Chapter Eleven - Poof!!
As bright sunlight brought me out of a heavy sleep of total exhaustion. It took a moment or to for my mind to start grasping what had happened over the last few hours of darkness... and what my circumstances were right at this very moment.
I remember how passionately and fully I had gave myself to Ashley last night... and making love with her until the wee hours of the morning. I could smell her sweetness even just laying there as I tried to wake myself a little more, but I had a notion that she was not there in person... I could not feel anyone laying next to me.
I made myself open my eyes and found that I was still laying on the rug that was the scene for the love making night. I was curled up under one of my loose blanket I kept around thrown on top of me, keeping my naked body warm and protected from the coolness of the room. By the lack of sounds like breathing or that knowing feeling of someone beside you, made it clear that Ashley was not with me this morning
I sat up and shuttered. I could feel this very unusual sensation of heaviness sweeping throughout my body all at once. I gasped, as I knew that it was a great flowing of fatigue that had a hold of my body as I tried to will myself to wake up. Through my still half asleep haze, I knew that this feeling was a combination of a lack of proper sleep with the vigorousness of lovemaking Ashley and I had engaged in. I had no one to blame for my lack of energy, but me and my hormones.
I giggled a little, as I now fully recollected just how vigorous Ashley and I had gotten into it like. I was a little sore, and my special place also felt just a teeny bit sore as well... but I would not admit how much it really felt like that.
" Oh man!" I sighed to myself, rubbing my eyes with my hands, my body not willing to wake up easily.
I took a deep breath in and tried to focus myself a little. All I could think about was just going back to sleep, rather than get myself up and go to classes. In truth, I wanted to find Ashley again and crawl back into bed with amazingly warm yet so soft body... to sleep or anything else that just might ended up crossing our minds. That sounded like pure heaven, as I did not want to even get off the floor... that was how strong this feeling really was.
I shook my head and tried to dislodge that thought right out of my head, telling myself not to daydream. It sounded still way too good for me, despite the fact that I had to go to classes.... rather than lounge around.
I noticed that there were two pillows down on the floor with me, another reminder that Ashley did fall asleep with me after we had made love... something that made me yearn for her even deeper than what I had been a second ago. I was brought out of my little musings when I saw that there was a handwritten note folded nicely on the pillow that had been used by her earlier. I picked up the yellow lined paper and read what it held for me with great excitement..
The note read like this.
" Had to go and shower and stuff before classes.... I hate to have to go to class in this awful nightgown I was wearing( You did not notice... I think, but My ma bought it for me...yuck!), meet me later...k? Luv ya, A." I giggled, as I saw there was a ‘PS’ scrawled at the bottom of the page. " FYI...I have your underwear on, and it is on purpose this time... you can collect them later from me... but there are no surprises with that... other than me in them."
I sighed and finally got myself off the floor, feeling in a very calm space mentally today. I ultimately knew that I had to get myself moving if I wanted to have time to clean myself up before having breakfast. I put away the note into my desk drawer, and then cleaned up the makeshift bedding place so no one would realize what had happened the night before if they unexpectedly came to my room... Kerri would do that, I was more than sure.
While picking up my hastily discarded clothes, I verified that my underwear was indeed in the possession of the pretty girl that had light a fire in me like no one ever had done before Knowing all of this, I had to admit it made me feel oddly very aroused just thinking of her wearing my underwear. I hoped that did not mean that I was a pervert or something, but I loved being aroused by it anyways.
I put on my robe and headed off to take a nice shower as well. As I exited and headed to the shower area, I found myself whistling as I did... and I never whistled very often in the first place. Love does wonders for a person’s mood... and I hoped that no one would notice... I knew that I could tell no one about all of this, knowing the fear of the ‘lesbian’ tag was still alive and kicking like a mule.
About three quarters of an hour later, I was in the dining hall looking at what this place tries to pass off as Scrambled eggs and hashbrowns. I was worried about tipping people off with my good mood to what had so gloriously happened to me last night... what I had been given for breakfast has shot down my good mood in a split second.
