Chapter VII

Drip, Drip, Drip

For some reason, Ariel could always hear incredibly well. She wasn't sure why that had been, but right now as she was sitting in the theater, she could hear that soft dripping noise. It was hard to catch, especially since she had to ignore the grinding pain in her stomach, but it seemed.. Close by. There was also a sudden feeling of a tickling thing slowly trickling from the side of her lip. It felt like a tear, only.. Thicker?

Ariel's arm swiftly raised, and she touched the side of her lip. She then looked at whatever on her finger was, but it was hard to examine because of the lack of light in the theater.

She froze when she realized what the red liquid was. It made her heart leap into her throat. How could she have not realized that it was blood? Was her mind simply that numb from this pain in her stomach? Using her thumb, Ariel wiped most of the blood into one thick spot beside her face and licked it off.

What the hell? Her heart leaped again as she glanced at Steve and Darren, hoping they didn't just see that.

Why did I just do that..? Ariel thought, wiping off whatever was still on her face with her sleeve. Oh, god, I just want to go home now. Home, home, home, home, home. I have to get out of here.

Ariel cupped one hand over the side of her mouth, like you do when you're whispering to hide your moving lips, but it was only to hide any trace of blood. "Darren? Steve?"

Darren, for some reason, had been looking at Steve. She didn't know why, or what was going on, because her pains wouldn't allow her to pay any attention to what went on around her.

"Psst, Darren," She whispered louder, sharper.

I finally turned my head to see Ariel, and Steve only looked at her.

"I.. I have to go home.. I feel sick.. Really, really sick.." She whispered

"You sure..?" I asked, afraid I might cause the spider to wake from her "trance". But it was still weird she had to just suddenly go home.

"Positive." She replied, weakly smiling at me. "Okay, see you guys tomorrow at school, if I can make it."

I nodded, and then slightly waved. "Be careful."

And, with that, the girl slowly, carefully, slipped into the darkness.

Four Weeks Later..

Ariel and Steve walked by themselves to home room that day without Darren. At first they were looking around for him so they would meet up like usual, but they just didn't see him, so they kept an eye out. "Guess he's absent today," Steve remarked when there was no sign of him in homeroom.

Ariel walked over to her desk and sat down, and then, so did Steve. Everyone in the classroom was throwing notes and talking while waiting for the teacher, like usual- You're regular, ordinary day in school.

The homeroom teacher, Ms. Brewer, and Mr. Dalton, and the Principle and Vice Principle entered the classroom. They all had solemn expressions, so the whole class immediately stopped talking, and the throwing of paper discontinued. Were they, in trouble, maybe? It was obvious whatever they were about to say was not good.

"Students," Ms. Brewer began. "Some of you may or may not know, but our student Darren Shan had passed away last night." Ariel gaped at the teachers, her eyes widening. "This.. This is a joke.." She muttered under her breath.

The teachers and principles talked to them for a little about death and such. Ariel looked at Steve who also looked surprised, but, for some reason, a little suspicious. She didn't even listen to what they had to say. She didn't care. She knew how to cope with death and all that, but.. Darren..

There was an assembly after the discussion, so all of the sixth graders found out about the death of Darren Shan. After that, the rest of the usual schedule went on- Slowly, painfully.

On the bus ride home, Ariel sat quietly for the whole ride, staring out the window. The words, "Some of you may or may not know, but our student Darren Shan had passed away last night," Played over and over in her head. She was simply heart broken. So many things had been taken away from her.. Life felt meaningless now..

The bus pulled over by the side of her street, and Ariel walked down the isle. She bowed her head low, trying to hide the tears that had trickled down her cheeks. Once off the bus, there was a long sidewalk that had to be walked, until she reached what she called.. Home.. It was a somewhat tall, aged building. Moss could be found between each cracked brick

I mean, look at me, Ariel thought. No parents. No loving home. She took a step into the orphanage.

The funeral was terrible. Ariel was greeted by Darren's mother- who was sobbing terribly, and his father, who wasn't crying put seemed equally upset. She had met his parents and seen them a few times before. She had also met Annie, who adored her like an older sister.

Speaking of which, where is Annie? Ariel thought. She then looked over toward the coffin, where Annie stood, crying. It broke Ariel's heart seeing the child, begging for her brother back. The little girl turned her head to see Ariel, and immediately came running, clinging to her.

"Ariel! Tell Darren to stop it! Tell him to stop acting and come back!" Annie cried. Ariel bent down and hugged her, trying to hush and calm her- But she couldn't take her eyes of that damn coffin. Before, at school, she had slowly accepted the fact that Darren was gone. Now, she had this feeling that they were still connected, that he was alive.

The usual sort of funeral ceremony went on, where the preacher recited some things, a few of Darren's relatives went up and said some things, the consent sobs and such, you know. Then, finally, everyone was given a rose to throw on the coffin, and it was lowered into the ground.

Annie had been clinging to her crying mother who was holding onto Mr. Shan. Shovels began to throw dirt upon the coffin, sealing it away forever. Ariel couldn't bear to watch. She had to turn away and bite her fist, and even though she tried not to, she began to cry again. The funeral finally came to an end, and most of the people began to leave. The Shans stayed- Until one of the security guards escorted them out to the gates. "Sorry, but we're closing up right now, you're going to have to come back tomorrow."

"C'mon kid, I don't have all day," One of the guards grabbed Ariel's arm.

"Don't touch me." She snapped, defiantly pulling her arm back. The security guard, obviously loosing his patience, forcefully guided her outside of the graveyard. Once the gates were closed, Ariel grabbed onto them tight, and stuck her head against the wires.

"Darren.." His named slipped from her emotion chocked throat.

All that was in front of her was the dirty mirror. The funeral had ended an hour and a half or so, and right now Ariel had locked herself inside the somewhat filthy orphanage bathroom. Wow, she looked horrible, she thought. Ariel's eyes were glossy and red, and her face was totally stained with tears.

"Why did I do this..?" She whispered to herself in between sobs. "I don't love Leotard.. Like, what, was it to make Darren jealous?" Pulling up a tile, Ariel grabbed a hidden scalpel, which she had hid a while back. "Now I don't have the chance to tell him.." She whispered under her breath. Why? The question echoed through Ariel's mind as she climbed up onto the sink. All that she could her was the slow, steady beat of her heart. Her face was so close to the mirror that her breath could be seen on it; Just one last look at her face.

When she was ready, Ariel pressed the razor-sharp blade to her wrist, cutting it open, blood splashing onto the mirror.