Straight-Up Not Having A Good Time At Night Raven College: Chapter 1

Chapter 28: Finale For Heartslabyul

Instead of pictures, there were rectangular mirrors in antique frames on the walls... All hung crookedly, too. Collages of oversized playing cards decorated the mirrors, trailing out onto the walls.

She realized there was an audible ticking echoing throughout the room. Blinking, she looked around at the walls again...
And, yeah, there were clocks, too. Clocks everywhere-- set on the mantelpiece, hanging haphazardly on the walls...
A huge grandfather clock standing by the entranceway to the lounge, and... For some reason, two enormous pocketwatches hanging from a coathook on the wall right next to her.

Rubbing her eyes again, she kept looking around.
The light spilling in from the large bay windows wasn't quite dusk or twilight, but definitely getting there... Maybe about ten or twenty minutes away from actual sunset.

Deuce was sitting-- or, more accurately, slumped-- on the nearby chaise lounge.
He looked to be pretty deeply asleep, with his head lolling against the backrest and another blanket draped over him.

The other students were wandering around nervously, passing through to the dining area or the lounge's entranceway... Presumably to other parts of the dorm she hadn't seen yet.

"Ah-- hey, look who finally joined us again," she heard Ace say, and looked back over at him.
He'd gotten stiffly to his feet, with the crumpled-up vest and jacket tucked under his uninjured arm.

Closing the first-aid kit, Trey stood up as well, giving her a tired smile as they made their way over.

"Hi," she smiled back, propping her elbow on the armrest of the chair and leaning her cheek against her fist.

"Hey, Prefect," Trey nodded, stopping with one fist on his hip as he gave her a concerned once-over.
"...How are you feeling? Any better?"

"...Eh," she replied, waving her other hand in the 'meh' gesture. "I've definitely been better, but I'm also not as bad as I was... Sorry for skipping out on cleaning up the garden, though."

"Hey, no problem," Trey replied. "Obviously, you really needed a break... Besides, it turns out we... weren't really in the state to do much, either."

He put a hand on the back of his neck, giving a soft sigh of laughter.
"We did all we could for now, but it looks like the rest'll be up to the teachers... It'll take a couple days, but they've assured us that the garden'll be back to its former glory, no problem."

Kat nodded, rubbing her eye with a fist again as she stretched her other arm.
"Mmm..."

The light was starting to fade from the sky outside now, casting the room in gray shadows.

"....So, is... Is everybody okay? The students who got evacuated, I mean-- how are they? Is anybody hurt?"

Ace grumbled quietly, slouching over to the couch Deuce was sprawled out on and plopping down hard.
"Nah, they're all fine... Tch. Lucky bastards..."

Kat rolled her eyes, shaking her head a little.
"That's a relief," she muttered, leaning her head against the back of the chair.
At least Crowley got THAT right...

Footsteps padded down the hall, and she raised her head again, blinking and looking over at the door.
A rather low-energy Cater entered, shoulders actually slumped a little with one hand on the back of his neck.
"Hey," he sighed, putting his other hand in his pants pocket as he wandered over.

"Hey, Cater," Trey smiled, turning and giving the redhead a small nod. "...How is he?"

Cater sighed again, tilting his head back and looking at the ceiling.
"...He's gonna be okay," he said after a second. "He's pretty beat-up, so he's probably gonna have to stay on bed rest for a few days... And there are a few additional tests and stuff to run, but he should make a full recovery, no problem."