Friday, March 23, 2012
Chapter 10
"Wake up, little girl," said the red head while nudging her head.
Mismatched eyes slowly opened to stare into a single bright emerald.
"Morning, old man" she replied sleepily while getting up.
The red head threw the black cloth towards her which her hands caught then put it in place above one of her eyes.
"Do your best," he said instead of good luck. They don't believe in luck.
"Yeah, I will," she replied.
Before leaving, the little girl fed the little scarlet bird and hummed her favorite song to her. It is really the only song she knows well. Maybe after the examination, she'll try learning other songs. That would be interesting.
"Lia, Dalton is asking you to speak with him before leaving," said Triya.
"Yeah, I'll go to him," she replied back.
Closing the cage, she went down the stairs passing by Triya who wished her good luck. The little girl smiled back then headed straight to Dalton. In the temporary house they live in, Triya was the only one who had that much belief and hope. The rest believed in nothing but facts or rather majority of them try to put on that face.
The first day of examination . . .
The little girl was placed inside a room that held no windows like most of the rooms since it is inside a cave. Electric lights lit the dark colored room brightly. There was only two desks, one at the center while the other was at the side. She was told to sit on the chair at the center. Nothing was explained, only few words were said.
"Answer this in an hour," he said and that was all. He sat down and nothing more. The clock started ticking. Hands of the little girl took the paper ignoring the pen and read everything first. She paused for a short while then started answering on the blank piece of paper.
There were questions that need simple answers related to general truths. The questionnaire consisted of half a thousand questions which she must answer.
"Hand me the paper and answer this one for the next hour," he said mechanically.
He gave her different tests each hour until they ended by lunch time.
Her right hand became tired so she used her left hand instead in the next examination in the afternoon.
The questions were fewer this time but contained longer answers. A different set each hour until the time ended before dinner. She was asked to leave the room with no word.
The examination that day didn't decide everything but it will still have effect. The little girl's hands were shivering. She felt tired and anxious about what just happened.
She appears calm but inside, she felt worried. She answered everything well but she wasn't able to finish everything. She missed a lot of questions in total. This is bad. If all the examinations were to be like this, she's not sure if she can keep up with everything. She will do her best but assurance isn't on her side.
She exited the room and kept walking through the narrow hallways. There were a lot of narrow hallways in the building compared to wide ones. It was like as if the purpose was to stop others from hurrying too much making less accidents and easier observation of who goes in and out of rooms.
A hand suddenly tapped her shoulder. It was bigger than hers but it isn't male. It was a girl's hand. She turned around to see a familiar face.
"Hello there, Lia. How are you?" the girl who she spoke with the other day in the library said.
"Fine," she replied monotonously.
"You sound so gloomy."
"You're being meddlesome," she replied still in the same tone.
"Hey respect your elders, Lia. I'm older than you even if only by a few years."
"What do you want, Katya?"
"Nothing. I was just passing by and said hello."
The second day of examination . . .
She entered a room different from before. There are a lot more people and chairs surrounding rectangular tables. She was asked to be seated on the vacant chair. The people there consisted of the elders, teachers and faces she has not seen before.
It was an oral examination today. Each person inside the rooms took turns asking her questions about history.
Who...? When...? What...? Why...?
These questions kept on repeating in variations. It went on continuously not sparing a minute to be wasted.
When she replied too late, they would call it a deduction even if she were right. It continued on tensely until break then stopped. The next half was done until dinner time.
The little girl became confused. She might have studied really well the past weeks but she couldn't answer all their questions. She missed a few and was too late among the others. As the day ended, the summary of her progress was going down. She answered majority of the questions correctly but too late at times.
This was a bad day like yesterday.
She went back to the small house alone since Bookman was away elsewhere doing work. She tried keeping a calm composure but when nights comes, she wishes to just let everything out. She doesn't want to be left alone. She doesn't want all the hard work to be wasted. She must do better the next day so she tried to open the books and study but couldn't. The bird was too noisy. It made noise and wouldn't calm down inside the cage.
"Scarlet, what's wrong?" the little girl asked as she put down the books and approached the little plump bird.
"Are you hungry?" she asked while offering food but it did not eat it.
"Thirsty?" she asked offering water.
Still, none worked.
"Do you perhaps wish to be free?"
Hearing the word free made the bird excited as if it could actually understand human words.
"I can't though, sadly. You are not mine. I am merely taking care of you. Will a song do instead? Please do calm down," said the little girl.
Humming started slightly calming the agitated bird.
The little girl seeing no progress after a few minutes opened her mouth and started singing softly the lullaby.
Lacrimosa dies illa
Qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus
Huic ergo parce deus
Pie Jesu domine
The bird finally calmed down and so did the heart of the little girl. Anxiety disappeared from within but sadness still remains. Triya called for the little girl.
"Supper is ready, Lia. Come down."
"Has Bookman returned?" the little girl asked.
"He hasn't and will probably return tomorrow instead."
Going back to her room to study more, she looked back at the little bird that suddenly started humming the song she just sang awhile ago.
She felt surprised and amused at the same time that the bird was able to do that. Words were not there but the song flowed freely in the air calming her down and lifting her spirits. The scarlet bird reminded her a little of the red head's cheerful nature that he shows at times among his other characters. A smile formed on the little girl's face as she remembered how they met and how both acted childishly on purpose even if it weren't in the character often seen in both.
The red head as Bookman was serious and the little girl wearing her mask showed indifference among the people she gave up on and learned to despise including herself. Both wear masks and rarely are the times when both loses it and act more like their age. He's still young just as she is even if he were years older.
The little girl closed the books deciding it was better to calm herself down and get a good night's rest for tomorrow instead of stressing. No matter what happens, she'll do her best, work hard. She already did the past month which is why she must not overexert herself to waste efforts.
She lied down on the bed and sang along with Scarlet that hummed the song until she fell asleep.
Ezekeel: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The lullaby there is Lala's Lullaby. If it seemed familiar, yes it is the one in the anime which the doll sang. I just really liked the song and decided using it here. It isn't as long as the previous but I'll do my best on the next one. Hoped you liked this. Opinions are very much welcomed and thanked.
To:ThorongilAnime - Thanks for the review. I'm glad that you like it. :)
To: nakari-san: Thanks for reviewing. I think this chapter answers your question. :)
You reviews are greatly appreciated. :)) It always makes me smile and happy.
The next one might be next week or over the weekend, it will depend on my speed and free time. That's all for now, thanks again :D