Post-Trauma (Amelia)

[taryn cora ray]

This time, Taryn didn't fight when the Cause Cops (that's what she called them) came to take her away. This sort of thing happened quite a bit, and fighting just made it worse. She cautiously eyed one of the cops' tazers as she was led out of her dorm, bad memories creeping up on her. Just the thought of being tazed in her first week here made her want to rub her arm in pain- of course, she couldn't, seeing as both of her arms were being held.
The cops showed no kindness in pushing her into the room with the greatest force possible. Her flip-flops made her fall harder than she normally would have. She scoffed as they closed the door, leaving only a tiny light bulb as a light source. She examined her knees. They were bleeding. Wonderful.

Taryn's eyes opened quickly, and a small betrayer tear flowed down with the movement. She was breathing heavily, and was she sweating? Geez. That dream had really gotten to her. What was it again?

Oh, right. Wellington. The institution had been haunting her dreams ever since she'd escaped. The story was this: she had been sent to a reform school in Washington that abused the kids (or inmates, as she preferred to call them). It used a bunch of weird and sadistic punishments for things such as wearing flip-flops, or gambling. Among other things, there was Shock Treatment, The Room (basically a closet that they stuffed you in for three days without food or water), and Solitary Confinement. This was not illegal, because minors do not have Constitutional rights (they are granted to adults only, so life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was nothing to them). Eventually, an escape was organized, and Taryn's foster father had moved to New York, not believing what she had told him.

And now she was suffering from flashbacks and the like. This was going to be fun.

She looked aroud the library, wondering if anyone had seen her slight freakout/nap. None of the students seemed like it, but the librarian was giving her the Evil Eye. If only, Taryn mused, I could just walk up to her and explain. Explain how I haven't been able to sleep for fear of nightmares, how I keep thinking I see my old friend Benjamin, then remember he bailed on me. About how I haven't even bothered to count the scars on my arms. Maybe then she would understand, would stop looking at me like that. She knew it wasn't going to happen. She couldn't tell anyone about her situation- it wasn't their burden to bear. Besides, she wasn't going to play the Pity card. That was not why she'd escaped.

But still... a little easiness in her new life would be nice. A night of sleep, perhaps the opportunity to pick up and appreciate a good book. That was why she had decided to come here, anyway. To find a nice book. Preferably something mindless- she didn't need Stephen King's stories filling up her dreams as well as her old school. She could just imagine it- Pennywise the dancing clown throwing her into The Room, where she would endure her punishment in the company of Carrie. It would be too much.

She sighed, hiding her head in her hands. Maybe if she could close her eyes again, just for a minute, it would all be okay.

[amelia stacey hale]

a knock on wood and there you were
you never left, didn’t even start the car

Mia nearly felt like giving up as she shut closed another book about Civil Rights and tossed it with the others she had already looked through. She had been the library for what seemed liked hours trying to find out information for her Civics report which was due in a week. She glanced around the library, her eyes settling on the librarian, who gave her a look that clearly said, ‘I’m not putting those books back.’ Mia huffed and stood up from her chair, picking the books up. It only took her a few minutes to put them all back in place and before she knew it, she was heading back to her seat to see if any knowledge had appeared in her brain.

As she was walking she passed by a girl that looked as if she had just run a marathon. Mia paused for a moment, watching her, and saw the girl put her head in her hands. She was just going to walk away after she realized the girl was probably just an overworked student who needed to seek a minutes reprieve in the library when her lack of attention to what she was doing decided to make itself known. Her foot knocked right into the leg of the table, which not only hurt her foot substantially, but also made the table shake. “Holy shi-” she stopped herself before she could finish, aware that the middle-aged librarian would love nothing more than to give her detention for swearing.

