The Promised School

We. Fell. Apart.

"Okay pals, let's get to it. I have a plan that I've been working on for a while..."

That was one thing true, at least. Ray had been working on a plan since... Since... Well, since a long time. A very, very long time. 

"I'm going to tell you it, everything about it... So you both had better listen."

Yeah, that was pretty much true... Although he actually wasn't going to tell them a bit about his real plan.

"There are a lot of problems, but I should just say I... Damaged  the device Miss İsabella uses to talk to outside, so she can't call back up. That's also something we have to do to her, but that's later. The teachers have a meeting tomorrow, most of them are going but about three are staying according to the previous meetings..."

They sat in the library, in the room at the end. Norman insisted on staying near the door in case Miss İsabella found them, and Emma was sitting right under the window. Ray sat on the armchair that he had pulled to the middle. 

They had been here a while, catching their breath, Norman had cried some more, and Ray had disapeared among the shelves, apparently reading, Emma didn't try to comfort her friend, only watched. 

İt was 10: 40 o'clock, and the sky was dark. New moon, no stars, cloudy. İt looked like another storm was on it's way. 

Emma, Norman and Ray didn't notice,

they were all tired from running as fast as they damn well could.

"Can I... Can I ask a question?"

Ray looked up. Emma was looking crazy again, great.

 "What is it, Emma?"

"Well..." Emma smiled. "Since when do YOU call US pals?" She started laughing. "I mean... Ha ha HA... İT'S KİND OF STRANGE!! HAAAAHHHHAAA!!!"

"Norman." Sighed Ray. "Come and deal with her."

"Huh?"

"I said come and deal with Emma."

"W...What...What's wrong?"

"What do you mean? Haven't you been LİSTENİNG!!"

"Uh... No it's just..." Norman blinked. "You can deal with her can't you?"

"An idiot rolling on the floor laughing for no reason? I'd say you'd be better at this."

"I'll take that as a compliment..."

"Don't. Anyway, look nevermind." Ray stared at Emma, then took a deep breath.

"Emma." he growled. "Emma, get up."

Emma carried on laughing. Ray stood, and clenched his fists. 

"That's it. That's... That's it. I swear, this is the final straw. I've had enough of this, enough of you acting like this. I'm sick of it, sick of you. You've been acting different since we saw Thoma and Lannion. Yeah, I know it was a shock, and I know you probably want to kill something so, so badly because you're angry and laughing like this distracts you from that. But I don't want that. We don't want that. I want the old Emma back, because right when we need her the most, right in the worst situation, she hides behind crazy laughter.

"I know you're not a coward. I know that, so stop acting like one. Stop hiding like you do. Look at yourself, just look. Norman knows you're acting different too, but Norman being Norman he doesn't say anything. And you, you can either take this seriously or... Sorry, but you can stop acting and stop hiding or... Or you can leave. Get out. Join the ones who are being saved, not us."