S-I-N, I, S-I-N
Chapter 19: I Can't Tell If I've Got A Gift Horse Or Not
5th, January
~~~
"You alright there?" Iris asked, eying me strangely as I ate, okay it was a little more than strangely.
"I'm fine, why, do you think something's wrong?" I raised an eyebrow and continued to eat my breakfast while she frowned, looking disgusted.
"You are eating scrambled eggs with tomato and barbecue sauce. Don't you see anything wrong with that?" I shrugged, I've always had an odd taste in food and Iris was one to talk, she smothered her dinner in pepper and salt.
"Relax, I told you already, I'm fine. I've just been feeling a little unwell lately and this makes me feel better." She seemed confused and worried but dropped the subject, allowing me to continue eating without drama.
It hadn't been that long since Christmas but it felt like ages.
Without classes in the way of everyday life most of my mornings and afternoons would be empty.
Of course I'd always have Iris and Luka to entertain me but the days still had a habit of dragging on.
New Year's Eve had been an interesting affair. The school didn't celebrate it but Iris had shown me that from a certain place in the school you could see the fireworks from town.
I didn't like the cold too much but we had ended up sneaking out of our dorm to watch the fireworks that would countdown the seconds to the new year.
When it hit midnight Iris and I congratulated each other, hugged then went back inside where it was much warmer.
Of course we'd spent the first day of the year with Luka, hanging out, building things out of snow and abusing the privileges he had as the headmistresses nephew.
What privileges you ask?
Well he's got a skeleton key, meaning he can go wherever he wants in the school. He knows just about every single secret on the grounds and finally we have access to the kitchen fridge.
Yep we'd also spent a fair portion of the day eating sneaking food out of the walk in fridge and pantry.
What I really like about Luka is that he isn't a goody two shoes, he likes to muck around and pull pranks every now and then.
He was a good friend who was just like the ones I had in America.
With the exception he was a boy, and gay, and English.
I was lucky to get along with him so well, especially since he was playing Peter Pan, it made me want to kill everyone a little less when in rehearsals.
We were supposed to be putting the play on in late February so we'd already done the fittings for our costumes.
My outfit was a simple white nightgown, just like Wendy was known for. Unfortunately, as dorky as it was I had to wear it but it was kinda okay since Luka had to wear green tights at the end of the day.
The person who had it easiest was Iris, she only had to wear a long skirt and blouse which was totally fine for her. In fact she'd actually started up a conversation with me over how much she liked her costume.
On the other hand, for every bit I hated the nightgown Father Way loved it tenfold, for the brief moments I'd have clothing on around him anyway.
We haven't been given much time to be together though, I've been busy with rehearsals while Gerard's constantly had paperwork thrown at him.
I went into his office one day to find him hidden behind a pile of papers and files, he was concentrating so hard he didn't even notice I'd walked in.
It'd taken me about five tries to get his attention and when he finally looked up he almost jumped out of his skin. We hadn't even gotten five seconds together before the headmistress showed up, asking him to run an errand.
I'd struggled to fake a smile for Miss Coping before leaving and going back to my room, grudgingly starting the homework I should have been doing in the first place.
There were a lot of things I should have been doing, calling my parents for example, I haven't talked to them since Christmas Day. I was still waiting for the present they'd promised they sent me too. It's pretty damn useless expecting any postage during the Christmas holidays, might as well not bother.
"Iris, did you get any mail over the holidays?" I asked, finishing the last of the eggs in the bowl in front of me.
"Uh, no. I don't think so." She mumbled, standing at the same time as me with her food tray.
Iris stared at the ground as we walked before looking up and seeming to smile to herself.
"When's that Pierce The Veil concert?" I was able to answer her immediately since I'd had the gig on my mind without pause ever since I received the tickets.
"Saturday eighteenth." My heartbeat jumped up for a moment, getting excited at the realisation of how close the event was.
When Iris came back from talking to Luka on Christmas she'd told me he was going so it was a double bonus that I got to go there with my two of my friends.
