Element-ary

Ember's Little Secret

Jax woke up to a soft hand shaking his shoulder gently. He blinked sleepily, looking up at the redhead above him. "Ah...Ember? W-what is it?" "Time for school!" He sat up and looked around. "O-oh. Um, where's my..." Ember cocked his head. "Your what?" "M-My stick th-thingy..." The older boy looked confused, then laughed. "Oh, you mean your crutch! It's right here." Jax sighed as he lowered himself down, leaning on the crutch. "Your uniform is in the wardrobe." He pulled it out and looked it over. It consisted of black trousers, shiny black shoes, a green blazer, and...he gulped, staring at the white button-down shirt.
     As Ember shut the bathroom door, Jax steeled himself and undressed, pulling the trousers on first, then the socks and shoes. He slowly pulled the shirt on and tried in vain to button it. Of course, it was at that moment that Ember came back into the room. Jax slowly hobbled over to him and looked down. "U-Um...can you do my buttons?" Ember looked confused, then knelt down. "Of course, buddy." He easily slid the little buttons into their slots, the whole thing taking only a few seconds.
Jax felt like his face was on fire. "Th-Thank you..." The boy smiled warmly, tousling the younger's hair. "No problem, angel. Now go put your blazer on, and then we'll go get breakfast, k?" He nodded and hopped off, grabbing the piece of cloth off the bed. He fingered the shiny ebony crest and closed the golden snap before allowing Ember to straighten the fabric. "There,"the redhead said,"now you look perfect." They walked to the portal and Ember yelled, "Cafeteria!" The two instantly found themselves in a big, busy room, filled with the smell of people and food.
  Suddenly, someone yelled, "Ember, Jax, over here!" They turned to see Nixie waving at them from a table in the back. They went over and sat down. Nixie immediately started chattering. "Did you guys sleep well? I know I did! See my roomie's a boy and he does. Not. TALK! It would be kinda annoying but oh gosh, he's sooo cute so...Oh there he is now! Brooke! Brooke, over here!" A dark-haired boy paused in the middle of the room, then slowly walked over to join them. Nixie pulled him onto the bench next to her and grinned.
     "Guys, this is Brooke Dawson. Brooke, these are my friends. I was telling you about them last night, remember? The girls are Kalani, Adara, and Avani and the oldest boy is Ember and the two blondes are Cove and Skyler and the little one is Jax." The boy waved and took some food from the platter on the table. Jax and Ember took some also, and everyone started to eat and talk. Everyone, that is, except for Jax and Brooke. They just ate in silence, listening to the others talk. Suddenly, Ember excused himself and walked away. A few minutes later, Brooke did the same.
   ***Brooke***
  I walked quickly toward the bathroom, determined. Something was off about the way Nixie's friend had excused himself. I was resolved to find out what. After about ten minutes, I finally reached the boy's bathroom and slowly peeked in.
*TRIGGER WARNING!*
    Upon entering, I heard soft sobs and quiet retching noises. The door to one of the stalls was closed, but not completely. I silently swung it open and my suspicions were immediately confirmed. The boy my new roommate had called "Ember" was on his knees in front of a toilet, his shirt off. I could count all of his ribs and just about see through his skin.
      I watched in unsurprised horror as he proceeded to stick two fingers down his throat and cough up his breakfast. Wiping at his mouth, he muttered, "No one will love you if you're fat. Pigs aren't good for anything but slaughter." He repeated this a few more times and stood, pulling his shirt back on. He took a deep breath and turned around, yelping in shock.
*WARNING OVER*
  "B-Brooke! I-I can explain!" I held up a hand, and stepped forward to put a hand on his shoulder. Looking into his red, teary eyes, all I did was nod once, turn, and walk out.

Heyo! So there it is, folks! And...Ember is anorexic? Hmm...🤔 What will this mean for our characters? Did any of you think he would be? Also, this chapter is dedicated to Istoleatacoonce and BadIdeasAreHere. Go wish them both a happy (late) birthday! So, QotC: What do you think Brooke will do with this new dirt on Ember?
My answer: Nya!
Bai bai!