Their Guardian

Chapter 6

Edited

*Noella's POV*

She walked in a sea of short skirts and red plaid, and she blended in perfectly. She couldn't explain why she felt so anxious, just that something wasn't correct, and something would go wrong. 

 Two teachers stood at either side of the doors, looking over their students, making sure the morning rush was running smoothly and uniforms were being worn properly. This didn't really phase her or her plan seeing as all she had to do was keep her head down. To them she looked like any other student. Noella blended in perfectly.

The school looked exactly as she remembered it, bland and unremarkable, the exact reason it became her hiding spot. Who would go out of their way to come here? She had only been there once before, and that was more than enough time. It did make navigating pretty easy though, most of these schools are standard, the same plans built over and over again in a depressing uniformity.

 The locker was in a corner by the stairs, within a close enough proximity to two exit points, three if she was feeling daring. All she really had to do was grab the book bag then go, simple. There was just a small issue: If someone noticed that this was the first time the locker was being used, it had the potential to cause issues if someone cared enough.

Noella waited until that little strip of lockers was clear before she went to open the locker. After all, the only people that would really notice are the ones that are beside that locker. She turned the dial as if she had done it a hundred times. 7-30-3. The code Noella has had memorized for almost 4 years. The locker swung open and her bag was still sitting there, albeit a little dusty but it would do. She opened it and did a quick little inventory ensuring that all her belongings were still in there, she would hate to have to come back. She then slipped on her necklace and bracelet before zipping up the bag and making her way towards one of the exits. She didn't own many things but those two pieces of jewelry meant the world to her.

When she got closer to the exit, she could see that there was a teacher blocking the preferred exit. She was making sure students were staying where they were supposed to, so she backtracked. 

Noella was heading towards the entrance that she came in with the hopes that the other teachers had moved away from the doors. They hadn't. Fuck. If she wasn't worried about them involving the police since she wasn't a student, she would have just walked right out without a care. However, she was in a tricky position and could not afford any extra heat on her. These cops looked for spies any where and all it would take to raise alarm bells is the fact that she has no guardians. So that leaves exit number three. Her favorite.

She walked towards the girls bathroom near her locker and quietly entered hoping to find it empty. With her luck she should have expected it to be packed full of gossiping teenagers. All of the girls gave her a once over before going back to their respective conversations. She took the third stall in the bathroom and locked the door. Her plan was to wait out these girls, then try to jump from the second story window. It would hurt like hell but it looks to be her only viable option at the present moment. 

So she closed the lid on the toilet, sat down, contemplated all the decisions that got her here and waited.

The first bell rang about 15 minutes later, and she heard the girls start rushing out in the hopes of making it to class on time. Yet Noella sat still, fiddling with her recently reunited necklace and her thoughts. Once all of the girls were out she unlocked the stall door and cracked it, just enough to make it look like it was vacant. She wasn't as well versed on this schools procedure, so she was not about to put herself in the open without waiting a little bit.

Five minutes later the second bell rang and class had officially started. She was in the process of standing up when she heard keys jangling and foot steps approaching. So Noella did the smart thing and retreated back into the stall with the door cracked just a little bit. When looking from the outside, you wouldn't be able to see her, but that didn't help the growing anxiety that was pooling in her chest. She pulled her legs to her chest after sitting back down and did her best to keep her breathing slow and quiet.

The door opened and she heard a woman's voice shout out "Is there anyone in there?" in a harsh Russian accent. She was obviously not having the best day.

"I don't have time for this," she huffed and walked into the bathroom. Noella could hear her approaching the corner and round it, yet she didn't dare look around the door for fear of being caught. 

She was not scared of the confrontation, and she knew she could knock the teacher out without doing any real damage. She was scared of the aftermath. What happens when the teacher wakes up and reports that she was attacked in the bathroom? They will look at the footage of all the people that went into the bathroom. Then they look at all the people that came out and narrow it down to her. She will inevitably be put on a wanted list, the CIA and KGB will know she's still alive yada yada. 

If she doesn't get caught, she can just jump out the window and hopefully there won't be a reason to look at any of the footage. This all went through her head within the span of five seconds, until her attention was very quickly taken somewhere else.

The woman rounded the corner and paused for a long while looking at each and every one of the stalls to see if any students were loitering and hiding from their morning classes. "Is anyone hiding in here? If you come out now, you won't get in any trouble," she said with an impatient tone. God, does anyone actually fall for that?

That sentence mad her heart drop, yet she stood her shakey ground. Noella couldn't risk it. So she pulled her feet closer to her body as quietly as possible and said a small prayer. Her shoes started clicking again as she walked by each of the stalls, stopping briefly in front of each one but not really giving much effort into looking. "kids" she muttered as she started to make her way out of the bathroom.

Noella breathed a sigh of relief knowing she was out of the woods. Then,

*Clank*

Her heart sunk. Her pen had fallen out of the book bag, making an audible noise in the otherwise quiet bathroom. Noella heard the woman's shoes stop moving, and she held her breath yet again. She slowly reached to pick up the pen, so it wasn't in view. She grabbed it quickly and pulled it out of her sight as the woman slowly turned around to do another look through of the bathroom.

She took her time looking around the bathroom with a more attentive stare before turning around and going to exit the bathroom while muttering "This old school is falling apart" locking the bathroom behind her.

Noella couldn't help the nervous laughter that escaped her lips the moment she heard her leave. That was way too close for comfort. She rechecked her bag making sure to secure all of the loose ends before exiting the stall and heading to the small window. She unlocked it and started climbing onto the ledge to shimmy out halfway. 

Noella grabbed onto the ledge on the outside and started lowering herself to the ground. She was only a story up, so she tried to angle herself towards the bushes to cushion her fall. Once she thought she was at the right angle, she dropped.

OUCH! Noella was at the right angle, however bushes do not cushion your fall as much as movies have left her to believe. After laying on the ground for a minute, she pushed herself up and set off on her way. 

That was only one mission accomplished, now it was time to get the hell out of this city. Well after coffee of course. Caffeinate before you vacate.

So, after a daring and semi-dangerous mission, she walked down the streets to a very cute little coffee shop. Noella could afford to spend a few hours in there until she changes into my emergency clothes and dips. All she had to do was not get kidnapped, what could possibly go wrong?