The end has come (cont'd from Hospital Wing) on Labyrinth Gardens

Jax Donovan

September 22, 2015 9:12 PM

The end has come (cont'd from Hospital Wing) by Jax Donovan

As soon as Jax was out of the school, he ran straight into the Gardens. Running wasn’t anything new for him. He ran all the time. He ran to gain strength. He ran to let off steam. He ran because he needed something to do. But today he ran because he needed to get away from everyone. He didn’t want to see the looks on their faces when they realized who it was that the words were referring to. He couldn’t handle it. He couldn’t handle what it would do to Gia too when they were inevitably forced to leave.

What do we do? What will Mitera say? Where would they go?
Thoughts were racing through his mind as he ran through the gardens. Jax knew that he hadn’t made friends during his short time here at Sonora and so the rest of the school was likely to turn on him. Parents would send owls to the Administration, howlers would be sent demanding for him to leave the school or, worse, to crawl in some hole in die. They would attack his mother and his sister. They would demand whatever they could get out of them.

They would have to move again and it was his entire fault.

Gia was making friends. She was happy here and his mother had a job with a decent owner and the Landlord was forgiving if they were late on the rent. This was supposed to be their second chance. Greece had been unkind to them and they weren’t able to travel to other parts of Europe because the Donovan family was large and would have found them. America was supposed to give them hope. But now all was lost.

Jax slowed down and paced in the dirt. He was deep in the gardens now, or so he hoped. He hung his head and started kicking at the dirt or trees or anything that was around him. He was so angry. He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch the person who was trying to ruin his life. He wanted to make them hurt the way they were making everyone at the school hurt. He had been trying too hard to keep a low profile so that no one would figure it out.

Why was this happening? He thought the staff was supposed to be protecting him just as much as they were supposed to be protecting the rest of them. What was going on?

Jax collapsed onto the ground and dropped his head into his hands. This was the worst moment for him. He was going to have to write home to his mom and tell her that he had failed. She was going to be so upset about having to move again.

A shadow fell over him and Jax’s head shot up, ready to battle whoever it was that disturbed him. “What?” He growled, his fear of repercussions putting him even more so on edge.

6 Jax Donovan The end has come (cont'd from Hospital Wing) 296 Jax Donovan 1 5

Wu Peizhi

September 23, 2015 7:24 PM

Oh dear. by Wu Peizhi

It seemed like a peaceful day, and Peizhi thought that she might fancy a nice walk in the garden. It was quite a nice place for a quiet stroll, a sort of paradise for loners, really. She could walk and think somewhere in its coiling paths, admiring the flowers and rarely coming upon another person. It was a nice escape from the bustle of the Cascade Hall crowds or the strain of classes.

But that peace was interrupted as someone bolted past her, nearly knocking her over. Peizhi couldn’t imagine it was a good sign; a lot of people, she imagined, ran through the gardens as a means of exercise, but those people would probably be more concerned about watching where they were going. This was not a casual run. This was someone running from something.

The Teppenpaw felt bad for the person but honestly didn’t think too terribly much about it aside from hoping things would be okay for them. But a little while later, she came across the same person again, this time on the ground. Peizhi stopped at the sight of them and, after a brief moment of internal debate, slowly approached, a hand extended carefully.

“What?”

His harshness, even in a single word, made her jump, her hand retracting instantly. But she could see now who it was: Jax Donovan, Aladren second year. While Peizhi didn’t feel close enough to really call anyone a friend, she did know him from the grammar lessons they both attended as they were both non-native English speakers who required a little help. “I-I wanted to see if.. if you are alright?” she fumbled weakly, avoiding eye contact by staring into the ground between them, still feeling a bit unnerved by the ferocity of his tone.

12 Wu Peizhi Oh dear. 316 Wu Peizhi 0 5

Jax Donovan

September 23, 2015 9:15 PM

Oh dear indeed. by Jax Donovan

He regretted it.

He regretted it the moment the word left his mouth.

Even in his moment of utter fear and anger, Jax regretted snapping at Peizhi. She didn’t deserve it. She had never done anything to him for him to be short with her. He was never bothered by her during their lessons together. She was soft spoken and probably confused as he was certain she was from China. He had at least the luxury of living here a year before beginning school.

