True to their word, both Rya and Miko came back two weeks later. Both wore knit caps, though it hadn't even started getting cold out yet. Rya's was purple, and Miko's was black. Both looked different, though no one could quite place how. What was even weirder was when the teachers didn't tell them to take their hats off. ((Teachers just love doing this, and when it doesn't happen, they take all the awesome hats for themselves.
Now, not everyone had noticed the small things, but everyone noticed when Rya didn't eat. I mean, the entire school noticed. Now, it was normal for Miko not to eat the school food, but Rya? That was when everyone knew something was wrong. That was when they also noticed that Miko wasn't answering any questions in his classes. It didn't seem right. They knew that Rya wouldn't answer questions, but Miko? He would answer no matter what. The thing is, no one knew how to ask them what was wrong.
"Okay, it's curfew time. All of you, inside. Remerase, Topika, I want to have a word with you two." Everyone went inside, and Miko and Rya stood up.
"Okay, you can take off your hats now."
"Sir?"
"It'll have been a week come tomorrow, and you can't keep on wearing those hats for the rest of the school year. Aren't you two hungry? Three weeks is a long time to go without food." They had taken off their hats, and given them to Jim. Miko's green hair was buzzed, and so was Rya's long purple hair.
"Sir?"
"I knew both of your parents when I was in the service. When we would be on tour, they would go a couple days without seeing anyone, then not eat for a week. When we were home, they would go a week without seeing anyone, then two more without eating. I assume they taught you the same thing." They nodded. "I am truly sorry to hear about them." They looked confused.
"I was friends with them when I was in the service. Lt. Marsham told me when he came to get you, Remerase, and then two days later with Topika. How's Unit 56 taking it?"
"They got a new commander. The whole unit 'disappeared' for a couple of days. I'm sure that Col. Ratchet wasn't very happy about that, especially pretty much right after he got there. Then, they didn't eat for the rest of the week. We spent our week in two separate solitary confinement rooms." Rya tried to smile at the thought, but it felt foreign on her face, after crying for nearly two full weeks. She felt tears coming to her eyes again, but quickly choked them down.
"You two should be getting back to your dorms. Try to sleep, Rya. You can't keep wandering the school grounds every night."
"Yes, sir. Good night." Both teens went back to their dorms, and Rya tried to fall asleep, but she wasn't able to. So, she did what she's done for the past week, wander around the school grounds.
Sorry about the short chapter, but I'm saving up for my next chapter.
-Mello-Out-