RAPTURE ! ( it )

two.

RAPTURE !

002. ' another one of richie's
desperate attempts '

JUNE 1989

SHE WALKS DOWN THE VACANT SCHOOL CORRIDOR, the tips her braids swaying against her shoulders with every bouncy step. She entered the girl's restroom with her hands burrowed into the pockets of her olive overalls and her Converse squeaking against the filthy tile, which drew the gazes of two girls leaning against the first stall. They studied her in revulsion and she returned the favor with even more distaste.

"Go use the restroom in the C-Wing, Pipers," another girl remarked from the sinks as she clasped onto a weighted-down garbage bag and fixed Amelia with a glare.

"And miss whatever cult-related ceremony you're doing in here? I'd rather not, Agnes," she remarked with a minimal shake of her head and a gesture to the swishing contents of the bag.

Agnes' cheeks reddened at the girl's sly remark as she furiously indicated at the other two girls by the stall. The two hastily snatched Amelia's arms and started shoving her in direction of the first stall door. They clanged it open with a kick and jostled an irritated Amelia into the tiny space.

"Oh, am I a new, honorary member? I'm so happy!" she snarled, her aggravated voice echoing around the small restroom.

"You should have listened," a voice murmured nonchalantly as she whirled around to the toilet.

Amelia nearly scrambled against the stall door at the awareness that there was another person occupying the tiny space with her.

"They don't scare me," she scoffed to the red-head that was idly positioned on the toilet bowl, a smoldering cigarette between her bent fingers.

"If you say so," Beverly Marsh gave a shrug of her shoulders, wisps of silver smoke curling from the end of her cigarette. Those swirls danced their way through the dense, hazy air of the restroom and watered Amelia's eyes, gagging her throat.

With a roll of her eyes and a cough, she shifted back to the shabby door to brace it back open. As her fingers curled around the metal lock, an outpour of murky water gushed over her and chunks of garbage came onto her shoulders, entangling with her once neat hair.

"What the fuck?!" she shrieked as the water pulled down on her eyelids and obscured her vision.

The foul smell of garbage loitered over her as she clanged open the stall's door, a sneer on her dirtied face. Rubbing away the dirty water from her damp eyes, Amelia fixed a firm glower on the three girls that snickered at the achievement.

Their own gazes flicked to her and she merely smirked, bogusly giggling along with them, "Props to the clever move."

Then, Amelia wielded a punch into Agnes' infuriatingly smirking face and followed with her staggering back against the sink's edge. Pain blazed up her arm at the rough connect with the girl's face as she observed Agnes cradle her throbbing jaw.

"You bitch!"

"Takes one to know one," Amelia whispered with a glimmer of a smirk and Agnes brought herself a step forward across the tile, hurling a returning punch into her own face. Pain erupted from the point of impact immediately and Amelia shoved her away with the force of a shaking arm.