Revolt: 2035

Hope rolled her eyes as Liberty . Though she agreed with her about Ellen's mental stability and needs, she couldn't help but notice her arrogance. It was for things like that that caused her to refuse to participate in the placement testing in the beginning, getting her placed in the house wife program though she wondered if she'd ever get married just to spite it. She disliked the mentality people received, believing that because they were placed in a higher program, they they could talk down to others. Though she knew Liberty didn't mean offence, some part of her attitude still embodied that opinion. For example, believing that she had the authority to relieve her of what the nurse had told her to do and assuming that all the girls placed in the 'wife' program were the same. With a sigh, she put down the object she had been cleaning also walking over to Ellen's bedside. Putting her loathing of the 'program' system out of her head for a moment, she thought about what she had seen earlier.
A young man almost literally tortured to death for breaking laws made by greedy men, and another girl doing the same to herself for unknown reasons. She didn't know much about Ellen, but she wondered if her desire to kill herself went beyond just because of her memories of the past, and discouragement for her disease in the present. Was it also a lack of hope for her future?

"Maybe you heard everything Liberty said. If you did, she's right. You need people, and you need to learn to trust her to get better. But before you do that, you need to learn to love and trust yourself. I'm sure people have done bad things to you..." she said, brushing a finger across her eye patch "...but if you do bad things to yourself, you're joining them. You become the bully too. And you deserve better than that." she took a deep breath, stepping back from the bed and toward the door.

 

"Huh?" Hope stopped as she heard a soft voice asking her not to leave. At first, she couldn't believe the source as she slowly turned to face Ellen. Her eye was wearily open, and locked on Hope's. That was the first time Hope had ever heard Ellen's voice. It was different than Hope would have expected, but it fit her somehow. Though she felt somewhat awkward, she was happy to see that Ellen was okay. It was only then that she realized what exactly it was that Ellen said: I don't want to be alone...
It brought a small stab of sorrow or this strange girl she had only just met. Though she didn't know Ellen very well, she couldn't deny she cared about her. She hid the initial feeling with a small but cheery smile and she resumed her original place next to the bedside. "You aren't alone, Ellen. We're friends. And friends are always there for each other." she said it sincerely "No matter what."
She felt her phone vibrate but thought it would be rude to check it right then. She made note to check it later.

 

Hope blushed at Ellen calling her a girlfriend, brushing her hair back from her face with an awkward giggle. "Ummm.... kind of but..." she wasn't sure how to react when Ellen felt her heart and pulled her closer. To alleviate the awkwardness Hope felt she turned the motion into a hug before pulling back again. She decided to explain friend "...Friends are like girlfriends because they love you. They are always there for you. But they aren't, well, romantic." she explained, blushing again.

She changed the subject then, "Liberty was here earlier. She and Angel say you're going to be alright. But how are you feeling?"

 

Hope considered Ellen's request. She was already out after curfew. Would it really be that bad if she stayed longer? Ellen looked so sad, and Hope wasn't sure what would happen if she was left alone again. She sighed, a weak smile appearing on her face, "I'll stay at least until you fall asleep, okay?" she said gently, sitting at the edge of Ellen's bed. Her hand resting near Ellen's, she answered the other question. "Of course, you're my friend. You aren't alone Ellen."

She discretely pulled out her phone and saw Will's text. She answered as Ellen began to seemingly fall asleep. "Hey Will. Sorry I didn't answer sooner. I'm at the nurse's office. Don't worry, everything is okay now. I'll explain tomorrow. Hope you're okay too.

She yawned as she placed her phone back in her pocket.

Angel was exhausted by the time she finished up with all of the kids she treated. Most of them were returning 'patients' with various wounds. Trouble makers who were lashed on campus, cheaters who had burns on their hands, kids who spoke out in class and had been hit or worse. She could never heal them completely, for fear of being arising suspicion. But she always did something to relieve their pain and speed the healing process. She saw a few new faces like Jamie as well. More kids were starting to learn about her secret healing practice. She wondered if eventually they'd have to move to a new location but so far, none of the school's faculty or students, even her friends, seemed to have a clue. She decided not to worry about it to much for that reason.

