The second Kenny pushed open the blue door of the Dining Hall and stepped out into the windy morning, she attempted to convince herself to head back into the building. The feeling in her stomach from the night Tellie had gone missing came back, and it was worse than before. She wanted to turn around and slip back into the Dining Hall, but the young girl needed her index cards more. After taking a nervous breath, she sprinted towards the school building.

Kenny's lungs squeezed in her chest to the point where she had to slow her speed while running. She skidded to a halt near a blue door, her frictionless shoes almost causing her to fall flat, and pressed her ID card up to the scanner. The doorknob turned under Kenny's hand and she scrambled inside the building before anyone outside could notice her.

After catching her breath, the young girl looked around the softly lit corridor, squinting at the room number on the door closest to her. She could tell she was in the west corridor near her physics classroom, and from there, she found her way to room 117. She encountered no teachers while she sprinted as quietly as possible down the halls which both worried and relieved her. Shouldn't there be teachers and administrators in the school building?

Perhaps they're all eating breakfast, Kenny thought, and she was filled with relief at the idea of all the teachers sitting in the Dining Hall. They'd eat together, maybe in a room behind the kitchen or away from the students, and chat about trivial matters, not worrying about unbecoming students who were out of the Dining Hall like herself. Kenny kept this image in her mind until her heartbeat began to slow, and her breaths were even.

Then a door slammed shut, startling Kenny from her brief moment of tranquility. The young girl jumped into the air and walked faster toward Miss Kaylee's room. Once there, she pressed her ID card on the scanner next to the door. However, rather than opening, the scanner made a sharp beeping noise. Kenny swiped her card once more, but the door refused to open.

The young girl didn't have access into this room.

Kenny looked around frantically for a clock, but there were none in the hallway. She knew her time was running out, and if she didn't find a way into the seminar room, she would have to continue on her day without her index cards. It was only after she realized this that an idea tugged at her brain.

What if...? No, it was much too risky. The possibility of her being caught would be tremendously high. It was a crazy idea, a scheme born from pure desperation, that would never work. Then again...what if it did work? What if Kenny was able to get her index cards and leave without anyone noticing her?

There was only one way to find out.

Kenny surveyed the hallway, spotting the classroom she and Mrs. Page worked in during sixth period. She hurried to the door and pressed her card on the scanner there. The door opened easily, and she peered into the room. No one was there. After taking several deep breaths, the young girl stepped inside and softly closed the door behind her.

While Kenny was taking her physics exam on her second day of school (which she hadn't done very well on, but she hadn't failed, either), she had noticed a blue door without a scanner next to it at one end of the classroom. Her gaze had quickly passed over the door for she didn't see it of any importance. However, she now realized that it was an adjoining door between two classrooms and the only door she could open without clearance. Her idea was this: if all the classrooms had these connecting doors, perhaps she could enter room 117 by walking from Mrs. Page's room to Miss Kaylee's room. It seemed quite simple.

Except for the fact that the best place to find teachers who were not currently at breakfast was in their classrooms.

Kenny hopped from one foot to the other nervously as she looked around Mrs. Page's room for the adjoining door. She found it behind the large desk near the corner of the room. The young girl made her way towards it and slowly turned the doorknob. She opened the door only a sliver, squinting into the next room. She wasn't sure what classroom she was entering, and she certainly didn't want to meet its owner.

Luckily, the room was empty. Kenny rushed forward and closed the door behind her. She continued on her journey, venturing into two more classrooms before finally making it to room 117. The young girl was shocked that the bell hadn't rung by time she made it for she had taken quite a bit of time making sure every room was clear before moving to the next one. She looked around Miss Kaylee's room, certain she was in the right place due to the lesson plans written on the board, and began searching for her index cards.

The room was a much larger space than any of the other classrooms, and rather than desks, chairs were aligned in a large, spiral-like circle. In the center or the circle stood a raised surface that Kenny presumed was a stage. White boards and e-boards sat on the walls instead of the encouraging posters that could be found in other classrooms, and several squat bookshelves sat in the far corner. Next to the bookshelves lay a familiar looking backpack with its contents peeping from the open zipper.

Kenny's index cards lay with the bag.

The young girl rushed forward and was more than halfway to her cards when the first of the bell's pings sounded above her. She stiffened in fright, but only for a moment before she dashed towards the bookshelf. However, as Kenny went to pick up her index cards, she accidently pushed them farther into the backpack. She cursed herself, about to open it up and reach for her cards, when a something in her mind told her that she should take the backpack with her.

Kenny blinked. She didn't need the bag. All she needed was to get her cards before the bell rang— the bell! It had already rung! The young girl shot up from her spot on the floor, climbed back over the chairs, and exited room 117. Now here, my reader, is where Kenny made her final mistake, the worst one of all.

Even though she knew she shouldn't have and there was no reason to other than a nagging feeling at the back of her mind, she took the backpack that had been lying on the floor with her.

****

Now you probably think I've lied to you. After all, I did say Kendall Frodell was not a thief, and now she's gone and stolen someone's backpack. However, I stand by my statement. Kenny never would have taken the bag if she'd had a choice in the matter, but she didn't have a choice. Technically, it was not her fault.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let us go back to Kendall.