Instead, she let out a painful groan and clutched her foot in her hand, which in itself was kind of useless since it wasn’t her shoe that was damaged. “I’m gonna feel that in the morning,” she muttered as she gingerly set her foot back down. Mia suddenly remembered that someone had been sitting at the table that she had jarred and turned her head, easily finding the redhead. “Sorry about that. Me and my stupid foot weren’t really paying attention,” she said, chuckling slightly. She didn’t know the other girl, which was odd since she knew most people in the school. She decided to ignore the fact that she had met two new redheads in just as many days. Chalk it up to the strangeness that was New York City.

status: complete!
tag: taryn
word count: 382!
outfit: click!
notes: escapee? Ooh!

[taryn cora ray]

Taryn wasn't aware of how much time she had spent with her head in her hands, but then again, she hadn't been sure of how much time had passed throughout the entire day, either. She wasn't sure if she was having some kind of breakdown, or just a bad day. She dearly hoped it was the latter, as she had already had enough bad days, and could surely deal with another one- right? Yeah, sure. Of course, too many bad days might lead to a breakdown at some point, but she would worry about that when it happened. She was good at procrastination.

As she was contemplating this, she felt the table shake. She looked up quickly, wondering what in the world could have made that sound. The Apocolypse? Probably not. If something of the like was coming, it would have started in other places before some obscure New York arts school, and would have been on the news. She didn't pause to wonder why she had automatically thought of the world's demise, which may have been seen as either insane or just troubled. Or both. She saw a brunette girl wincing in pain as she exclaimed, “Holy shi-” but stopped herself, glancing at the librarian. Taryn didn't blame her. If anyone was having a bad day, it was the woman whose career centered around handing out books to hormonal teenagers.

She looked at the girl with apprenhension and confusion. She was still scared by her flashback, and also considering that Apocolypse thing from before. Why wasn't the girl simply walking away, perhaps muttering swears under her breath along the way? Everyone else seemed to be ignoring her, save for the two God-given people she had met at lunch, but they were nowhere to be found. “I’m gonna feel that in the morning. Sorry about that. Me and my stupid foot weren’t really paying attention.” The girl apologized. Taryn scanned her face for a second or two before answering. She seemed to still be in pain, but pretty sincere when she said sorry. And why wouldn't she be? What kind of person had nothing better to do with their life than say a bunch of fake sorries?

"Don't worry about it." She said, shrugging. She was unsure of what else to say. Should she invite her to sit? Maybe not. She was probably here to do schoolwork, and didn't need some new kid looking for a friend bugging her. Unfortunately, her mouth worked against her, and she asked, "D'you wanna sit?" Perfect. Just perfect.

Words: 444
Notes: Yep, an escape. I might start an RPG about it...
Outfit: Use your imagination.

[amelia stacey hale]

a knock on wood and there you were
you never left, didn’t even start the car

Mia was a little caught off guard by the offer. She had thought that the redhead would just wave off what she said and she would go back to her research. She was wrong. She thought for a moment, glancing back at the table she had been occupying, before returning her gaze back to the sitting girl. “Yeah, I think I do,” she said after a moment, reaching out and pulling a chair back before sitting in it. It wasn’t as if she was getting any work done by herself. So, what harm could just talking with someone else be? None. “I’m Mia,” she introduced after a moment, realizing the other girl didn’t know her name and she didn’t know hers. “Yours?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow in the air. She absently pushed a loose strand of hair behind her hair, mentally making a note to get it cut.

She distracted herself as she waited for an answer from the other girl by messing with her hoodie. There was a loose string that she tugged at carefully, not wanting to mess up the green jacket. She smile in triumph when the string popped free and she set it on the table. Her eyes roved over the table, trying to figure out what the other girl could have been doing in the library. “So, were you doing homework?” she asked her. “Or were you just here to catch some Zs?” she added, chuckling a little. It wasn’t an uncommon site to see someone asleep in the library, especially during lunch or free periods. She herself came here sometimes when she was feeling drained. Surprisingly, the librarian was okay with that. As long as you didn’t snore or drool on the table.

