tornado // h.s.

tornado; two

C H A P T E R              T W O

"this world is your best teacher. there is a lesson in everything. there is a lesson in each experience. learn it and become wise. every failure is a stepping stone to success. every difficulty or disappointment is a trial of your faith. every unpleasant incident or temptation is a test of your inner strength. therefore nil desperandum. march forward hero!" » swami sivananda

WRAPPING my hair behind my ear, I walked out the door to go to dinner. Despite my clear disinterest in humanity, I managed to arrive to the cafeteria without a single roll of an eye or one of my mighty sighs.

When I entered the cafeteria, I couldn't help but gawk at the flabbergast. If you were to think of the expression, "This place is as packed as sardines in a can!", then you'd think the cafeteria was as packed as sardines in a smaller can.

The cafeteria was dull; a monotonous repetition of lunch trays and mindless chatter. The strong smell of ketchup emanated from the hot food line, and the chocolate milks were cold to the touch. A low buzz came from the flickering light in the corner. Sterile and antiseptic seemed to describe it quite well, although the huge crowd in the cafeteria released a stench that was odiferously potent and disgusting. I took a tray and set it on the metal counter facing the alignment of food, pressing my lips in an awkward smile when I faced the cook. "May I have some of that?" I pointed at the mashed potatoes in front of my tray. She nodded and with a twitch of annoyance from her nose, she picked up the silver serving spoon and placed a blob on my plate. I muttered a thank you and slid my plate to the array of vegetables, deciding to serve myself this time. After I had enough of the rough-housing from the line, I took a juice box and made my way out.

Now deciding where to sit was the hard part. All the tables were taken with at least one person at each side of the table, so sitting alone was definitely not an option. My eyes scattered the crowd, looking for the familiarity of my dad or even Avalon, but it was deemed impossible due to the over populated environment.

I found a long table, only the right side occupied with a little clique of people. I took it to my advantage and sat at the idle spot, feeling uncomfortable with many people encompassing me, although I shook off the minor insecurity when I was reminded of my empty stomach.

Faux Pas, I reminded myself. There's nothing wrong with being socially awkward, especially when society is slowly deteriorating with each second, minute and hour. Hope disintegrating. I don't understand it quite much, though. Why do people have the desire to bring others down in order to drag them up? And why do people think so lowly of themselves; so lowly to the extreme that they become their own monster and end up destroying themselves. Don't these futile and feeble-minded people pause for just a moment, and predict that when happiness starts within themselves and towards others, then maybe they'd learn how to move the wind?

"Ugh," I groaned lowly, dropping the fork on my plate. I gave up on eating due to the fact that the food was rancid, tasting like cardboard.

I was absolutely weary; drained to the bone. I hadn't even bothered changing out of my plain leggings and hoodie. Collapsing on the cheap bed, I fell into deep slumber.

☾☾☾

My eyes peeled open and I looked around me in confusion. I halfly expected the strong sunlight to cut through the room, to see the dust motes floating in the air, but the nostalgia sent chills down my spine. I had awoken to the murkiness of the room. I rolled over, checking the time on the little alarm clock that sat on the sturdy concrete desk. 

10:40 A.M.

"Shit!" I cursed under my breath, immediately running through my baggage, throwing two random articles of clothing together. I ran to the little bathroom and sat on the metal toilet seat, finishing up some business before washing up. Bringing the towel to dry my wet face, I then applied some drugstore mascara my dad had given me for my 16th birthday. I ran across the room, staring intently ahead until I heard my worn out Converse sneakers squeak and the next thing I knew, I was sitting on my butt in a pool of clothes, staring up at my messy room. After making sure I was uninjured, I carefully got up and slowly walked across the tile hallway, silently congratulating myself that no one saw my fall.

I crinkled my nose as I tried to read the map that resembled the human's circulatory system. My navigation skills have always been terrible, adding onto the excess pressure of being late.

"Aha!" I triumphantly praised. I followed the directions and made my way through the maze like hallways, finally reaching the designated area.

"Sorry I'm late!" I apologized while opening the door, giving a respectful nod to the old woman.

"It's okay dear, don't let it happen again. Take a seat, we're discussing specific details," her frail voice replied with genuine kindness.

I flashed a smile in return and looked at the faces that scattered the room, although my gaze dropped as my eyes met his, regret washing over me.

It was him.

a/n

sucky filler chapter but i hope u liked it iM REALLY SORRY ABOUT MY HIATUS AND FOR NOT UPDATING A LOT but thank you so much for getting my story ranked previously (don't think it is right now) but omg it reached to #24 in action and I cannot breath goodbye