Looking at the food on my tray with seriously sceptical eyes, the breakfast looked more like it was lumpy grey spackle that had came with a side order of roasted fried gravel. Even the overly blackened toast that came with it looked more like a housing shingle than a food item. They usually would serve up fairly good meals for most of the times here in the dining room, but I was not convinced that this could ever be called edible. It was one of those servings that made you want to feint being ill to skip the meal. My appetite had been crushed squashed and chased off.
Kerri joined me at the table I had occupied over on the far right of the long area. She had the same thing on her tray as I had been given Her face showed the regret of her coming down for breakfast was well intrenched.
" These can’t be eggs and hashbrowns?" She said, eyeing her food with a little sneer.
" That is what they were called..." I sighed, agreeing with my friends’s observations
" This stuff they cannot think crap would be good for us... looking like this?" She said, eyeing her meal.
" Guess they think otherwise..." I came back with. " It is not what I would be calling Eggs and Hashbrowns..."
" Can this actually be called real food?" She snuffed.
" Not by my definition..." I quipped
The girl across from me poked the grey lumps with her fork, while giving a low grumbling noise at the back of her throat. She had a look of sourness planted on her face, as it showed that she was not quite enjoying the fare she had been given either. I had to agree with that as well.
" I think they have invented a meal that is so bad, we lose weight because we want not eat it..."
" I was thinking more along the line that they were trying to invent some natural pothole filler..." I came back with.
" That was what they were probably goin’ for..." Snuffed Kerri. " But it is not edible I think..."
" It is not food, that is for sure..." I laughed as I eyes my own food laying on the plate in front of me. "... but it was all we got..."
" Do you think a huge blast of some ketchup might help it become a little closer to food?" She asked flatly, giggling at my attempt of humour.
I eyed what was on my plate again, and had to shake my head in response to Kerri. Nothing in this world would or could make this stuff edible enough to get down, I was sure of that. I would rather eat very cold tofu... since I hated the spongy food in the first place, it told how I felt about it all
" I would have to say ‘no’ to that..." I said.
Kerri took one last look at her food, and she seemed to sigh rather deeply after a few minutes. I eyed her plate as well, and had to admit that even on someone else’s plate, the eggs and potatoes did not look very appetizing.
" I think your right..." She sighed, as she took her seat across from me. " Choking them down would be hard, even with the ketchup." She shook her head as she took a small sip of her hot beverage. " At least the coffee seems to be better than the norm."
" The coffee?" I asked.
I looked at my steaming cup of the dark liquid. I was so repulsed by the meal, I had not even noticed. By the smell of that coffee coming to my nose, it was clear that it was made better than it had been over the last little while.
" Seems like it..." I said, mentally thanking God for at least this small good thing with the meal.
" It actually is the best thing on this tray..." Kerri said with a smile, showing me that she was probably echoing my thanking of the lord above.
Just as we started to eat, a very excited May raced over. Never one for having any tact or anything close to it, the girl loudly started to talk.
" Did’ya hear the news you guys?." The flame red tressed girl said, pretty much yelling that as she neared.
Kerri looked at the red head, and I could see she was a little perturbed at the girl... but that seemed to be always.
" I may really regret letting myself ask this of you, May... but what is it that you are talkin’ about?" She asked, looking at the girl who seemed to not be able to slow herself down.
May took a seat at the table and looked at the both of us.. Obviously ignoring Kerri’s sarcastic question.
" I overheard the penguins talking between one another outside of my dorm building... It is so fucking amazing that you both will wonder what the hell is going on ‘round here..." She said, her words flowing out of her like a ice-jammed stream during a storm. " I tell ya that I nearly fell over when I heard what those black and whites were yabbering about..."
Kerri turned her head sharply and leaned right into her face. It was clear to anyone, my friend was pretty much pissed off at the girl with the whiplash tongue
" Could you... get on with it?" Said a very short Kerri through tightly clenched teeth, as she instantly had stopped the girl’s verbal diarrhea from continuing on.
