GUILT (OMORI AU) BLOOD/EMETOPHOBIA WARNING

Chapter 2: The Test

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BE-

Sunny groaned as he slapped his hand on the top of his alarm clock. It was Thursday. Tomorrow he'd be leaving to go to Faraway. He still wasn't sure how long. A little over a week? He'd clarify with Kel later. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up in bed, yawning softly. He liked school, aside from the part of being around other people. He liked learning new things, he always had. It just happened to be that math was his least favorite subject. Funny enough, it was Mari's favorite, and she used to help him with math when he was little. She wasn't here to help him, so he relied on tutoring and intense studying. His mother had higher expectations of him since they moved to the city. He started to understand how Mari felt.

Eventually he got up from his bed and began changing into his uniform. The uniform consisted of a white collared shirt with the school's emblem, and the choice of a tie. He didn't like wearing the tie. He also didn't even know how to fix it and nor did his mother. Pants varied depending on the season. Khakis were recommended, the color didn't matter, but Sunny typically wore black or dark blue khakis to make it match the school colors better. He wasn't super stylish, but he at least wanted to put some effort into his outfit. During the colder months, the school provided a cardigan and a hoodie. Since it wasn't too cold as of yet, he chose the cardigan. It was a greyish blue. He liked the color.

Sunny walked to the bathroom, on the way saying good morning to his mother, who was rushing to cook him a meal before she went to work, and crouching to pet Mewo jr. Once he was in the bathroom, he cautiously walked foreword. When he looked at the mirror, all he saw was himself. His hair was standing up in different places, he had his usual eye bags, and one of his eyes was closed shut with a gnarly scar over it. Stepping foreword he started his daily routine, which his mother put another sticky note on the mirror for.

He started by washing his face. He didn't have much acne, but washing his face helped him to wake up a little. He splashed water in his face and scrubbed facewash on his face, closing his eye as he did so, before using warm water to get the residue off, and wiping his face with a towel. After that, he'd brush his teeth. His mother constantly pestered him about this. Putting the paste on the toothbrush, he opened his mouth and looked at his teeth. They weren't as yellow as they used to be, but he still wasn't happy with how they looked. But he paused for a minute. Something was off...

Since when were his canines that sharp?

He hesitantly put his toothbrush down, lifting the top of his lip to examine a tooth. It was unusually sharp. Perhaps he was seeing things. Whatever happened last night was still bothering him. He didn't pay too much attention to it, and started to brush his teeth. His gums felt more sensitive and he spat the toothpaste out instantly. He never liked the taste or feeling of mint in his mouth, but this was different. He looked down at the sink, a mixture of blood and toothpaste slowly falling into the drain. He looked at his gums, which had blood slowly slipping from the rim of his canines. The gums seemed swollen there, too. As if he had grown a new set of teeth that night. He tried not to panic, inhaling and exhaling as he spat out more blood, and washed the taste out of his mouth with cold water. He brushed more gently around his gums and finished. He sometimes had hallucinations that felt so real, he could feel it. His gums were sore after brushing his teeth. He still paid no mind. Weirder things had happened to him before. Washing the rest of the blood and toothpaste down the drain and washing his brush, he then headed for his brush and comb, neatly brushing his hair. He was never able to get rid of those two cowlicks in the back, even with gel and water, but it was a signature part of his hairstyle now. His hair had gotten a bit longer over the past two months, but he honestly didn't mind it. It made him feel more mature, especially since he didn't really look or sound like an average sixteen year old boy.

After he relieved himself, he walked to his room to make sure everything was in place. It was a little messy, but that was okay. He'd organize things later. He picked up his bag, which had a few keychains on it. He had put the pet rock Kel gave him on it too, and would fiddle with it from time to time. He also had a Captain Spaceboy keychain he got as a kid. A design of him firing from his laser gun. It felt kind of strange to look at, since he essentially met him in his dreams. After holding the bag on one shoulder he continued to finish his morning routine of eating breakfast and watching television until he needed to leave.

"Bye Sunny! Have a good day at school, and stay safe!" Sunny's mother beamed as she left through the front door, closing it behind her.