"How are we gonna get there?" She wondered, almost seeming to talk to herself.
"Sneak out and catch a bus to the music hall." I stated what was the blindingly obvious to me and her eyes went wide, not expecting me to say something so rebellious probably.
"What if we get caught? We can't just sneak out, it's breaking the rules." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she looked around suspiciously, wary in case some teachers overheard our conversation.
"It's just a concert, we're not getting a job at a brothel and don't you want to go?" Iris chewed on her lip, the dilemma of what's right and wrong playing clearly on her face.
"Yeah, I wanna go. What about Luka?" Luka and I had already had this conversation but he, unlike Iris, had no qualms whatsoever with being worried about getting caught.
"He's gonna be on the same bus we'll be catching so we'll see him when we get on." The school Luka went to was a little less strict than Rosehill and combined with how old he was he got a lot of trust so more than half the time he could feel free to do whatever he wanted.
"I can't believe I'm going to a real concert." Iris said, a huge grin spreading across her face, I'd forgotten she's never been to a full on gig, seeing Pierce The Veil should be a pleasant surprise then.
"Make sure you bring money with you so you can buy merch." I told her, providing some wisdom that I'd collected from the events I've been to.
"Merch?" She appeared confused and frowned, don't tell me she doesn't know what merch means.
"Merch, as in merchandise, as in band shirts and accessories." It seemed she understood my plain explanation and she nodded.
"Okay, are you gonna buy anything?" I'd got my allowance from my parents wired into my bank account every fortnight so I should have about two hundred bucks now.
"Yeah, I'll be purchasing everything in sight." I laughed, I've been wanting to expand my PTV merch collection for a while and I wasn't planning to pass up an opportunity to get a top or hoodie.
"How cool would it be if we got to meet the band?" She gushed, thoroughly disappearing into the land of fangirl for a second.
"Who knows, they could do a meet and greet. They've done them before." The next change in Iris was the daydreaming look clouding her eyes, we both knew she had a crush on Vic Fuentes.
"Even if they do talk to fans they'll probably ignore me, I look like a huge dork." The happiness faded, she started mumbling and fiddling with her hands, Iris can lose her confidence in record time.
"You're not a dork but if you want I could fix your hair up or do your makeup." I suggested, putting my idea out in the open.
"That would be so great if you could do that." She smiled and a million and a half makeup designs ran through my head since I now had permission to give her a makeover.
Iris pushed the cafeteria doors open and we walked down the snow lined walkway towards the library.
"By the way, have you got any shorts?" I wondered, slowing my walk down a little and putting my hands in the pockets of my hoodie.
My friend was a very demure person and I don't think I've ever seen her in anything that didn't cover her ankles so it was unlikely she'd have shorts.
"I don't think so, why?"
"Concerts are hot as fuck, the place'll be packed and if you're not careful you'll overheat. I almost passed out during seeing All Time Low once." I'd always remember that, it was my first gig and I'd worn a sweater, stupidest decision I'd ever made.
"I'll have to buy some, I hope I'll have enough time to find a pair." She had a whole weekend of being able to take trips into town so there was a good chance she'd be able to go shopping.
"If it comes down to it I can lend you clothes, I packed almost everything in my closet when coming here." I had a fair few shoes hidden under my bed, not that I had many places to wear them.
"Thanks-"
"Hey, where you guys going?" Iris and I turned around to see Luka who was running across the grounds, appearing to come from the staff housing area.
"To the library," I told him as he skidded to a halt, "wanna come with us?" He nodded and our small group began to move once more, Luka now talking about the upcoming concert.
"I heard they're getting a local band to play as the opening act." That caught my interest, I'd become interested in a lot music groups because I'd seen them play as openers, it's a great way to discover new band.
"Do you know if they're good?"
"Nah, I only know that it says 'local band' on my ticket." He shrugged, kicking clumps of snow out of the way and pushing hair out of his face.
