Balloons (Wattys2017)

Chapter 4

Sparrow was left alone outside, unsure of what to say or do. She didn't understand anything Nomed had said, or anything he was trying to tell her. It was as if he wasn't even human.

"He's as mad as a hatter." Sparrow said to herself before kicking the dirt and going back inside. She slammed the door behind her and stormed down the hall. A hard grip pulled her to the dining room and sat her down on the corner chair harshly. She looked up and saw Christa, her mouth forming a snarl.

"Hey! What's the big id-" Sparrow was cut off by Christa's voice booming out with nothing but hatred.

"You disobeyed Ms. Megan and you were interacting with someone outside of the school." Christa growled. Sparrow crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

"No one said isolation was a rule." Sparrow stated nonchalantly. Christa punched the table, breaking the corner of it off and letting it fall to the ground.

"Regardless you shouldn't have even gone out in the first place." Christa hissed. Sparrow stuck her tongue out at Christa, allowing Christa to pull it.

"Ow!! Hey! Let go!!" Sparrow yelled, her speech sounding muffled due to Christa's fingers pinching it.

"Not until you promise that you're going to stop going to that thing in the forest." Christa demanded. Sparrow rapidly nodded her head "say it."

"I won't go to the girl!" Sparrow replied. Christa let go and wiped her fingers on her skirt. Christa then walked away after she pushed a plate of cold food in front of Sparrow. Sparrow didn't eat it, instead she shoved the plate away and left.

As the day went on, Nomed kept popping into her mind.

"What did he mean? All he did was list tree names..." Sparrow mumbled to herself, sitting on her bed and staring out the window. The sun was gone and the moon stared through the window. She was sitting in silence until she heard the clock begin to tick again.

"Huh, didn't that break the first night?..." Sparrow asked herself as she got up and walked to the clock. Sure enough, the clock was working perfectly, 7:58, not a second off. Sparrow raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off as nothing.

“Probably part of that dream too.” Sparrow said to herself as she walked back to her bed. She laid down again, resting on her backside as she stared up at the leaking ceiling. It wasn't raining but some type of rusted water still dripped down to the ground. Sparrow rolled over onto her side and curled up into the fetal position, doll in her arms.

The clock continued to tick, it’s aimless melody sending Sparrow to sleep. Until again, it stopped ticking. Sparrow noticed and sat up, no gust of wind or balloon came in. She got up and rushed to the window, awaiting it, but nothing. Disappointed, Sparrow went back to her bed, only to see the balloon already in her room. A silent gasp escaped her lips as she smiled and reached for the balloon.

Instead of it going through the door, it went out the window. Sparrow thought, before an idea came to mind. She looked around the room, spotting a drawer of blankets and sheets that were left unused. She grabbed 3 sheets and searched the table top for scissors. When she found none, she went to her luggage and pulled out a sewing kit.

“In case a uniform ripped.” She muttered to herself, remembering what her mother told her while they were packing. She found scissors, needle, and thread and began to work out her plan. Cutting the sheets and blankets thinner and sewing the pieces together to form a long rope of fabric, Sparrow made sure that it was durable and tear resistant before tying it to the windowsill and throwing out the remaining cloth line down the side of the school. Gripping the fabric firmly, Sparrow began to lower herself, making sure to not kick the wall or windows as she did so.