Sunny waved a hand shyly, and sat down to eat. His mother made him oatmeal. He didn't like it too sweet or too hot, so it was always room temperature and had a tinge of maple. Just how he liked it. Taking a spoonful, he felt the same sharp pain he felt from brushing his teeth. He gagged and coughed as he swallowed the oatmeal, wiping his mouth. He wasn't bleeding anymore, but his gums were still so sensitive. He didn't get it. What was wrong? He ate trying to avoid touching his teeth or gums and got halfway through before losing his appetite. He was so confused. What was going on??

He scraped his bowl and dramatically sighed as he put it in the sink and sat down on the couch, reaching for the remote. He then remembered. He had an important test today. And he forgot his math workbook. He sprung up from his seat and rushed to his room, grabbing the book from his desk. He wanted to look it over before the test actually started. Though, something caught his eye in his peripheral. Sunny slowly moved his head to look at his bed. His pillow had a huge red stain on it. It was blood. He started to panic, eye frantically looking around the room. On the floor beside his bed were two small objects. He squinted, crouching to see what they were.

They were his teeth.

He yelped and fell back into his chair, falling over and hitting his head against the closet. He groaned and held his head. Mewo jr. came into the room at the wrong time, and waltzed over to the teeth.

"No! D-Don't touch those!!" He croaked, stumbling to his feet to grab his kitten.

As soon as he did, Mewo jr. bit his hand. This wasn't out of the ordinary. She wasn't always a fan of being picked up without being warned. Sunny blamed himself for that. As Mewo jr. rushed out of the room after he put her down, he rubbed where she bit him. Barely any blood drew from the bite, but he still planned on covering it with a band-aid just in case be got tempted to mess with it later on. He looked at the time. It read 6:12am. He had another eight minutes until he had to head to school. He brushed a hand through his hair, as to calm himself, but staring at the loose teeth on the floor, his stomach turned. He felt like throwing up. But he stopped himself, inhaling aggressively, shakily picking up the teeth and throwing them away in his trash. As for the sheet..... He'd throw it out too. And the pillow. If he hid them well enough his mother would never know. Right? So he grabbed a fresh pillow from one of the boxes in his mother's room, as well as a clean sheet from the laundry, and fixed it on his bed.

"There...." He whispered to himself, sighing.

It was time to go. He slung his bag over his shoulders, saying goodbye to Mewo jr. before walking out the apartment door, closing and locking it behind him with his key. Putting his keys back into his pocket, he realized something.

He forgot his eyepatch.

He fumbled to open the door again, and rushed to the bathroom to grab one, putting it on and adjusting it properly. But when he looked in the mirror, the beast had returned. He gasped, nearly falling over again. How many times was he going to do that?

"What? Don't enjoy your new pearly whites? I picked them out just for you" The beast pouted

Sunny couldn't speak. It was hard for him to breathe, as he was practically gasping for air at the sight of it. This was real. Last night wasn't just a dream, or a hallucination. There was a monster following him. Doing something to him that he didn't like. In a fit of rage he went to punch at the mirror's glass, but felt something grab his arm as he did so. The beast had stretched its claws out of the mirror to grab him, digging its claws into his wrist. He winced in pain and moved his hand back, as did the beast. It simply laughed at him. It continued to laugh. Tears blurred his vision as he looked at his wrist, which had two small gashes. He quickly rushed to cover it with gauze, and realized how late he was. Math was first period. He had to get there as soon as possible. He stuck a middle finger boldly at the beast, but realized it was gone. He just stuck the finger at himself. Well, that was stupid.

Once Sunny got to class, before he could even sit down in his chair, the teacher bellowed at him.

"Sunny Zhao. Why are you late?" He sneered.

"I-I had some trouble this morning, sir." He whispered, looking down.

"Can you repeat that please, Mr. Zhao?" The teacher stepped foreword, a hand on his hip and a stern look on his face.

Sunny could feel anger continuing to bubble inside of him. He promised himself that he would keep his anger in check, but something was off. He couldn't help it. He wanted to scream. So he did. And all he expected were strange looks and an angry teacher, but as he opened his mouth and yelled, the room shook. The teacher stared at him in disbelief. He didn't look angry, he looked quite terrified.

