Bad day

Regina's face turned pale with her heart thumping hard.

She had no idea how she closed the door and went back to her bed. Everything around her seemed to get blurry. She cried her eyes out burying her face in her palms.

"Why God? Why? Why would you do this to me? Why would you let that person to come into my life again?" Regina murmured as her past reeled in her head.

Those evil smiles, humiliating stares, the countless insults and the hellish torment. Everything she experienced in her past flashed before her eyes. The more she remembered, the more she went crazy.

"No...No..." She yelled with tears flowing down her eyes and wetting her clothes.

Rosie ran up the stairs and to her room huffing and puffing. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Regina curled up on the bed, crying loudly.

She dropped the medicine bag she had in her hand on the ground and walked close to the bed.

She's been out of the room for only ten minutes and Rosie didn't know what happened in these ten minutes for Regina to break down like this. She knew it wasn't a simple issue like upset stomach. She even doubted if Regina had lied to her about having an upset stomach when the problem was something else.

Without saying or asking anything, Rosie hugged her friend tightly and patted her back slowly.

At times, simple words could not provide comfort to your loved ones. All that was needed then was for you to make them feel your presence and your support with a simple warm hug.

It seemed like an eternity until Regina calmed down and fell asleep in Rosie's arms.

She always thought Regina was a funny, cheerful and strong girl with no sorrowful back stories. Now with the scene she had seen, Rosie found out her best friend was actually a fragile porcelain doll who could break with a slight nudge.

Rosie noticed the sky turning dark from the windows and tried to grab her mobile which was thrown a little distance away on the bed. Her movements made Regina to stir in her sleep and slowly move out of Rosie's arms.

Rosie stretched and massaged her arms picking the mobile and noticed the time's almost 7PM. She got up from the bed and walked to turn on the lights in the room, when she bumped into something hard.

She was too engrossed in dealing with Regina, she didn't get a chance to look at the luggage in the room until now.

"Who's luggage is this?" Rosie walked to the suitcases which were the biggest she had ever seen. She checked if there's a name tag or something on them but she saw none.

Thinking she could ask Regina later, she turned on the lights and went into the bathroom to clean herself.

When she came out in her pjs, she heard a bell ring and a robotic voice announcing all across the dormitory building that said dinner's ready. She found it weird and annoying.

Hearing the noise, Regina who fell asleep after an hour of crying also woke up, scratching her head.

"What's that sound?" asked Regina, sleep still lingering in her eyes.

"Just a stupid announcement" Rosie said throwing the towel in the laundry bin before she sat at the dressing table picking up the hair dryer. She acted as though she had no idea what Regina did all this while.

Rosie's acting was way too convincing, Regina didn't know if the one who hugged and comforted her was really her friend or some stranger.

Around 8PM, an hour after the dinner announcement, they went to the dining hall. Regina was starving after draining all her energy by crying. She thought she could eat a small mountain of food with how hungry she was feeling.

To their surprise, there were no people who would serve the food and also most of the tables were empty with only a few people seated randomly. Moreover, the food trays were empty and shining bright as though some dogs had come and licked them clean.

"Rosie, why is there no food here?" Regina asked with sad eyes.

Rosie gave a look as if saying 'Even I'm thinking the same' when she felt two fingers twist her left cheek.

"Ouch...that hurts" Rosie cried, rubbing her reddened cheek. "Hey, why would you pinch me?" she glared at Regina who was staring at the empty trays sadly.

"To see if I'm actually dreaming. I'm so hungry. But there's no food to eat. Do you think some seniors like from the morning had stolen all the food to keep us new students starving?" With a pouting face, Regina rubbed her stomach showing how flat it appeared.

Rosie now understood why there was actually an announcement calling the students to have their dinner on time.

"Where are we? In Military?" Rosie muttered, slapping her head. Had she known it would turn out like this, then she would have dragged the little piggy Regina to the dining hall even before the announcement was made.

"Looks like we have to sleep on empty stomach" Rosie pulled Regina out of the dining hall.

With slumped shoulders, Regina staggered like a patient low on sugar, without caring about her surroundings.

"Regina, walk properly" Rosie scolded the person behind her acting like a drunkard.

"Ah..." Regina walked straight into a wall when she was about to turn around a corner.

Rosie looked back to find Regina sitting on the ground. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to control herself, saying "Get up before I beat you"

"It's such a bad day. I don't even have any energy to walk" Regina muttered thinking of all the stupid things that had happened to her till now since the morning.

"So, this piggy wants a piggyback ride now?" Rosie rolled her eyes, pulling Regina from the ground.

Regina was about to retort when she heard a serious voice from a distance "Why are you girls still outside? What are you doing here?"

"Miss Evelyn" Regina immediately turned around and upon seeing the woman's face, she remembered how this woman informed her about having a third member in their room without any prior notice or discussion with them. She was already feeling down after not eating anything for dinner. Seeing this woman now her mood became even worse.

"We're here to have our dinner but...." Before Rosie could tell that they came late, Evelyn chuckled. That single cold chuckle made Rosie to shut her mouth.

"Dinner? What's the time now?" Evelyn adjusted her glasses, staring down at the two girls. Her voice was so cold and emotionless, Rosie wondered if this woman was deliberately picking on them.

"It's 8:25PM..." Rosie answered gingerly after looking at her phone.

"That's right. It's 8:25PM. An hour and a half had passed since the announcement and here you are...."

"Grrr...grrr..." Regina's tummy protested for leaving it empty.

Evelyn turned her head, her gaze traveling from Regina's head to toe. She gave a helpless look, murmuring something under her breath which looked more like she was scolding the girls.

Before long, Regina and Rosie heard sharp clicking sound of Miss Evelyn's heels as she walked away and then followed her cold, detached voice "Follow me, stupid girls"