My insides started to feel a little fuzzy and I put a hand over my stomach to calm it down which didn't work at all.
Luka seemed to notice that I was looking off and cocked his head sideways, raising an eyebrow, "are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I waved him off and took a deep breath, hoping the cool air would help.
"Lainey..." Iris started then squealed when I doubled over and threw my breakfast up into the snow.
Being a true gentleman Luka stepped closer and held my hair out of the way, gently patting me on the back at the same time.
Once I finished, wiping my mouth on my hoodie I straightened and looked at my friends who were frowning in a worried fashion.
"Come on, you're going to the nurse." Luka put his arm around my waist and started walking me to the sickbay, Iris following and voicing each of her concerns.
I tried to tell him I was fine a couple of times but he kept walking and to be honest, deep down I believed I needed to see the nurse.
"Lainey!" A voice called out and I looked up from the snow to see Father Way jogging over.
"Now it's a party." I muttered under my breath, I wasn't hating him at the moment but I'd thrown up so I wasn't in the best mood.
"Is she okay?" I dropped my head and didn't bother lifting it again, allowing my friends to answer for me.
"Uh, she just puked so I'm taking her to the nurse for a checkup." Luka explained before stopping and opening the door in front of us.
"What?"
"I shared the contents of my stomach with the ground." I said loud enough for everyone to hear as I dropped on a bed in the sickbay.
The nurse walked over, a pleasant smile on her face before looking at the small crowd surrounding the bed.
"There's too many people in here, some of you are going to have to leave." She stared at the group of three and Iris quickly volunteered to stay.
With a synchronised sigh Father Way and Luka left, clearing up some space and making the room feel much larger.
"Sweetheart, what seems to be the problem?" The kindly nurse with the name tag of 'Harriet' leant forward a little and clasped her hands together.
"I've been throwing up a lot lately. I don't know why, I'll just be walking along and I'll suddenly feel sick." I gave her a 'what can you do' look and tried to shrug to the best of my ability.
She pulled her lips into a thin line before gesturing for me to sit up.
"Keep this in your mouth please," Harriet slipped a thermometer between my lips and retrieved a stethoscope from her desk, "now just hold still."
With a small tug on the neck of my hoodie she exposed enough flesh to press the cold metal against my skin and monitor my heartbeat.
Iris and I kept silent until she drew back, put the stethoscope around her neck and took the thermometer from my mouth.
"Your temperature's fine and your heartbeat's only a little above average. Have you been feeling faint recently, maybe a little out of breath?" I started to shake my head then stopped when I remembered yesterday.
"I felt a little dizzy running up the stairs the other day, I had to slow down." I felt like I'd just run a marathon then went for a jog, it wasn't the most pleasant experience I've ever had.
"Would you say you get sick easily or have you had a past of going to hospital a lot?" I chewed on my lip, trying to recall any doctors appointments during my childhood.
"No, I've usually been a very healthy person. As far as I know anyway," crossing my legs on the bed I rested my elbows on my knees, relaxing while I talked, "is there any chance that it's just the cold getting to me? A winter flu perhaps? It happens all the time." I was sounding very insistent, more than I meant to and Harriet calmed me with a manicured hand on my shoulder.
"I'm almost a hundred percent positive it's a bug of some sort. Spend some time in your room, get a nap or two in. Just take it easy for a while." She walked over to her desk, picked up a notepad and pen then started writing on it.
I was internally grinning, she was going to give me an exception from classes, fucking wicked even though I feel a million times better after vomiting.
I'll never look a gift horse in the mouth, I should take this as a minor blessing and not question my luck.
"Lainey, I've just got a small thing I need to ask, regulation stuff. Have you had sex, unprotected or otherwise, in the past month or so?" My mind instantly yet unwillingly went to Father Way.
The confessional...
The attic in the church...
His office desk...
His couch..."No."
"Oh good," she chuckled, a small smile slowly spreading across her face, "with what you're experiencing I could have said you've got the same symptoms as a pregnant woman."
