All Useless Things In Someone's Mind

Careful Predators Succeed

- C P S -

Inevitably, the bell did ring. And with it groups of groaning teenagers begrudgingly started making their way back inside the drab building. Abel thought she was probably more annoyed about this end to her freedom than any of the other students, and she suspected El felt the same way.

Their final classes for the day went by in a blur. Not that they passed quickly, really - the monotone lecturing of long-ago disinterested adults seemed to drag on forever - but because the words of supposed lessons spilled out of teachers' mouths alphabet soup only to eventually land on notebook pages in doodles and gibberish, foggy and forgettable. It was the same every day, for just about everyone; by this time in the afternoon, minds were running with thoughts of each other and incoming freedom, and as much as El and Abel wished to be model students, they too got lost in stolen glances and the background noise of whispering that the teacher was too tired to bother stopping.

. . .

The two friends were the last ones left in the room, packing up their things slowly to avoid the chaos of students rushing through packed hallways all at once. They were going to miss the bus, but Abel wanted to do something before they left anyways, and El simply followed.

The school counsellor's office was the only place Abel could think to go to for what she wanted. The door was ajar, and the sounds of rustling papers and exhausted sighs could be heard. Abel knocked carefully, but even the lightest tap she could manage made the loose door open with a loud creek. The woman inside looked up from the bag she was messily packing to see the two girls, an annoyed sigh leaving her stern lips.

. . .

"Do you have any marks on you?" An annoyed counsellor asked El after Abel had explained what she had seen the previous night.

Abel frowned in worry. At El's house, she had been so focused on the presence of the disgusting man that she hadn't even thought of looking for that. She suddenly regretted not having checked, but reassured herself by concluding she has respected El's body and privacy, and if she wanted to show someone something she was capable of doing so herself.

The room fell still as all eyes landed on the smallest girl. El nervously lifted her shirt up to her chest to reveal, over the thin body of someone fed just enough not to go sick, scratches and a dark bruise over scars still healing from her past.

Abel shook with anger. She wished she could sweep this girl away, far from any harm, so she could get the life she deserved. Instead, all she could do was try and fix what was real.

"So, does that answer your question?" Abel asked the disinterested adult.

"Well obviously when you're that skinny you're gonna bruise easier," the ill-humored counsellor retorted, "I'll get it checked out, but you should really put some weight on." The middle-aged lady appeared unfazed.

Abel thought she was about to kill someone. El looked down and watched her own fingers move with a blank expression.

. . .

Hello ladies," he started with his usual grin, but something felt different. Behind his usual amused expression, Abel could hear his anger. "I received an... interesting call, right before you got here."

"Oh, really? What about?" Abel played along, though she was well aware what the call was, and that he knew it was her doing.

"Well," he stepped closer to them, "it would seem someone thinks I haven't been an adequate parent. Now, I said 'that's crazy,' but of course I accepted that they come have a look for themselves."

"You're right, that is interesting," Abel tried to stop the chills from shaking her body as she smelled sweat, beer, and cigarettes.

"It would be a shame if, oh, I don't know, they found some sort of injury on Eloise and assumed it was my fault. 'Cause then she'd have to move, maybe far, or maybe to some sort of orphanage until they find her a new family, either way, she definitely wouldn't be in school with you anymore, and I doubt you'd find each other again."