What's the Opposite of a Fairy Tale? | ONC 2024

8. The World Outside

The crash of the metal door as it shut behind Olivia's roommate reverberated in my ears. This was it; I was on my own. I'd lied in bed countless times, dreaming of the time when I'd finally be done with school and striking out on my own to do whatever I wanted. I had to say, this wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind.

So now, I had a decision to make. I could wait around and hope that Olivia showed up, or I could swallow my pride and see if I could find those stupid cats and learn about their oh-so-important mission.

The problem with finding the cats was that I really didn't want to deal with them right now. I was having a pretty terrible day, and every time I saw those two, they made everything worse. So, maybe I'd put that off for a day or two— give myself some time to process what they'd said. Maybe I'd be able to come up with an alternative plan.

Of course, waiting for Olivia had its own complications. For starters, I didn't actually know if this was the door she'd come back through. I also didn't know how long she'd be gone, and the longer I stayed here, the higher the chance that Comet or Rain would find me. I wasn't sure I wanted to be dragged into their apparent suicide mission just yet. And even if Olivia did come back before those cats got here, there was still the problem of her roommate. There was an excellent chance I'd be kicked out as soon as I got back inside. I felt like I'd already suffered enough indignities today, and I didn't really need the extra shame. But even with all that going through my mind, there was one single fact that really convinced me to leave.

I was hungry.

Like, really hungry. Olivia had bought a can of tuna at the little campus shop for me, but that was yesterday. Now, I'd never really been a fan of tuna myself— I never could get over the smell. But let me tell you, when your hungry and don't know when the next time you'll get food is, you'll eat pretty much anything someone'll give you. Still, I hadn't had anything to eat since before it even got dark yesterday, and my insides felt hollow. I made my way towards the cafeteria, wondering what the odds were that I'd be able to find something to eat over there.

Of course, students weren't allowed to leave with food. Sure, there was always an apple or a cookie tucked into a pocket, but it wasn't like anyone was walking out with platefuls of noodles or anything like that. Even if someone did manage to sneak a meal out, it wasn't like they'd be sharing it with me. So, I didn't bother to waste my time at the front doors. Instead, I circled the building, wondering where the doors that the kitchen staff used were. I found them on the far end of the right wall. I also found four other cats waiting not-so-patiently.

"Who are you?" a somewhat mangy shorthair sneered, eying me suspiciously.

"Uh..." I started. I hadn't exactly been ready for a confrontation. Was this a prime spot? And here I'd thought I'd been so clever.

The orange cat next to him arched its back and hissed at me. He had a strange look in his eye, and I took a step to the side.

Seeing that they had no intention of sharing whatever apparently amazing treats they'd planned on getting from the kitchen staff, I slunk away— I knew when I was beat. I found a dumpster around the corner that smelled like it had food inside it. For a half a second, I actually debated whether or not I'd try to see what was in it. But the smell of actual garbage that was mixing with the fried chicken was enough to turn my stomach. I wasn't desperate enough for that. Besides, it was way too tall to climb, and I'd never make it anyway.

I ended up spending the rest of the day in the quad, watching the actual students. A group of freshmen that I recognized as being in my statistics class were sitting on the other side of the grass. I couldn't believe it, but I was jealous. Not even two days ago, I'd have done just about anything to get out of schoolwork— especially statistics. I hadn't realized just how lucky I was at the time.