《The Peripheral Girl》Chapter 7

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The infirmary really looked no different than most buildings in the Community, which was a good thing for me; it would make it much easier to sneak in and find my way around. I walked to a back window and checked the lock on it. Unlocked... Figures. The Community was so empty and quiet at night, but I was still surprised that there weren't more guards or something outside, given what had just happened.

I had never been inside of the infirmary, but I trusted my gut and crept down a dark hallway and started checking rooms. Of the three rooms downstairs, I had found no one in them, so I headed for the stairs. I snuck past the kitchen, which still had a dim light on above the sink. I didn't stop to poke my head in and see if anyone was actually in there. I had gotten this far without getting caught, I didn't want to press my luck.

After tiptoeing up the stairs, I made my way to the first room on the right. I put light pressure on the door, and it opened slowly. The window on the other side of the room let the moonlight leak in; the boy was lying in the bed, his back facing me. Next to him, Hirsh sat sleeping in a rocking chair. Careful not to wake Hirsh, I went over to the bed. The boy looked so gaunt and sickly in the moonlight. Bags sat under his eyes, and his thick, dark hair fell on his thin face. He was clean and his hair was no longer matted, but he still looked too skinny. Is this what the sickness looks like? I wondered. Come to think of it, I'd never really seen a sick person before. What if he didn't have the sickness and was just starving or sick with something else? I reached out and touched his arm, afraid that he'd wake up, but hoping that he would at the same time. He merely stirred in his sleep. I held my breath and touched his arm again. This time the boy sprang up and pushed me away, a look of horror filled his large eyes.

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"I'm sorry!" I whispered. Thankfully, Hirsh hadn't woken. I held out my hands, trying to calm the boy down. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just-"

"You're the girl that found me," he said with a weird voice, his eyes still holding a look of terror. I nodded.

"I'm Zuza."

He looked at me wearily.

"What's your name?" I asked him, making sure to keep my voice down.

"... Enzo," he said quietly.

"Why do you talk differently than I do?" I asked him. "You say things differently. It's not bad, just... different."

"That's just how we talk where I'm from. Your voice sounds different to me."

"Yeah, but your voice sounds fancy."

He shrugged. "I guess."

"Hmm. Where are you from?"

He shifted his eyes and looked at the ground. "I-uh, another community."

"The one that was dissolved? Did bad things happen there? Is that why you looked the way you did?"

"You're awfully forward."

"I know."

"Well..." Enzo looked anywhere but at me. "Well, I don't want to talk about it."

"That's okay," I said. "We only just met, you don't have to tell me yet."

"Yet?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, friends don't tell each other everything all at once. You have to get to know each other little by little."

"We're friends?"

I nodded. "If you want to be. There aren't a lot of kids here my age. How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"You're kind of small to be fifteen, but I guess I can see it."

Enzo pulled the covers up around him tighter. "Umm... alright."

"I'm fourteen, so that was a pretty good guess."

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"Are you always this talkative?"

"Yes, why?"

"Oh, uh-"

"You get used to it. My sister Madi says the same thing all the time. Though, she's usually more mean about it. The thing is, I just have a lot to say, and sometimes it's hard to find people who care to listen."

Enzo let slip a small smile. "How frustrating that must be."

"You seem like a good listener though. That's why I think we'll make good friends. Anyway, I'll let you go back to sleep. I'm sorry that I woke you up."

"It's alright."

"Well... goodnight!" I said quietly. He nodded and laid back down on the bed. I slipped out of the room, proud of myself for sneaking into the infirmary and not waking up Hirsh, but even more proud that I had made a friend.

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