“NaNoWriMo 2020 Pt. 20”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Additional note: In honour of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), all 30 stories written in the month of November will (hopefully) create a single multi-part story that will reach its conclusion by the end of the month. Stay tuned for a new story part every day!

Read the compiled NaNoWriMo TTtW story here!

MASON’S POV

I’m absolutely exhausted by the time we’ve finished the first room. And apparently, there are four more rooms to cover before we finish for the day.

Maddie seems to love to talk literally all the time, but she never really seems to say anything important. I tried to get her to tell me more about this Garden that we supposedly live in, but she keeps avoiding my questions. In the end, I just give up.

I grab all the cleaning supplies and drag them toward the elevator. The elevator arrives and the doors slide open to reveal a tall, dark-haired dude in a uniform identical to mine steps out.

“Hey Ryan,” Maddie says. I detect a hint of bitterness in her tone. “Enjoying the new job?”

“Maddie,” Ryan says, his voice short. His eyes flicker over me and a chill goes down my spine. I’ve decided: I don’t like this guy.

He continues striding down the hallway, his head lifted as if he owns the place.

Maddie rolls her eyes and helps me load all our equipment into the elevator. When the doors slide closed, I turn to her.

“Okay, what was that?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh come on,” I say with a sigh. “You haven’t told me anything all morning, so I think I deserve to know this one little thing.”

She just glares at me in response.

“Okay, fine, I get it,” I grumble.

I spend the rest of the day in complete silence, not even bothering to answer Maddie’s questions.

Finally, we’re finished cleaning the rooms. She brings me down to my new room, which I’m apparently sharing with three other boys.

“You’re allowed to wander around the lower two floors,” Maddie says. It sounds like she’s forcing herself to keep sounding upbeat now. I guess that Ryan guy really upset her. “The doors to the upper floors are locked anyway, so just don’t break any of them down and you should be fine.”

I can’t resist asking, “Why can’t we go up? We were literally just cleaning rooms up there.”

She just gives me another uncomfortably forced smile before darting out the door and leaving me alone.

I sigh and take a moment to use the bathroom before going out to explore. It takes me a few wrong turns, but I eventually find my way outside.

Unfortunately, Maddie’s there. She’s changed out of her uniform and has her back to me. The wind blows through her hair and she stands near the railing, just looking out over the ocean.

I’m about to head back inside when I hear a quiet, but recognizable, sound. I hesitate for a moment before deciding to leave her alone. After all, I don’t know her nearly well enough to ask her why she’s crying.

Final Comments: It’s getting hard to piece these story parts together and incorporate the prompts at the same time.

Overall Rating: 😖