~~~
"You alright there?" Iris asked, eying me strangely as I ate, okay it was a little more than strangely.
"I'm fine, why, do you think something's wrong?" I raised an eyebrow and continued to eat my breakfast while she frowned, looking disgusted.
"You are eating scrambled eggs with tomato and barbecue sauce. Don't you see anything wrong with that?" I shrugged, I've always had an odd taste in food and Iris was one to talk, she smothered her dinner in pepper and salt.
"Relax, I told you already, I'm fine. I've just been feeling a little unwell lately and this makes me feel better." She seemed confused and worried but dropped the subject, allowing me to continue eating without drama.
It hadn't been that long since Christmas but it felt like ages.
Without classes in the way of everyday life most of my mornings and afternoons would be empty.
Of course I'd always have Iris and Luka to entertain me but the days still had a habit of dragging on.
New Year's Eve had been an interesting affair. The school didn't celebrate it but Iris had shown me that from a certain place in the school you could see the fireworks from town.
I didn't like the cold too much but we had ended up sneaking out of our dorm to watch the fireworks that would countdown the seconds to the new year.
When it hit midnight Iris and I congratulated each other, hugged then went back inside where it was much warmer.
Of course we'd spent the first day of the year with Luka, hanging out, building things out of snow and abusing the privileges he had as the headmistresses nephew.
What privileges you ask?
Well he's got a skeleton key, meaning he can go wherever he wants in the school. He knows just about every single secret on the grounds and finally we have access to the kitchen fridge.
Yep we'd also spent a fair portion of the day eating sneaking food out of the walk in fridge and pantry.
What I really like about Luka is that he isn't a goody two shoes, he likes to muck around and pull pranks every now and then.
He was a good friend who was just like the ones I had in America.
With the exception he was a boy, and gay, and English.
I was lucky to get along with him so well, especially since he was playing Peter Pan, it made me want to kill everyone a little less when in rehearsals.
We were supposed to be putting the play on in late February so we'd already done the fittings for our costumes.
My outfit was a simple white nightgown, just like Wendy was known for. Unfortunately, as dorky as it was I had to wear it but it was kinda okay since Luka had to wear green tights at the end of the day.
The person who had it easiest was Iris, she only had to wear a long skirt and blouse which was totally fine for her. In fact she'd actually started up a conversation with me over how much she liked her costume.
On the other hand, for every bit I hated the nightgown Father Way loved it tenfold, for the brief moments I'd have clothing on around him anyway.
We haven't been given much time to be together though, I've been busy with rehearsals while Gerard's constantly had paperwork thrown at him.
I went into his office one day to find him hidden behind a pile of papers and files, he was concentrating so hard he didn't even notice I'd walked in.
It'd taken me about five tries to get his attention and when he finally looked up he almost jumped out of his skin. We hadn't even gotten five seconds together before the headmistress showed up, asking him to run an errand.
I'd struggled to fake a smile for Miss Coping before leaving and going back to my room, grudgingly starting the homework I should have been doing in the first place.
There were a lot of things I should have been doing, calling my parents for example, I haven't talked to them since Christmas Day. I was still waiting for the present they'd promised they sent me too. It's pretty damn useless expecting any postage during the Christmas holidays, might as well not bother.
"Iris, did you get any mail over the holidays?" I asked, finishing the last of the eggs in the bowl in front of me.
"Uh, no. I don't think so." She mumbled, standing at the same time as me with her food tray.
Iris stared at the ground as we walked before looking up and seeming to smile to herself.
"When's that Pierce The Veil concert?" I was able to answer her immediately since I'd had the gig on my mind without pause ever since I received the tickets.
"Saturday eighteenth." My heartbeat jumped up for a moment, getting excited at the realisation of how close the event was.
When Iris came back from talking to Luka on Christmas she'd told me he was going so it was a double bonus that I got to go there with my two of my friends.
