Thank you for waiting.

Chapter Eight

She sighed. "Alright, me. Let's go meet some people."

On the opposite end of the hallway was a door. It was cracked open, and there were a few soft, unusual sounds coming from it, so that's where she decided to check in first. As she walked, she put her hands in her coat pockets, noticing that there was a small notebook in her left pocket. She made a mental note to check it later.

Inside the door was what appeared to have once been a room. The bed was missing, but four marks in the carpet suggested that it contained one recently. All the shelves were empty, and one was even knocked over. In the center of the room sat a couch, littered with blankets.

As a large window sat parallel to the door, the girl could see out for the first time. Whatever building they were in was surrounded by a green field, bordered by night sky. It went on as far as she could see, making her feel a bit eerie. There weren't hills, mountains, even divots in the turf. It was just flat grass, stretching out until it met an inky black sky. There wasn't a moon, and it seemed as if the grass itself was glowing, shining extra light into the room.

However, most of the light came from a television set, displaying static and pointing towards the couch. Sitting on the couch was a girl, younger than her by several years. She had a warm skin tone, as well as thick, black hair that fell past her shoulders and sat snugly around her round face. She was wearing a white jacket over purple, patterned tights and beige army boots. On her head was some kind of helmet that drooped down the back of her head like a hood, topped with a purple visor that she had popped up.

Girl Chad sat down next to her, staring at the television. "Hi."

"No." She had purple eyes, noticed Beryl. Strange detail.

"What do you mean, no?"

"No. I'm not talking to you until you tell me what my name is." She crossed her arms.

"Did you forget your name too?"

She huffed. "I want my best friend to remember my name."

"Look. I just lost all my memory; I don't even know my name. I mean, unless it's Chad, but I'm suspicious that was just B.S."
The girl didn't reply, her eyes angry and her arms crossed harder than ever before.

She took a deep breath, determined to figure this out. Fortunately, right on the other side of the couch was a small table. It was wooden, and atop it was a package of ice cream, a bowl, and a spoon. Squinting extra hard, she could just barely make out the text along the front. 'Do not Eat - for Eloise only.'

Smiling smugly, now it was her chance to cross her arms. "Eloise. Your name is Eloise. Now you hold up your end of the bargain."

Eloise snorted. "No. That's cheating."

The other girl lifted a finger. "We never specified the rules, now did we. So, what's my name?"

Her nose twitched. "You're Beryl. And there was a time when we were best friends. But that's over now. You don't even know who I am."

She frowned. "Barrel. Like those round, wooden things you put stuff in?"

Eloise growled. "You remember what those are, but you don't remember who I am?"

Beryl shrugged. "I'm not opposed to learning unless you're opposed to teaching. I mean, I'm probably the same person, deep down... somewhere. I don't really have any idea who I was. I apologize for anything dumb I did." Then, she turned to the television, which was displaying nothing but static. "Wow. This looks like a real dramatic experience right here."