Destiny's Institute

Part One - Chapter Five - The Non-Existent Luxurious, Golden Toilet

          A gold toilet! This place had a golden toilet! I actually wondered if my eyes were deceiving me, so I rubbed them, then looked again and thank goodness the toilet was still there. It was more luxurious and... golden than I ever would've imagined. I wanted to rejoice and yell, "I've lived!" but I suppressed all that, willing myself to calm down. I wandered mindlessly into the golden toilet room, my piece of mind focusing on the fact that a golden toilet was right in front of me. A door was to the left of the toilet, which might have been a door that held something good, like exactly what was in front of me, or something questionable, like a room built for an insane fairy. I was about to find out one way or another. So I creaked open the door, peeking my head around the corner, only to find Nyla laying on her bed, scrolling through her phone. "Woah," I said aloud, walking slowly into the room. Nyla shot up, a confused expression replacing the once care-free one. "How'd you get in here?" She asked, throwing her legs over her bed and making her way towards the door, which I had entered from. "I just came through that door." I gestured to the open doorway behind me, but saying I was surprised to not see the door when I turned around was an understatement. One part of me wanted to yell, "Witchcraft!" while the other part was amazed, but yet that same part wanted to run away screaming. "I swear, I just came out of a door that came from the bathroom."

"Bathroom?"

"Yeah."

"What are you talking about? The bathroom's out there with the chill out area." She pointed outside her bedroom door, the actual bathroom that she was talking about coming into my view for the first time. My mind swirled with possible scenarios, which made no sense, that all my eyes showed me was a blur. "Azlynn, there is no door and no bathroom that leads into here. The only possible entrance is through my bedroom door. What you are talking about doesn't exist." She spoke slowly, which I was glad for because I wasn't really comprehending all this stuff. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me, most likely attempting to shake some sense into me, which was good because at that moment, I had none. I also apparently couldn't tell daydreams from reality because according to Nyla, there was no such thing as a golden toilet. Nyla went around me, leaving her bedroom and rounding the corner towards mine. Sure enough, when I reached the room, the doorway to the golden toilet had completely disappeared, almost like everything I had just done was all just a figment of my apparently active imagination. "See?" She walked towards the bare wall and leaned against it. "There is no bathroom, and there never has been."

"Nyla, I wouldn't make anything up if it's about a golden toilet."

"'Golden toilet?' Okay, I seriously think you need to visit Mrs. Lauren."

"Who's she?"

"The Nurse!" I rolled my eyes and walked towards where Nyla was, describing to her the height, width, and length of the door. I measured it out by using my hands, but she seemed more convinced that something was seriously wrong with me by the second. "Azlynn, who's lived here longer, you or me?"

"You..." It was a trick question, considering I had only been in this strange place for less than an hour.

"Exactly. And for as long as I've lived here, I have never seen a bathroom in this room, let alone with a golden toilet inside." She had a fair point. She had lived here longer than me. But that still didn't explain how I had seen a bathroom in my room with a golden toilet inside. I needed evidence. Evidence to prove that the bathroom and toilet was real, even though it might not have been now. I know that evidence wasn't just going to be handed to me in an envelope titled evidence, so I was going to have to find it myself, no matter what it takes. I know I saw a golden toilet, and I have never lied to myself. Sure, I've lied to others just a couple times, but it was nothing major. My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Williford, asked me if I had stolen a calculator, or if I'd seen someone take a calculator. I had seen Meghan Asher, the most popular girl at the time, take the calculator, but I knew her father was a lawyer. I wasn't getting sued when I didn't even have a job. So, I told a lie. I said that I hadn't taken it, but Adalynn Curie, the nerd, had. He, of course, argued, but I maybe also tampered with school surveillance, just to make my story seem real. I was a bit of a computer freak at that stage in life, which is probably why I lied to save Meghan Asher: I wasn't anywhere near cool. I knew I wasn't cool, but if I didn't know, everyone made it pretty clear. In the sixth grade, someone told me directly that I wasn't cool. I can't remember their name, but I glared at them for the rest of the time, thinking, Thank you so much for that life-changing information, woman. "Anyway," Nyla said, cutting into my thoughts. "Let me know if you see another golden toilet." I knew she was joking, but that sentence sent a shiver down my spine. I knew what I'd seen, and I wasn't about to disagree with myself. "Wait," I called, causing Nyla to turn around.

"What?"

"Who's lived here before?" Nyla's face went pale and her expression was unreadable. I could see some sort of water entering her eyes, but I knew that she wasn't crying. Or maybe she was. Maybe I shouldn't have asked that question. "Um, I was s-sworn to s-secrecy. I'm not allowed to say," she stuttered, swallowing hard. I could tell she was attempting to push back tears, but she failed miserably because one managed to escape down her cheek. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know this was a sore subject." She wiped underneath her eyes.

"No, it's okay. You didn't know. And I'm glad you don't." She gave me a nod, which seemed to fill my soul with assurance. I guess I really didn't want to know. She turned back around, her footsteps fading as she made it to her room. Seconds were filled with silence, each moment feeling like an eternity. I shrugged, honestly scared of what 'you don't want to know' means. I began to go through my bag, supplies and necessities exploding out as soon as I opened it. Like I said, this whole Destiny's Institute was really last minute, so I didn't even get to thoroughly think my outfit choices through. Scarlett walked in, but I didn't even realize because I was apparently examining every inch of a shirt. "Oh. I'm guessing you've met Nyla," she spoke, ending with me halfway in the air out of fear. "Geez," I muttered, standing up and looking at her. I realized then and there that I was, like, two feet taller than her. "Yeah. I guess this one appealed to me more than your..." I trailed off, thinking my next answer over very carefully. I was not here to make an enemy, nor was I here to make a teenager cry. "Elaborate creation."

"Oh." Her eyes fell to her shoes, her face flushed red out of shame. "I guess I thought you would like it."

"I did." Here was another lying moment in my life. "But I think I'll let another new kid come and live there. Maybe they'll enjoy it as much as I would." Scarlett's eyes seemed to be glued to her shoes, and apparently someone was cutting onions because her eyes welled up like Nyla's did. "I-I have to go."

"Scarlett." I grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to turn back around towards me. "Why is this a sore subject? Nyla did the same thing when I asked her who lived here previously. What are you not telling me?"

"I really can't say." She tried to turn back around, but I stopped her again.

"Tell me." Whenever I demand to understand or acknowledge something, my voice becomes very deep and low. That voice always comes with a hint of compassion, but it's not like I mean to add it in there. It just kind of happens. That's how people know I'm serious. Even though I'd only known this girl for about an hour, she seemed to realize my tone of voice immediately because Scarlett's eyes drooped and her shoulders sagged, hesitating before she reluctantly answered, "Nyla's sister, Hayden, disappeared while she was here and you took her spot."