*creeps in slowly, barely cracking the door open*
Hi, guys... Sorry about the one week hiatus there. I had to take the SAT this past weekend, and I had a research paper to write, and then I had lots of rehearsals for band because we've got our big performance coming up, and I had to get some sleep (well, like 2-3 hours a night all week if that even counts), and then I did need some time to eat food, and then there was normal homework/studying, and...
Well, basically, life got in the way of my writing, and I'm very, very sorry for not updating at all.
I got this chapter written at the start of the last week, but I'd been getting up the strength to come back and edit/revise because that's my least favorite part because normally my first drafts are utter crap. So, thank you for being patient. I promise to get back to the more regular once-every-other-day-ish updates.
Love you all, and thanks for waiting!
Love, A very sorry Tickgrey
Friday arrived much quicker than I had expected it to, but as my classmates were making preparations for the weekend, I was stealthily packing my things; I wasn't coming back. I filled my backpack with the essentials starting with a few sets of (non-uniform) clothing, the ledger (of course), and pretty much everything I'd need to live for a while like some snacks, a few gadgets, and some basic tools. I made sure not to pack any electronics that the school or even my friends could track. I took the credit card out of my wallet and left only the cash and my passport inside.
By the time I had finished, my backpack was filled to the brim. I had to fill it with everything that I would need for my journey, but it couldn't look too stuffed or I'd never make it out of the school unnoticed. Though I wasn't planning on leaving until the ceremony the next day, I was going to take my supplies down to the tunnel tonight so that my escape would be easier. I couldn't think of any logical excuse to carry a backpack full of stuff through a memorial service.
I made it out of my room, through the dormitory halls, down a flight of stairs, and to the passageway without much notice. I got a few waves or brief exchanges from classmates, but no one seemed to notice anything but a Gallagher girl going to do some studying (because even on a Friday night, we study a lot here). On the way back to the room after I put the bag into the passageway, however, I ran (quite literally) into Zach.
"Oh, sorry," I muttered until I looked up and saw Zach's beaming face. He looked so happy to see me which made me realize that I hadn't actually talked to him in a while. "Zach!"
"Hey, Gallagher girl," he cooed. I faked a smile because I really wasn't feeling all that happy, but seeing him was nice. He smiled back, "So where are you headed tonight?"
I shrugged, "I've got a lot of makeup work to get done, I suppose. Too much time off of school will do that." (A lesson which I had probably learnt better than any Gallagher girl before me.)
"Okay," he said defeated. He knew that I had a lot of work to do still, so he accepted that as an excuse pretty easily. But still, his hand slipped into mine, and he asked quietly, "Are you sure everything's okay? You've seemed different lately."
"I'm just trying to get through until graduation, I suppose," I admitted. I didn't want him to get suspicious about me leaving, but I didn't want anyone to find out about my imminent departure, so I resorted to half-truths. "It just takes time."
He nodded. I suppose he sort of knew what I was going through. His mom was a conspirator for the Circle, and he never knew his dad, but he also didn't know what it was like to lose someone he was really close to like this. To lose two people he was really close to like this. He sighed, "Alright. I'm just… worried." He breathed out anxiously.
"I should get back to work," I lied pulling back slightly. "I was just taking a short break from studying."
He nodded. I tried to walk away, but he pulled me close and kissed me. You'd think that by now I'd be used to him doing that, but it still caught me by shock every time. I didn't want to leave when he finally drew back, but I remembered that I had to "get back to work."
The next morning I was abruptly woken up by Liz who had just plummeted over a pile of textbooks I had accidentally left in her typical path to the bathroom. She yelped in a terrible high-pitched voice, "Gah!"
"Whoops, sorry," I grumbled. I turned over to face her before groggily asking, "What time is it?"
She looked at her watch, "Seven o'clock. The- uh-" she hesitated, "event starts in two hours."
I nodded before realizing she couldn't see me in the dark. I had almost forgotten about the memorial service today. In fact, I had been trying to forget about the memorial service all week with the exception of planning my escape. "Oh, I'm going to get some more sleep then."
"Alright," she acknowledged.
I wasn't really tired, but I also was going to need all the sleep I could get for what I was about to do. The rest of my sleep was dismal at best, but it was something. It lasted a full hour and a half until I heard the somewhat kind voice of Macey coo, "Cammie, you're going to be late."
"Oh, right, sorry," I muttered as I rolled out of bed and grabbed my uniform (which was the same one that I had worn yesterday, but I was only going to be in it for a few hours today). I brushed my hair out a little and then turned back to my roommates before saying, "You guys know that I love you, right?"
Bex shot me a curious glance before saying cautiously, "Of course." She was suspicious.
Liz and Macey nodded. Liz piped, "Why? What's wrong?"
I shrugged. "Today's just going to be tough."
They nodded in understanding, though they didn't actually understand nearly as well as they thought they did. I wasn't actually all that worried about the ceremony because I wasn't going to be there for more than a half hour. I wasn't worried about facing the trustees because I wasn't going to meet them today if everything went according to plan. But especially, I wasn't worried about facing my friends because they'd never have to know what I was getting ready to do.