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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Obsequium_Minaris on 2024-12-25 01:17:44+00:00.

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XXX

It was a gentle knock on the door that awoke Pale and Kayla early the next morning. Pale immediately sat up straight in bed, one hand reaching for her knife, while across from her, Kayla let out a wide yawn as she turned over onto her side.

“What time is it?” she asked groggily. “Trick question… whatever time it is, it’s too early…”  

“It’s about eight in the morning,” Pale informed her. “And we should be getting up, considering we have class today.”

“Do I have to…?”

“Yes, Kayla.”

Kayla let out a disappointed grumble even as she finally sat up in bed and stretched her arms out, another yawn escaping her as she did so. Pale rolled her eyes at the sight of it, but threw the covers off herself all the same and made her way to the door, one hand keeping her knife held behind her back. Truthfully, she didn’t want anyone – or Sven, rather – to be dumb enough to try and attack the two of them at this point, but she also wouldn’t entirely put it past him, either.

She was relieved when she threw open the door and found Professor Virux standing there instead.

“Good morning,” he greeted the two of them.

“Good morning, Professor,” Pale replied. “What brings you here?”

“Two things, as a matter of fact,” Virux answered. “First, I understand you have another of those weapons. I’m not going to ask where you got it from, both because I don’t want to anger you and because I suspect I wouldn’t like the answer. Instead, I’m just going to request that you kindly turn it over to me for safekeeping, same as the other two.”

Pale frowned, but didn’t argue, instead giving him a nod. “Very well. Wait here.”

With that, she turned and stepped back into her room, placing her knife on the table and reaching for her shotgun. She worked the action a few times, unloading the shells that had been loaded into it already, then inspected the chamber and magazine tube. After confirming the gun was now empty, she headed for the door again, opening it and offering Virux the weapon stock-first.

“Here,” she said.

“Thanks,” Virux replied, taking possession of the gun. He went to tuck it under his arm, only for Pale to suddenly hold out a hand.

“Stop,” she said, causing him to freeze. “Point the front part skyward and carry it like that.”

“Uh, okay,” he awkwardly replied as he re-positioned the gun the way she’d requested. “Is there a particular reason for-”

“Peace of mind,” Pale specified. “It is currently inert and not capable of firing – I just saw to that myself, in fact – but it’s good practice not to go pointing it at anything you don’t intend to destroy, even if it’s inert.”

Virux nodded along with her words. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good.” Pale breathed a sigh of relief. “What was the second thing you came here for?”

“The headmaster wanted me to inform you that he’s granting you and the other survivors the next few days off class,” Virux said to her.

Pale’s brow furrowed. “I appreciate the gesture, but I don’t need-”

“He was adamant that you accept,” Virux specified. “Pale, you’ve been through a lot these past few days. All of you have. This is for your own good.”

“Hm. I take it this isn’t a request, then?”  

“No. In fact, if I catch you or any of the others in my class over the next few days, I will recommend disciplinary action be taken, as will the other teachers.” Virux’s gaze softened. “I understand that you’re trying to move forward, but everyone has a breaking point, even if it takes a while to reach for some people. Consider this the school intervening before it gets that bad.”

“Again, I appreciate the gesture, but if I fall behind because of this-”

“You won’t. If you or the other survivors need additional help as a result of skipping classes, we are happy to accommodate you. The important thing now is that you all get some rest and relax. Do you understand?”

Pale let out a tired sigh, but nodded nonetheless. “I understand. I’ll take the rest of the week off.”

“Good.” Virux breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s all I came here for, really. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go prepare for the other students.” He peered past Pale into her room. “Kayla, I take it you’ll be there?”

Kayla didn’t respond. Pale turned around and found that she’d fallen asleep again, her legs stretched off her bed and touching the floor. Pale gave her an un-amused look before turning back to Professor Virux.

“She’ll be there,” she promised. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“I know you will,” Virux told her. “I must be going, then. I hope you’ll take my words to heart and give yourself time to relax, Pale. Gods know you all need it after the nightmare you just went through.”

