(Not) On the Same Page

Chapter 3: Impromptu

The human brain is a funny thing. It is capable of incredible things, but sometimes it can work against people's best interests. For instance, how activity immediately preceding sleep can influence one's dreams. Harmless in theory, but in reality it can really mess with one's mind.

Unfortunately, Luz had to discover this particular nitbit of information the hard way.

She woke up the following morning screaming bloody murder, yanking the blankets off her as she scrambled to her feet searching for her glyphs. In response, King jumped from his spot on the bed, and landed on his back with a yelp, startled from his rude awakening.

As Luz rifled frantically through her desk drawers, King pushed himself to his feet and approached her cautiously.

"Luz, are you-"

"Not now King!" She snapped.

When she finally turned around, King could barely contain a gasp in surprise.

Luz was completely drenched in sweat, she had bags under her eyes and they were completely bloodshot to boot. Her hair was standing up in every direction, which King would've found funny if he wasn't feeling so concerned for her.

She was holding her notepad of glyphs tightly to her chest, breathing heavily. Her eyes darted from side to side, as if she expected all hell to break loose at any given moment. King frowned.

"Luz, what's wrong?"

Luz averted her eyes from him, and brushed past him to the door. She took the pad of glyphs with her, and slammed the door shut. King sighed. His friend was clearly in no mood to talk, so he'd just have to try again later.

Once Luz took a quick shower and changed into her uniform, she felt a lot better. The nightmares that had plagued her dreams were nothing short of horrifying, but she reassured herself that everything was okay, because they weren't real.

She made her way downstairs and entered the kitchen, where Eda and Lilith were eating breakfast. Both glanced up and greeted her.

"Morning kiddo, how'd you sleep last night?" Eda asked as she shoveled food into her mouth, Lilith giving her a distasteful look as she sipped her tea.

Luz tensed as she stood at the stove, her grip on the handle of a pan tightening.

"Fine," She managed to say, her tone flat.

Eda and Lilith exchanged a curious look, but said nothing more as Luz sat across from them and quickly ate her meal. Usually, their mornings were filled with lively chatter, courtesy of Luz, but today she was especially quiet. Surprisingly, it was Lilith who chose to break the silence.

"Luz," She laced her fingers together. "Are you alright?"

Luz paused, her fork lifted halfway to the air, before setting it down and putting her face into her hands.

"No," She groaned.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Eda offered, setting down her own cutlery.

Luz shook her head, and peeked at a concerned looking Eda and Lilith between her fingers.

"This is something I need to figure out on my own," She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Thanks though."

"Of course, you know we're always here for you," Eda gave her a toothy grin. "But not until after I finish my morning brew. Mama's gotta have her shit together before anything else."

Lilith snorted and rolled her eyes while Luz smiled. The rest of breakfast was spent with Eda telling them yet another story of how she'd conned someone. Luz nodded along, but her mind was elsewhere. Once she finished her meal, she rose to her feet. She placed her dishes in the sink and picked up her book bag from where she'd dropped it on the floor.