14 Aug 2021, 10:13
You’re the Only Angel I See
-@Marshal MozorThere was a certain phrase that went through Cel's mind once in a while. A slogan, one might say, if Cel were more of an organized person, but that didn't seem like quite the right word for it. Perhaps more of a mantra, or simply a common saying—there were many others like it that she cycled through sometimes, but lately the punctuality and the assertiveness of this particular wording was quite appealing, as it matched her need to express her meaning perfectly.
That phrase was fuck my life.
The silky curtain had been pulled back by the long tassel on the wall, letting the morning light filter into the Hospital Wing, latticed windows casting gridded shadows on the ground that writhed and twisted in her blurry eyes, each line crooked and uneven over the rumpled covers that covered her lap. She'd woken up groggy and annoyed—not quite disoriented; the color of the array of stones that paved the ceiling above her had long since grown familiar. Waking up to the tranquil, sterile atmosphere of the Hospital Wing had become almost as common as opening her eyes to the rich comfort of the Ravenclaw dorms, and even with the summer in between, there was little surprise in her gaze as she flicked her irritated glare toward the window, trying to figure out what time it was.
This was the first time this year she'd spent the night. Not that she hadn't been to the Hospital Wing, it'd already been a couple weeks since school started, but by some mysterious measure of luck (called 'not sleeping') she had yet to wake up to sunlight in a cot, and she wasn't the most thrilled to reach that milestone, if the dark circles under her eyes and the crackling of her spine as she yawned had anything to say about it. The skin on her lips and her hands was so dry that it was two minutes away from developing sentience and asking for a sip of cool, refreshing strawberry lemonade with ice. Unfortunately, Cel did not feel like leaning over to the side for water or moisturizer that she usually brought with her until at least ten minutes after waking up, so her skin would have to deal.
She'd stumbled in a little before curfew, but she must've fallen asleep quickly—she was still in the pajamas she'd been wearing when she walked down the stairs, a matching set of sky blue satin like only the most posh and proud parent would buy for their child. She'd hauled a giant, fluffy hoodie around her shoulders to stave off the cold that often came with episodes like this.
Actually, as there was no longer much cold to stave off in the middle of a Saturday morning in September indoors, the hoodie's fuzzy interior was feeling a bit less like a warm hug from the combined comfort of a quietly crackling fireplace, a mug of molten chocolate with steam curling off the top as a spoon swirled through its contents, and the wave of emotional validity that came with an honest compliment, and a little bit more like the precursor to a simulation of what it would be like to get thrown into the center of a near-active volcano. Cel shrugged the hoodie off her shoulders, keeping only the sleeves around her wrists.
She had half a mind to go back to sleep, but the bustle of the Hospital Wing was bound to be kicking off soon, and there was no way that she could get any quality rest with people moving around her, however quiet they tried to be. Sighing frustratedly, Cel folded her hands in her lap, shutting her eyes to the sun—maybe she could still steal a few moments of peace, like an urchin at the soup kitchen during the Great Depression, holding the ray of sunlight on the surface of her skin. Maybe Cecily was right—it was possible, just possible, that she bear to could get more sunlight exposure, but now wasn't the time to think of hat. Now was the time to scheme about how she could go back to sleep and avoid the miserable existence of the world for another hour or two with the least effort. After all, the walk back to her dorm was a long one, even with four years of perfecting stair-climbing quads that would rival any high school muggle football player, but the longer she stayed here to recover energy like a Pokemon, the more she'd push back her chances of napping before lunch. What a conundrum!
Cel sighed. Might as well make use of the time. Reaching a hand out to the side table, palming aimlessly until she landed on the etched title of a hardcover book, she pulled the volume into her lap and began to read.-
