Reprobi

Chapter 1: Words of Kindness

The stars above glitter softly and she can imagine herself swimming in the sky. Her bones ache and ribs hurt slightly with every movement. Quirina takes care to only breathe in small breaths in an effort to minimize the pain. If only she could escape to another world. One where life is fair and people are kind.

The streets have become her friend, the dark of the night shrouding all that is damaged, leaving only the beauty of twinkling stars and city lights from far away. Quirina could stare out at the lights all night long, imagining another life for herself.

With a sigh she turns back towards her house, knowing the longer she takes the more worked up her father would become. As softly as possible she opens the front door, trying her best not to make a sound. All for nothing as he appears around the corner. Her eyes sting at the sudden onslaught of light as he switches on the kitchen lights.

His dark eyes hold her captive as he stares down at her. Her father by no means looks his fifty years of age. His ginger hair is always tied back at the base of his neck. Tattoos litter his muscled arms, now crossed in front of his chest in a daunting manner. His height adds to his intimidating features as he stalks closer, towering over Quirina easily.

"Where were you, Quirina?" His voice is gruff from years of smoking cheap cigarettes.

"I am sorry, Father." Quirina knows better than to look him in the eye when he has gotten himself so worked up and casts her eyes down submissively.

"I did not ask you if you are sorry. I asked where you went." With every word he moves a step closer, until his toes almost touch her shoes.

Quirina feels the fear well up inside of her, and keeps her head down, cowardly though it is, she could not meet those eyes that held so much anger.

"I just went for a walk, Father." She can feel her shoulders relax as he steps away and proceeds into the kitchen. The sound of the kettle is all indication he gives that he is done with his interrogation. She swiftly proceeds to her room, not wasting a moment to hide away. The door closing behind her has the knot in her stomach lessening. Her father may be many things, but he has never entered her room without invitation.

A few stray tears have escaped her eyes and litter her cheeks, Quirina wipes them away with disgust. She always wishes that she could hide her emotions, but since the start she has been cursed with the disability of wearing her heart on her sleeve. Though most of the time tears seem to accompany her emotions. In the deep of the night laying in her bed, Quirina couldn't help but wonder if she would ever run out of tears.

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The university is filled to the brim with young people bustling towards their classes, talking to friends or typing away on their phones. Quirina watches them, feeling like a ghost trapped in a world where she is not meant to be. As always she is an hour early, and in her routine way she got a cup of coffee before sitting on a park bench just a few steps from her English class.

Life is starting to feel like an echo, the same thing over and over again.

Her heart clenches as her eyes catch a happy couple nearby. A beautiful dark haired girl tangled in the arms of a blond haired male. Is there no one out there meant to put such a smile on her lips? Isn't love something she deserves? Or does she not get to have someone to run to for comfort? Right now it seems like pain is but a simple compromise of life.

Maybe if she gets herself out of routine, out of her comfort zone, maybe then she might not feel like she is drifting in circles.

The sound of the bell pulls Quirina back to reality and she takes a moment of silence before standing up and making her way towards class.

Ms. Cassiel Daskal leans on the edge of of her desk comfortably, her eyes scan the room as the students enter. Quirina found they had that in common, watching others, thought she knew they did it for different reasons. Ms Daskal's  short blond hair plays on the edge of her glasses. She watches her as her eyes drift over the students. Just like every other morning she throws her a small smile when their eyes meet and waits until  Quirina smiles back before carrying on scanning the room. A hush falls over the class as everyone finds their seats, and a small smile plays on the corner of Ms. Daskal's lips.

"Good morning to you all, I am happy to say that no one has been absent so far this month. As reward, I have decided on pushing your pop quiz to next week." Her words result in a cheer filling the room. Though the information made no difference to Quirina.

"Today we will be talking about Dramatica. What is Dramatica, you ask? Well, I'll tell you." Her comment pulls a few giggles from a group of girls sitting right in front. Quirina watches them for a moment. The way their eyes follow the young teacher's every move and reacts to her every word. Is that how Quirina would be had she been raised under normal circumstances?

"Dramatica is an entirely new way of looking at a story. Beyond simply a paradigm or sequence of cultural beats, dramatica theorizes why stories exist and attempts to outline the processes and dramatic touchpoints needed to tell a successful and meaningful story.
Pretty heady stuff, right?"

Quirina tries  her best to keep up, but with every word her eyes grow heavier and heavier.

A sudden tap on her shoulder jolts her awake, and she finds Ms. Daskal is crouched next to her, watching her with a worried frown weighing down her features.
"Are you okay, Quirina? You don't usually fall asleep in class." The soft way she spoke to her made it hard for her to control her tear ducts.

Damn your low emotional control, a few soft words and you are ready to break down, she scolds herself before glancing towards Ms. Daskal's eyes. Instantly she lowers her gaze down to the desk, unable to keep eye contact.

"I didn't get much sleep last night, I am sorry." A small laugh pulls her eyes up for a moment where Ms. Daskal is leaning on her desk and watching her with amusement. Before she starts staring, she looks down once more. "I am not upset, Quirina, you have the best grades in this class, one snooze won't change that. Tell you what, if you want you can stay here and catch up on a few more Z's while I grade some papers, I can wake you when I am done and give you a lift home?"

Again her kind words has Quirina biting her lip against an assault of tears. She can't answer her, for fear of her voice shaking. Understanding blooms in Ms. Daskal's expression as she meets her gaze for a second.

"You know what, you have no choice in the matter, sleep, I'll be here grading papers. I'll keep watch, don't you worry." Quirina doesn't attempt to refuse, but gratefully lowers her head down onto her arms. A soft; "Thank you", slipping from her lips before she is taken off to dream land once more.