Chapter 20

Brittany was awakened by the chirping of birds that sat perched outside her window and a sliver of sun that crept its way into her slightly parted currents and beamed across her face. She rose from her bed and gave off a stretch, her hair wild and unruly. Even after her eight-hour slumber, she could not, for the life of her, shake her sister's absence. She tossed her comforters to the side and lazily slid from her bed and marched towards her bedroom door, where she was met by Eleanor who was doing the same.

Eleanor eyed her, and Brittany did the same. She gave a weak smile and hugged the blonde to her fullest. The thought that Jeanette couldn't share the moment was heart-shattering, so she latched onto her sister for as long as she possibly could before pulling away and grabbing her by her hand. She led her downstairs where the two made breakfast in silence.

"You know," Brittany finally broke the tense-filled aura. "Before I went to bed last night," she paused, heaving a heavy sigh, "I was thinking about what you said yesterday…"

Eleanor perked up, turning her head so fast, it whipped her own unruly hair over her tiny shoulders. "That we-"

"We should try to look for Jeanette."

A broad smile propped itself onto Eleanor's face as she turned back to her breakfast-making. "I'm glad we can talk about this, you know," she began with a smile, "without screaming and crying."

"Because that's not getting us anywhere," Brittany continued as she grabbed her bowl of cereal and made her way for the dining room table. Eleanor followed shortly after. "You're right." Brittany sat as Eleanor did so. "The people that should be helping us are brushing this off as some 'runaway' case instead of a 'missing persons' case."

Eleanor took a bite of her own cereal. "We need to be honest, though," she began softly. "Alvin runs away religiously. But…" she trailed off, gazing out the window onto the bright, sunny day, "this time? It's different!"

"Absolutely," Brittany agreed as she attempted to fix her hair. "Alvin runs away, but he always comes back after a day, no matter what!"

"Something just isn't right…"

"And we need to figure something out, and fast! We don't have much time!" Brittany took a final bite of her cereal and made her way for the kitchen sink. "But where do we start?"

Eleanor jumped herself into deep thought before heading her way to the kitchen as well. "Let's start with asking the neighbors again!" she suggested. "Of course, the police interviewed them, but they're worthless to us now!" Eleanor proclaimed. "We're no Sherlock Holmes, but we have to do this… for Jeanette and Alvin."

Brittany gave a single nod. "Let's get to it… Right now, no more talk, all action…"

7~7~7~7~7~7~7

Simon and Theodore groggily went about their day, in silence, waiting for the telephone to ring. At that point, any leads and information would be useful to them. Anything. Absolutely anything. They wanted their oldest brother back; they'd give anything just to hear his stupid jokes again. They'd give anything to hear his laugh, to be annoyed by his morning giddiness… they'd simply give anything to have him back by their side. Suddenly, they were startled by a knock at the front door, and without hesitation, the boys hastily scrambled towards the door with Simon reaching for the doorknob, twisting it effortlessly. He prayed it was Alvin and Jeanette on the other side, but he knew it was far-fetched that it would be them. He yanked the door open that produced a gust of wind to find Brittany and Eleanor, their faces brighter than usual.

Simon and Theodore released a sigh. "Wow! Didn't expect the two of you to be here!"

"And this early!" Theodore chimed in with wide eyes.

Brittany gave an innocent 'ha!' and placed a chunk of her hair behind her pierced ears. "You can say that again…"

The boys politely stepped aside to let the girls in, and they carefully did so. "What are you guys up to for today?" Theodore asked quietly as he led them into their kitchen area, offering them a seat in the kitchen's booth.

Upon sitting, Brittany and Eleanor eyed one another before Eleanor piped up. "We were talking this morning…"

"And?" Simon carried on, bringing the girls each a cup of coffee. They sipped generously.

"Let's forget about the investigators! Let's forget about the police!" Brittany suddenly blurted, standing tall to her feet. The others jumped in surprise. "We talked and… Eleanor's right! They're not helping because of Alvin's track record!" She huffed. "Sure, Alvin misses curfew faithfully. Sure, he runs away! But something is up; this time is completely different!"

Simon and Theodore glanced at one another. "That's undeniable," Simon agreed, "Alvin would be back by now if that were the case."

"And Jeanette," Theodore reminded swiftly, "She would never in a million years ever think to do this…"

They all sat in silence for a brief moment, individually contemplating their decision. They knew that this would be an extremely large leap; they all knew it would take some time; they weren't sure how much, but they knew they would do whatever it took to get the people they loved more in the world back home.

"It's settled," Simon finalized before gulping the rest of his coffee. "We find them ourselves… no matter what it takes…"

7~7~7~7~7~7~7

"Psst… Pssssst…"

The noise slowly stirred her awake, her weak vision looking for the culprit of such an annoying sound. Once what was left of her vision focused, from her bottom bunk, she gazed up to find a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Alvin hanging upside down from the top bunk of their shared bunk bed. She gasped in surprise. "Alvin!" she blurted.

"Sorry!" he called as he effortlessly flipped over the railings of his bunk, landing softly on his feet. "I could hardly sleep. It sucks to be here…"

Jeanette lazily pulled herself to a seated position and squinted her eyes to gaze at her alarm clock. "It's 6 am…" she reminded gently. "And it isn't my cup of tea to be here, either…"

The two were suddenly reminded of Jamien's presence, his subtle snoring being the culprit. "Did you sleep okay?" Alvin asked with wide eyes.

"Kind of," Jeanette replied as she reached for her glasses, only to have her hand slap the end table beside her bed. She almost forgot that she hadn't had her glasses for quite a while. She paused for the moment, heavily studying Alvin. "I can't believe they were… readily willing to put all three of us in a dorm."

"No kidding," he replied as he took a seat upon the cold floor. "But… something tells me it has something to do with my grandfather."

"Like… special treatment?"

"That's all I can think of…"

The night before, the newcomers were instructed to sleep in the specific dorms they were assigned. So many newcomers, it didn't make sense. Thousands of dorms? They truly didn't know; all they knew was that they were fresh faces among others, and that itself was not even comparable to their frightening first day as freshmen in high school way back when.

"Holy crap." Alvin paused as he hid his face in his hands, resting his elbows in his lap. "This is so confusing!" he exclaimed, his voice muffled. "We know nothing! I hate this!"

Suddenly, a harsh alarm that painfully pierced their ears sounded, making them cover their ears, and that noise startled Jamien from his slumber, having him jump in surprise and landing on the floor with a thud. "W-w-what the hell?!" he called aloud.

"Jeanette!" Alvin screamed over the alarm. "Whatever you do," he exclaimed as he pulled her to her weary feet. "Don't leave my side, not even for a second!"