" What..." May stammered after a moment of being shocked by Kerri.
" In plain and way more coherent English and without your tongue running amuck... will you just get to it!" She sharply said, almost as if she was warning the girl about her imminent danger.
May looked at Kerry, and she seemed to be feeling a little annoyed at my friend stopping her from talking like she had been only a few seconds earlier. She looked at the stern face of Kerri for the longest of times, and seemed to chose not to complain about it... which I would have went for if Kerri was looking at me like that..
" One of our students has been found to be missing from the campus today.... and has been since their last bed check late last night..." She said, obviously stopping herself from going on and on.
Kerri looked at May, and her face grew blank. She really did hate when May was running on at the mouth, like some out-of-control motorboat... but it seemed like this piece of news had peeked her interest.
" Someone is missing?" Kerri asked.
" One of the girls who is housed in dorm ‘G’. Third floor..." She said, then stopping herself from saying more
" Who?" Asked Kerri, now wanting the girl to continue on and her voice was not as tight as it had been earlier..
" That Girl that is so out there about bein’ a Lesbian..." May said, bouncing even while she was sitting there. " I think her name was Louise Anderson... yeah... that was her name..."
I felt my body grow cold, I was sure that all of my blood had drained out of me in that moment. I was not quite sure what to do, but my mind flew back to the hours I had waited at the Angel’s Mug for her the night previously... and how angry I had been with the girl that she had not shown up like she had said she would. Hearing the news like I had, I started to wonder now if she had been missing since then... I had no clue.
I collected myself the best that I could have, sure that my face was drawing everyone’s attention..
" This... Louise girl... is missing?" I finally said, after fighting for control of my voice box.. " I mean is this girl missing... or just run off?"
I really hated to lie like this to both my best friend and one of the people I had known the longest as well, but did not want to seem like I actually knew Louise... or I might have had to explain all of the other stuff just to make sense out of it all. Just the comment by May about the Lesbian thing made it clear that I could not utter a word of it.
May nodded and looked at me, obviously not hearing my light stammering I had been doing..
" By what I had overheard being told by Sister Adele... it was more like she has simply run off..." May said, obviously making very sure her answers were shorter than usual and avoiding Kerri’s scorn. " It was told that some of this girl’s clothes and other stuff were gone from her room when the Nuns had checked it after finding her gone."
" She ran off?" Kerri said, her eyes showing shock.
" Is that all you heard about it, May?" I asked, wanting any information I could get regardless how nosy it seemed I was being at the time.
The red head paused for a moment, as if she was checking her memories of what she had overheard..
" Um... that is all..." May said, turning to talk to Kerri.
" Was it with anyone?" Kerri asked, it was a obvious choice to ask about.
" There was no mention of anyone else being missing..." May said, shaking her head.
My friend seemed to ponder the whole thing for a second, while I was still trying to let things sink in.
" Dunno what to think about this all..." Sighed Kerri, adding with a little snorting sound. " That girl always did seem more than a little strange anyways... even after the whole ‘I’m gay’ thing."
" More than just strange..." Agreed May.
I nodded, but my mind was buzzing. This was disconcerting as all hell, and I had no idea what to do about any of it. Something deep inside of me was feeling something that was bordering of fear.
As Kerri and May started to talk together, with a few other girls that seemed to have eavesdropped on the entire story the red head had relayed to us, I excused myself from the table and hurried out of the dining room. I knew that I had to do something, after hearing what I just had heard.
I really felt like I needed to find Ashley and fast... and then explain thing to her even though it was a tale of almost unbelievable levels. Maybe then, the two of us could figure out exactly what it was that we needed to do to find out what was going on.
I headed out to see if I could find Ashley, after already knowing that she was not in the dining hall yet. I needed to find her, and really badly. In truth and in my heart... I had a really bad sense of something was horribly wrong here.