Seeing her reaction to him, seeing her retreat quickly into herself as though he was going to physically hurt her. Jax wanted people to be afraid of him because he didn’t want them to know what he was, but he didn’t want to seem cruel to people who had not wronged him in any way. Peizhi had only seemed to want to make sure he was okay and he had snapped at her. To be fair, he hadn’t known who it was that had come up on him and he was in a state of being distraught, but even so, he should have been more careful.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” He said to the younger girl as he stood up. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I was just mad about something and you just came at the wrong time.” Jax tried to explain . He really wasn’t sure if he should have to apologize to the girl. He did have a right to be upset and even if it wasn’t at her, he shouldn’t need to apologize for his emotions. But, Wu seemed so innocent and he didn’t want her to be afraid of him.

"I'm sorry." He said again. "You aren't angry or anything, are you?" He asked the girl. The last thing he needed was for her to complain about him to someone or to the staff. If anyone really had figured out what he was and there were rumors about him being violent or aggressive, he was most definitely going to be removed from the school.

6 Jax Donovan Oh dear indeed. 296 Jax Donovan 0 5

Peizhi

September 26, 2015 4:27 AM

Glad we agree. by Peizhi

Despite the apology Jax offered as he rose, Peizhi couldn’t help but taking another step back. He seemed genuine in his response, but she was still uneasy. She was quite timid on even a good day, and having been essentially shouted at only intensified her anxieties. She tried not to let it show, though, her tenseness managing to minimize the pullback. As uncomfortable as she was, she hated to make it apparent and cause Jax to feel any worse than he clearly already did.

He apologized another time and expressed concern that she could be angry with him, and it made her sad because Jax was rather clearly hurting but was shifting his attention to her well being. “I am fine,” she answered somewhat unsurely, both because of her relative newness to the language and her general discomfort with the whole situation. Interactions were hard enough for her, but she supposed pressing herself in this matter would lend itself later in conversations her family deemed more appropriate and necessary.

“Maybe not the wrong time, but?” Peizhi added, confusing but and though. Conjunctions were hard. “You looked very sad. Mad?” She wasn’t sure which word she necessarily wanted. Wasn’t there a word that meant both? Oh, yes. “Upset.” That one she said more definitively, with the closest thing to confident the Teppenpaw was capable of mustering. “You did not answer my question. Are you alright?”

0 Peizhi Glad we agree. 0 Peizhi 0 5

Jax

September 27, 2015 9:42 PM

Yeah, me too by Jax

Jax felt sick to his stomach when he saw Peizhi take a step away from him when he stood up. Had she already seen the marking on the Hospital Door? Had she already known what he was and was now worried about being alone with him in the gardens? That was the worst feeling for Jax. He never wanted anyone to feel threatened by him unless he wanted them too. Peizhi was not one of those people that he wanted to feel that way. Disgusted with himself for causing such a feeling in her, Jax lowered his gaze and took a step back from her to allow her to feel safer in his presence.

He nodded when she replied that she was fine. He was glad that she wasn’t upset with him for attacking her indirectly. If Gia were here, she’d probably tell him that he was taking her reaction to seriously, but he wasn’t sure how else he was supposed to take it. He stood up and she stepped away from him. How was someone supposed to reflect on that? He was disappointed in himself for turning into that sort of person to another, seemingly weaker, person.

He didn’t really know how to respond to her inquisition. He was probably both sad and mad. Sad that his life here at Sonora was basically over once everyone figured out what the writing on the Hospital door was about. Mad because his life was basically over at Sonora because someone was cruel enough to go around destroying people’s lives.

“Uh, yeah, I guess I was, er, am a bit upset.” Jax finally answered. There was no point in denying that part of the truth. “I, uh, I got some upsetting news and just sort of needed air. I didn’t mean to disrupt you or anything.” She might ask about the news, but he could at least deflect that information. The problem was if she already knew about the vandalism or worked it out later for herself and put two and two together. Of course, by then, it might not even matter and Jax might be out of Sonora anyway.

6 Jax Yeah, me too 296 Jax 0 5