Occupied

Chapter Two

"Mornin." Walking into the classroom, I instantly spotted Daphne and Rhonda sitting at our normal table. I spoke a normal greeting as I slid into the chair they had left vacant for me.

"Good morning Kai." Daphne nodded, going back to the book she was reading. Rhonda remained silent, not even bothering to look up at me. Puzzled, I looked at her. Her skin was pale and her hair looked as though it hadn't been brushed yet. This wasn't normal.

My hand slid forward and grabbed the first book it landed on. I paid no attention to the ripped cover and missing pages, my mind still focused on Rhonda's vacant eyes. Finally, I managed to tear my gaze away, instead skimming over the title.

"Rhonda, how did you sleep?" I noticed that I didn't wake up periodically to the sound of muffled sobs, not that I would say anything to her. There was no point in mentioning it, it would accomplish nothing.

"I slept okay. You know, you guys don't have to walk on eggshells around me? I'm fine, really." I glanced upward, my fingers still idly flipping through the pages of the book that I had already read, 50 times to be exact. I could quote the words on page 30 verbatim.

Hesitantly, I opened my mouth. What would I say? She told us she was fine, but could we trust her words, did she trust her words? I closed my mouth, lips flattening in a thin line. She was frowning as she stared emptily at the book in her lap.

"So I heard we were getting a new roommate soon." Daphne spoke a little louder than necessary, chasing away the discomfort of the mood. Both Rhonda and I looked at her curiously. Another roommate? Was that even possible? Daphne nodded her head, her eyes closed and nose held high. "Yep, overheard some of the doctors this morning complaining about more medicine, different medicine."

"That could just be because the kids started their medicine last night. Maybe some of them need different stuff." I reasoned, my tone staying even though excitement rushed through me. A new roommate? What would they be like, were they from another playhouse? What was their playhouse like? Millions of questions darted through my mind, disappearing and reappearing like fireflies.

Daphne glared at me, her finger holding the page of the book she was closing. I knew in that moment I had challenged the beast.

"Yes Kai, I am aware of that. Do you honestly think I'm that stupid?" Her eyebrows arched high, stretching her face.

"I never said you were stupid Daphne, but it just doesn't seem like the first conclusion you would jump to should be a new roommate." My voice remained calm, my sangfroid only further irritating her. To be honest, I hoped she was right. I hoped we were getting a new roommate, something new to put in the derelict building that served as the playhouse.

The walls were cracked and breezes from somewhere crept through. Every adult I asked would say it's only my wild imagination flaring up. Then as I walked away, they would make comments, some snide others not, about how I was too old for the playhouse and that soon, I'd be kicked out. Our cots had holes, chunks of the memory foam missing. Our blankets were torn. The ceilings dripped in places. The building was falling apart.

"Well it's a new roommate, I know it is. I even heard them say her name." At that moment, Rhonda gasped, her eyes wide as she stared at us. Suddenly, she started to tremor, drool spilling from the corner of her mouth. Uncertain, I stared at her as her body stiffened and she fell from the chair, her whole body shaking. Looking across the table, I saw Daphne was doing much the same as I, her mouth hanging open a sliver.

One of the adults that gave us medicine ran over the Rhonda, shouting something to the others, squatting down to hold Rhonda's body still. Other adults flocked to the scene, swarming around the convulsing body on the floor. Soon, I couldn't see my friend anymore.

"What's happening to her?" Daphne's whispered words fell on deaf ears and all I could do was shrug my shoulders. Everything calmed in a matter of seconds, the sea splitting long enough for me to see Rhonda's body curled up into a ball. Her face was a blank slate, her skin covered in goosebumps. This was something I had never seen, never heard of. Was Rhonda going to be okay?

Hours later, Daphne and I sat together on the floor in between our beds. It was well after bedtime but we payed no attention the time projected on the ceiling. Rhonda was gone. After what happened this morning, they took her away and we hadn't seen her since. I'd been too jumpy to take my medicine as well.

"Do you think she was taken from the playhouse?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think we'll ever see her again?"

"I don't know." It went on this way for a long time, Daphne asking questions that I didn't have the answers to. Finally, she grew fed up with y noncommittal answers and left the playhouse in a fitful sleep. I knew the best thing to do was to go to bed and in the morning, Rhonda would be back.

In my mind I knew, I knew that was wrong. Something was off. Never has anyone in the playhouse acted the way she did earlier. It would be awhile before we saw Rhonda, if we ever saw her again. In my heart, I couldn't shake the feeling that Rhonda was gone from the playhouse and from us forever.