Alice

chapter seven

The next morning was as sad and bland as a winter funeral. Rain puttered the windows, and the trees once again came into their depressing sway. The crows rested upon the window sills, singing their woeful songs into the mist of autumn. All was silent. The children slept in their cot-like beds, dreaming of wonderful fantasies and those ridiculous visions of talking cupcakes.

Alice, on the other hand, hadn't dreamt of anything. For she had gotten no sleep whatsoever. When that, thing attacked her last night, and she magically appeared back in her bed, she felt different. In addition to being completely traumatized, she felt darker. More, powerful in a way. She felt soulless. Her face was nearly expressionless now, and her pupils were wider than usual. She was also didn't quite respond to light.

But, Alice felt this, ghostly feeling turn off and on. Like something inside her that was not herself could control it. Then that thought made her feel frightened. What if she was possessed by some demon? What if her life was at stake? She eventually decided that all of those horrid happenings were just nightmares. So she carried on with her daily life.

To distract herself from the ghastly visions, and to pass the time for the morning bell to ring, she pulled out one of her favorite books. Out of the Silent Planet by C.S Lewis. She started on a chapter she was eager to read. Dr. Ransom was abducted and stranded on a strange planet. The more she dwelled into the novel, the more her horrid nightmares faded away.

She read for many hours. (It was 4 o'clock when she decided to read). One thing Alice loved about reading, was how she could be taken to a whole new world while sitting in the dark depressing Earth she lived in now. She adored the fantasy genre: the magical beasts, the rising climax of lingering battles, the atmosphere the novels give, and most of all, the adventures. Alice loved adventures. She always enjoyed the summer vacations she would take with her family. But once again, she remembered that they were gone. Dead. Never ever to be seen again. Now, she had to spend the remainder of her life in some bleak, lifeless orphanage inhabited with cruel beings. Unless she was adopted, which Alice guess would't happen anytime soon.

Finally, after about four and a half hours, the morning bell rang. Mrs. Jackson announced breakfast, and told all of the children to go to the Lunch Room.

A redhead named Jess was the first to make a noise. "Ah, fuck. Why does Mrs. Jackson make us get up so damn early?" she complained.

Nick answered Jess with a rude remark. "Probably so she can shove her ruler up your ass to teach you a lesson about complaining."

Jess abruptly sat up, and glared at Nick three beds down from her. "Shut up, you fag," Jess scoffed. "I bet Mrs. Jackson has other plans for you."

Nick instantly understood what Jess was saying. "Go jump from the window Jessica Gilman," Nick spat. "It'd be a joy for us all."

Suddenly, the Fifth Grader's room roared into an argument. Children arose from their beds, posting fingers and calling names. Others began smacking each other, which led to a few fist fights. The only ones who weren't fighting, were Sarah and Alice. But, Sarah couldn't stand hearing ridiculous squabbles right when she wakes up. So, she sat up in her top bunk, and yelled:

"Would you brainless bastards please shut up!" The fighting stopped, and almost all of the children stared at her.

"Who said you're our boss, bitch?" Jess sneered. "Fuck off."

Sarah saw Nick glance at her, and give her a flirting grin. "Don't worry Sarah, maybe we can hide out in the storage for a while." He cocked an eyebrow.

Sarah's face flushed with a light hue of red. Out of anger and impulse, she picked up a mirror that she used last night to brush her hair, and threw it at Nick, hitting him square in the nose.

"Ow!" he cried. "You bitch!"

Once again, the fighting continued. Sarah lost her temper, and joined the curse throwing brawl, along with the other idiotic Fifth Graders in the room. But Alice still remained quite. She curled up in her covers as if nothing was happening.

Suddenly, Mrs. Jackson burst into the room. The children didn't see her, so they carried on fighting and bickering. Mrs. Jackson was beginning to lose her temper. For the past few days, everyone had been more harder and chaotic. "I'm sick of these damn kids," she muttered. Mrs. Jackson pulled out her silver whistle, drew in a deep inhale, and blew into the mouth of the object. Sounding a piercing cry that sounded like a demon in the torments of hell. "Enough!" she cried. Everyone stopped fighting. "You miserable sewer rats get your damned asses down to the Lunchroom for breakfast! And I swear to God if there is one more fight, I will lock you kids outside for a week!" She walked away.

All of the children soon followed. Some of them quickly slipped into some suitable clothing; for Mrs. Jackson was so angry she didn't bother to remind them to get dressed.

Sarah climbed down from her bunk, and walked up to Alice's bed. She saw that Alice was completely submerged in her blankets. All she could see was a body shaped lump in the covers. She touched Alice's shoulder, and shook it gently. "Alice, time to get up."

Alice abruptly sat up, and threw Sarah's hand off of her body. "No!" she cried. Sarah backed away, shocked. Her friends hair was a mess, her face was pale and clammy.

"Alice?" Sarah caressed her shoulder. "Are you ok?"

It took awhile for Alice to pull herself together. Eventually, the terrified look in her eyes faded, and she seemed to calm down. "I-I'm fine," she said. She got out of her bed and grabbed a blue dress. "I am going to go change."

Alice walked past Sarah. Sarah seemed concerned that Alice seemed to be so shaken up. She hopes it wasn't any of the rotten kids here. But there were sowings of violence. So, Sarah made sure that she would be extra kind to her, and also keep a sharp eye on Alice as well.

A/N:

Hey guys! sorry for the long wait. I would have updated sooner, but Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were both super busy for me.

I hope this chapter is good enough until this coming weekend! Because I am going to be rewriting the death of a certain person > : )

Well, bye for now!

Cam Jenkins