Wings of Fire: Pyrrhia High (UNDER EDITING)

Turtle Does Some Digging

Turtle's POV

Lilac, Shell, and Navy do a quick exam before Sea takes them to the hospital car. We wave goodbye as they load into the back of the van. They drive off, leaving the rest of us standing behind the school.

We say our farewells and head off in different directions. I stay there, waiting for more kids to clear out of the front of the school before going to my car. Kinkajou also stays.

"Hey," I say. I sit down next to her on a bench. I've been wanting to talk to her for a while.

She smiles. "Hey."

"You're Kinkajou, right?" I ask. Her rainbow hair is hot pink, different from the rainbow she used to have. It looks nice. She nods. "I'm Turtle."

"I know. You're famous---you don't have to introduce yourself." Kinkajou leans against the wall. "So, what are you still doing here?"

"Waiting for the crowds to die out," I reply, gesturing towards the front of the school. "You?"

"Just decompressing. Imma head over to the library in a few. I need to breathe for second." Her eyes close for a second. She opens them again as if she suddenly remembered something. "Am I the only wondering about Sea and Navy and Shell?"

I shake my head. "No, I am too. There's something they're not telling us."

Kinkajou nods in agreement. "Hey, wanna join me in the library for a little? We can stalk them on Insta and stuff."

I shrug. Why not? It's not like I have anything to do today. "Sure. Let's go."

We get up, grabbing our way-too-heavy backpacks and heading over the library, careful to stay inside to avoid the fans. Inside the library, Kinkajou collapses onto a beanbag, pulling out her phone and her laptop. I sit down next to her, also taking out my devices.

"I'll check on Navy, you check Shell," Kinkajou commands.

"Yes ma'am," I reply, saluting her. 

She chuckles as she pulls up Navy's insta. "Darn it! It's private."

"Just send a follow request," I say, searching Shell on Instagram. "She won't get suspicious---she's in our winglet."

Kinkajou sends the request and leans over to see my phone. "Did you find Shell?"

"Yup," I say, showing her the profile. "It's not private."

Eagerly, she scooches in closer to look. Her knee touches my leg and her arm presses against mine as she looks. "Scroll down a little. Let's see why she's in the hospital."

I scroll distractedly, all too aware of her presence. I don't like her, if that's what you're thinking. I'm just not used to being near someone who isn't Lilac, Moon, or my family. 

"Turtle, stop." Kinkajou's voice draws me out of my thoughts. I lift my thumb from the phone, stopping on a post of a younger Shell. She's in a hospital gown, smiling and holding a two thumbs up at the camera. An IV stand is connected to arm. The post is captioned: Another day, another IV.

"She can't be more than 12 in the picture," I comment, looking at the day it was posted.

"Has she been in the hospital that long?" Kinkajou inquires, asking the reasonable question.

"I guess. But why?" Scrolling through more of Shell's posts, it looks like she's been in the hospital a long time. 

"Ooh, click on that one!" Kinkajou exclaims, a little bit loudly. I wince because she was right next to my ear when she said that. "Sorry," she says sheepishly.

I click on the post that Kinkajou pointed out. Shell lays in a hospital bed, asleep, headphones on her ears. The post is dated August two years ago. The caption reads Heart problems be like: 

"So I guess that answers our question," Kinakjou says. 

A text pops up from Moon. Where are you?!?! 

"Shoot! I was supposed to meet Moon at her house. I have to go. Sorry."  I shove my things into my bag and get up. 

Kinkajou stands up as well. "Bye, Turtle. See you tomorrow."

"Same time, same place?" I ask from the door, about to walk out.

She looks kinda shocked but nods quickly. "Sure!"

I smile at her and hurry to my limo, instructing the driver to take me to Moon's house.

~~~~

I run up the stairs of Moon's house, my shoes echoing against the marble steps. I burst into her room, out of breath. Collapsing on her desk chair, I say, "I'm so sorry. I forgot we planned to meet up today."

Moon's sitting on her desk, her homework spread out in front of her. "You're good. Where were you though?" She's staring at the papers in front of her, her downturned face causing her glasses to keep falling off. She doesn't wear them outside, only at home.

"I was at the library with Kinkajou," I reply, looking at the pictures on her desk.

Her head snaps up. "Kinkajou?"

"Yeah, what about it?" I ask, dreading what she had to say. Thank the moons that Lilac isn't here right now.

She shrugs, looking back at her homework. "Nothing," she says in a way that means it is most certainly not nothing. Hoping she's dropped the topic, I pull out my homework and get to work. Halfway through my math worksheet, Moon speaks again. "She's cute."

Looking back at her, I say, "Who's cute?"

Moon looks up at me. "Kinkajou," she says like it's obvious.

I roll my eyes. "Just drop it, M."

"I'd rather not. Besides, I already texted Lilac."

My eyes widen. "Moonwatcher, seriously? She's going to bully me at school."

Moon shrugs. "So what? That's the fun of it, Tortoise."

Rolling my eyes, I turn back to my work. "Whatever."

A while later, Moon goes to get us snacks and I pull out my phone. I go to Instagram and search Kinkajou's name. Her profile pops up with the handle k.inkajou. It's private. Sighing, I glance at the door. Moon's still downstairs. I look at my phone again and send a follow request. I stare at it for a while. When I hear Moon hurrying up the stairs, I put my phone face down on the desktop, not letting myself stare at it any longer.

She tosses me a chip bag and I eat while I work. A few minutes later, my phone buzzes. Moon looks at me, annoyed. We have a rule to keep our phones off when studying together. "Sorry," I tell her as I flip the phone over.

k.inkajou accepted your request.

I smile softly, looking at it for a bit too long. Remembering that Moon is in here, I silence my phone and put it down. I get back to my homework, my smile not leaving my face.

~~~

word count: 1076

hi guys! hope you liked the chapter. i'm a big turtlejou shipper but i'm not the best romance writer. i hope it doesn't seem too weird. thanks for reading! bye loves!