Gehenna's Gate

Breath

"Hey, good morning, sunshine! I hope I didn't wake you."

Vena cracked open one eye lazily, grogginess obvious by the small noise she let out as she began to stretch her arms, letting out a yawn.

"Mornin, mum."

"I made your favoriteeeee~ Ham and cheese omelet with grits and hash browns." Vena's mother sang softly, her demeanor cheery and bright despite probably only getting a few hours of sleep considering she'd worked all night.

"As an 'I'm sorry' for taking that shift last night and ditching our movie plans." Her mom made an 'oops' face at that, causing her daughter to laugh once she'd finally sat up off the couch.

"You don't have to apologize for that," Vena quickly waved it away, returning her mother's smile as she spoke.

"At least let me try and make it up to you. Breakfast and a mall trip, just us two?"

"But you usually like to hang out with Aunt Chloe on Sundays... I don't want to take that from you-" Vena began, only to be silenced by her mother shaking her head and waving a hand back and forth in the air.

"Oh she'll survive a weekend without me, she knows you're what's most important to me anyway." Her mother gave a playful wink and a chuckle, clearly refusing to take no for an answer  as she finished making the plates and setting the table.

Who was Vena to argue?

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"Vena?"

Hm?

A sharp jerk of her head centered her vision, eyes now as wide as a deer in the headlights, finally bringing her back to the world of the living as she came out of a wild disassociation.

Blurry eyes focused on her teacher's form, standing beside the dry erase board with an expectant look on her face, her patience clearly very thin today judging by her expression.

"I'm sorry- could you ask the question again?" Vena gave a little shake of her head, hoping she could shake off the last bit of sleepiness that refused to release its grasp on her, forever making her feel like a walking corpse.

A snicker from the back of the room could be heard along with a scoff and giggle, which Vena rightfully ignored.

Mrs. Chance exhaled a disappointed noise, eyes closing momentarily in annoyance as she opened her mouth to ask it again.

"What qualities are you attracted to in a potential mate?" The irritation was still evident in her voice, strained, another thing Vena decided to ignore for the time being.

Usually, that would be an incredibly odd question for a teacher to ask a student, but this was biology class after all, and it sadly came with the territory.

Why me? Why doesn't everyone insist on asking me the personal questions? I bet Cindy would love to be asked this question.

Giving an internal eye roll, Vena struggled to find her answer, always caught off guard by any type of personal questions, and teachers didn't exactly have a heart when it came to respecting students boundaries or caring.

"Potential mate?" Playing dumb would certainly get her to fuck off and just call on someone else, right?

"You want me to list the characteristics of my ideal mate..?"

The sound of Rae's giggle reached her ears, causing the girl to glare daggers into her back.

Not helping, bitch.