The Not So Perfect School For Perfect Children (#Wattys2016)

Mornings Are The Worst

Chapter 12

Jack's POV

I wake to find Alice asleep in my chair across from my bed, I frown, what is she doing here? Like a tidal wave, memories of yesterday's events flood my mind with images and feelings I wish I could forget, the hole in my heart now aches with emptiness as I remember. I shake my head as I slowly get up, Alice has large dark circles around her eyes, I don't want to wake her so I carefully creep my way to my bathroom to have a shower and get changed. I slowly take off my clothes trying not to make to much noise I head for the shower and I catch a glimpse of my back in the mirror, I want to scream but I don't want to wake Alice, I have a tattoo, when did I get a tattoo? How long was I out? Who did this to me? I try to slow my breathing, I try not to freak out but it doesn't really work. I have a huge tattoo of wings that practically cover my back, I start to examine the incredible detail, they are beautiful, and they look almost real, I run my hands over my back just to check, yep, a tattoo. As I run my fingers delicately over it, I swear I saw the feathers move, I swing my body around, they did move! When I stopped they bounced back into place, I am officially on drugs, first ghosts and now a moving tattoo, what is in the food at this place. Even though I'm not at the slightest of calm right now, I still need a shower, I turn the water on high heat and step into a slight bliss as for a small 10 minutes I could forget about my problems as I was submerged in the peaceful feel of the water.

I was drying my hair with a towel when I walked back into my room, lucky I had clean clothes in my bathroom or things could of gotten pretty awkward between Alice and I because there's no door on my wardrobe. Although when I began to pay attention to my surroundings Alice was no longer in my room, she was replaced by Mallaurie, who was sitting on my bed and happened to look very angry with me.

"Do you know how lucky you are to have me around? Honestly, I thought you were smarter than this Jack, leaving someone like Alice alone with something as precious as an Angel feather, how COULD you?" She pointed her finger at me as she ranted and I had to step back a bit as the girl charged at me.

"Mallaurie, what are you talking about? I don't have an Angel feather." I reply. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

She gently lifts her hand to show me a large, silver, feather. I have never seen anything so beautiful, the lines were crisp but delicate, everything about it perfect and I suddenly start to feel angry with her.

"Why are you holding it?" I snap. "It's mine; no one else should have it." I try to snatch it off her but she resists, however, she slaps me across the face and my head starts to clear. When did it go cloudy?

"Shhh, it's ok." She says in a comforting voice. "This is good; you shouldn't trust anyone with something like this."

I stop to think things through, calculating where I would hide it when it suddenly occurred to me. "Why did you get Alice to leave?"

"Because she's not to be trusted. None of her group is."

"Her group?" I say disbelievingly and slightly frustrated. "Why do people keep, mentioning these stupid groups!? Ugh. It's getting really annoying now, what are the groups? Why are they so important? What aren't you telling me Mallaurie? For God's sake you're supposedly dead, I mean how come I just believed that huh? I mean the most logical explanation is that I'm hallucinating or maybe you're just some annoying kid pulling of a really good prank with holograms or something. This is completely insane! What fucking drugs do they put in the food here?!" I had been talking so quickly I had to gasp for breath. My pulse had increased dramatically as I started to panic, my eyes started to water and I sink to the floor, defeated, in a blubbering mess. "Am I going crazy?" I whisper.