Stay...Calm

Chapter 20

"The only time Anais has spoken to anyone else after all that," Yolanda observed. "Was when she gave Ms.Kion a hair that fell out from the stress and said, 'This is what you do to me.'"

"Sounds familiar," Thelma pointed out.

"It shouldn't."

"Is she going crazy?"

"Uh...probably."

"Dang it!"

"You know what was crazy?" Jacey scooted her chair closer to her best friend. "The Brendon Urie obsession when you were little."

"We don't speak of that," she whispered.

"I remember that was like, a few years before everything turned to crap."

"Weird times."

"And everyone would know it."

Thelma was already laughing. Yolanda glared at her at first, but couldn't help but smile a little when Victorine and Asha laughed along.

"Do you know how many kids would yell, 'Hispanic at the disco' at me?" Yolanda told them. "But all those kids had at least one black eye by the end of the year."

"Even though you cried the first time?"

"Shut up!"

From across the dinner table, Ms.Kion was looking over a paper of who knows what. Buckley nibbled on the crust of a ham sandwich, sticky crumbs missing the plate as they fall.

"I miss the beef stew," Buckley whispered.

"We don't have enough beef left," Ms.Kion snapped. Buckley bit his lip.

"No need to be sassy about it," he uttered under his breath. Horace raised his hand.

"Where's the nutcase?" he asked. After receiving a warning glare, she answered, "Eating in another room. With Mrs.Daniels."

"I miss her," Thelma muttered.

"I hope she's okay," Asha said, Victorine head pressed against her arm.

"She's going crazy. She's not exactly okay," Horace pointed out.

"Not again," Opal whispered.

"Why are you people all so-"

"ENOUGH! Dinner over. Go to bed," Ms.Kion chimed in.

Anyone under twelve let out an "aw," but everyone begrudgingly obliged to some extent, save the few who said "screw it" and dragged in everyone else. Opal stood right in front of the big baby shark tank. She pressed her face to it to get a better look, and immediately backed away, flinching and giggling when it rammed its head against the glass in response. Instead, she hopped onto the biggest couch in the formation. Gina walked in, curious as to what the hell just happened. She took one glance, at the shark, paused, and speed-walked away.

Opal started laughing as Gina went out of sight. Victorine hopped onto the arm of the couch.

"Oh, you!" Opal exclaimed. "The quiet one."

She received an elbow to the knee. "Okay, sorry! Sorry!"

Opal smiled a bit and put her hands behind her head.

"Y'know, I went to medical school before this," she said. "Training to be a doctor n' stuff. I'd be nice to save lives in times of turmoil."

"WHAT THE HE-" Gina screamed, as Buckley sprinted past her, a smirk on his face and a retainer in hand. Opal grinned.

"Gina and I are foster sisters," she told Victorine. "We've shared a room since pretty much the day we met each other. And I remember I'd be doing work on the desk while she'd be laying down on the bed, rambling on and on. Dang, we were best friends from the start. I mean, I was adopted, while with Gina it was all up in the air. I mean, she was even supportive when I started medical school. I started the whole 'become-a-doctor' thing when all the conflict started. Like, with all that's going on outside, I just want to help people."