I burst upright, gasping. That dream… it continued from where it left off last week. The further it went, the more confused I got. Who were those people? The only one I recognized was Mr. Hall. Everyone else had a strange individual personality. And they called each other by letters instead of names… what did that mean? I was determined to find out. Of course, the minute I got out of bed, a strong feeling of lethargy overcame me. All I wanted to do was fall on the floor and sleep. But, I kept on, slowly getting ready. Somehow, I made myself look presentable. I walked out of the house, and continued on my way to school. The students walking beside me arched their eyebrows, some laughing in surprise. I looked down at myself, and noticed I hadn't put on a jacket. My jacket… why was I not wearing one? It was freezing outside, but, I didn't feel it. I just felt… numb… Damn that Mr. Hall! My jacket, I still had no idea where it was. The more I thought about it, the more sure I was that he had something to do with its absence. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I walked past Jade. "Hey! Persephone!" she called. "Huh? Oh, hi Jade." She caught up with me, grinning. "So? How'd it go yesterday?" "Fine. I got a lot done." "I'm sure you did." she snickered. I shot her a look, adjusting my bag on my shoulder as she laughed. "Hey, have you seen my jacket?" I asked. Jade shrugged, glancing away. "N-no… why?" "Because I don't plan on dying from hypothermia any time soon." Jade's face turned a little red, and she put in her ear buds, turning up the music a little too loud, even for her. "Jade?" She slowed down in walking, singing loudly. Until, of course, she did a complicated dance step and tripped over a rock. Jade stumbled, dropping her bag a few feet away, and it slid right in front of me. "Ah! I-I'll get it"- "No, allow me." I smiled, picking up her bag. It felt… different. Like there wasn't only a pile of papers and assignments in there. I slowly unzippered the bag, and reached inside. My eyes widened as I pulled up my jacket. "J-Jade… please tell me this isn't…" "…" she looked away, her face turning red. "You stole my jacket? What the hell, Jade?!" "But I"- "I could've gotten sick! It's twenty degrees outside!" "You could've gotten better"- "You're… you're a selfish, inconsiderate, bítch!" I shouted, shoving her. Jade fell to the ground, and cried out in pain. "...!" she gritted her teeth, and tears spilled out of her eyes. I had never seen Jade cry before… she was always so collected. Her ankle was twisted, maybe even broken. My expression was one of worry, before I paused. Suddenly, I felt my remorse for her melt away, and it was only replaced with an anger I couldn't explain. I slowly turned away from her, and walked the rest of the way to school. Alone. --------------------------------------------------- Leaving an injured friend behind? Persephone's a badass now