Grey Days

Chapter Two: Hallucinations and Visions

I kick off my boots, angrily throw my coat into the laundry and go upstairs to change.

"You're back just in time," Marlene says. She and Titania are sitting on my bed, and Marlene's braiding her hair. "Dinner starts in five minutes."

She doesn't acknowledge my muddy pants, my shivers or the fact that I'm soaked head to toe.

"Are you quite alright?" Fallon asks, as I search our dresser for clothes. "You seem a bit...aggressive."

"And filthy," Titania adds. "Did you fall again?"

"Well, what does it look like?" I snap, shoving the dresser drawer shut.

"Sorry," she mumbles. I sigh, exasperated. I change into a new pair of pants that don't even fit me anymore. I slip into one of Fallon's shirts, and it hangs like a smock.

"Some old bat just ruined my walk," I say. "Sorry for lashing out."

We walk down down to dinner, where some kids have already lined up. We stand behind a boy called Stan, who Marlene claims she doesn't like, but it's pretty obvious. Stan's Japanese and his dad also died in the War, so he and Marlene talk about it sometimes.

"Look, it's your crush," I whisper to Marlene who looks away, flushing.

"I don't like him!" she says in a hushed tone.

"You guys should trauma bond over your dads," Titania says and I snort.

"Oh, shut up!"

"In my opinion, I think you guys would look good together," Fallon says.

"Bless your heart," I say. "I'm gonna tell him you wanna talk with him."

"Don't do that!" Marlene exclaims, grabbing my arm. I'm right next to him, so I just tap his shoulder. He looks at me, and grins when he sees Marlene.

"Hey," he says.

"Marlene wants to talk to you," I say. I shove the girl toward Stan, and she bumps into him. "Oops."

"You're foul," Titania says, as we grab our trays.

"I'm not foul, I'm a matchmaker," I say. I look over at the two, who look like they're in deep conversation as they get their dinner. "And would you look at that. She's laughing, he's grinning ear to ear. And her hand's on his shoulder. I can't wait to be the Godmother to their children."

Titania laughs, looking over at Fallon.

"Now you've just got to get Fallon with the paperboy," she says slyly.

"Ooh, yes," I say. I grab the chicken casserole like it's a golden crown and smell its heavenly aroma. "What's his name, Dante?"

"Derek," Fallon corrects. "And Poppy already likes him. And he likes her."

"Feelings change overtime," I tease and she blushes, looking away. "Besides, you obviously like him."

"Yeah, but we can't do that to Poppy," Titania says. "She really likes me."

"Psh," I shrug. "He's a guy. She'll get over it."

We walk to our usual table in the dining hall, where Marlene isn't. I look across the dining hall and see her sitting alone with Stan.

"Young love," I sigh. "Oh, I remember those days."

"You didn't have those days, stupid," Titania says and I quirk an eyebrow at her. "The only boy you ever talked to was your brother. Your parents were too swapping saliva."

"The only boy you talked to was your butler. Your parents were always on a cruise and look where that got them."

We laugh when we see Fallon's concerned expression. She only joined us two years ago and she still hasn't gotten used to us joking about our parents being dead. We never joke about hers, because she's quite sensitive and she's never really joked about ours.