Distant Lands

I get up, take a quick shower, and put on my jeans and a plain black T-shirt. I sit on the bed in the recovery room, thinking. I’ve never seen Ivan that angry before. I felt terrible when he yelled at me like that. I don’t want to face anybody today, but I’m hungry.

I get up and go over to the door. Okay, I will try to sneak into the kitchen and just grab something quick to eat, then come back. I hold the doorknob to open it, and the door is locked.

“Unlock the door.” I try the door again, and it’s still locked.

Seriously? Did they lock me in? I look around the windowless room. The only window is the skylight. There’s no way out. I grab my backpack from the floor and go and sit back down on my bed.

I rummage through the bag, trying to find something to eat. At the bottom of the bag, I see one of Diego’s protein bars. It makes me smile looking at it. It’s crushed to pieces, but I rip it open and eat it. I take out my whiskey bottle, and I take a drink.

Now that I’m no longer a student here, I wonder what will happen next? Now that Ivan is angry with me, I’m sure it will be much easier for him to send me away to that place he was talking about, that gold World. There’s a monarchy in that gold World. I’m sure they won’t want me there either.

I sigh loudly, “Nobody wants me.” I take another drink. I see Diego’s note in my bag and look at it. I read it, and it makes me depressed. I put it away quickly, and take a drink, then another. Feeling worthless and hopeless, I chug the bottle of whiskey, trying to drown my sorrows literally.

Suddenly the door swings open. Ethan and Ivan come into the room, and Ethan stands in front of me and angrily snatches my bottle away.

“Hey! That’s mine,” I growl. They both look down angrily at me, and I glare at them.

“That’s enough of this, Elizabeth,” Ethan says, in a stern tone of voice, showing me the whiskey bottle.

“Don’t tell me what to do! you’re not my father!”

Ethan gets a hurt expression on his face; he turns and walks silently out of the room, taking my whiskey with him.

Ivan gives an exasperated sigh and sits at the foot of my bed. He places his elbows on his thighs and clasps his hands together. He looks like he’s thinking, then he looks at me.

“We’ve been looking for you everywhere, Elizabeth. I didn’t think you would go back to the forest because of what happened with the Lamia.”

“I had to get away for a while.”

“Then the chef kept complaining," he looks at me. "When food and bottles of alcohol started going missing, he was furious, trying to find the thief. Then we knew you were close by.”

“I’m sorry I stole from the kitchen. I’ll replace what I took.”

“That’s not what bothers me. I kept trying to figure out why you ran away from the Ranch. We took care of you, and we treated you like family.” His eyes express hurt.

Damn, I feel like a piece of shit for hurting him and Ethan, “I’m sorry.”

“Why did you leave?” he asks.

I hate lying, but I can’t tell him about the bully Lenna. She will probably snap me in half and bury me in the forest. I look down to the floor, trying to think of what to tell him. I look up at him.

“Classes were stressing me out, it was too hard for me, and I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time.”

He gave me a pitying look. “But you were doing so well.”

“Yeah, well, it was frying my brain. School is not for me.”

“Well, please think about it. You are always welcome to come back.” He gets up to leave. I get up as well and follow him to the door. He turns around and puts his hand up to stop me.

“No. You stay here. Like they say on Earth, you are grounded.”

“Ivan, I’m not a child. You can’t ground me.”

He looks at me and crosses his arms, “Well, tell me the truth. I know you didn’t run away because classes were too difficult. You were doing well. Tell me the truth, and I won’t treat you like a child.”

“Alright, fine. No, it wasn’t because classes were too hard. The truth is that somebody in one of my classes was bothering me. I tried to ignore that person, but they kept insulting me, shoving me, pushing me around; they were relentless.”

I see Ivan’s face harden. “Who was it?” Ivan asks angrily.

“Ivan, you see, that’s why I didn’t want to tell you. If you go and discipline that person, she will seek revenge.”

“So, it’s a she? Who is she?” he asks.

I shake my head, "I can't."

"Elizabeth, tell me who she is, and I promise she will not seek revenge,” he says. I look down at the floor, and he begins to walk away.

“Lenna. It was Lenna,” I say, giving in.

Ivan places a hand on my shoulder, “Thank you for telling me. Don’t worry, she will not bother you anymore,” he says and pulls me in for a hug, "I’m sorry you went through that,” he says releasing me.

“Are you going to suspend her?”

“She will be disciplined but won’t face suspension,” he says.

“Okay, good. Thank you.”

“Well, I have to go. You, stay here.”

I just stare at him, watching him leave the room.