Luna's Descent

Today sucks

Ruby woke up to the sound of her alarm this time, not the dreaded recurrence of her usual nightmares. For the first time in what felt like weeks, she wasn’t gasping for breath, heart pounding, or coated in cold sweat. Instead, she felt almost... normal.

"That's strange," she muttered to herself, stretching her arms above her head. "Am I suddenly free from that nightmarish sickness?"

The nightmares had plagued her for so long now, vivid images of shadows, whispers, and flashing eyes haunting her every night. But today was different. Today, she woke up feeling like herself again.

Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts aside and stood up, starting her morning routine. A quick shower to wake her senses, brushing her teeth while humming a song stuck in her head, and finally running a comb through her slightly tangled hair. She felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Maybe the nightmares were finally behind her.

As she got dressed and prepared for school, she grabbed her phone off the bedside table. Her eyes scanned her notifications, but there were still no messages from Jeremy or Mitchell.

"Well, I guess I’ll find out what's going on today in school," she sighed.

Just as she was about to drop her phone and head downstairs, a message pinged in from Mitchell.

"I won’t be in school today," it read. "Remember I told you I wasn’t feeling well? You don’t have to come and check on me, I’m going out with mom later."

Ruby frowned slightly but quickly typed back, "Okay, take care of yourself. Love you!" She added a peck emoji for good measure.

Concern gnawed at her a little. Mitchell was her best friend, and even though she had mentioned not feeling well the day before, Ruby hadn’t thought it was serious enough to miss school. Still, if Mitchell said she was going out with her mom, it probably wasn’t that bad. Right?

Next, Ruby opened her messages to Jeremy, her boyfriend, and quickly typed, "Hey babe, what’s up? I haven’t heard from you since this morning."

With that sent, she put her phone down and headed downstairs, the smell of bacon and eggs already wafting through the house. Her parents were at the table, her dad with his nose in the morning newspaper and her mom sipping coffee.

“Morning, sweetie,” her mom greeted as Ruby slid into her seat. “You’re looking more rested today.”

“I guess I am,” Ruby said, glancing up with a small smile. “No nightmares.”

“Well, that’s good news! Maybe you’ll finally be able to focus in class today,” her dad teased from behind his paper.

“Dad!” Ruby groaned, rolling her eyes but smiling. “I focus... sometimes.”

“Sure you do,” her mom laughed, passing her a plate. “You’ll do fine on that math test today, right?”

Ruby’s stomach twisted at the mention of the test. "Uh... yeah, about that..."

Her dad lowered the paper with a mock-serious look. "You didn't study, did you?, you should have at least studied in school before fainting"

Ruby shrugged, laughing nervously. "Dad have some pity and yeah I mean... I studied a little?"

Her parents shared an amused glance before Ruby finished her breakfast quickly, Ruby hesitated at the kitchen doorway, her backpack slung over one shoulder. She watched her parents exchange a glance, and it made her pause. Something felt... off. Her mom and dad had been acting strange since yesterday.

"Umm, Mom, Dad," Ruby started cautiously, "about yesterday... is there something you want to tell me?"

Her mom raised her eyebrows, sipping her coffee a little too quickly before placing the mug down. "Umm, yeah, something... but it’s not so serious. We’ll talk about it when you come back from school, okay?"

Ruby crossed her arms, not convinced. "Really, Mom? Dad? C’mon, what are you both hiding?"

Her dad smiled but kept his gaze on his tea. "Sweetie, like your mom said, we’ll talk when you’re back. It's nothing big, promise."

Ruby narrowed her eyes playfully, tilting her head in suspicion. "Okay, fine, whatever you say. As long as it's not—" She paused for dramatic effect. "—Mom, you’re pregnant, right?"

The reaction was immediate.

"What?" her mom sputtered, spitting coffee back into her mug.

Her dad, mid-sip, choked on his tea, coughing loudly.

Ruby burst out laughing at the chaos she caused. "I’m kidding, I’m kidding!"

"Heyyy! Start going to school!" her mom managed to say through her flustered state, waving her hand toward the door.

Ruby grinned, grabbing her backpack and backing out of the kitchen. "Okay, okay, I’m going! Bye!"

As she left the house, her laughter still echoed behind her.

Once she arrived at school, her eyes immediately searched for Jeremy. She spotted him standing by his locker, looking a little more tired than usual. His brown hair was ruffled, and he was leaning casually against the lockers, chatting with some of his friends. She walked over and greeted him with a kiss.

"Why weren’t you replying to my text?" she asked, pulling back to study his face.

He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry about that. After practice yesterday, the guys wanted to grab a drink, so... you know... I was kind of wasted by the time I got home.”

"Wasted?" Ruby repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, you know how they are,” he said, chuckling as he pecked her cheek. “I’m sorry, babe. I’ll text you later, okay? Gotta go see the coach now.” He gave her another quick kiss before walking away with a wave.

"Bye," she said softly, watching him leave.

Ruby sighed, feeling a bit frustrated but not wanting to overthink it. Jeremy always seemed to get distracted by his friends and practice. She wished he’d put a little more effort into their relationship, but she didn’t want to seem clingy either.

When she got to class, her worries about Jeremy were quickly replaced by another pressing issue: the dreaded math test.

"Gosh, I really didn’t study enough for this," Ruby muttered to herself as she slipped into her seat. Without Mitchell around to review notes with her, she felt more unprepared than usual.

As the math teacher, Mrs. Stella, entered the room, Ruby sat up straighter, trying to focus.

"Ruby," Mrs. Stella said as she made her way to the front of the class. "Where’s Mitchell?"

"She’s not feeling well," Ruby replied.

"Oh really?" Mrs. Stella raised an eyebrow. "She didn’t call in sick."

"She probably forgot," Ruby said with a nervous smile, hoping to cover for her friend.

“Forgot?” Mrs. Stella folded her arms. “Or is she trying to avoid my test?”

Ruby’s stomach dropped. "No, no, she’s really sick," Ruby said quickly. "She’s going out with her mom later, though, so maybe it’s not too bad."

Mrs. Stella eyed Ruby suspiciously before speaking again. “Well, make sure to relay my message to her. Tell her if she’s really sick, she needs to call in. Otherwise, she’ll be getting a zero for this test.”

"Yes, Mrs. Stella," Ruby said, forcing a smile.

As the test began, Ruby looked down at the math questions, her mind already spinning. She groaned inwardly, realizing just how much she hadn’t prepared for this.

"Goshhh, what the heck is this?" she whispered under her breath, staring at the first question. She knew the basics but the more advanced problems looked like a foreign language. She sighed and scribbled down whatever she could, praying for at least a few points.

By the time she handed in her paper, Ruby was exhausted. With Mitchell out and Jeremy wrapped up in his own world, she couldn’t help but feel a bit disconnected from everything. As she packed up her things and prepared for the rest of the day,