Autumn 3rd, 4372; Morning, 10:30

Thirdday, Autumn 3rd, 3–…4,372; Morning, 10:30 [3342512372]

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. The phone rang. The noise was rather grating, enough to wake the deepest of sleepers, and yet...

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. It continued, unanswered. Its intended recipient never stirred, pulling the covers tighter around her body even as the morning rays peaked through the curtain.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. It kept ringing. An hour passed. Then two. Sometimes, the caller would provide a brief reprieve, but after a few minutes, they made another. And another. Well aware of their friend's laz-- sleepy mornings. Though, this one was particularly bad.

And then, two and a half hours later...

BEEP. BEE-- Click.

"Mmm... Hel...lo?" a groggy voice mumbled, hand reaching out from underneath the blanket. She shifted upwards, wriggling out straight into the line of light shining through the gap. Her body twitched involuntarily, eyes fluttering open in a squint, mind clouded by the waking daze.

"Ruya? You finally picked up!!! Did you forget how to wake up or something?!?" the voice on the the other end yelled, not really in a panic, but clearly exasperated.

"Hmm...?" Ruya responded, stretching the rest of her limbs. Her stunted growth left her with plenty of space, barely managing to touch the bedframe surrounding the three edges. "Isn't that why you're my alarm clock, Belle?"

"An alarm clock you slept through for two hours, yeah."

"Two hours... right... Wait. Two hours?" The fog over her brain dissipated, her eyes beginning to focus. Quickly, she ripped her phone off the charger, taking a look at the current time.

10:30. Thirty minutes before school started.

"Oh, cra--" WHAAAMMM!! "Ow..."

"You fell off your bed again, didn't you?" Belle could easily imagine it. Ruya would jolt, trying to land on her feet, but instead she'd roll off the ledge wrapped in whatever she was huddled under. And that's precisely what happened; it wasn't hard to predict.

"Shut it," Ruya moaned.

"Better hurry up or I'll reach school before you leave."

"Yeah yeah." With that, she hung up. It was now 10:31.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap..." Ruya repeated as she flipped off the ground. She sped around like a madwoman trying to get ready, throwing on the clothes she planned to wear while dashing over to the bathroom. There was no time for a shower, so she settled for splashing a bit of water on her face, topping it off with some lip balm. Her chestnut hair could be brushed and braided on the way. Pulling on a blazer followed by her backpack, she bounded down the second story hallway towards the stairs, hopping while slipping on some socks. It was a technique she'd been forced to master, and as expected...

Slip. Her foot slipped on one of the steps. She screamed as she fell towards the hard wooden floor, bracing her arms for impact.

...

...

...?

But the impact never came. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes. The ground was only a nose away; however, she remained at a fixed distance, hovering in the air, as if she'd frozen in place. She let out a sigh of relief. "Safe... Thanks mom!"

"Ruya..." her mother bemoaned, head poking out from the kitchen. With a wand in one hand and a frying pan in the other, she conducted an orchestra of floating ingredients: chopping, cracking, and mincing with a flick of her wrist. "How many times does that make it this week? I thought you said your friend would wake you up. School starts in half an hour, right?"

"Well, she's clearly not doing a good job!" Ruya quipped.

"You mean you slept through it again," her mother accurately deduced. "I could hear your phone ringing from down here."

Ruya averted her eyes.

With a brief sigh, "Do you want me to wake you up? The latest I can is around six, just before I need to head to work."

"No thank you!" she immediately answered. Even during her 'never leaving the room' stint, she enjoyed sleeping for nearly half the day. Though nowadays, the soothing scent of the candles Mr. Nox brought left her in a state of euphoria, causing her troubles to float away while she dreamed. Without it, her mind was constantly plagued with negative thoughts, not that she was free from them normally. On the other hand, her bouts of mania had decreased thanks to him...

"Fine then. But if you still can't get up, let me know. We can figure something out, but only if you stop being so reckless." Ruya's mother stopped with that light scolding. In the past, she would've nagged more, maybe gotten a little angry, but now, she chose not to cross that line. Only a year had passed since her daughter stepped out of her room. She could still remember those eight long years, her daughter's hollow eyes, her half-broken mind. Seeing Ruya step out of that room herself, though completely malnourished, left her weeping.

"I will," Ruya promised again, though they both knew it was something she wouldn't keep. Compared to when she first stepped out, Ruya had recovered quite a bit -- her appearance more average than beautiful, but her cheeks pleasantly plump. However, there was still this wall between them, one that neither wanted to break down, trying to keep this fragile relationship intact. All Ruya's mother could do was strengthen her resolve, one step at a time, until Ruya was ready.

Ruya's mother flicked her wand to the side, placing Ruya on her feet. In return, Ruya continued her hundred-yard dash, rushing over to the fridge to grab her lunch.

"Slow down for a second. Are you going to have some breakfast?"

Ruya stopped for a brief moment to look into the pan. "Scrambled eggs?" Her stomach rumbled, a small line of drool dripping from her mouth. "Wait. No time! I'm already running late! I'll just take some toast!" She grabbed some bread off a nearby plate, stuffing it in her mouth as she skipped over to the door, slipping her feet into the already-tied shoes.

"Oh right! Another girl went missing in the area yesterday, so watch yourself."

"I know, mom. You told me yesterday." Over the past few days, a news segment on the TV had been reporting on a string of missing person cases. Well, 'missing' was a loaded word, since the girls in question only disappeared for a day at most. Ruya thought they were just going out and enjoying the nightlife while hiding it from their parents. That's what Belle does with her boyfriend, anyway.

So who's the lucky gal today? She took a look at the TV.

"...Karen Novak, a student at Tona Academy, was last seen..."

Ah, she's from my school. Quite pretty too, Ruya noted, though she was filled with a sense of unease. If I recall, the other girls were pretty as well. Then they probably won't go after me. I've made sure to look average. There's no way that would happen... happen...

"Ruya? Why did you stop?"

"...oh." The crack vanished just as quickly as it appeared, light coming back to her eyes. "I'll stick close to Belle, mom. You don't need to worry."

"Okay... I love you. And keep your GPS on!"

"Mooom!!!"