Valley Forge Boarding School

Chapter 9 - Exchanging News

"Jacky? Jacky, wake up, we need to go eat...", I heard Alex whisper, his voice hushed as he tried not to startle me. His warm hand was pressed against my cheek, and I instinctively nuzzled into it, smiling softly as my memory slowly came back to me.

"I love you...", I muttered, not even half aware of my own words before I had spoken them. He let out a small sigh, not particularly surprised at the words, but both of us knew the change in their meaning between now and when we first started saying it to eachother.

"I love you too, Laurens. Now come on, you need to get some food into you, and I'm eager to tell Laf all about what we found out."

It sounded like a bargain to me, and so I painstakingly got up, straightening out my clothing in order to look semi-presentable. Alex took my hand to make sure I wouldn't topple over, and I was grateful for the support.

We walked out to the dining room in silence, and it occurred to me that we were late, as no other students could be seen in the hallways. "Do you think Prof Washington will be upset with us for showing up late?", Alex suggested, and I thought back to how concerned his look was, before shaking my head. "He'll be easy on us."

We arrived in the dining room and sat down with Lafayette and Hercules, the latter of which looked very relieved to see us.

"Are you alright?", he asked before I even got to saying hello. The expression on his face was one of concern, and it only increased when he spotted my hand. "What happened, Laf said you got locked in the cellar?"

"Yeah, it's a long story, we managed to find what we were looking for though. Mr. Lawson and his buddy showed up", Alex explained, and I was grateful that I didn't have to speak, fearing that my voice would give out and worry my friends even more.

I listened to him explain what had happened last night in great detail, his rambling going on even as we got our meals and started eating, which I found to be very inconvenient with my left hand.

"Jack? Jack, are you still listening?" I looked up to see the three staring at me confused. "How often are you gonna space out like that this week?", Laf asked. I shrugged, feeling too tired to build conversation. "Have a couple more times planned in."

"Yeah, well, I've got some news too", Lafayette said as he turned back to Alex, making me let out a quiet sigh of relief. I didn't bother to listen to what he had to say, though I felt a little bad that I wasn't giving my friends any attention, I just couldn't function properly.

As I was starting to space out again, my mind full of exhaustion and empty thoughts, my friends' voices slowly faded out from my conscious.

Suddenly, I felt a warm hand in mine, and I looked up to see Alex leaning over to me. "Eat, please. You'll feel a lot better once you do." "How did you know...?", I whispered, in retrospect I was getting a little defensive of myself.

"Jacky, I've known you long enough, you're miserable..", he answered, in the same hushed tone, and it gave me a good sting to know that everyone could tell how I was doing.

Fortunately for me, we couldn't stay on topic for any longer, as Professor Washington stood up at the other end of the table and cleared his throat. The room fell silent, and everyone's eyes were on the teacher, anticipating what kind of announcement would follow.

"Dear students, I've been thinking. I know that these school days can be bland", he started, and was interrupted by a couple of chuckles from along the table. "So, to combat this, I decided to rent a spot at a camping ground nearby and bring all of you on an overnight field trip."

The room erupted in cheer, and Professor Washington let out a loud laugh at the excitement of his students. "Yes, it's alright, it's alright! You all go and get ready, pack a change of clothes, take a nap! We're leaving right around 6, until then please don't combust from excitement!"

The room was filled with chair-pushing as the student spilled out of the room and towards their dorms. I stayed seated as I tried to block out the noise, my head feeling like it was seconds away from exploding. "Shit...", I muttered, and Alex squeezed my hand. "We've still got time, you need to eat. Hell, it's best if we don't go, I'm sure Prof Washington will let us stay, he knows that you're sick."

I shot him a look of horror. "What do you mean he knows I'm sick? I don't want that!", I whispered. Alex frowned, but shook his head. "No, no, I mean your hand. Plus, he probably thinks you're tired. That's all."

I nodded, relieved by the explanation, and looked back down at my food, still untouched. "You need to eat, and I'll ask the professor about us staying back", Alex said as he stood up. I went on to my task with a sigh, feeling no particular urge to eat, though my stomach was hurting from hunger.

As I ate, I watched Alex talk with Professor Washington, who occasionally threw a worried glance my way. I prayed that Alex wasn't telling him all too much, but knew that I should trust him. I quickly finished my plate and emptied my cup, wanting to be done with the tedious task.

When Alex came back, he explained that we would be allowed to stay in order to rest. I shrugged and stood up from my seat, and with his help we walked out of the dining room. I think I could've done without his help, but I liked the feeling of his arm around me.

A/N: So sorry this chapter is a bit wonky, but I haven't slept.