Seven (Completed)

CHAPTER 2 ~ An escape plan.

CHAPTER 2

An escape plan.

It was five a.m. when the alarm clock went off, waking her up. The door would unlock at six o'clock, as always. Her head felt heavier than it normally felt; she was fed up by all that sleep. That way, the students had just enough time to take a morning shower or arrive early at the cafeteria and pick the least horrible breakfast option.

Still half-asleep, she picked herself up and walked slowly to the private bathroom of her bedroom. The door opened without a sound.

Anne placed her pale palms onto the two sides of the sink. She opened the tap and let the water run for a while. She placed her hands under the cold water and started pouring it over her face.  After she finally woke up for good, she stopped and took a look of herself in the mirror. Anne did not particularly like her rosy cheeks that would easily blush and embarrass her. And that morning, they were rosier than ever.

Anne started combing her blonde hair, which barely reached her shoulders, with her fingers. After she left the bathroom, she dressed in a simple grey sweater and a pair of jeans. She was almost ready when she heard a knock on the door. It was Carlos.

'It's me, can I come in?' he asked, breathing on the door, his lips almost touching it.

'Yes, yes, come in,' she replied as she was putting her other shoe on. 'Don't mind the mess,' she added and looked over her shoulder at the watch. Two past six.

Carlos walked into the room, closing the heavy door behind him. He took the first couple of steps in hesitation, examining the wrinkled sheets and orange blankets.

Carlos finally picked himself up and was prepared to tell her everything. He knew nobody else would listen as the student's rooms and the shared restrooms were the only places without surveillance cameras.

'Hey, I ... I need to talk to you.'

'Go ahead then.' Anne sat on her bed while Carlos was standing up, facing her. Her thin lips curled into a friendly encouraging smile.

'Me and...' he started talking. 'Pierre, Lucas and I...' and then he stopped.

'Is something wrong? Did you do anything? It's okay to tell me,' Anne asked calmly.

'No, don't worry, we're all fine. The thing is...'he took a deep breath. 'The thing is we have an escape plan.'

***

Lucas' eyes smiled at the sight of Edith. His face lit up. He called for her at first but then started approaching her.

'Hi.'

'Oh, hey Lucas I-I didn't see you there. Have you been standing here for long?' she asked absent-mindedly.

'Not too long,' he answered and looked down only to rearrange his thoughts. 'Erm, I wanted to ask you something,' he admitted.

'Really? Is it about biology again because I could make a-'

'Edith,' he said, his smile giving its place to his usual serious look, 'it's not about biology.'

Edith looked into his deep blue eyes with great concern; her mind struggled to understand what all this meant.

'Toilets,' he blurted out, rolling his eyes toward the door of the shared restrooms.

'Right, right,' she mumbled and the tension seemed to slightly recede from her muscles.

From across the hallway, Sonia placed her pile of books onto the nearest desk and quickly pushed her hair out of her face, away from her eyes. She then picked up the book and greeted Thomas who was standing right next to the window. She passed right by him and made her way along the corridor, listening to other students talking cheerfully or leaning lazily against the walls and lockers.