While Lez slumbered peacefully on the bed we had specially for when she came over, I took a shower. A nice, long, steaming-hot shower.

As usual, I hadn't been able to sleep, despite my drooping eyelids yelling at my stubborn mind to go to sleep. It'd been a long day, I'd felt dirty, so I decided it would be nice to let hell's waterfall cleanse me, and since I didn't have a particular inkling to sleep, it might rejuvenate me so I could get some homework done.

Yes, I was really falling behind in classes. You could say Emer was being a bit of a distraction.

Just a bit.

When I felt sufficiently satisfied and toasty, I shut off the water, toweled off, and slipped into my pyjamas, then shuffled out into my room.

I grabbed my schoolbag and toted it over to my desk with a sigh. After the day I'd had, the last thing I wanted to be doing was homework. I wanted to be doing something else. Maybe someone else.

Too bad, Emerson. Get your work done tonight and you can enjoy a day of rest tomorrow.

I took out my Maths book, and began to slog through question after question; with every one, more and more little pieces of my sanity began to flake away.

At least it was a distraction from my distraction.

The minutes, then hours, ticked by, and somehow I managed to finish my Maths homework - although the question remained to be seen if my work had been done well - and move on to Literature.

Lez groaned suddenly, startling me so I whipped my head around. But she hadn't woken up; she'd merely rolled over until half her body hung off the side of the bed.

Feeling a smile tug its way across my face, it dropped when I returned to my homework. Chewed on the end of my pen, the essay question floating before my eyes. My eyes, which were starting to ache. My eyelids, which were starting to droop. My head, which was being enclosed by a fog.

With a large yawn, I lay my head on the table. Just rest your eyes for a while. Just for a while.

But then, I woke up bathed in sunlight, covered in blood, with the sound of screaming ringing in my ears.

[p.s. hello :D]