"We will talk... about that later. Sit down, and start your test. Please...." He walked to his desk slowly.

Of course, everyone was staring at Sunny. He hated it. What was happening to him? His hands were shaking as he put his bag behind his chair, staring at the test in front of him. He tried to relax, but couldn't help but shake his leg anxiously. He could feel people's eyes on him, digging holes into him and ripping him to pieces. He closed his eye, and inhaled.

Sunny remembered how to CALM DOWN.

He opened his eye, staring at his test. He grabbed a pencil from his pencil case. Basil had given it to him before he left. It had frogs on it. The sight of something cute helped him relax a little. He started writing his name on the top of the page. His handwriting wasn't the neatest, but he tried his best to make it look decent. This was an important test to him. It was his first exam of the year for this class, and he didn't want to fail it. He closed his eye once more and breathed in, and out...

Sunny remembered how to FOCUS

His brows furrowed as he looked at the paper, glossing over each question. He put his pencil against the paper once more, and started to fill out the questions accordingly. It wasn't too difficult, even if he hated this subject. He had studied enough, but he wasn't just naturally good at it. Mari was good at everything. He.... wasn't good at much. Thoughts started to overwhelm him again, and he stared at a problem that stumped him. He forgot the formula to solve it. He studied that much, and forgot about the formula?! He clenched his pencil tightly, gritting his teeth.

Snap

Sunny paused. What happened? Did he get upset again? He looked at his pencil, which had broken into three pieces. But the hand that once held the pencil was... a large, dark paw. His eye widened as he covered the paw with his cardigan's sleeve, raising his other hand, which was thankfully normal.

"M-May I use the rest room??" He muttered out to the teacher.

The teacher rolled his eyes. "Make it quick. No dilly dallying" His blue eyes pierced Sunny through the heart.

Sunny got up from his chair and rushed out the classroom door and into the hall. Nobody was in the hallway. Good. He rushed to the boys bathroom, which he also hoped was empty. He opened the door harshly and looked around. Nobody was there. He heaved a sigh of relief as he slowly walked in. He looked in the mirror. It was just him. But there was something off. Had he gotten..

Taller..?

He squinted his eye as he looked at his reflection. He had noticed in that moment that the cardigan was slightly shorter on him. It wasn't an insane difference, but it was something he could've noticed. He uncovered his right hand, and saw that it was still a paw, with sharp claws and rough paw pads. Sunny bet this was another trick on his brain. Or rather, the whole day was a dream. He closed his eye, hoping to wake himself up. He stood there in silence for at least five minutes before hearing the bathroom door creak open. His eye opened to look at who walked in. It was Gerald, a classmate of his that he occasionally spoke to. They weren't friends, but sometimes it was nice just listening to someone.

"Sunny, are you okay? You just left class-" He stressed.

Sunny hid the paw behind his back, and nodded simply. But Gerald narrowed his eyes. He still knew something was up. He came to check if Sunny was alright. He wanted to be friends with him, but didn't want to force something upon him. Gerald already knew a little bit about what had happened to him that summer through the assholes that spread information throughout the school.

"I just came to check if you were okay.. You worry me a lot."

Sunny perked up slightly. Why would he worry about him? They barely knew each other.

"Can you at least give me a sign that you're okay dude?" Gerald's expression softened as he looked down at the shorter boy.

"I'm good.." Sunny said softly. He tried to smile, but it was awkward. He didn't smile often.

"Make sure to come back to class soon. Teach is pissed." Gerald said as he walked out of the room.

Sunny heaved a sigh of relief, glancing at his right hand. It had returned to normal. He leaned up against the wall and looked at himself. It was weird to see himself slightly taller than before. Maybe this was a puberty thing? He tried to reassure himself, took a deep breath, and headed back to class.

He finished the test. The best possible way he could. He felt proud of himself as he walked to the front of the classroom to put the paper on his teacher's desk, giving him a slightly smug look. In return, the teacher growled at him, shooing him with his hand. Sunny almost laughed, but kept it to himself as he returned to his seat. The bell rang. He had biology next. He heard people whispering about him, but he tried not to care. He simply put his bag on his back, and headed to the next class.