SPARK // Enoch O'Connor

chapter 3: Resfeber

I looked like a dead woman.

My brown hair was tangled and matted down in many places, making my hair look like some sort of bird's nest. My forehead had a piece of gauze resting on it, probably covering some stitches I had needed. My eyes were sunken into my skull and my brown eyes were almost black. I had chapped lips and a bruised cheek. My arms and legs were decorated with cuts and scrapes, only a few being deep, and my nails were stuffed with sand. The only cleanliness aspect about my disturbing appearance was the soft, yellow dress Miss Peregrine lended me. There were pretty designs made from white lace that wrapped around both sides of the some-what loose dress. The v-neck flattered my disheveled face, and the ruffled sleeves brought some sort of happiness to my depressing appearance. It's strange, I thought. How I could look so right but so wrong at the same time.

I found a scrunchy hair tie resting atop a small table beside the long mirror. I took it gladly, and wrestled my disgusting hair up into a high ponytail. As my fingers brushed my hair up into the hair tie, sand and dried blood made their way to the floor beneath me. It was gross, but I couldn't care less at the moment. I was starving.

Making my way out of the bedroom's door and into the hallway, a sweet smell of apples danced through my nostrils. I noticed the placement of this bedroom. The end of the hallway was to my right, and had quite a few rooms. To my left were a couple more rooms and another hallway leading into a larger room-most likely Miss Peregrine's. I stepped out into the hallway and started walking towards the left, where stairs were visible. As I got to the top of the stairs, I took a small break before making my way down. The pain was excruciating. I kept going though, determined to fulfill the one wish Miss Peregrine asked of me. I gripped the railing tightly as I lowered myself down each step. As I got closer to the bottom-with some small breaks in between-I could hear light chatter and the passing of plates. The aroma of apple was so poignant and sweet that my mouth began to water and my stomach growled.

Once I reached the bottom step, I followed the sound of many voices into a room filled with many people. As soon as I glanced into the room, everyone stopped talking. They stared at me. My eyes darted around the room in a panic. Being the center of attention made me anxious. I couldn't have them all looking at me. I started to turned around and walk away, bumping into someone during my escape. I gasped, not hurt, but shocked at the unexpected touch. Tripping on the way to the impact, I found myself in their arms of a muscular boy.

"S-sorry," I stuttered.

He gently pushed me off of him, "Watch it."

I clenched my jaw and watched him enter the dining room, everyone looking at me. Once again.

"Enoch, be nice," a girl muttered. She was about thirteen I would say, and stood next to an older boy. They looked like they could be siblings.

Emma made her way over to me.

"Ignore Enoch, he's a bit grumpy," she whispered. Enoch shot her a slight glare, but continued into the dining room and sat down. I let out a small laugh and followed Emma into the room. I stood at the entrance, uncomfortable, and watched them all sit down in their chairs. There was only one empty chair, and I assumed that to be Miss Peregrine's. I shifted from foot to foot and looked at Emma for help.

"Oh," she started, "Miss Peregrine is fetching you a chair. You can sit next to me when she returns if you would like like."

I smiled gratefully and leaned against the doorway. Miss Peregrine soon entered behind me with a light-brown chair in her grasp.