“I will. Thanks, Professor.”  

Virux merely gave her a nod, then turned and began to walk down the hall, no doubt heading for his own classroom. Pale didn’t bother to watch him go, instead shutting the door behind her as she marched over to Kayla’s bed, took hold of the sheets, and pulled as hard as she could. Kayla fell to the ground a few inches below, where she woke with a yelp.

“Hey!” She fixed Pale with a harsh glare. “That was a good dream, Pale!”

“Another hour or so and it would have turned into a nightmare when you accidentally skipped class,” Pale informed her.

Kayla gave her a low grumble as she picked herself up off the floor. “What did Virux want, anyway? I remember he stopped by just before I passed out again.”

“He came to collect my weapon and force me to take the rest of the week off school.” Pale let out a tired sigh. “I tried to tell him I didn’t need it, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. So I guess now I have nothing to do during the day for the rest of the week.”

“Well, he’s not wrong,” Kayla pointed out. “Taking it easy for the next few days is probably warranted after what happened.”

“You and I both know I’ve been through way worse than that.”

“I know, but still, it’s worth heeding his advice. When was the last time you really sat down and tried to relax, anyway? Actually, don’t answer that – I know the answer is never.” Pale gave her a pointed look, and Kayla rolled her eyes. “Come on, you know I’m right.”

“…Okay, maybe so,” Pale reluctantly conceded after a moment’s pause. “But that leaves me at a loss for things to do in the absence of school. Especially since you won’t be around during that time.”

“There’s plenty to do around here,” Kayla pointed out. “You could read through some of the books in the library, or work out, or go out on the town…” A thought occurred to her, and her face lit up. “Wait, wouldn’t Valerie have the rest of the week off, too? You and her could do something together. You know, as friends.”

Again, Pale hesitated. “…Perhaps.”  

“See? You don’t hate the idea.”

“How do you know?”

“Because six months ago you would have dismissed it outright, but instead, you just implied you’d be open to it.” Kayla flashed her a smile. “You’re making progress. Not sure towards what, exactly, but hey, progress is progress.”  

“I suppose,” Pale offered. “You should probably get in the bath and grab some breakfast, Kayla. You don’t have much time before class.”

“Shoot, you’re right. Okay, fine, you’ve weaseled your way out of this one. But just know that I’m proud of you for being less of a grump than usual.”

“A grump…?” Pale echoed, though she didn’t get a chance to get Kayla to elaborate before her friend stepped into the attached bathroom and shut the door behind her. Pale exhaled through her nose, then laid back down on her bed, placing her hands behind her head as she did so.

A lot had happened over the past few days, and she was still trying to make sense of it all, but at the very least, Valerie wasn’t going to be her enemy anymore. That was a small victory, she supposed.

Of course, it also meant that she was going to have to actually socialize with her, which despite not being completely unappealing, was still not something she was necessarily looking forward to. But if that was the price to pay for having a new confidant, then so be it.

“What are you doing?” Pale asked herself under her breath. “You know this is just going to make leaving even harder. So why keep doing it?”

Somehow, she couldn’t come up with an answer either way.

XXX

The rest of their morning played out the way it normally would – Kayla finished up in the shower not long after, and together, her and Pale met Cal and Cynthia in the mess hall for a quick breakfast before the three of them left for class. Pale, meanwhile, stepped out of the cafeteria, and was immediately struck by a feeling of unease.

It didn’t take her long to realize what it was.  

“Huh. So that’s what boredom feels like.”

She’d never been familiar with the feeling before now. There’d always been a mission or a training exercise to run through during her time serving the military, and even when she was spending several decades floating through space, she’d been able to put herself into hibernation. Then she’d arrived planetside, and her mission had continued.

She wasn’t used to having this much downtime, and for the first time in her life, Pale didn’t know what to think or do.

Kayla had given her some suggestions to help fill the g…

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