Too Much

"Oh? Elaine, did you want some of the food left over from breakfast? I heard from Mrs. Verlin that you slept in, you must be starving!" One of the girls, who was holding a small dish of sausages, put on a sad expression.

"Lily, do you think it will be alright to give her some?" Turning to the other girl, who held a tray of toast, she asked in a voice that feigned concern.

"I suppose… But Mrs. Verlin did tell us not to give her breakfast this morning." Lily looked concerned over the matter, placing her hand on her cheek.

"Ah! I… I wouldn't say anything… please…" Elaine felt her stomach growl, and she eyed the food that was left on the dishes.

"Haah… Fine, Daphne, give her some sausages." Lily seemed to relent and lowered her hand, placing the tray down and picking up a plate to place the food upon.

Placing some food on the plate, Lily reached out to hand it to Elaine with a small smile on her face. "Here you go, Elaine. Just make sure to be quiet about this…"

However, right before the plate touched Elaine's hands, Lily released it, letting it fall to the floor and shatter loudly. Then, along with Daphne, she rushed to the other side of the room, near the door.

"Who on earth just broke that plate!? Lily, Daphne, what on earth are you doing in the kitchen, I told you both to clean up breakfast, not to-!" Only seconds after the two girls arrived at the other side of the room, Mrs. Verlin stormed in through the doorway, coming across the sight of Lily and Daphne staring at Elaine from across the room.

Elaine had already bent down to start picking up the pieces of the plate in a panic but froze when Mrs. Verlin entered the room.

"M-Mrs. Verlin… I… This isn't-" She attempted to stutter out an excuse, but Mrs. Verlin wasn't interested in learning what actually happened.

"Oh. Well, why am I not surprised." Her voice was chilly as she looked down at Elaine. "You think that a troublemaking brat like you should get breakfast? Miss Elaine, you need to learn some propriety."

Turning to look at Lily and Daphne, she spoke with a much softer tone. "Girls, don't worry about that dish, go help your sisters with their chores. Since this brat wants to make trouble for you, she can do your chores today as well."

"Ah… But Mrs. Verlin, shouldn't we at least help her pick up the dish?" Daphne asked in a voice that feigned concern as she looked over at Elaine.

"Hmph. No, you do not need to worry. Go on, you two should go help your sisters." Mrs. Verlin shook her head with a light smile, shooing the two girls out of the kitchen. Before they left, Elaine saw them look back at her with wicked smiles on their faces.

"As for you… Clean up this mess. You won't be getting lunch today, either." The warm Mrs. Verlin from earlier disappeared the moment the two girls were gone, and she marched over to Elaine. "After this is cleaned, you can spend the day washing the floors and the toilets. I expect them to be sparkling by dinner, otherwise, you'll be going to bed hungry tonight!"

Before she made her way out of the door, Mrs. Verlin stepped on the food on the ground, leaving Elaine to sit there in silence, as she stared at the broken plate and mashed up, dirty food.

"Haah…" Elaine went over to the corner of the kitchen with a sigh, picking up the broom and sweeping up the mess. In the past, when things like this happened, she used to feel aggrieved, frustrated that she wasn't able to explain herself. Now, though, she was silent, her mood melancholy.

After she cleaned up the broken plate, she filled an old and rusty pail with water and grabbed a rag from under the sink.

"I'll get the bathrooms done first. I hate those things, I hope they aren't that dirty today…" As she walked down the hallway, she murmured to herself quietly. Unknown to her, though, several pairs of eyes were watching her from behind one of the many doors along the hall.

"Haha, so you really made her have to do all of your chores?"

"Yeah! It was so easy, too! She really never learns, what an idiot."

Lily and Daphne had found 3 other girls and brought them along to mock Elaine. They all watched from behind the door, their eyes filled with ridicule, when Lily's eyes narrowed on the bucket Elaine was carrying.

"Guys! I have an idea. Someone grab a bucket of water and follow me outside!"

Lily then led the girls away, and Elaine entered the bathroom to start her work. It was a typical communal bathroom, with 3 showers covered by curtains, and 3 toilets. The curtains were lined with mold and stains, and the toilets were old and rusty.

Elaine first entered one of the toilet stalls and began to wipe away the disgusting filth and grime which coated the seat.

"Ugh… Disgusting. How can they let them get this gross?" Elaine hadn't had to clean the bathrooms in around 2 months, but she felt as though that may have been the last time they were cleaned. The rag had to be washed in the bucket of water 4 times before the toilet began to look somewhat clean.

However, when Elaine had to turn her attention to the floor, she felt like vomiting. There was a puddle of old, murky, gray water behind the toilet.

Gritting her teeth, she was just about to begin to mop it up with the damp rag in her hands but was distracted by the sound of the bathroom door opening. She was currently inside of a stall, with the door closed shut to prevent anyone from bothering her, but she could still hear the sound of footsteps and giggles, which belonged to at least 4 girls.

'Do they not have anything to do? Are they here to bother me or mess with the toilets?' Elaine thought to herself quietly, but she ultimately decided to ignore the girls.

If they really wanted to make her work harder, she didn't want to bother with them. The only thing that would come from it was more ruthless harassment by these girls. Silently, she wished that they could just leave her alone for even a moment.

'Eh? Why are they so quiet all of a sudden? What happened?' Suddenly, Elaine realized that the bathroom had gone silent. None of the girls were whispering anymore, and she felt someone looking at her from somewhere, giving her chills down her back.

Although she knew that something was wrong, Elaine still lifted her head to take a look and saw the water as it came down on top of her.

"Splash!" Before she could react, a wave of cold water, mixed with mud, splattered over her body, leaving her blinded and knocking her to the ground.

"Haha! Look at her! That was great!"

"Hmph! Serves her right, trying to get Lily and Daphne into trouble."

"Hey, Elaine! We thought we'd help you out with cleaning the toilets! I'm so sorry, we didn't check to see if you were there first, though."

Cruel voices from outside of the stall caused Elaine to feel cold. She was lying in a puddle of muddy water, which mixed in with the disgusting water that already coated the bathroom floor.

Elaine didn't respond to their taunts, though, and instead felt something new within her. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. The hunger, the bullying, the cold, the disgusting feeling of dirty water soaking into her clothes and hair, and the pain from being lashed nearly every morning. It was just too much.

At this time, she felt heat well in her eyes, as tears began to flow down her face. On the back of her left hand, a dim light began to glow, sending an unnoticeable warm current throughout her body.