Fluff

Chapter Thirty-Five - Paranowl Activities

Athena woke up in the optimal sleeping position, her arms by her sides and her tummy flat on the mattress that big sister Emily had graciously provided.

The only problem with sleeping that way, was that her other sister took advantage of the position and was currently sleeping with an arm across Athena’s back, a leg over hers, and her fluffy-eared head tucked between the mattress and Athena’s shoulder.

Hideously irritating.

Big sister Emily was scooting around the room, no doubt getting ready for a long day at school. Athena, in her wisdom, decided not to interrupt. She just rested, comfortably cuddled up next to Teddy who was very warm, and listened to big sister Emily scurry about.

Emily paused next to the mattress a little bit later. “Um,” she said. “Are any of you awake?” she whispered.

Athena turned her head all the way around to look up at big sister Emily. “Yes,” she whispered back.

Big sister Emily went a little pale, but she nodded after a moment. “R-right. Well I’m off to classes. You two behave, okay?”

Athena nodded. Not very hard because her neck was already stretched to its limit. “Okay.”

Emily picked up her backpack and left a moment later.

The room felt a lot quieter without big sister Emily there.

And then Teddy started to snore into Athena’s ear.

Sighing, Athena began to extricate herself from Teddy’s grasp, a surprisingly complicated ordeal since Teddy had a strong grip. She ended up having to lift Teddy’s arm up and then roll out from under it, and even then, the bear girl’s arm quested out a bit for something to grab onto.

Thinking fast, Athena grabbed the pillow from big sister Emily’s bed and stuffed it next to Teddy who grabbed it and hugged it close.

Her little--insofar as Teddy was shorter--sister was quite troublesome.

She stared down at Teddy while Teddy got to chewing the top of Emily’s pillow. It was kind of cute, she supposed.

Athena found her glasses folded nice and neatly on the ground near the mattress and slid them on, then she found her jacket and tossed it on so that she was protected by its warm cushiony interior.

The pyjama pants she had were Teddy’s so they were a bit wide at the hips and ended about mid-calf, and her t-shirt didn’t fit all that well either, so it was nice to be back in something proper.

And then she found herself with a lot of nothing to do.

A whole room all to herself, at least until Teddy woke up. No computer to plan diabolical plans with, no books to read...

Athena decided to go take an enthusiastic walk.

Walks were good for the heart and general health, and if she encountered anyone she could display her staggering intellect in a more public forum.

Being the most clever of her sisters, she decided that getting locked out of the room just wouldn’t be very wise. So she found a package of loose leaf paper from big sister Emily’s school supplies and appropriated a page. Then she found a bit of tape and she used both to cover the latch-hole on the door. That way the door wouldn’t lock behind her.

She was certain that if big sister Emily saw her she would be in awe of Athena’s superior cleverness.

Stepping up, Athena pulled the door to their dorm close behind her, a big smug grin on her face. One that faded when the taped up contraption she’d jammed into one side slid down and the door clicked.

She tried the handle.

It was very locked.

She tried the handle some more.

Then she tried some knocking. “Teddy. Teddy! Wake up you lazy bear!”

“Uh.” Athena paused mid-bash to look up and around. There was someone there, a taller young woman, with mocha skin and a fashionable blouse over a pair of jeans. “You okay, kid?” she asked.

Athena composed herself, pushing her glassed up her nose and straightening her back. “I am fine,” she said. “I may have locked myself out of my room.”

The girl looked up to the number on the door. “That’s... Emma’s room? The blonde girl?”

“Emily, and yes, that’s my big sister.”

“Right. I’m Sam, from five-oh-five.” She gestured out behind her. “You, uh, here permanently, because you know that these dorms aren’t meant to hold more than one person.”

Athena found herself in something of a bind. “I’m certain that big sister Emily has permission, probably.”

“Uh huh,” Sam said. “Do you want to come with me? I’m sure that there’s someone from the staff downstairs. The janitor, at least. He might be able to open the door.”

Open the door and reveal the mattress with Teddy on it. “I’m okay,” Athena said.

“Come on, I can’t just leave you out here,” Sam said.

Athena frowned a little, then, very carefully, she wiped away the expression and replaced it with a smile. Her power came on, like a dimmer switch given the faintest little nudge. “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t trust the staff here.”

“You don’t trust the staff,” Sam deadpanned. She had a hand on her hip now, and was looking increasingly unamused.

“No,” Athena said simply. She turned the dial up on her power. “Would you trust them? Do you even know who they are, or what they’ve done?”

“Uh,” Sam said. She looked past Athena, towards the elevators at the end of the hall.

“How much did you pay for your room? It wasn’t that much, was it? Did you ever consider that there might be a reason for that?”

“Well, no?”

Athena pushed her power up another notch. She watched, carefully, as Sam shifted her weight from foot to foot, how her hand dropped and her confident stance turned to one of a mouse darting across an opened field. But through all of that, Sam never saw the smiling Athena as a predator. “Do you really think I’d be here if I didn’t have permission? Of course not.”

Sam licked her lips. “Yeah, I guess,” she said.

“And if you go to the staff... you wouldn’t want them to start looking around, would you? What if they find... something.”

Sam was sweating now, despite the cool air in the corridor. She was eyeing the shadows and the corners, then frowning as if to herself. She knew that there wasn’t anything there, nothing to be afraid of, that the staff obviously weren’t out to get her.

The mere idea was ridiculous.

But Athena’s power forced her to ask a simple ‘what if?’

What if the staff was malicious? What if they did look through her room? What if there was something hiding in those dark corners and in those shadows?

Athena held the dial on her power, keeping it steady. It was enough to have Sam doubt everything for now. She didn’t need to be pushed any more than that.

“I’ll be fine,” Athena said.

The words, after nearly a minute of silence, made Sam jump. “Oh?”

“Aren’t you going to be late to class?” Athena asked as she lowered the power on her ability.

“Ah, crap. Yeah, I should go. Are you sure you’ll be okay here?”

“Undoubtedly,” Athena said.

“Right, well you keep safe and, uh, if the staff do anything, you tell me, okay?”

“Of course. Thank you, Sam.” Athena waved the girl goodbye. She could have continued putting pressure on her, make her doubt her friends and her loved ones, make her terrified of the world and the government and of every lurking thing. In the end, Sam would only have one person that she didn’t doubt, and that would be Athena herself.

But that would take a lot of time and Athena didn’t feel like doing that just yet. She still had to figure out how to get back into the room.

And then the door clicked open and Teddy stuck her head out into the corridor. “Hey,” she said.

“Theadora,” Athena said.

The bear girl yawned. “Why’re you up so early, Tina?”

“Emily woke up already.”

“Yeah, but the Boss is like that.” Teddy rubbed at her nose. “You coming in?”

“I suppose. There’s not much to do.”

Teddy shrugged a shoulder. “You can sleep on the Boss’s bed when she’s not here.”

That did sound nice. “Are there books?”

“Yeah.”

It was Athena’s turn to shrug. “Might as well, then.”

She was sure that big sister Emily had all sorts of important tasks for her later, so until then, she could just relax a little.