Peter Pantomime

Ominous Foreshadowing

Stomping into the garden, Gwen sat down and stared up at her bedroom window on the third floor from below. Well, it wasn't really her bedroom, it was technically the dormitory and therefore not hers alone. Annoyed, she plucked restlessly at some of the grass, pulling up small bundles of it then throwing it so that it scattered around in the faint wind.

It isn't my fault that I don't know what to do with my free time, I've spent so much of my life constantly doing one thing or another, Gwen muttered.

She then heard faint voices chattering. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed a group of children at the doorway that opened out onto the garden. Scoffing, she stood up and quickly found a hiding place. Crouching behind an old fountain that no longer worked, she waited for them to give up on looking for her then returned to her usual spot in the grass.

"Gwennie?" A small voice piped up.

Startled, Gwen froze slightly, then looked over her shoulder. It was the little girl whose hair she had tied up with a ribbon days ago, standing expectantly behind her.

"Oh, Elizabeth, you scared me. How are you? Are you doing alright?"

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes. "Matron said to come fetch you for something. I had a really bad dream last night. It was really scary."

"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry," Gwen murmured, hugging her gently. "What happened?"

"Well, there was this boy who asked me if I saw someone, and I said no, so he got very mad," the little girl sniffled. "And then it started raining and-"

A thundercloud faintly rumbled in the distance. Gwen blinked and stood up, keeping her hand on the little girl's shoulder.

"Why don't we go back inside? It looks like there might just be a storm soon, and you don't have a coat on right now." The little girl nodded obediently and followed her back inside. Glancing around, Gwen helped the girl take off her shoes and laid them neatly in the parlor among the various other pairs. "What were you saying, dear?"

"He got mad and said that he'd have to ask around," Elizabeth sniffed, wiping her nose on her skirt. Gwen offered her a handkerchief and, leaving her to her own devices, decided to look around. Just then, a girl with her long hair in two braids glanced around a corner and saw her.

"Hey, everyone! Gwennie's back!" the girl called, running over to her. "Gwennie, Matron says to go put on your best Sunday dress."

"Alright, I will," Gwen forced a smile, internally dreading the loud crowd of children waiting for her in the dining room.

"You know, you don't look awful happy about this. Why is that?"

"Oh, nothing," Gwen pretended to yawn. "Just a little sleepy."

"Well, nothing to be sleepy about," Martha put an arm around her and began to vigorously escort her towards the girls' dormitory. "Hurry!"

What a bore, Gwen thought to herself, trying to remember which dress was meant for church Sundays.