’d look pretty!” the girl babbled,
dragging the other immediately into the music room. His blue eyes followed.
Matt’s heart skipped a beat and he stumbled to the
entrance of the room, seeing her shyly tug at the skirt of her costume.
She
looks really…beautiful.
He heard Linda’s teasing and saw her face redden,
snapping back to the entrance as if seeing if the blonde’s words were true.
She saw him.
And before he could comprehend it, she was smiling.
No comments:
Post a Comment