✓ | 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒, larissa weems

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗
𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐀'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕

as soon as the clock struck midnight, a sliver of time opened up. with the curfew at ten o'clock, all the students and staff would be sound asleep, giving me the perfect chance to put my plan into action. i leaped out of bed, eager to finally get rid of my personal file that was being stored in principal weems' office.

i carefully descended the metal ladders of my bunk bed, making sure to not make a single noise. wednesday could sleep through a hurricane, an earthquake, or a tornado, and sometimes i couldn't even hear her breathing. enid sinclair, our roommate, on the other hand, could possibly be a light sleeper, so i tiptoed as silently as a mouse to avoid waking her up.

to my surprise, i managed to reach the office, but to my dismay, it was locked. fortunately, i had planned ahead and brought a hair clip to pick the lock. the darkness made it difficult to navigate, and i hesitated to turn on the lights, afraid of being caught.

once i entered the office, i could barely see anything in the darkness. the only source of light came from the dim orange glow of the fireplace. however, i remembered the layout of the room from our earlier meeting, so i quickly made my way to the filing cabinet where i knew my personal file was stored.

i admired how organized principal weems' records were, neatly alphabetized by the students' last names, making it easy to find my own file. i didn't waste any time reading it and quickly made my way out of the room, realizing too late that i had forgotten to lock the door behind me.

"mission complete," i whispered to myself as i returned to my shared dorm room undetected. sitting cross-legged on the top bunk, i glared down at the file i had waited years to read, steal, and destroy. but now that i had finally acquired it, my entire body froze in shock.

the file that had eluded me for my entire teenage years was finally in my hands, but a part of me was afraid to read it. what secrets did it hold? despite my fear, i gathered my courage and began flipping through the pages, searching for the notes my therapist had taken during our sessions.

coming to an abrupt stop, my focus zoomed in on the harsh, hurtful, and cruel words written about me. it was devastating to see myself described as exhausting, broken, and damaged. anyone would feel hurt, but seeing it written on paper caused goosebumps to flood my skin.

i slammed the book shut with frustration, unable to bear reading any more of the hurtful words inscribed on the pages. a single tear escaped my tightly clenched eyes and i struggled to hold back a whimper, but no matter how hard i tried to compose myself, i couldn't silence the emotions welling up inside me.

out of fear, i quickly placed my hand over my mouth, pushing down hard to muffle any noise. as i tried to collect myself, my chest heaved up and down, and i heard a creak in the floorboards, causing me to snap my head in the direction of the noise. with worried eyes, enid stared up at the bed, taking a step closer and realizing i was sobbing into my pillows as if i were a child.

enid's voice was laced with concern as she asked, "winona, what's wrong?" i tried to hide the file from her view, unwilling to share my vulnerable moment with anyone. "nothing," i replied curtly, wiping away the tears that had betrayed me. i turned away, unable to trust anyone, even the kind-hearted enid. it was my own pride and selfishness that kept me from accepting any help or support.

enid stepped closer towards the bunk bed, her expression filled with concern. "are you sure you're alright?" she asked, her voice soft and gentle. i sighed, feeling annoyed and frustrated. i didn't want her hovering over me like this.