Littlespace Academy (SFW)

Chapter 8

          I was running to the scene before I could fully process the horrifying sound I'd just heard. Despite lack of visibility, I knew someone was hurt. Turning the corner met me with the scene of two guys. One of them was standing tall, teeth gritted and eyes tensed into a glare. He was towering over the other, who was supporting himself against the wall. He was covering his jaw with his arm. When the standing one saw me, he scoffed and went back inside. I swore I heard him mumbling, but I couldn't decipher his words. The one on the wall remained there, looking as confused as half of a face could.

          What I could see of him had very soft features. Forest green eyes were wide, monitoring my every movement. Curly blond hair gently gleamed in the sun. Freckles adorned his cheeks, the bridge of his nose, his forehead, and what I could see of his forearm. His stature wasn't immediately observable, but even while hunched against the wall I could tell he wasn't much taller than me. Keeping my approach careful, I made my way over. He looked surprised when I spoke to him.

          "Do you know where the infirmary is?" I asked softly.

          "No, I don't," he replied quietly. His voice was drastically different than the desperation I'd heard echoing around the corner moments ago. He sounded gentle, like a pleasant breeze passing by a crisp waterfall on a perfect spring day. I held out my hand to him. He glanced at it, then back at me with a quizzical expression.

          "I'll take you there," I offered. "It's not that far of a walk, and I don't have to go to class today anyway."

          "Myr, I know you want to help, but we don't know this guy or why he was fighting. This could be a dangerous situation for either of us to involve ourselves with," Charlotte's voice came from behind me followed by her hand placed on my shoulder. I rolled it backwards to remove her touch.

          "I know." I replied, holding my hand out for him more insistently. "Even so I won't leave him behind. He's hurt." My friend's sigh came from behind me. The guy's eyes were darting between Charlotte and I as we interacted. It took him a minute, but slowly he pushed himself up from the support of the wall and walked over to be next to me. Charlotte, with another sigh, started walking off.

          "I'm going to put your things away," she called over her shoulder. "Please be careful Myrium!"

          "I will!" I responded. "Thank you!" Glancing over at the guy, I saw he still had his arm hiding his face. It must've hurt bad.

          "So, what's your name?" I asked. Maybe I could accomplish something here?

          "My name is Kess," the guy, Kess, told me. A soft name for a seemingly soft person.

          "I'm Myrium," I replied. Kess just nodded. He didn't seem willing to converse, so I stayed quiet for the rest of the walk. Along the way I noticed him trying to take in everything he could about where we were on campus. He really hadn't been lying when he said he didn't know where the infirmary was.

          "I could have found it just like that this entire time?" He asked incredulously as we arrived at the door labelled 'INFIRMARY.' Light laughter made its way to my lips.

          "I suppose you could've," I said. "This pocket wasn't obvious to me until I knew to look for it either." Quiet chuckling came from behind me.

          We walked into the infirmary. I knew where it was, but I had never been inside before. It was much bigger than I expected it to be. The floors were nicely polished and the coloring was a very glossy, cloudy mix of a soft blue and a pastel yellow that followed the same patterns as the tiling on the floors in the hallway. The ceiling was an arch style, much like the ceilings of the rest of the college that I'd seen. All it would take was a mural of naked babies on the ceiling, and it might've been reminiscent of the Sistine Chapel. On the left of the lobby we'd entered, I noticed a desk with someone sitting behind it. They must have been a secretary.