“I was just doing some research. Well, trying to, I wasn’t really getting anywhere,” she mentioned. She figured the other girl didn’t really care what she’d been doing. In fact, she had probably had just asked her to sit on a whim and probably hadn’t been expecting Mia to sit. But Mia was a friendly person and she would use this as an opportunity to expand her circle of friends. Well, hopefully. She still didn’t even know the girls name so she shouldn’t jump to conclusions about her being her friend. What did she know? The girl could be same lame brain or some prissy Prep. Well, she didn’t look like one, or give off that vibe, but with some people, you never knew.

status: complete!
tag: taryn
word count: 414!
outfit: click!
notes: that'd be interesting!

[taryn cora ray]

Frankly, Taryn was quite annoyed at herself for refusing to breathe so much. Every time she had asked someone a question today, she would hold her breath until he or she responded. It was getting exhausting. Unfortunately, she didn't have much control over it, and so she was stuck holding her breath until Amelia answered her proposition. After what seemed like an hour (but was probably much less... probably) the girl finally said, "Yeah, I think I do." She sat down, and Taryn let out a huge breath of air. She vaguely wondered if she had any color in her cheeks as the girl asked, "I'm Mia. Yours?" It took a little while for Taryn to understand what she meant by 'yours,' but ultimately decided that that was how New Yorkers asked people what their names were. She muttered "I'm Taryn," in an unsure voice and looked at the bookshelf behind Mia. Another habit that seemed to be sprouting up today- loss of eye contact.

As Mia began to play with a string on her hoodie, she asked, “So, were you doing homework? Or were you just here to catch some Zs?” Ah, finally a question that wasn't shrouded in mystery. A nice, straightforward request for inforrmation. If only she knew the answer. She thought about it for a while as Mia ripped off the string. "Just looking for something to do." She said, shrugging. There was a short pause, and, to not be rude, Taryn asked, "What about you? What're you here for?"

“I was just doing some research. Well, trying to, I wasn’t really getting anywhere.” She answered. Well, at least she had a clear goal in mind, even if she wasn't getting anywhere close to it. "Ah, I know the feeling." She said, nodding. "I think I might check out a book. Know any good ones?" She asked. She doubted the girl did, but it was polite to ask and, as awkward as it made her feel, Taryn felt like being cordial.

[amelia stacey hale]

a knock on wood and there you were
you never left, didn’t even start the car

Mia smiled at the name. It was different. “That’s cool. Never heard one like that,” she said. She listened as Taryn said she’d just been looking for something to do. She wondered for a moment why the girl would come to the library in search of an activity when she could just hang out with friends. Maybe her friends didn’t have this period or something. Mia didn’t really know. Mia knew that if she hadn’t needed to research her report, she probably would be outside goofing around with friends or in the lunch room doing pretty much the same. She was often a dozen different places in her free period, so more often than not, people asked her where she would be before it so they could talk or whatever.

“Oh yeah, I know plenty,” she said after Taryn’s question. She wasn’t too big of a reader, but when she did read, she had an eye for catching interesting books and she took great pleasure in driving the librarian nuts by recommending it to everyone under the sun. “I recently read The Kite Runner,” she told her. “Have you heard of that? It’s a really good book and I enjoyed it a lot,” she told the other girl. “But if you’re not into that sort of thing, I think Scrambled Eggs at Midnight is always and interesting read.” The title might sound ridiculous, but the book was truly really good. It sometimes amazed her that adults could create a perfect teenager book.

She glanced over at Taryn, studying her face. The girl wasn’t in any of her classes, and if she was, Mia had never before noticed her. It actually sort of easy. The other girl had that look about her of being forgettable or just a passing face. Not really noticed unless you were acquainted with her. “So, what grade are you in? I know you’re not a freshman,” she said. As a way of immersing the incoming students to Bellview, there was a Freshmen Orientation that occurred about a week or so before first day. Mia had met basically everyone else in her grade and they had talked and just gotten to know each other. Most of the fleeting friendships didn’t last, but it made spotting out your fellow Freshies very easy.

status: complete!
tag: taryn
word count: 385!
outfit: click!
notes: nope!