Sudden Departure

Chapter Twenty-Five

I remember these nights I'd get when I couldn't sleep. I'd toss and turn for hours on end getting all hot and sweaty. I'd also force my mind to wander. I would think of all of these crazy, impossible scenarios like meeting my favorite celebrities, or becoming a spy. Just ridiculous stuff like that.

The one thing that most stuck out for me was not sleeping. The wheels just wouldn't stop turning. They would roll so much that my brain wouldn't shut down and I couldn't sleep.

This is how I felt every night now.

I rolled over in my new bunk. After a got settled back the other night, I was told I had to change rooms. Again. This time, I ended up in the bed across from Terrance's.

This would have been fine, except for the fact fact that he snored. Loudly. But that wasn't the bad part. Just when I thought I could get passed the snoring, Nebula came in. She crawled under Terrance's sheets and they whispered nauseatingly adorable things to each other for hours.

After a while, they fell asleep, both snoring loudly. What are the odds?

I groaned and wrapped my pillow around my head. After a few minutes of blocking out their noise and squeezing my eyes shut, my face got all hot and sticky. It was uncomfortably warm from the lack of ventilation.

I sighed and pushed the pillow off my head. It landed on the floor with a puff. Now, I had a new problem. Nebula and Terrance's incessant snoring.

I rolled my eyes and slowly climbed from my bunk. From there, I ambled out into the silent hallway.

I had finally gotten passed the eery silence of the empty halls of the mansion. It wasn't as unsettling to walk through the rooms at night, but the fear of getting caught still was.

As the elevator slid down the shaft I twisted the hem of my nightgown in my fingers. I was desperately hoping that the noise didn't attract any authoritative figures.

The elevator gently shuddered to a stop on the Rec-Room level. As the doors peeled apart I popped my head in the room. It was dark, cozy, and empty. Just the way I like it, I thought contentedly.

I waltzed stealthily into the room, grabbed a soda from the bar, and plopped down on a couch.

After popping the tab on the soda and wrapping an ugly yellow blanket from my bunk around my shoulders, I clicked on the TV.

On the TV, I set up an old, nineties cartoon and sipped my chilled Dr. Pepper. The soda slugged down my throat and freezed my insides. Just like Death's soul had. I put my soda on the floor in front of me and shook the thought from my head. I won't think of that now.

After a few episodes of entertaining negativity from Daria, I heard the familiar rurr of the elevator.

I gasped. At lightning speed, I turned the TV off and flung the remote across the room before lunging behind the couch. I crouched there and pulled my knees to me as tight as I could.

I shut my eyes and bit my lip as soon as the door opened. I heard the lights flick on and footsteps cross the room. Right to the couch I was behind.

I pulled the blanket over my head in hopes of blending in.

A heavy, annoyed sigh escaped the person's lips. "You can come out now; I know you're here. I found your soda." I heard the person jiggle the can before slurping it down.

I grimaced and rose up from my position behind the couch. The Guy sat with his legs propped up on the table, holding my can in his lap.

I shuffled forward and awkwardly raised my hand up. "Hi." my voice cracked. I swallowed loudly, the nervous tension was pouring off me in sheets.