[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/684ddb45-4fc1-4da4-89c5-42f0263bd666.png[/img][/center][right][sub]April 13th[/sub][/right][hr]
[color=E5C4CD]“Really, really, it’s—guys, it’s fine!”[/color] Emi couldn’t help but giggle as a commotion of basketball club members buzzed around her, trying to make sure she didn’t feel excluded on the sidelines of the gym. They meant well, but it really wasn’t necessary – she was perfectly happy “observing”. In fact, she could have done without the extra noise; the myriad slams of basketballs, barks of coaches and squeaks of sneakers were more than enough to overwhelm the senses without several people trying to talk to her at once. 

At long last she managed to convince the club members that she didn’t need accommodating, and was finally left alone to her relief. Gym class was entertaining for her in its own way; she usually didn’t have to attend, but often did anyway. She could read something braille if she wanted, but listening was fun in its own right – and she couldn’t deny a certain smug satisfaction that she got to sit comfortably while the rest of her class had to run or whatever. As if to prove a point, she soon heard a muffled [i]thump-thump-thump[/i] nearby accompanied by an annoyed grunt, and had to stifle a giggle when she realized it must have been somebody falling. 

Yes, the gym was a nice distraction, but now that she wasn’t being badgered, her mind soon returned to the dream she’d had a few nights past – the one that had dominated her thoughts ever since, and had barely given her a moment to breathe today. What started out as hope had gradually morphed into dread; William told her she had until “the day after next” to find “his door in her world”, and that was on the eleventh. Today was the thirteenth – the last day, according to his cryptic message. 

And her searching had been fruitless. The school, however suspicious she thought it was, was behaving irritatingly normal. Emi suspected that “a place consumed by flames that should be no more” might have referred to the wreckages of her friends’ burned-down houses, but given so much of their adventure together revolved around fire, she couldn’t be certain. And regardless, she couldn’t even pay them a visit to check – ever since her breakdown after the fires, her parents were excessively careful to keep her away from the fire sites. Something about “tormenting herself” when she paid so many visits to the sites after the fires occurred. She would have snuck out under some other pretense to investigate, but her parents were smart enough to keep closer tabs on her now that she’d gone back to school. And it wasn’t like she could tell them that her friends’ potential freedom from the Other Side depended on it. 

Ugh. She knew they meant well, but she wished they’d be a little less [i]invested[/i]. 

Suddenly, darkness fell across Emi’s very limited vision. She initially assumed it was someone passing in front of her, but a chorus of frightened exclamations throughout the gym told her the power must have gone out. Weird, last she checked the weather was calm. 

Emi gasped – was this her sign? Was this the start of whatever awful thing was supposed to happen today?

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than a sudden shot of critical awareness struck her, stopping her mid-breath. 

[i]There’s a butterfly on the door.[/i]

Emi didn’t need to see or hear or touch the thing to know it was there; her Euryphaessa sense made it as obvious as if the insect itself had slapped her across the face. She rose from her seat before even realizing she was moving, making her way along the gym walls as if pulled by some unseen wire around her chest. Fear and hope surged in equal measure, fighting for supremacy over her. Hope seemed to be winning, pulling her toward the butterfly, but fear was close on her heels, telling her to slow down, to wait, that she’d never dealt with something like this by herself before. 

[color=E5C4CD][i]There’s a first time for everything,[/i][/color] she told herself as she neared the door, banishing the burgeoning cowardice from her mind. [color=E5C4CD][i]Besides, any one of them would do the same for me.[/i][/color]
[hr][right][sub][@Hero] [@Scribe of Thoth] [@Asura] [@Lord Orgasmo][/sub][/right]