"How are we gonna get there?" She wondered, almost seeming to talk to herself.
"Sneak out and catch a bus to the music hall." I stated what was the blindingly obvious to me and her eyes went wide, not expecting me to say something so rebellious probably.
"What if we get caught? We can't just sneak out, it's breaking the rules." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she looked around suspiciously, wary in case some teachers overheard our conversation.
"It's just a concert, we're not getting a job at a brothel and don't you want to go?" Iris chewed on her lip, the dilemma of what's right and wrong playing clearly on her face.
"Yeah, I wanna go. What about Luka?" Luka and I had already had this conversation but he, unlike Iris, had no qualms whatsoever with being worried about getting caught.
"He's gonna be on the same bus we'll be catching so we'll see him when we get on." The school Luka went to was a little less strict than Rosehill and combined with how old he was he got a lot of trust so more than half the time he could feel free to do whatever he wanted.
"I can't believe I'm going to a real concert." Iris said, a huge grin spreading across her face, I'd forgotten she's never been to a full on gig, seeing Pierce The Veil should be a pleasant surprise then.
"Make sure you bring money with you so you can buy merch." I told her, providing some wisdom that I'd collected from the events I've been to.
"Merch?" She appeared confused and frowned, don't tell me she doesn't know what merch means.
"Merch, as in merchandise, as in band shirts and accessories." It seemed she understood my plain explanation and she nodded.
"Okay, are you gonna buy anything?" I'd got my allowance from my parents wired into my bank account every fortnight so I should have about two hundred bucks now.
"Yeah, I'll be purchasing everything in sight." I laughed, I've been wanting to expand my PTV merch collection for a while and I wasn't planning to pass up an opportunity to get a top or hoodie.
"How cool would it be if we got to meet the band?" She gushed, thoroughly disappearing into the land of fangirl for a second.
"Who knows, they could do a meet and greet. They've done them before." The next change in Iris was the daydreaming look clouding her eyes, we both knew she had a crush on Vic Fuentes.
"Even if they do talk to fans they'll probably ignore me, I look like a huge dork." The happiness faded, she started mumbling and fiddling with her hands, Iris can lose her confidence in record time.
"You're not a dork but if you want I could fix your hair up or do your makeup." I suggested, putting my idea out in the open.
"That would be so great if you could do that." She smiled and a million and a half makeup designs ran through my head since I now had permission to give her a makeover.
Iris pushed the cafeteria doors open and we walked down the snow lined walkway towards the library.
"By the way, have you got any shorts?" I wondered, slowing my walk down a little and putting my hands in the pockets of my hoodie.
My friend was a very demure person and I don't think I've ever seen her in anything that didn't cover her ankles so it was unlikely she'd have shorts.
"I don't think so, why?"
"Concerts are hot as fuck, the place'll be packed and if you're not careful you'll overheat. I almost passed out during seeing All Time Low once." I'd always remember that, it was my first gig and I'd worn a sweater, stupidest decision I'd ever made.
"I'll have to buy some, I hope I'll have enough time to find a pair." She had a whole weekend of being able to take trips into town so there was a good chance she'd be able to go shopping.
"If it comes down to it I can lend you clothes, I packed almost everything in my closet when coming here." I had a fair few shoes hidden under my bed, not that I had many places to wear them.
"Thanks-"
"Hey, where you guys going?" Iris and I turned around to see Luka who was running across the grounds, appearing to come from the staff housing area.
"To the library," I told him as he skidded to a halt, "wanna come with us?" He nodded and our small group began to move once more, Luka now talking about the upcoming concert.
"I heard they're getting a local band to play as the opening act." That caught my interest, I'd become interested in a lot music groups because I'd seen them play as openers, it's a great way to discover new band.
"Do you know if they're good?"
"Nah, I only know that it says 'local band' on my ticket." He shrugged, kicking clumps of snow out of the way and pushing hair out of his face.
My insides started to feel a little fuzzy and I put a hand over my stomach to calm it down which didn't work at all.
