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the short straw
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. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧
Alina woke up the next morning miraculously nightmare free. Exhaustion swept through her as she forced herself out of bed, quietly dropping down from the top bunk. Will and Joyce were sleeping in the bottom, as Will hadn't gotten any better after his strange illness last night. As Alina watched, she could see his eyes moving rapidly under his sockets, but he didn't seem to be having any nightmares. That was good, at least.
She dressed quickly, assuming that Will would be staying home today, or at least going in late. And so it was just Alina, Jonathan and Skywalker at the breakfast table this morning, munching on toast and cereal. Alina fed Skywalker before his whining got too insistent and dug her spoon into a bowl of Lucky Charms, the sweetness of the marshmallows bursting on her tongue. She chewed slowly, thinking of Will and her theory of her True Sight. It was so strange, that everything seemed to be happening again with the Upside Down, and she could only hope that no more creatures from alternate universes would be interrupting her school days. For once in her life, Alina was looking forward to the mind-numbing lessons.
"Listen," Jonathan said suddenly, causing Alina to look up from her bowl. The older boy was petting Skywalker, chewing on his lip. "Nancy and I might go away for a little while. We left a note, and I promise we won't be gone for long, but there's... there's something we need to do."
Alina had a sneaking suspicion she knew what it was, but didn't respond until she'd taken another bite of cereal. "It's about Barb, isn't it," she said, causing Jonathan's eyebrows to shoot up. He obviously hadn't expected her to guess.
"Uh, yeah, actually, it is." Jonathan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Her parents... they're selling their house. We can't just stand by and do nothing. We have to tell them the truth about what happened."
Alina dropped her spoon into her bowl with a clatter, splashing milk onto the table. "Jonathan," she said, "you know you can't tell them what happened. The lab... who knows what they'll do if they find out? I mean, I don't know Barb's parents very well, but they'll want to sue the lab, won't they? I mean, any parent would."
