Stay...Calm

Chapter 23

Buckley appeared from behind a corner with a round, blue, rubber dodgeball in hand. He tossed it to Pauline, who was standing on the couch, so she could jump and catch it at the same time. She caught it with a victorious exclaim. She had to climb back onto the couch to jump and throw it to Horace, who was coming out from the staircase. He stumbled a little but caught it an inch before it hit the ground. When he raised his arm to throw it, it revealed a shirt that read, Bi + Rich = B!tch.

He didn't address it until he realized the immense staring it garnered.

"It's a gift," Horace said. "It was more accurate then if ya know what I mean."

He joined the game, as Victorine sat next to Asha on the couch, watching the ball go around. Horace shot it to Buckley, who failed to catch it before it smacked Asha right on the left side of her face when she wasn't looking. It bounced off her head and hit Victorine in the stomach. Asha look surprised at first, rubbing her temple, but turned her head and smirked at Horace.

"It's going to take more than that to get me," she laughed. She tossed it back to them and joined in the game. Getting excited, Victorine clapped her fluffy bracelets together. When it got back to Asha, Victorine gestured towards it. With a chuckle, Asha handed it to her, and she pitched it right at Horace's face. Sadly though, his reflexes were too quick. The ball bounced from person to person throughout the room for about ten, joyfully youthful minutes.

Unfortunately, nothing could last forever. Ms.Kion entered the room, followed by a procession of the older people of the residence. All had contagious frowns that spread throughout the room. The ball was caught by Pauline, of whom it stayed with. Ms.Kion held the usual white sheet of paper covered with the plainest text. And written in the plain text was what had just put a giant damper on the room. The air felt heavier as people slowly gathered into the living room and sat on the couches. Mrs.Daniels stood next to her counterpart as Ms.Kion prepared to read off the day's news. Buckley looked a bit let down as he stared at the ball in Pauline's hands.

"We can't just throw one more round..." he mumbled.

"Sh!" she snapped. In the few second downtime, before the news was read, Victorine observed a few key people in the room. Pauline clutched the ball right to her chest as she took deep breaths through her nose. Mrs.Daniels tried to hide her nervousness. Horace shook his head in pity. Thelma choked back a sob. Jacey squeezed her best friend's hand so hard it looked like it was cutting off Yolanda's blood. Asha kept a clear expression. Edd was just being an insensitive jerk. And most importantly, Anais was sitting in her own corner, face far away from the center of attention. Instead, she kept her vacant eyes fixated on the window.

"So..."Ms.Kion sighed, taking a deep breath before speaking. "As you've witnessed, a neighboring mansion has exploded. The remains have been scoured, and we recovered some food for our use. The cause of the explosion has not been discovered, but we suppose..."

She took a second to let everyone prepare. "That it was the product of a bombing."

An all too painful silence fell over the room. Enough silence to cause a handle of bottom lips to quiver and fingers to fidget. Ms.Kion reluctantly moved on.

"The wars are reaching the mountains," Ms.Kion continued. "And provisions are becoming more-you know what?"

She put the paper down an sighed. "If you're going to cry, don't do it here. If you want to leave, do it now. The upstairs lounge will be the grieving room. Whoever wants to leave could leave now."

And people did leave. About half of the room got up from the couches and made their way up the stairs. Victorine watched the crowd march away in a dreary blur. Pauline led to line, walking as hastily as she could. Thelma ran up after her, vainly trying to hide her tears. Jacey went up the stairs with a hand over her mouth to muffle her own sobs. She stumbled a going up the stairs, gripping the wall with a palm. Parker ran up to put an arm around her, and Yolanda scurried after them. Melissa wasn't crying herself, but little Baby Beau was breaking into a fit. And, of course, Mrs.Daniels followed after for the baby. To her surprise, Buckley chased after them too. Some others came up too, leaving the remaining to sit down in silence.

"So..." Ms.Kion sighed, going back to her strict demeanor. "The United States has issued for all families to remain in their hometowns, and have shelters always ready. When an attack occurs, they get evacuated to government-owned bunkers or compounds."

She listed grim news after grim news as Victorine began to zone out. Some people she expected to see, such as Edd and Timothy. Opal just looked confused, like she wasn't going to take any risks to stand out too much. To her greatest surprise, Anais remained in her exact spot, as if nothing happened. She just stayed in her nearly lifeless trance, mumbling incoherently.

When Ms.Kion finished reading her news, she paused for a bit, then gasped.

"Horace Samuel Pickett!" she exclaimed. "What is that profanity on your shirt?"

"Edd gets to eat the only red apples!" Horace defended.

"He...well..." Ms.Kion grabbed Edd by the arm. "Stop eating those. We'll run out of food any day now."

"What?" he said, genuinely worried for a second.

"Nothing! By the way, where did you come from again?"

"No," he answered. Ms.Kion groaned and left to room to deal with who knows what as Edd plopped down on the couch next to Victorine (who scooted away a bit). She returned a quick glare, and he sighed.

"Y'know, everyone keeps asking me 'explain yourself.' Well, I came in, that's what happened. I'll always answer 'no' to these idiots."

Victorine sat there, a little bit awkwardly as his face cringed up a little.

"Are...are we really running out of food?" he whispered. When Victorine turned away from him, he just got sad. Staring forward and not making eye contact...he tried to pet her. And in response, she tried to bite his hand.

"Feisty!' he exclaimed. She rolled her eyes and shifted her focus to Timothy, who was watching right past Anais. She spotted him, and in a moment of lust and excitement, she grabbed him by the wrist. It almost made him fall backward. Surprised, he started to try and pry her fingers off his wrist.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Timothy yelled. Anais started panting as a smile grew on her face. It only made Timothy more disgusted.

"Please," Anais squealed. He desperately tried to pull her hand right off his.

"Why do you hafta be so weird?" Timothy grumbled. He pried off first fingers from her wrist and yanked her hand away. Anais looked as if she'd just seen a car crash. Her hand dropped to her side and her sorrow-filled eyes watched as he stomped away. She tried to say something, but her mind couldn't push out a single word. She sat there hopeless and heartbroken as her crush moved out of sight.

Distraught and saddened, Victorine got up from the couch and scurried upstairs. At the top of the stairs, she was able to hear the sound of bitter crying. She slowly tiptoed towards the upstairs lounge where the kids used to hang out and play. Now it housed a crowd of the saddest people in the home. Victorine didn't want to stare in for too long, but she caught enough: Melissa's forehead creasing with stress as Baby Beau wailed louder and louder; Thelma breaking down in a corner; Jacey sobbing at the side of her friend and boyfriend, mumbling, "You're all I have left."

Victorine stood forward, blank-faced. This situation was just all too familiar. She shook her head in pity and noticed a joyous piano tune being pumped out. Victorine moved through the hallway towards the noise. It was bouncy and fast, like what you'd hear in an old cartoon. Pauline was sitting at the piano, her fingers flying across the ivory keys. Curious, Victorine scooted around to get a clear glimpse of Pauline's face.

Pauline's face was drenched with sweat that dripped onto her wide, artificial smile. Her eyes were big and bloodshot and fixed on the piano keys. Tears streamed out of her eyes in wide rivers. She hid each sob with a giggle as she fingers out a happy tune. Victorine gasped and jumped back at the sight of it. She watched the episode in shock. Breathing heavily but silently, she backed away from Pauline at the piano. Her mind was scrambling, but she didn't need any answers. She took three graceful steps back, then turned around and dashed.