[hr][CENTER][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1070187379547176990/1079867956093263933/Makenna_Banner.png[/img][/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=SILVER][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Pacific Royal Collegiate & University,[/I] - [I]Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=SILVER][b]First Class #2.15:[/b][/COLOR] [I]Fine[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][indent][sub][color=SILVER][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I][/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=SILVER][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [I]N/A[/I][/right][/SUP][/indent] [i]03:11[/i] Makenna's phone nearly blinded her with the familiar home-screen. Herself and Carson, smiling and dressed to the nines; proudly posing, arms extended to flaunt the shining ring on her hand. Some other student had woken with enough of a start to disturb her trance for what felt like the fifth time that night. With an over-dramatic sigh, she fell back down onto her pillow. She'd always been grateful for her own absence of nightmares; but ever since the trails... Well, at least the others had something to wake from. A week since she'd been able to rest; the comfort of the installed tent mattress and soothing rain splattering outside, only to be ripped awake and thrown out into the harsh winds. If only the cold had been the worst of it. She shut off her phone again and willed herself to close her eyes and sleep, to no avail. Tired as she was, her heart-rate increased, and her slow deep breaths turned shallow and rapid as the feeling of an immense weight began pressing on her chest. It wasn't real, she knew- a figment of a memory: her own voice being choked out mid-scream. Unable to bear it any further, she opened her eyes and waited for them to adjust to the darkness once more. Another night was spent tracing the invisible panels in the ceiling as Makenna did her best to regulate her thoughts and emotions. [hr] [i]07:00[/i] Barely two notes of an alarm played before Makenna had shut off the device and was out of bed. Careful to reduce the amount of noise she made in the shared room; she picked through her belongings for the essentials before slipping into the bathroom. As painfully exhausted as she was, daytime was a hundred time better than night. Getting assigned to infirmary duty was unfortunate timing; but at least it was something to occupy her mind and time. The silent darkness of night had become oppressive - the absence of activity leaving her mind nothing to do but wander and inevitably replay the events of the camping trip cut short. Lacking any real nurse training, Makenna was relegated to glorified maintenance duties: Restocking gauze and swabs, transporting monitors and clipboards to wherever they were needed. She was strictly prohibited to enter the rooms of her injured team-mates. Not that she had much anything to say to them if she had the chance, but the brief glimpses she caught through windows; bodies of mostly bandages, with the only bits of flesh exposed unrecognizably dark and swollen, were more than enough to deter her. [hr] [i]14:42[/i] The vibration of the phone in her pocket made Makenna jump. She'd silenced most of her notifications for the past few days. Carson had been the one flooding her inbox for once, and yet she couldn't bring herself to so much as read his messages. Hyperion and the boy she'd never know were all she could think about, and she wasn't so stupid as to believe her communications weren't monitored. She'd been watching the news, or lack there of. Who knew the repercussions of letting out what happened. Once they were done with the funeral, it would be as though Cassander Charon never existed. "...You there Kenna?" Carson's voice came through. She'd answered the call without saying anything. [colour=#BC8F8F]"Mhm, here. Sorry, just been a bit distracted"[/colour] "Oh, thank god," He actually sounded relieved. "You've been ignoring my messages and I was getting worried." Rational, balanced Makenna would have held onto the fact it had taken him an entire [i]week[/i] to be worried enough to call- But she was neither; only sleep-deprived, stressed, and stupidly grateful there was someone out there who would miss her. She held the phone at arm's length as she muffled a sob in a handful of tissue. [colour=#BC8F8F]"God Carson, I'm so..."[/colour] What could she say? [colour=#BC8F8F]"It's so good to hear your voice."[/colour] She finally managed to choke out before another hiccup of tears came; beginning an outpouring of liquid from her eyes and nose. "What the hell has been going on, Ken? You sound awful." [colour=#BC8F8F]"Nothing - nothing."[/colour] She muttered before placing the phone on the bed in front of her to use both hands to staunch the flow of snot and tears. [colour=#BC8F8F]"I've just been so fucking lonely."[/colour] The confession was so honest it shocked her into silence again. Exhaustion really had turned her stupid. The silence was reciprocated on the other line for a few painful seconds. "Is there anything I can do? Anything you need?" Makenna sighed and looked down to her left hand, ring glinting between balls of used tissue. [colour=#BC8F8F]"I need you here"[/colour] She finally breathed. "I'm so tired of all this dancing in circles Carson. [colour=#BC8F8F]"All I want is to see you"[/colour] "The semester just started, Ken, and there are interviews for the paper-" She'd been determined not to interrupt his excuse, but couldn't help a sharp intake of breath that gave them both pause. "I'll look at my schedule and call you tomorrow." The last thing she wanted was for him to hang up, but she'd behaved pitifully enough for one phone call without resorting to begging him not to go. [colour=#BC8F8F]"I love you"[/colour] "You too" Was his short reply before promptly hanging up. She held the phone to her ear as the dial tone played. Eventually, she stood to scrub the evidence of the outburst from her face; she could hardly go into her psych appointment puffy-eyed and red-faced. [hr] [i]17:34[/i] It was too early to be expecting a response, never mind confirmation; but the entire funeral service, Makenna had been only be able to think about Carson and what a visit from him might entail. So much between them remained uncertain and unsaid. She worried pushing him too hard too fast would force him to the wrong decision; but in a moment of weakness, that was exactly what she'd done. She pocketed her phone again, and surveyed the courtyard for her classmates. Multiple teams were there, the intended 'opponents' of the trials. As though competing in dodgeball would ever have been enough to prepare them for something like Hyperion. Trevor stuck out as a familiar face, as did the grouping of Rory, Trace, and Haleigh. [colour=#BC8F8F] "Lovely service"[/colour] She murmured on approach to the latter bunch, plastered smile friendly enough to appear oblivious to their prior conversation. [colour=#BC8F8F]"Sad as it is none of us really got to know him,"[/colour] She added, right hand moving to twist the ring on her left before nodding towards Rory. 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