From Murder to Dust

ALP - 4 - Routine

We had been in Ink's little reform school for about a week now, and we weren't happy. I was unable to see or hear my brother, which made me sad; I wanted to see Paps. He's the best, and if I couldn't see him, I couldn't shower him in affection like he deserved, and Cross said he was sad about it! Papyrus was sad, and I couldn't help him! Now, the only indication that my brother was there was his floating scarf; I was glad that he had it. I had also learned something from this event, and it was that Ink knew that my brother was a ghost; he had purposely made me lose my ability to see my brother, and he was vocal about it. I didn't even care that he knew; I just wanted to see my brother. I spent a lot of time with my family in an attempt to make myself forget that my brother wasn't visible. We tried not to break rules after the first day, since we didn't like the consequences. At the moment, it was 7:57 P. M., and we were playing games. We played often, and it wasn't questioned, since we were technically children; being little had its perks. Killer was delighted to know that the other side was somewhat civil, actually owning a backgammon board.

"Yes!" Killer had won again. "How many is that?"

"Forty-three." We all replied. 

"You're too good at this!" Error hadn't gotten the hang of the game yet.

"You'll get it!"

"I doubt it."

"Let's play again!"

"No way, try somebody else! I have had it with losses!"

"Dusty?"

"No, thanks..I'm just..not in the mood.." I was thinking about Papyrus again.

"I'll play you." Nightmare stepped in.

"Yay!" Killer set up the game quickly and began to win another game.

"Y-your brother wants to say h-he loves you." Cross stated softly.

"Thanks." I was thankful that Cross would tell me what Paps wanted to say. "I love you too, bro."

Before we could continue, the lock unlatched, and Ink walked in.

"Bedtime!" Ink declared; we sighed. "Come on, clean up and get ready for sleep."

The game of backgammon was quickly put away, and we were soon lined up for Ink to make sure we weren't up to anything; he always made sure. It wasn't like we were going to risk anything after the first day; the consequences were perfectly tailored to prevent that. Ink checked our pockets, nonetheless, and he found nothing. He always made sure to scour every corner of the room for anything convicting, which meant we weren't going to get away with anything we tried; it was simply impossible. After half an hour of our standing in line, Ink had finished his searching, coming up empty handed. He returned to us, faced us, and smiled.

"You're certainly being well-behaved, aren't you?" Ink was pleased on the outside, but we knew what he wanted on the inside. "Time for bed, then. Off you go!"

At this, we each scurried to the bed we were assigned to; Ink was mad if we were slow - he wasn't very nice. When we reached our soft blankets and pillows, we tucked ourselves in and closed our eyesockets; the beds really were soft, and we could fall asleep in comfort almost immediately - that didn't mean we enjoyed it, though. We would have much rathered being home in our own beds. After we were all in our places, Ink said good night and turned out the lights, leaving us in the dark to sleep. Once the lock was latched firmly in place, I closed my eyesockets, ready for sleep; I was tired, and the blankets were soft. After I had received an hour of sleep, I was softly woken up by Cross, who looked afraid; I assumed he had had a nightmare, and, as customary with our family, I was the one to go to - I didn't mind. I sat up to meet Cross, and he wasted no time in getting ready to tell me about his problem, sitting next to me and leaning on my shoulder; this was his comfortable spot, and I allowed him to take it with ease.