The Rooftoppers: SHINE IN THE DARK

Visitors

I woke up to blinding lights and the smell of hospital sheets.

Am I at the hospital?

I started to panic.

I hated the hospital.

I tried to sit up but I couldn't. I had a headache.

My head was unsteady. I fell back on the pillows.

I must have fainted.

I sighed.

Footsteps. Mumbling. More footsteps. Whispering.

The footsteps stopped.

"Hi, Sadie, how are you feeling, love?" It was a gentle voice. An older lady, probably. "I am the school nurse- Dorothy." I could tell she was smiling, even though I couldn't see her face.

I tried to sit up again and this time, it was successful.

When I blinked, I saw an old woman in her 60s with bright blond hair tied in a tight bun and a pen through it.

"Uh, yeah, I'm alright," I muttered shyly.

"That's good," she grinned, revealing wrinkles next to her brown eyes.

"Wait, why did I faint?"

"Oh, you had low blood pressure, dear. But don't worry, you're fine now," she smiled.

Oh, okay.

"Hello?" A voice calls from outside the door.

As Dorothy trudged to the door, I stared at her leg. She was struggling to walk. She was limping. She caught my eye.

"I've got a bad knee," she sighed with a shake of her head. "I'm quite old, you know."

"Oh. I hope you get better," I said softly. I gave her an awkward smile.

She looked delighted. "Thank you dear."

+ + +

"You have a few visitors," she said, her head poking out the door.

A few???

After greeting them, the visitors came in and Dorothy left the room to give us space.

I was overcome with rage when Leo walked in but when I saw his tear-streaked face and puffy red eyes, my fury cooled down. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

Calm down Sadie, you don't need to get so mad over something so small like this. I exhaled. I learned that from my therapist.

When I opened my eyes, I was confused to see Abby, Tilda and that map boy standing next to my bed.

What are they doing here?

I looked at Leo hoping for an explanation but he took it as permission for him to hug me.

"Sades!" Leo cried with a watery smile, he hugged me tight and he didn't let go for twenty whole seconds. I patted his back awkwardly. He finally released me before he could suffocate me. He then swarmed me with his hundreds of apologies. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? I promise I'll pay more attention. Please shout out next time if you feel faint. This is all my fault. Please forgive me. I won't let this happen again," he gasped for air.

"Hey, it's ok. It's not your fault. I just fainted 'cus of low blood pressure. No big deal," I reassured him. I hugged him: I was both annoyed and touched by his concern. He cared too much about me. He took it by surprise but hugged me tighter all the same.

I shifted my attention to Abby, Tilda and map boy as they awkwardly looked at their feet.

"Oh yeah, these guys here helped you after you fainted while I looked for a teacher, I hope you don't mind them here," Leo grinned proudly.

"No, I don't mind," I shook my head at Leo. "Thank you," I nodded at the three of them appreciatively.

"Sooo, we haven't really introduced ourselves yet," Tildsa began, she sounded enthusiastic. " I'm Matilda Harris but you can call me Tilda for short," she grinned brightly at me.

"And I'm Abby," stated Abby in a straightforward way. She half-smirked.

"And I'm...I'm Kevin," map boy stuttered. He smiled shyly. He didn't make eye contact with me. He suddenly became interested in a blue vase on top of the bedside table next to me.

"Oh...uh...it's nice to...meet you guys." My brain was not loading. I decided to introduce myself as well, " I'm Sadie Bells."

"Ooh! Pretty name!" Tilda complimented.

"Thanks," I replied blankly. Ok, this is awkward.

" Hey Sadie, dear? " Dorothy poked her head into the room. "Do you feel well enough to go to class? You missed a bit of homeroom but you can go now if you want," she asked sympathetically. She seemed concerned.

" Yeah, I think I'm better. I can go now," I rotated my legs to the side of the bed and stood up. My head felt a bit sore but other than that, I was fine.

Leo took my arm to help me regain my balance. I acknowledged his thoughtful act with a small smile.

+ + +

The five of us are silently going down the hallway to our homeroom-

Damn. This place is loud.

When I walked into the room, my classroom seemed like it had been hit by a swirling tornado: There were wandering chairs all over the classroom out of their rows ; if you look up at the ceiling, you'll see stretchy pink gum dangling off the fan and balled-up wet tissues- and just lots of disgusting things up there that I can't even decipher.

Gross.

I spotted an empty desk at the back of the classroom so I dumped my bag by the desk and slumped down the seat. Leo chose a desk next to me on one side and Tilda the other. She caught my eye and gave a faint smile. Abby and Kevin took the seats in front of Tilda.

Where is the fricking teacher?

After about fifteen minutes, we were all bored out of our minds even in the noisy chatter except Tilda. She got up and tried to talk to the other girls in our class but she was just making small talk so no one paid attention to her, they just gave her a disgusted look and resumed to their discussion.

"What type of phone do you have?"

"Omg, did you see the viral TikTok video?"

"Did you see him? He's soo cute."

Ugh. Fucking stuck-ups.

I tried to tell Tilda to stop bothering trying- but she seemed too focused to hear me.

"Don't mind her," Abby told me while rolling her eyes. She looked at Tilda questioning a random guy on what he got up to last weekend. " She's just weird like that," she shrugged with a smirk.

AAAAH!!!

A sharp piercing cry echoed through the hallway.

What the fuck was that?

Everyone rushed out the door.

I froze.

It was a trail of dark red-

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(1055 words)