Divine Memoria

Clause VII - Acts for Atonement

Evangelina awoke from a comforting sleep in her dorm.

The sunlight dimly light her room and created a hazy and dim atmosphere. 

She slipped out of her bed and placed her cold feet into a pair of fuzzy in-house slippers.

"Not a fan of training days..." Evangelina sighed to herself as she looked out her large window overlooking the city.

She rubbed her eyes and made her way into her clean kitchen area, searching for a pod to place in her coffee maker.

"I... think I'm all out... Maybe this is a sign I should look around town and find a good cafe," Evangelina said to herself as she gave up looking for a pod.

"I'm just... nervous... I don't want to go to a new cafe and be judged by the people there..." Evangelina thought to herself as she began washing up for her class.

She applied her skincare and neatly put things back into her cabinet.

"I really, really don't want to go to class today..." Evangelina sighed to herself as she laid out her training uniform.

In a brief moment, Evangelina put on her uniform and headed to class alone, wishing she didn't have to go.

Eventually, class ended and Evangelina walked the courtyard alone, admiring the morning sky.

"Cameron was nice to me today..." Evangelina whispered to herself.

She looked around for a familiar face, but couldn't find one. She frowned and began walking into building A.

Before exiting through the front doors of the school, Evangelina sighed and closed her eyes.

"I can do this..." She whispered to herself.

Evangelina walked outside into the bright sunlight shining onto the campus.

The front courtyard wasn't as busy as the gardens, but there were many first-years who hung out in the front of the school.

Evangelina quickly walked past many small groups of teens younger than her as she began to walk off of campus.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked both ways before crossing the street.

"If I'm correct... the cafe should be this way," Evangelina said as she hesitantly walked down a long, clean, and thin sidewalk.

Evangelina made it to the cafe and was seated in the back of the cafe next to a window and a large wall made of bookshelves.

Evangelina sighed as she looked out the window and stared at other students.

"Is Memoria... really the team for me?" She silently asked herself.

"You look sad? Mind if I sit here?" A small and delicate female voice asked from in front of Evangelina.

Evangelina looked up to notice a girl with long brown hair staring at her. Her hair matched the hue of her curious eyes. She was wearing a white, oversized knit sweater that barely covered her bandaged knees.

"Of course," Evangelina agreed with a smile.

"How come you came to this cafe alone?" The girl asked as she tilted her head as if she were a puppy.

"My friends... they're all in class at the moment. I skipped my breakfast before class and-"

"You're a student? At Saint Divina?" The girl interrupted Evangelina.

"Y...yes! I just transferred here," Evangelina explained.

"Welcome to the school, I hope it's not too overwhelming... I know it can be at times..." The girl explained.

"I never caught your name," Evangelina said as she held out her hand for a handshake.

"My name is Eugene, nice to meet you," The girl said with a cheeky smile.

"Evangelina."

The two shook hands gently and smiled at each other.

"Are you a student too?" Evangelina asked.

"Oh no, I graduated a long time ago..." Eugene explained.

"You look really, really young," Evangelina addressed, making Eugene blush.

Eugene fixed her bangs and chuckled.

"I'm flattered but... I'm a lot older than I appear. Anyway... you seem very kind and inviting. Don't feel intimidated by your peers, I just know you will befriend most of them," Eugene explained.

Evangelina's latte and scone came.

"Thank you for waiting, please enjoy!" The waiter said as gently placed Evangelina's food on the table.

Evangelina smiled at the waiter as he walked away, "Thank you,"

Eugene began to massage her bruised knees.

"Are your knees okay? What happened?" Evangelina asked.

The bandages began to slowly come off of Eugene's bruised and cut-up knees.

"I fell really hard on the pavement the other day... I'm still recovering. I only came out to read a book here," Eugene explained.

"I hope you feel better. You know... I'm actually a healer, so I could probably help you out," Evangelina explained.

"I'm obliged but please, don't feel the need to help someone like me," Eugene smiled, "As a matter of fact, I should be heading home to repair my bandages... It was nice meeting you,"

"Thank you for stopping by... It was so nice meeting you too," Evangelina said as she stood up to hug Eugene.

Before Evangelina could properly stand up, Eugene already began walking away.

Evangelina stared at Eugene walk away, bending her eyebrows as she was curious as to why they didn't hug.

She sat back down and took a sip from her latte.

Someone dropped their book they were reading near Evangelina which made a loud sound, startling her and some others in the cafe.

Evangelina looked out the window again and noticed the girl from the elevator with the bright eye sitting alone, staring into the cafe.

Evangelina squinted her eyes and slowly moved closer to the glass of the window to get a better look.

The girl from outside sharply turned to make eye contact with Evangelina, startling her.

At the same moment, Evangelina felt two hands touch her shoulders from behind.

She covered her mouth and quickly turned around to see Lorenzo next to her.

"Lorenzo you scared me!" Evangelina scolded as he sat down next to her.

"What are you doing here alone?" Lorenzo asked.

"I was just with a new friend I met, they had to leave..." Evangelina explained, still shaken up.

She took another sip from her latte and slowly turned her eyes to the table where the girl was sitting.

She was nowhere to be seen.

"What's wrong? Is something going on outside?" Lorenzo asked.

"It's nothing... I'm just distracted," Evangelina explained, "What about you? What are you doing here alone?

"I always come here alone, if not, with Ben," Lorenzo explained.

"Makes sense..." Evangelina said awkwardly, trying to keep the conversation going.

"We should hold a scrimmage with another team soon, so we can start getting those hours in," Lorenzo mentioned, leaning back and closing his eyes.

"I agree... but I don't know if I can... I don't think I'm ready..." Evangelina explained as she frowned and looked down at her lap.

"You'll do fine... It's just practice after all,"

"...You're right, Lorenzo," Evangelina said with a smile.

"I've been trying to be positive lately... But it feels like that optimistic energy is going to run out soon..."