I used to say I wanna die before Im old (but because of you I might think twice)

Chapter 5: Shitty Day Glow-up

The obnoxious bell rang for breakfast, startling Suki out of her restless slumber. She hurriedly pushed herself out of her bed and slipped on her torn Converse shoes, racing to breakfast as to not be late. By the time she arrived at the dining hall, the caretakers were already taking the roll.

"Finally, she's here." Said the main caretaker, Hito. He stalked over to her, grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and shoved her to the ground to sit with the other students.

Hito then rambled on about what would happen if they stepped out of line, or were arrogant and decided to talk back. However, Suki wasn't listening. All she could think about was what her life would be like if things were different.

Would she have a loving family?

Would she have someone who hugged her goodnight?

Or siblings to annoy her with playful banter?

Would she even have parents?

She was snapped out of daydreams when she felt someone elbowing her in the abdomen as if telling her to get a move on so they could start breakfast.

Now in the dining hall, Suki sat, face contorted into a scowl in disgust like usual as she stared down at the inedible meal in front of her. They may call it oatmeal but Suki preferred to call it sludge. Disgusting, tasteless trash.

"Hey, um... are you gonna eat that?" One of the orphans asked. He was a young, slim boy about 7 years old with tousled, brown hair. By the looks of it, he had been recently put in 'The Room' aka the 'Torture Chamber'.

It was a small closet-like room that the kids were forced to stay in if they misbehaved or broke any of the millions of dumb (in Suki's opinion) rules. They wouldn't be fed till they were allowed out and by the looks of his frame, he'd been in there for days.

Without having to be asked, Suki handed the boy, Hikari, her bowl of 'oatmeal' and ruffling his already messy hair, knowing that he probably needed it more than she did.

As soon as the bell rang to signify the start of the working day, Suki was assigned the worst possible chore, which was probably for punishment, cleaning all the restrooms.

With a sigh, she lumbered lazily toward the closest restroom and got to work. Every single restroom was disgusting! Suki had to rush over to the sink and almost throw up when she saw that the toilet had been blocked and was now overflowing with brown sludge, which she assumed was shit. 'Yup, definitely punishment!' This happened many more times throughout the afternoon, each disturbance being more horrifying than the last. 'Kill me already' Suki sighed.

Suki charged out of the doors of the cleaning supply closet and headed straight for the dining room, wanting to get permission to take the rest of the day off. She got there right on the bell and was about to be the first to ask.

Usually, the first person gets first privilege but as she opened her mouth to speak, she was shoved into a table, bashing her elbows in an attempt to stop her fall, making her wince. She looked up to see one of the older orphans (not to mention her number one bully) Gomi.

"What do you think you're doing meinu?" He said intimidatingly.

"Piss off, dirtbag!" Suki yelled in a moment of unexpected bravery (being done with his shit also helped). That bravery only lasted a second, however, as her comment was quickly returned with a heavy punch to the ribs. Her breath was forced out of her lungs, leaving Suki to fall flat on her ass on the cold tile floor.

Suki gasped for oxygen, only to be confronted with another blow to the head, (this time with a foot) fogging her vision with dancing black spots. 'FUCK IT!' She thought as she glared at Gomi and activated her quirk. Almost instantly time felt as if it had been shifted into slow motion. 'This is my chance!' She bolted for the door while Gomi was still disorientated and headed for her private hideout, no longer wanting to wait for permission first.

Suki gasped for breath, her body still aching all over from the beating as she neared the far right gate. She veered off in between a tall hedge that hid her from view easily.

No one knew about her hideout, so she stored all of her most valued possessions there. They couldn't break what they couldn't find after all.

She grabbed her sketchbook and a pencil from inside a tree hollow and seated herself by the lake's edge on the other side of the hedge, still hidden from view. This was Suki's little sanctuary, a place where she could hide away and disappear from the real world of pain and loneliness.

Suki shuffled her Spotify playlist on her phone and began sketching, losing herself within her own imagination, a safe haven where she could be free of all insecurities and express her emotions freely. She put pencil to paper and created her own imaginary universe of colour and creativity.

After a while, Suki stared down at the drawing before her. It was far from perfect but still a small improvement from last time. She unwilling allowed a small smile to grace her features as she got back to work. Suki concentrated on shading the image, her tongue just barely poking out from between her lips.

Suki noticed her sketch beginning to look a lot like a certain seven-year-old boy she cared for; only happier, healthier and more lively than usual. Brushing it off as nothing, Suki cleared her mind of all negativity, if only for a short while, and continued sketching in the tranquillity of her hideaway.

The sun eventually began to set, a sign of warning that Suki needed to head back before she got in trouble for being out past curfew.

Suki crept out of her hideout and trudged back into the real world, her body aching once again with every step. All she could think about was curling up under the covers of her bed and falling asleep, but she knew that was only a dream. One that rarely came true.

Suki climbed the stairs to the bedroom, being careful to avoid another confrontation with Gomi. She didn't want a replay of earlier. She slipped into the bedroom and curled up in bed., hugging a pillow close to her chest. Suki felt relieved when she finally fell into a light slumber.

Word count- 1103