Chapter 4
[Silent Hill 3 (unreleased track): Familiar Places
The students were served bag lunches in their classrooms, due to the cafeteria being in the unused portion of the school. A few hours later, Buttercup asked to use the restroom and returned once more to the hallway.
Along the way, she wondered again if she and her sisters would be called into action today. Surely Mojo would cause trouble, if no one else. She couldn't imagine him having the better part of a month to devise a plan without something prepared for their return.
Buttercup pushed open the swinging door and stepped in. She walked only few feet in before she stopped. She'd heard a moan. Almost a groan.
She remained still and listened. Again came the strained sound, followed by a brief sob. When another strained sound came from the bathroom beyond, Buttercup blushed, wondering if she should come back later. But she had to pee so bad.
Briefly she considered using the boys room. Of course, if she got caught, they'd never let her out to use the restroom again without someone accompanying her. At least that's what they'd said when they caught her last time.
Shaking her head, she put those thoughts away and decided to just get it over with. She lifted off the floor and glided slowly, silently to the furthest of the four stalls. The one nearest the entrance was closed.
Buttercup carefully closed her door and turned around as she hooked her thumbs in her pants. Her face screwed up in disgust at the sight of the toilet. Clean and ordinary in her memory, it was now covered in shades of yellow and rusty brown. The gleaming finish of the flush handle had all but flaked off, revealing corroded metal. The bowl was filled with dark liquid, and she couldn't even see the bottom.
She slipped back out and moved to the next stall, wishing they'd have put an out of order sign up at the very least. Then again, maybe it was working fine, but she wasn't about to try.
She checked the next toilet before she even closed the door. In this she saw a faint red trail along the bottom of the bowl, leading away from a very bloody pad that, while once wadded up, had started to open again in the water. Though she and her sisters hadn't needed such things yet, Buttercup recognized it for what it was and silently cursed the inconsiderate girl that had left it.
Her expression became one of internal debate as she considered this travesty and then looked to her right, to the final open stall. The groans and sobs of the girl in the first hadn't stopped. Buttercup really didn't want to sit right next to her if she could avoid it.
Instead she flushed this toilet, not daring to fish out the used pad first. As she feared, shortly after it disappeared the water level started rising. She backed off, but fortunately it stopped just short of overflowing.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Buttercup briefly considered her situation again before making her way to the final open stall.
This one, at least, looked normal. Buttercup considered voicing an apology to the girl next door, but decided against it. It would have just made things more awkward.
She finally dropped her pants and sat. The sounds beside her seemed much louder now that she was closer. Despite the great pressure on her bladder, she just couldn't manage to relieve herself.
After some quiet straining of her own, she managed no better. Just enough, she fumed inwardly, to have to wipe.
Sneering, she practically slammed her stall door open as she stomped to the sink, washing her hands. She scowled in the mirror at the door of the first stall, blaming the girl within for her troubles. Reaching for the paper towel dispenser, she considered the fullness of her bladder again. Considered the boys room again.
She looked back to the sink, then to the occupied stall. Her gaze swept between the two several times before she shook her head roughly.
As if that would be any easier. Not only would she still hear the girl clearly, but she'd have to watch the hallway to avoid getting caught peeing in the sink. If she was going to do that, she might as well try a stall in the boys room.
Her way out took her near the first stall, and Buttercup stopped again. How long had this ordeal gone on, again? And not once did she hear anything indicating the poor girl was getting anywhere.
Sighing in her annoyance, Buttercup regretted her role of aide to society as she walked backwards two steps, putting her in line with the door.
After some hesitation, she raised her hand to gently knock, but held still again. After a few more choked sobs from within, instead she just asked, "Hey, are you okay?"
A few cries were the only response she got. After another painful-sounding moan, Buttercup asked, "Do you want me to call the nurse?" A few panting breaths preceded another grunt. "Hello?"
Buttercup finally knocked. To her surprise, it began to slowly swing open, apparently having never been locked.
She remained still as the door swung wide. The sounds had stopped.
The stall was empty.
Feeling a mixture of anger and unease, Buttercup's super-powered eyes swept through the room. She didn't see any speakers or other devices hidden away. There was no guessing what had caused those sounds.
Goosebumps spread along Buttercup's neck and across her arms. Her full bladder forgotten for the moment, she darted out of the bathroom and returned to class.
No one acknowledged her return other than to glance at the door briefly when it opened. An embarrassed shuffle brought Buttercup back to her desk, where she tried hard to pay attention to the lecture.
A few minutes later, she felt a spreading, pleasant warmth. Almost immediately she wondered at its source, and just as quickly her head shot up from her workbook, her eyes wide. She heard a small trickle of liquid splash on the tile floor below.
Some muffled giggles and whispering filled the room as Buttercup looked down, confirming her fears. Her eyes began to well with tears she hadn't invited.
"Buttercup," Mrs. Jones began tentatively. After a pause, she continued just as uncertainly, "Did you have an accident?"
A renewed wave of giggles and snickering filled the room. Buttercup stood up quickly, her desk scraping against the floor in the process, and flew through the classroom door as the final bell rang behind her.
Buttercup went straight home at high speed, zipping through her bedroom briefly before darting into the bathroom, a change of clothes in her arms. She disrobed and wet a washcloth, failing to will her tears or shame away as she wiped her bare skin.
A knock came from the door, followed by Bubbles's voice. "Buttercup? Are you all right?"
Buttercup almost responded with profanity, but caught herself and said, in a voice that wavered much more than she'd expected, "Yeah. I'll be right out."
After a short pause, the shadow of feet under the door left. Buttercup was too afraid to peer through the door to see her sister's reaction, worried she would discover Bubbles doing the same to her.
Once she'd cleaned up and redressed, she washed her face, trying to reduce the redness of her eyes and nose as much as she could before stepping outside.
Apparently hearing the door open, Professor immediately called out from downstairs. "Buttercup? Would you come here for a moment, please?"
Buttercup tried to swallow but found her throat dry and tight. Slowly she plodded down the stairs, her eyes on her bare feet. She didn't look up until she rounded the corner, into the kitchen. Her family was sitting at the table. Bubbles looked up and smiled, but quickly turned away, not sure whether her sister wanted a comforting presence or to be left alone. Blossom was already busy with her make-up homework and either didn't bother or kindly chose not to look up. Professor left the table and walked over to her.
"Are you all right, honey? The girls said you had an accident at school."
Buttercup winced at the word "accident." It sounded so childish. She felt like the use of it brought her down several notches all at once. "Yeah, I just... I dunno. I'm okay."
"She'd just got back from the bathroom when it happened," Blossom said casually, circling multiple choice answers at a steady pace.
"I--I couldn't go, all right?"
"Why was that? Was there a problem?" Professor asked.
Buttercup was silent. She wasn't going to tell them about the sounds of a girl that turned out not to be there.
"I thought I was done," she lied meekly, turning her eyes to the floor again as she did so. "Can I go up, now?"
Professor paused briefly before saying, "Of course."
Without wasting another moment, even to glance at their expressions, Buttercup shot up to her room in a flash of green.