Rogue Shadow

Chapter 12 - Prepared Efforts

Chapter 12 – Prepared Efforts

03:55 Wednesday, 11th October 2017

While Nat opened the top draw for the sake of it, she wasn't really expecting there to be anything inside. So, what the hell, why was the draw stocked? And not just a set of clothes. Nope. The top drawer was full of socks and underwear. Confusion beyond anything hit Natasha like a tidal wave. She opened the drawer below cautiously. The entire thing was full of sports clothes. Shirts, singlets, tracksuit pants, leggings, shorts, bike shorts, swimming togs, long light weights, and compressions. Nat lifted the top shirt and held it against herself. A perfect fit. What was she to make of all this? This was most certainly not normal. Not at all.

Nat pulled open the next draw, and just like before, it was full. A variety of T-shirts and tops all in her size. Nat pulled open the next drawer and – surprise, surprise – full of long pants, jeans and shorts of different styles. What the hell? Nat opened the second last drawer, not even knowing what to expect. It was full of summer and winter pyjamas and pj's for every month in between. What the heck? How long was she supposed to be staying here for? This wasn't just random clothes. This was an entire bloody wardrobe. Nat opened the bottom drawer, not even bothering to guess its contents, and was somewhat surprised to see her actual clothes from her previous foster homes neatly folded within. At least she had her stuff here as well. The clothes seemed too nice and perfect. Everything in the room must have been super expensive. Nat felt that by just touching it, she would ruin them. Her clothes were old and worn, but they were comfortable and fitted her well enough, so she had never really cared.

Nat looked to her right, a full-length dresser beside her. If this thing was full of clothes, what the hell was the wardrobe for? Utterly bewildered, Nat opened both doors of the tall cupboard.

"What the actual heck?"

From left to right, Natasha listed the items in her head. Dress shirts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, overalls, hoodies, zipper-jumpers, nice jackets, and warm jackets. Why on earth was there so many clothes in the room? On the bottom were two racks. They were lined with shoes as well as two backpacks at the end. One of which was Natasha's bag, the other was probably new along with everything else in the room. Why would anyone need that many pairs of shoes? Boots, runners, converses, many branded shoes and... combat boots?

"Oh my gosh," Nat was rendered speechless. How... why? She was a foster kid. She had been living out of two bags for well and truly over five hundred days. How much would it have cost? No way could she afford even a small portion of what she had seen.

This couldn't seriously be all for her... right? Then a thought occurred to Natasha, what if the rest of the room was like this? Nat shut the doors and went to inspect the corner desk. It was massive – way bigger than necessary. She pulled open the draws and could do nothing but shake her head in disbelief. The entire top draw on the back wall was full of stationery. The one below that stocked with different books; small, big, lined, blank and grid. Why?

Abandoning her half-finished search of the desk, Nat re-entered the bathroom. The cabinet under the bench had a stack of towels and hygiene products. The draw on the side had things like a toothbrush, toothpaste and other sanitary items. The other draw had a basket inside with a bucketload of hair ties and scrunchies. Three different brushes and a selection of combs was next to the basket in the draw as well. The cabinet above the sink had a medical pack and first-aid kit.

Nat backed herself into the nearest wall and slid down it in disbelief. Why was this happening to her? Why her? Was she dead? Was this Elysium? Or Valhalla? Or anywhere but earth? Because no one had ever gone to such an effort to prepare anything for her, let alone an entire room and wardrobe to match.