I awoke to a terrible smell. I spent a few seconds laying still, confused as to what it was and where it was coming from before deciding to sit up and investigate. There was a crinkling sound as I did so and, in my sleepy state, I froze, wondering where it was coming from. It was only when I started moving again that the sound made a reappearance.
Glancing down, I remembered what I was wearing. The double layer of bin bags was the cause of the noise, but where was the smell coming from? Then I spied my shoes by the door and a wave of realisation washed over me. They were caked in mud and, as I got up, I noticed that I was too. Dried mud and dirt was splattered up my legs from trekking through it last night and, since I was so determined to go straight to bed, I hadn't even noticed.
I wrinkled my nose as I evaluated my situation and did so again when I ran a hand through my hair. I had slept with wet hair and it had dried weirdly and was all knotted. My clock said 6:16am so I decided I had more than enough time to sort everything out.
Carefully grabbing my shoes, I stepped out into the hallway bare footed, still just wearing bin liners and mud, and prayed I wouldn't run into anyone. Luckily, the school seemed quiet so I quickly padded down the hall towards the laundry room. Carmelita had stolen my uniform yesterday, probably feeling smug that I wouldn't have anything to wear today. Little did she know, I had plenty experience stealing new uniforms. Not many people knew that the laundry room was always unlocked. The door felt locked at first push but in reality the door was always open, it just usually got stuck. A solid push was enough to gain access and today I was glad I had that knowledge. It was knowledge that I had used again quite recently after Klaus and I's paint fight.
Stealing anything, even a uniform, always gave me a pang of guilt but, after all, if the school was only going to provide one uniform to any child without a signed permission slip then they had to accept the consequences.
I nudged the door open and peeked inside. The room was empty except for rails of clean clothes and tubs of dirty ones. The washing machines at the back of the room were off so I assumed whoever cleaned the uniforms hadn't started yet. That gave me a few safe minutes to nab what I needed and get out of there.
Dumping my muddy shoes on the floor, I quickly picked up a blazer, shirt and skirt in what seemed to be a similar size to my old ones. Then I went into the back, where they kept accessories, and got a new tie and a pair of fresh socks.
Glancing around, I couldn't see any shoes. I'd never needed new shoes before so I wasn't sure where they kept them. I had assumed that they would be here since this was where the rest of he uniform was, but there didn't seem to be any anywhere.
I shook my head, there was no time to keep looking. Someone could come in at any moment so it wasn't worth waiting around. I scooped up my new uniform and grabbed my muddy shoes and ran out of the door, heading to the girls bathroom.
Luckily, that was empty too. I chucked my shoes into the sink so I could clean them afterwards, before hopping in the shower. I paid careful attention to my legs so I could scrub off all the dried mud that must've flicked up off my shoes when Klaus and I were crossing the grass last night.
When I was completely clean I shut off the water, dried off and put the new uniform on. The skirt was the right size and fit the same as my old one but the shirt was baggy. Tucking it in, it didn't look as bad but it still didn't look great. I figured it was better than still being covered in black plastic and dirt so I sighed and popped the blazer over the top. I had somehow picked up the wrong size blazer as well because it was way too big and hung off me weirdly. My fingertips were only just visible at the end of the sleeves and the hem of the blazer rivalled the bottom of my skirt.
I looked myself up and down in the mirror before deciding that I looked like a child playing dress up. I was fairly short already but the oversized blazer made me look tiny.
I look like a gnome or something, I thought to myself.
Then, I turned my attention to my shoes. I scrubbed them as best I could in the small bathroom sink, the water running off them brown and laced with random bits of grass. I kept going until the water ran clear, or clear enough, and shook them out, water droplets going everywhere. Then I held them under the hand dryer to take the worst off them. The dryer buzzed and a weak, barely warm stream of air came out, stopping every few seconds. I huffed and kept them there for as long as I could. It was only when the bathroom door creaked open that I stopped, getting a weird look from the girl who came in.
That'll have to do, I thought to myself before slipping them on.
They were freezing and the hand dryer hadn't done anything to dry them off. I immediately felt my socks become soaked with water but there was nothing I could for now but let them dry on their own.
I pulled a hand through my wet hair, trying my best not to look like a drowned rat, but there was no helping the image that stared back at me. Whatever.
At that, I left the bathroom. There were a few early risers in the halls and I struggled to not catch everyone's attention with the squelching of my wet shoes. There was nothing I could do about it so I just hurried to the canteen despite it still being early, just because I could sit down and not have everyone look at me as I noisily walked around.
When I arrived, there was only one other person in there, another student I didn't recognise, so I sat at my usual table and just waited for the day to start. Little by little, the canteen picked up and I didn't have to wait too long for Carmelita to make an appearance.
She took me by surprise for a few reasons. First of all, she wasn't wearing her usual pair of tap shoes, which meant that I didn't get an audio warning before she walked in. Second of all, she looked like she had stepped directly out of a spa. She was wearing a hot pink, satin robe and pink slippers and her ginger curls were in tight rollers.
I stifled a laugh at her outfit choice, thinking that she had made a mistake and was accidently walking around in her sleepwear. She must've heard me because she whirled around, sour face partially covered by a bright green face mask.
"Something funny, cakesniffer?" She sneered, before noticing my uniform and rolling her eyes in annoyance. I couldn't help that smile. I win that round, Carmelita.
Carmelita attempted a smirk and her face mask cracked slightly, "Are you looking forward to the big performance tonight?"
I nodded vigorously, "Oh course, Carmelita. I absolutely can't wait to be on stage in front of the entire student body."
She ignored my sarcasm and smirked wider, "I don't know about you, but I'm particularly looking forward to the finale."
Yeah, yeah, I thought to myself as she attempted to sashay away in her fluffy slippers. As much as the big kiss concerned me, I couldn't help but feel like we would sort something out. We always sorted something out. Klaus might spontaneously learn karate or Violet might invent a device that flings Carmelita off the stage. As smug as Carmelita felt right now, there was no way that kiss was happening. Not on my watch.
