Republic of Omisha

Chapter 7: Valerie

 "Please, I'll be careful. Look at her she's so peaceful. She looks harmless." Valerie protests in her polite "teachers pet" way.

"She is recovering from a severe concussion and she was having a breakdown." The attendant replies.

"Yes, she was, but now she's fine. You said I could today."

The attendant sigh deeply and agreed to letting her in for five minutes. He tells her some safety protocol and unlocks the door.

The heavy door opened with a creek of the hinges. Valerie cautiously entered the small room. She stood straight trying to look confident to make up the lack thereof. "Hello. My name is Valerie." She said as she studied the calm girl on the floor.

She didn't move an inch to acknowledge that Valerie had entered the room. "Are you going to introduce yourself?" Valerie persisted.

"Why should I? You clearly know my name." The girl said without shifting her gaze.

"It's just polite for you to introduce yourself and quite frankly, you should show me some courtesy for being nice to you and even trying to be your friend. All of the other students are scared of you." Valerie wasn't upset. She just wants a hint of respect. None of the other kids respect her in the slightest and that takes a toll on her self esteem.

"Quite frankly I don't care." The girl snapped back this time giving Valerie a well-deserved glare.

"Eliza!" Valerie stopped herself from finishing that burst of rage. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again she tried again. "I just want to help. I won the trials last year. The memories are fresh in my mind. I know what your going through and I-"

"No you don't!" Eliza shouted and rose to her feet, seeing Valerie eye to eye.

Valerie didn't react in the slightest to Eliza's anger.

"What's wrong with you? Didn't you hear me? I hate you!" Eliza yelled.

"I hope you don't mind," Valerie began sarcastically, "but I have decided to ignore any mean thing you shout at me."

Valerie, calm, cool and collected, watched Eliza's baffled expression. Eliza may see Valerie as an associate of her enemy, but all Valerie sees is Eliza's potential and there's so much good under there. Valerie decides here and now that she will make it her goal to coax that brilliant, kind person out of her. If she's lucky she'll gain a friend in the process, but Valerie is content just helping Eliza find the part of her that was stolen from her. The part that died with her sister.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Valerie says in her sweet voice.

She turns to leave and hears Eliza reply by saying, "And what if I don't want to see you tomorrow."

Valerie doesn't dignify her with a response. Instead she feels a smile. Valerie can tell that Eliza is just playing tough and the tone in that last remark didn't sound the same as before. Eliza sounded like she lost the edge to her anger. She sounded more down to earth and like she genuinely just wanted to keep the conversation going.

Valerie turns to face Eliza before she shuts the door. She drops her smile and sincerely tells Eliza, "Sweet dreams." Valerie knows the nightmares that plague Eliza because she still has them. She wanted to express to Eliza that she's not alone and that someone cares.

The door closes with a mechanical locking "click". It's ten at night so Valerie hurries off to bed, which is where she should be right now, but Valerie has gone to visit Eliza everyday since she arrived. The attendant is touched by how she cares so he keeps quiet about being out of bed after lights out at nine.