Something was wrong. She could feel it once everyone was together. Aside from Adelie, the rest of them all seemed to be keeping something dark within them. She couldn’t be sure what it was for any of the group, but for Stella, it was that building feeling of dread with each reoccurrence of that dream.
That dream? Since when could dreams she couldn’t even remember be one cohesive thing? All she consciously knew was that, over the summer, she’d been waking up more frequently with an impending sense of dread and fear. Were her dreams visions of the future? A chill wound its way along her spine at the thought. If that was the case, why couldn’t she remember anything about it? Wouldn’t she have something more than a mere feeling? No, it probably wasn’t a prophecy then. Maybe they were just regular nightmares, and she was attributing more to them than was actually true.
Something’s wrong… I don’t know what it is…
Stella’s eyes darted to Zef at her side. Her brow creased. He was looking at Calvin as if the Ravenclaw would have an understanding of the cryptic words, but while the Hufflepuff couldn’t know what he meant specifically… “I feel it, too.” Her words were barely more than a whisper, and with Adelie, Calvin, and Rin all sitting farther away than Zef, the Slytherin may have been the only person who could hear her.
Maybe it was for the best. Adelie had always been skeptical about Stella’s sixth sense, and it was better not to get into another argument about what was real or imaginary, especially when she didn’t have any substantial proof to give. She didn’t want to make things worse for any of them by starting a fight that no one could win.
Thankfully, the tea trolley came to not only signal the halfway point with the pleasant, albeit ancient, trolley witch offering her wares. “Can you make that five waters, please? Thank you!” Even if they didn’t want it, Stella wanted to make sure that she and Rin weren’t the only ones who stayed hydrated on this trip. She hadn’t seen any of them eat or drink anything yet, and despite the impending sense that something was off, it would be easier to face if they had energy and clear heads.
When the trolley witch left and when Rin pulled Adelie outside, she grabbed her bag from the overhead compartment and opened it up. She didn’t want the silence without the other two girls to become too thick, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to give anyone an opportunity to question what she’d said just before the tea trolley had come in.
This was the prime opportunity to peruse the food her father had given them, as she hadn’t really bothered to look to see what it was. Now, she pulled out seven, little, plastic containers, opening one up to see what they had. “So, my dad made friends with our new neighbor, and she made him some food for when I’m gone, but it was a lot of food for one person. He gave me the rest to divide between the five of us. How do you feel about vegetarian quiche?” In the sixth container were utensils and napkins, but in the last and largest container were five sandwiches. Her father must have put them together – one of the few things he could make due to the lack of cooking it required – just in case quiche wasn’t their thing. “Or sandwiches with meat?” She stuck a sandwich in each container and passed one each with napkins and forks to Calvin and Zef.
The girls weren’t long returning, and it was obvious from the redness around Rin’s swollen eyes that she’d been crying, but her demeanor belied any sadness at all. Before she could offer sandwiches, Rin told them all something that twisted at Stella’s heart. She couldn’t imagine growing up in an abusive home because her parents had both been so loving and attentive. Her father was a stark contrast to Rin’s. Tadlo easily could have blamed Stella for her mother’s death, but he hadn’t. Rin’s father, on the other hand, had a lot of blame in his heart over something that Rin had less control over.
Words of sympathy were on the tip of her tongue when the Gryffindor chastised her knowingly. Stella rethought what she would say. She grinned “Okay. I get it. How about some food instead of sympathy?” She offered, leaning around Zef to give Rin a container before leaning across the aisle to give Rin hers. “Quiche from our neighbor who can cook and sandwiches from my dad who can’t.” She chuckled softly. They’d been to her home before, so they’d all suffered through at least one attempt on her father’s part to cook a meal. Sandwiches were kind of his go-to when all else failed.
The sudden joy Rin now exhibited seemed to rejuvenate the train compartment for bit. She really did know how to make everyone feel happier. With half of them feeling better, Stella could forget any unease she may have been felt… for now.