Luka seemed to notice that I was looking off and cocked his head sideways, raising an eyebrow, "are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I waved him off and took a deep breath, hoping the cool air would help.
"Lainey..." Iris started then squealed when I doubled over and threw my breakfast up into the snow.
Being a true gentleman Luka stepped closer and held my hair out of the way, gently patting me on the back at the same time.
Once I finished, wiping my mouth on my hoodie I straightened and looked at my friends who were frowning in a worried fashion.
"Come on, you're going to the nurse." Luka put his arm around my waist and started walking me to the sickbay, Iris following and voicing each of her concerns.
I tried to tell him I was fine a couple of times but he kept walking and to be honest, deep down I believed I needed to see the nurse.
"Lainey!" A voice called out and I looked up from the snow to see Father Way jogging over.
"Now it's a party." I muttered under my breath, I wasn't hating him at the moment but I'd thrown up so I wasn't in the best mood.
"Is she okay?" I dropped my head and didn't bother lifting it again, allowing my friends to answer for me.
"Uh, she just puked so I'm taking her to the nurse for a checkup." Luka explained before stopping and opening the door in front of us.
"What?"
"I shared the contents of my stomach with the ground." I said loud enough for everyone to hear as I dropped on a bed in the sickbay.
The nurse walked over, a pleasant smile on her face before looking at the small crowd surrounding the bed.
"There's too many people in here, some of you are going to have to leave." She stared at the group of three and Iris quickly volunteered to stay.
With a synchronised sigh Father Way and Luka left, clearing up some space and making the room feel much larger.
"Sweetheart, what seems to be the problem?" The kindly nurse with the name tag of 'Harriet' leant forward a little and clasped her hands together.
"I've been throwing up a lot lately. I don't know why, I'll just be walking along and I'll suddenly feel sick." I gave her a 'what can you do' look and tried to shrug to the best of my ability.
She pulled her lips into a thin line before gesturing for me to sit up.
"Keep this in your mouth please," Harriet slipped a thermometer between my lips and retrieved a stethoscope from her desk, "now just hold still."
With a small tug on the neck of my hoodie she exposed enough flesh to press the cold metal against my skin and monitor my heartbeat.
Iris and I kept silent until she drew back, put the stethoscope around her neck and took the thermometer from my mouth.
"Your temperature's fine and your heartbeat's only a little above average. Have you been feeling faint recently, maybe a little out of breath?" I started to shake my head then stopped when I remembered yesterday.
"I felt a little dizzy running up the stairs the other day, I had to slow down." I felt like I'd just run a marathon then went for a jog, it wasn't the most pleasant experience I've ever had.
"Would you say you get sick easily or have you had a past of going to hospital a lot?" I chewed on my lip, trying to recall any doctors appointments during my childhood.
"No, I've usually been a very healthy person. As far as I know anyway," crossing my legs on the bed I rested my elbows on my knees, relaxing while I talked, "is there any chance that it's just the cold getting to me? A winter flu perhaps? It happens all the time." I was sounding very insistent, more than I meant to and Harriet calmed me with a manicured hand on my shoulder.
"I'm almost a hundred percent positive it's a bug of some sort. Spend some time in your room, get a nap or two in. Just take it easy for a while." She walked over to her desk, picked up a notepad and pen then started writing on it.
I was internally grinning, she was going to give me an exception from classes, fucking wicked even though I feel a million times better after vomiting.
I'll never look a gift horse in the mouth, I should take this as a minor blessing and not question my luck.
"Lainey, I've just got a small thing I need to ask, regulation stuff. Have you had sex, unprotected or otherwise, in the past month or so?" My mind instantly yet unwillingly went to Father Way.
The confessional...
The attic in the church...
His office desk...
His couch..."No."
"Oh good," she chuckled, a small smile slowly spreading across her face, "with what you're experiencing I could have said you've got the same symptoms as a pregnant woman."
Great story!!
11/14/17