As the last hours of the day came to a close, Angel's little alleyway began to empty as she treated each student one by one. It was getting dark by the time she finished up with the last one. "Rinse the burn in cold water tomorrow before you come back to see me. I'll reapply medicine then." she was saying "Please be careful not to get caught."

The girl cradled her burn wounded arm that Angel had just treated, looking relieved. "It doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you so much. You're an angel in this hell of a school." she said before she left the alley the opposite way that Angel had come hours before, leaving Angel alone to repack her supplies. She snuck her way back into campus, trying not to be seen outside her room after curfew. She squeaked, startled as she ran into someone in the halls. Relieved when it turned out to just be a student, a blonde boy who was talking to a dark haired boy (Aiden and Tom). "Sorry." she muttered to both of them before scurrying back to her room.

Angel smiled a little as the girl left her alone, wondering if she had known her name or if that was just irony. Realizing how late it had gotten, she tried to be quick as she packed up her supplies. Though she had just restocked her bag earlier, it was still slightly diminished. She placed them back into her hiding place and then started her journey back toward her room. Knowing that by this time, guards would be patrolling the halls looking for students out of their rooms, she was careful.

 

Hope startled awake when Liberty touched her shoulder. It took her a moment to remember the days events and sort them from her dreams from snoozing on the chair next to Ellen's bed. Noticing Ellen had fallen asleep as well, she wondered how late it was. She blushed "She... didn't want to be alone." she apologized, standing and straightening her clothes. "But you're right." she said to Liberty. "Thank you for waking me up." she smiled, still sleepy, as she wandered out of the room.

The walk back to her room was short but it seemed to drag forever. When she finally entered her room she was surprised to see that Angel wasn't asleep yet. Actually, she looked like she had just got in as well. "Hey...." she yawned "You okay?"

Angel nodded, but she yawned as well "Yeah... I just had a project to finish before I could go to sleep." she was saying as she changed into a pink tanktop and black shorts to sleep in. "Hey how's Ellen?"

Hope smiled a bit "She should be okay. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. I'm exhausted." she said, not bothering to change her clothes as she fell into her bed.

"Goodnight." Angel smiled a bit. She noticed Hope had fallen asleep before Angel even got her toothbrush from a bag in her nightstand drawer. She covered her sister with a blanket before she finished getting ready for bed. It was 4:30am before she finally shut off the lights and crawled into her bed.

 

The morning of exams, Hope woke up to find that she was alone. Angel had left early as usual. She sat up with a long yawn, brushing her teeth and hair before picking out a white tank, black skinny jenes, and usual boots before also covering herself with a blue leather jacket- noticing the snow outside her window. Pulling her hair over her shoulders and letting it hang straight and a little staticy, she walked out the door for the morning. Exams for her class was insultingly simple, but of course she didn't really intend to try anyway. Especially not after what happened last week. Her resolve that this school system was a joke was stronger than ever. And honestly, until changes were made for the future, she probably wouldn't care about the future at all.

As she exited the dorms and walked into the courtyard, she spotted a familiar face a few yards away. "Will!" she called, waving.

Angel walked out of her alley cautiously, but thankfully spotted no teachers around. Normally she wouldn't be there in the morning but as it was exam day, she figured that she'd probably have more patients than normal today so she had to make sure she was fully equipped.

 

Hope waved as Will walked away. She knew how he was feeling but decided not to push him about it. She hadn't really noticed Ellen was following her until Will looked at her over her shoulder before he walked away. That's when she looked to see Ellen standing there, not far off. She smiled a little, glad to see her doing well. "Oh hey Ellen." she closed the distance between them quickly, but gracefully and cautiously, trying not to startle her. She wondered if everyone felt this careful around her.... like she would break her if she was too rough. "Glad to see you up. How are you feeling?"