When Rebecca turned to Kat, he saw for the first time just how wounded she was. That really was the only word for it - [i]wounded[/i], in every sense of the word. Dulac could have harmed her less by hitting her in the face with a textbook. Her mouth was hanging slightly open, limply, and her eyes seemed just a bit devoid, sparking to life again only after recognizing a familiar face.
	[sub][b][color=222222]light[/color][/b][/sub]
Her smile was very faint.

[color=ffe0e0]"Try...again...?"[/color] She repeated the words slowly, as if to herself. It seemed like she didn't want to. Like she just wanted to give up. It would have been easy if she were alone - there would be no one to blame her or judge her. Her feeble attempt would simply fade into obscurity.
	    [sub][b][color=222222]redworld[/color][/b][/sub]
Just like Malie.

The fact that one person believed in her was at least enough to take a breath. [color=ffe0e0]"Y...Yeah. Try again."[/color] She said it like it was a sentence, that time, rather than a series of fragmented words. It had meaning. [color=ffe0e0]"We can...talk about it at breakfast...if that would be okay."[/color]

[hr]

 
[center][img]https://media.giphy.com/media/4H1Gmzcyc8GX5zSNYg/giphy.gif[/img][/center]
[center][color=222222]the rain continues to fall[/color][/center]
[center][color=222222]99 : 44 : 37[/color][/center]

 
[hr][right][sup]Monday — Morning — Hallway[/sup][/right]
The young woman stood alone in the halls, staring upward at the ceiling with a discerning gaze and furrowed brow. Like a statue, she didn't move even an inch — her attention focused entirely on the space above her.

Only after a few moments was such focus vindicated. A gentle thumping, like a galloping horse, thundering above the ceiling. In the crawlspace between the first and second floors, [i]something[/i] had moved.

Following the sound with her head, its path of movement was clear. The cafeteria.

The young woman seethed. [color=8882be]"The ones that stay put are one thing..."[/color] She spoke to herself, clenching a fist. [color=8882be]"...but this one is just a nuisance."[/color]

 
 
[hr][right][sup]Monday — Morning — Cafeteria[/sup][/right]
[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTs8vFvodAQ][img]http://i.imgur.com/KdzywDR.png[/img][/url][/center]
[color=ffe0e0]"Did either of you...know Malie?"[/color]

The cafeteria was as packed as always, but eerily quiet. It took a moment to discern the reason. Almost none of the students were talking amongst each other. The deafening cacophany that was normally circle upon circle of friends trying to out-shout each other to throw their voice a mere few feet was now merely a quiet chorus of chewing and plastic forks, like a procession of rats, marching to the percussion of the rain.

[color=ffe0e0]"She made friends with a few boys...or, you might have met her at a party, if you go to those. I never did."[/color] Rebecca continued, looking back and forth between Kat and Chester. [color=ffe0e0]"I thought that, maybe, since you seemed to care...maybe you kind of knew her."[/color] She frowned, thinking back on everything she could have done differently. There were so many things.

[color=ffe0e0]"It's fine if you didn't, I mean. It's not like you had to be really close to her to want to give something."[/color] The girl backpedaled a bit, [color=ffe0e0]"When something like this happens...it feels like everyone should care. Everyone is so...dismissive, and I just, I felt like I was crazy. Like it was weird that I felt like I should do something, and I wasn't sure if I was just bothering people for no reason."[/color] She admitted, her voice spilling out. She had no one else to talk to. [color=ffe0e0]"So, when you pitched in...I was really happy."[/color]

The food was awful. The cafeteria workers were putting in the minimal amount of effort possible to not get fired, and it showed. One student in line had muttered that one of the workers had spit in his food, but didn't bother doing anything about it. Messes and spills along the floor weren't being cleaned up, and the trash cans were overflowing. Even though the school was fully staffed, everywhere one looked, it seemed like it was falling into disrepair.

Rebecca wasn't eating her portion anyway. Even though the gym final was right after, she didn't feel up to it. Dulac's words played back over and over in her head, beating down even the most simple of pleasures. Food was tasteless. She couldn't form a tune in her mind. Pleasant thoughts seemed to run away from her stream of consciousness in fear.

[color=ffe0e0]"I wanted to try and do something at the school...if we go outside, or on the internet, no one would know who she was."[/color] Rebecca pointed out glumly, [color=ffe0e0]"But, maybe...if it's really true that no one cares, then...I don't know. Maybe it's meaningless, anyway."[/color]