30 Days & Counting - Sanders Sides

Day 3

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of Child Neglect, Home Sickness

"Virgil! Virgil, wake up!" I faintly heard, feeling my body getting tossed around by an unknown force. I opened my eyes slightly, hissing at the bright light coming through my shrunken pupils. I shut my eyes again and threw my arm over my face. The person, who I assumed was Damion, let out a sigh and only began to shake me more. "Come on, Virgil. Don't be like that!" He pleaded. I groaned, but uncovered my eyes, releasing them again to the cruel, harsh light.

"Wh-Why is i-it so b-bright?" I asked, noticing the lights weren't even on. Damion smirked and looked out our tiny window next to my bed. Confusion flooded me as I turned my dead weight body over to see the ground outside covered in a frosty blanket. "I-It s-s-s-snowed?" I questioned, wiping the window with my sleeve as condensation built up around it.

"Surprising, I know. But, Warden Sanders might let us play around in it!" Damion said with a tint of excitement lacing his words. I stifled a laugh, watching as Damion took my arm and pulled me up right in my bed, his feet dancing happily on the floor. "Come on, get dressed! They're calling for breakfast in 5 minutes!" My roommate exclaimed with glee.

"Okay, o-okay!" I laughed, hustling over to my dresser and pulling out my uniform and shoes. I ran into the bathroom, pulling off my pajamas and piling on my clothes. I then, applied some deodorant and my under eye makeup. Glancing back in the mirror, I approved of my appearance, heading out of the bathroom.

Damion had his hand on the doorknob, raring to go. Quickly, I put my old clothes sloppily away in my dresser and joined Damion as we headed down the hall towards the cafeteria. We caught up to our group while they were just walking through the doors. It seemed today was 'Waffle Wednesday' which Patton wasn't as excited for. It made me a little nervous yesterday, not knowing whether or not he actually ate, but I'm sure Logan got him to.

With my one waffle and some sausage, I walked over to our table, keeping my head low. I felt like now more than ever, everyone was looking at me. Especially with the whole Warden Sanders scene yesterday.

I sat in my spot, the others filling in the empty and lonely gaps. It made me happy to see Patton eating today. Roman took a seat next to me, flashing me a smirk before glancing over at Damion on his right. "Jeez, Damion, you hardly got any food. You know what the nurses will say if they happen to see that!" Roman warned him, taking a bite of his scrambled eggs.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I just want to finish up quickly and then go out in the snow!" He exclaimed, lightly bouncing in his seat. Remus laughed at his childish nature while Logan and Roman exchanged a weird stare. Obviously, Damion was never like this. "Sorry guys. It's just...being from Nebraska...the snow just reminds me of home."

"Oh, kiddo. We totally understand!" Patton cooed, reaching out to squeeze Damion's hand supportingly. "To be honest, it'd be awesome to go out in the snow! We hardly ever get snow here!" Patton added.

"Thanks guys." Damion said, poking back at his half waffle. We continued to eat, I kept hearing the ongoing whispers of other tables, buzzing with anxious energy about the snow. It seemed everyone was eager to go out in it.

The bell went off for the end of breakfast. We all sat up, throwing our trash away and putting our trays atop the trash cans. We mindlessly wandered like a mob to The Healing Room. Remus ran full speed into the bean bag in the corner. We followed, sitting around the bean bag. Logan had taken a book from the shelf and started reading it while Roman grabbed some cards, dealing out a game of Go Fish.

As we were playing, I kept seeing Damion gaze out the window. I knew he was getting more and more antsy by the second. I felt bad. Having your only taste of home being only a thick sheet of glass away from you.