Just a Walk

When she woke up it was well after noon. Groaning she rubbed her face and got up. Downstairs she saw her brother sprawled out on the couch, eyes glued to the TV. "You didn't go to school."

"Neither did you."

"I couldn't sleep."

"I heard."

Tarot's hand froze an inch from the fridge door. Her heart thumped in her chest. Did she talk in her sleep? Did she call out Shinso's name? She swallowed. "What do you mean?"
"When I went to bed I could hear you tossing and turning."

"Oh." Tarot pulled out the milk and fixed her a bowl of cereal with toast. She ate quietly, legs twitching. She had to get out and do something. Going to school was out of the question since she slept through most of it already. Plus with her head feeling like someone stuffed cotton in it she wouldn't be able to concentrate in class anyway. So she settled on a walk. Maybe a long walk would clear her head and make her feel better.

Done with her meal, she placed her dishes in the sink to wash later then headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Rune asked.

"For a walk." Tarot grabbed her jogging cellphone strap from the table by the door then left the house. She prayed her brother didn't follow as she wanted some time alone. Usually he could sense when she wanted to be alone, but lately he as determined to know what was up with her. When she didn't hear footsteps following she relaxed and started jogging down the sidewalk while listening to her music.

Her mind cleared and focused on weaving in and out of the people roaming the sidewalks. Most were older people who didn't have much to do during the day. Some were college students. None of them paid any attention to her.

Before she knew it Tarot found herself staring at a tall H shaped building known as the best hero school in Japan. She glanced around to find she was alone. School hadn't let out yet. But that didn't bother her. What bothered her was how, or why, she ended up here of all places. Never in all her life did she come close to the hero school. How did she end up here?

Did her subconscious bring her here? Or was it an accident? Was she so focused on running and her music that she didn't pay any attention to where she was going?

Her eyes trailed over the wall to the windows glittering in the sun. She wondered where Shinso would be at this point. Was this school like others? Did the students here have one classroom they stayed in while the teachers came and went? When did they have hero lessons? Regular school material?

Tarot jumped when talking reached her ears. Bring her eyes down she spotted students started coming out of the doors. Cursing under her breath she turned and ran.

What the heck was she thinking? She shouldn't have stopped and stared at the school. She shouldn't have thought about Shinso.

...

"Where have you been?" Rune asked when Tarot walked back through the door.

"I told you I was going for a walk."

"You've been gone for four hours."

"Well, excuse me, Mommy." Tarot crossed her arms. "I didn't know I needed to call and check in with you."

Rune stood from the couch and faced her. "You're the one acting weird. Don't be sarcastic to me."

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm fine?" She knitted her brow.

Rune snorted with a roll of his eyes. "Yeah. Right."

Tarot threw her hands in the air. "Find. Don't believe me."

Rune sighed. "I'm sorry, Tar. It's just I'm worried about you."

Tarot took her turn to sigh. She walked over to her brother and pressed their foreheads together. "I'm sorry, Ru. I didn't mean to snap at you. I really don't know what's wrong with me. I guess I'm just tired of everything."