The night before had been rough after they left the theater. Lowery could barely stand from all the excitement he had with the group, and he didn’t want to go. But he had no choice since midnight was slowly approaching and they all had school in the morn. After Helen and Ryan went their way, he escorted Anna and Destiny back to their respective places.
Once Destiny was home her mind raced about what her parents would think. But they were fast asleep. And she was sure that they wouldn’t have minded too much since Lowery was her chaperone.
Despite all his faults he was still dedicated to the job. She still couldn’t determine whether he was staying solely for the money, or because of her. But she was thankful nonetheless.
The stroll up the stairs was silent as she tried her best not to wake her parents, and Lowery did the same. And once they were relaxed and set for bed her thoughts ran rampant. “Lowery,” she whined. “What’ll happen once this process is done?”
He huffed before turning in her direction, “You’ll either succeed or you’ll fail, but that final outcome is up to you. All I do is clear the way for you to make that final verdict yourself. Now that Melody’s out of the picture for a while, things with the squad should get easier.”
“What about my peers,” she immediately questioned. He didn’t want to touch upon that subject so he simply rolled over and bluntly remarked, “Get some sleep annoying girl. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
She frowned from the worry she felt boiling inside her, but she didn’t argue. She knew Lowery and she knew he must have had something big planned, but she didn’t know what. So she closed her eyes and tried to relax before drifting off into a deep slumber.
Another day began and it was the first time in the past few days she had walked this long corridor alone. There were countless glares from the others, but that was the extent of their power today. There was no fruit nor were there any whispers, and it surprised her at first.
Without Melody they were at bay since she had instigated things to this point with Kit’s help. This was an invigorating experience she thought as she marched carefully down the hallway towards her next class. Like before they stared at her before she took her seat. But like the hallway crowd it didn’t escalate any further.
The tranquility was stimulating as she focused on the lesson ahead of her. This was the new normal she thought as she followed the teacher’s words carefully. This was what she had lacked during the past week and even before that as well.
She wasn’t a very astute student most days, and the days she was attentive to the lessons were right before tests. Thanks to the fall the weight that she had carried around for so long was finally gone. And because of that weight being released along with Lowery’s influence she felt herself exceeding her previous limitations.
This translated to each of her classes and she misted once lunch finally arrived. She feared the onslaught that awaited her without Lowery by her side. But when she was greeted to open arms by both Helen and Ryan her mind eased.
The line was long today and without Lowery she had to wait just like everyone else. While she waited the squad entered. They were one member short and it was noticeable as they avoided her. She sighed in relief once their attention was elsewhere.
She recalled how sweet the squad really was when they weren’t being led by a tyrant like Melody. It wasn’t clear who would step up in the absence of a leader. But Destiny did feel they had a few decent selections to choose from.