That night, Kenny's dream took her somewhere cold. She was shocked to find that it was snowing as she had rarely ever seen snow in her short lifetime. She was in the body of a teenage girl rather than a child, but she couldn't control herself any better. Even though this dream and the dream she'd had the previous night were different, Kenny couldn't help but feel as though they were similar. They both had the same realistic quality to them even though they had never happened, and she woke up from both of them more tired than when she had fallen asleep.

Kenny hoped this wasn't a side effect of the Darkness as she rubbed her eyes and began her last day in her first week of school.

While the young girl walked to the bathroom with her toothbrush and hairbrush in hand, her thoughts wandered to the backpack she had stolen. After taking the bag, Kenny had become so flustered that she had almost walked to her Orchestra class with it. However, Fins noticed her in the school hallways and stopped her before she could.

"Hawking! Did you find your...?" the teen trailed off as he spotted the bag on Kenny's shoulder. He raised his arms to show Kenny that he was holding her backpack and her violin.

"Who does that belong to?" Fins asked calmly, as though students took each other's backpacks all the time.

They probably do, Kenny thought, comparing the bag in her hand to the one Fins was holding. The two bags looked identical; no wonder students got confused. However, this wasn't a student's backpack Kenny had taken. It was Miss Kaylee's, and the girl could identify it as the one her former teacher had picked up while she was in the ND room.

Kenny simply shrugged in response to Fins's question, too ashamed to admit she had stolen the bag. The boy handed her her own backpack and violin and told her, "Take it to the lost and found in the Main Office. Someone's bound to notice they lost their backpack, and that's the first place they'll check."

I can't take this to the lost and found, Kenny thought, frowning to herself. Miss Kaylee will find out I took it.

However, Kenny nodded, and Fins murmured a farewell. After watching the teen hurry away, the young girl ran to the library, hiding the bag under the table she normally sat at to do her homework. She made sure it wasn't visible unless someone was looking for it, took her index cards out of the pack, and sprinted to her first period class before the bell rang.

All through the day Kenny hoped the bag would be gone when she came back, and she would no longer have to worry about it. However, she had hid the bag too well for someone else to find it and take it to the lost and found. The backpack was still at the library when Kenny went to begin her homework. After several hours of contemplation, she ended up taking the pack to her dorm with her and hiding it in her closet.

As Kenny brushed her teeth, she wondered what she was going to do with the bag. She hadn't looked at it since she'd placed it in her closet, and even though she was the only one who had access into the room, the young girl longed for someone to steal the backpack back from her. She decided she would return its contents during breakfast the same way she had taken them. If she was caught, she'd explain that she had accidentally taken the pack and was bringing it back to Miss Kaylee. Then all would be well, and Kenny could go back to her classes without fretting over the whereabouts of her and Miss Kaylee's personal items.

At least, Kenny thought it would go that way.

Once she had finished preparing for school, the young girl took the files and books from Miss Kaylee's pack and transferred them to her own. The bell pinged only moments later, and Kenny made her way to the Dining Hall. Color was already sitting when she arrived, and Fins, she assumed, was buying breakfast.

"Hello, Hawking!" Color greeted brightly. "Only one more school day until the weekend begins."

Kenny nodded, yawning. She was too tired to form a response. Instead, the young girl listened to Color complain about Kitchen Duty and the other G groupers and classes she wasn't very fond of. She shut her eyes repeatedly, dozing off for a few minutes before she managed to pry her eyelids open again. She watched as Fins walked over to the table with a tray full of fruit and water with an odd look on his face. Once Fins was in his seat, her gaze flicked back to Color. However, an alarm seemed to go off in her head as the boy greeted her. Startled awake, she turned back to him and sat up.

Fins seemed fine other than the fact that his face looked more blue than Kenny had ever seen it. She studied his countenance for two full minutes before she realized that he wore the same calm yet confused look Tellie had only a few days before. She pulled her index cards from her pocket and searched for the one she wanted.

What's wrong? the card read.

"Huh?" Fins wheezed, taking a sip of his water. "Nothing's wrong."

Color frowned. "Fins, your face is bluer than the rising oceans."

The boy laughed, ignoring his friend's worried tone. "I'm just having some breathing problems, that's all."

Kenny squinted in suspicion. She pulled another card out of her stack. Where were you last night?

Fins was silent for several moments. He then replied, "I was in the pool at the Recreation Area, I think. I sleep there sometimes to help with my breathing."

"Well alright then." Color lost interest in the blue-faced boy and got up from her chair. "The breakfast line looks short. Come on, Hawking."

Kenny followed Color to the counter by the kitchen. She thought over Fins's story, frowning. There was something that didn't make sense about it, but the young girl couldn't tell what. It was only after she had already gotten her breakfast and eaten it that she realized something: if Fins had truly slept in the pool, wouldn't his breathing become better and not worse?

Less than a second later, the bell pinged. Color and Fins stood up, and Kenny realized she forgot to return the files. However, she was more worried about Fins than Miss Kaylee's papers. She would return them later. First, Kenny would figure out what was going on with her friends.