FPE Impetus AU: Grading

It's the middle of the night. Biscuit had just prepared to go back to sleep. He's about to enter his room until - *knock, knock, knock* *Biscuit opens the door. * Engel: H- Biscuit: Engel!? *Biscuit hugs Engel. * Biscuit: What're you doing here? Engel: That conversation we had earlier convinced me that I shouldn't be there. I decided to leave. Biscuit: Thank you. But why are you here in person? Why not call? Engel: Well, I kind of was hoping that I could maybe stay with you. I haven't been eager to look at my phone. Sorry for not answering your calls. Biscuit: Of course! There aren't any other rooms, ... but I do have a bean bag chair. Engel: That's fine. Also, *Engel pulls out a rubber duck from his bag * Bubble's Rubber Duck: *Quack* Biscuit: Awww, who's this little guy? Engel: This was Bubble's pet. You saw them before, remember? Biscuit: Ooops. Sorry. Let me get the chair and you'll be able to sleep. *Engel sits on the floor. Bubble's pet duck looks at him. * Engel: Should I have stayed? *Bubble's Pet Duck looks confused. They look to the side while trying to think of what to say. They tilt their head to the side in an attempt to show how they don't know. * Engel: ... *sighs* *Engel takes out a piece of paper and starts writing on it. He needs to figure out what he should say to Claire's mom. *   First draft: "Hello Dr. Alexa. I failed. I couldn't - "   "No, that's too dramatic. "   Second draft: "Claire died while at school. I'm sorry. "   "I think this'll work. I need to elaborate on my apology."   Third Draft: "Claire Died while at school. I tried to save her, but I failed. I'm sorry I couldn't keep her safe. I understand if you're angry with me. "   "Perfect"   *It isn't. Not to him. A short apology that doesn't explain why this all happened. It's not good enough. * Biscuit: I'm back. *Biscuit place the beanbag chair onto the floor. * Is this all you need? Engel: Yea- Actually, could get something for Bubbe's pet to rest on? Biscuit: I have an extra pillow they could use. *A few minutes later. * Here! *Biscuit places the pillow down and Bubble's pet duck rests on it. * Engel: Thanks. Biscuit: So, how long do you plan on staying? Engel: I'm not sure. If there's anything I could do to stay here for good, I can do that. Biscuit: I'll need to think about that. For now, just make sure to not break anything. Engel: Yes, Biscuit. Biscuit: Night. *Biscuit leaves * *Engel lies on the beanbag chair. All he can think? * "I failed. I fa- . ... I should've tried harder. I should've stayed back for Abbie. Lana would've been safe then. I should've paid more attention to Skell. I should've been able to notice Kevin leaving. I should've tried to help Robby. I should've been able to save Bubble. I should've been able to save Claire. " "I ran away." "Like a coward." "Cubbie and Oliver/K were right." "I gave up on them." *...* *The next day: Tuesday. * ???: Wake up, Engel. Engel: *Grunts* huh, w- Biscuit: It's 10:00 AM. Your breakfast is getting cold. Engel: Sorry. You made me breakfast? Biscuit: Sure. I've been pretty interested in cooking and backing. I made you- sorry, us, pancakes. *Biscuit hands Engel a plate with a stack of pancakes on it. * I also made you this. *Biscuit places a bag of cookies next to Engel. * Once you finish, I'd like to talk about what you can do to stay. Make sure to tell me what you think about the food. *Engel cuts a piece of the pancake and takes a bite. ... It's good. Really good. He starts eating the whole thing. The cookies taste even better. He goes to the kitchen and Biscuit is there. Engel throws away the bag and puts the plate into the sink. * Biscuit: How was the food? Engel: It was great. I haven't eaten anything like that. Biscuit: That's perfect. So, now we can talk about the living situation. I'm fine with you being here, but I don't think I can support me and you at the same time. I'd like it if you could get a job or something. And I'd like for you to clean up the place from time to time. That okay? Engel: Sure. I'll try to find one after I talk to Claire's mom. Biscuit: oh ... okay. *Engel exits and goes to the bus stop. The drive lasts and hour, but when he exits, he walks far into a forest, out of sight of anyone else. It takes hours of walking to get to the lab. Engel waves at the camera. After a few minutes, the door opens, reveling Dr. Alexa behind it. * Dr. Alexa: Hello Engel. Why are you here? Engel: *Engel breathes in and breathes out. * I need to talk about Claire. Something happened. Dr. Alexa: Go one. Engel: ... Claire ... d- died while at school. I tried saving her, but I couldn't. I'm sorry I wa- Dr. Alexa: What exactly happened? Engel: ... At the school, she somehow failed all of her tests. The teachers tried to kill her, but I stopped one of them from killing her. I got knocked out and when I woke up, she was killed in front of the exit door. Claire opened ∆lice's door because Oliver/K taped an exit sign onto it, and ∆lice killed her. Dr. Alexa: ... Oliver/K? Engel: yes? Dr. Alexa: They were s- ... i - *Dr. Alexa starts tearing up but wipes the tears away. * It's not your fault Engel. If anything, its mine. I'm sorry the operation we put you through didn't succeed. Engel: *Engel starts tearing up as well. * I ... I need to g- Dr. Alexa: Why didn't call me about this? Engel: ... I was scared that you be mad at me. Dr. Alexa: I'm not. Engel: I need to - before I go, could I say hi to the others? Dr. Alexa: Kevin, Ruby, and Emily are the only ones still here right now. Well, there the only ones who are awake. Engel: Alsi? Dr. Alexa: She wants to be alone. Engel: Joy? Dr. Alexa: He left. He's engaging in a different profession.  Dr. Alexa: I guess you can enter. *Engel enters the lab. As they walk, he notices the room that he used to be in. Was it better there? Sometimes it was lonely. It hurt when experiments happened. But, he had them. He had friends. He felt like he was safe. I-* ???: Hi, Engel! *Engel is wrapped in a hug by a giant black cat-like creature with three eyes. * Engel: Hi Emily. *Emily was around the same age he and Claire were. She's the only one who he could really talk with. Especially after ... * Emily: It's been sooo long since you talked. Where have you been? Engel: I've just been at school. Is Ginner getting better? Emily: A little. Do you think I could go to school with you? I'd like to meet new people. Engel: uhhh, I kind of left school for now. Dr. Alexa (Internally): That must be why he's here on a school day. *Dr. Alexa starts speaking out loud. * I'll get Kevin. *Dr. Alexa leaves. * Emily: How has school been going anyway? Engel: Not well. Emily: What happened? Engel: Do you remember Claire? Emily: Dr. Alexa's daughter? I guess I remember you mentioning her. Is she okay? Engel: She's gone. So is my friend Bubble. Emily: awww. I'm sorry for your loss. Here! *Emily hands over ... a teddy bear. * It made me feel better. May- Engel: No thanks. I don't really like those things. Thanks for offering. Emily: I tried. So, you haven't been here in a while, so has anything happened with that whole operation? Engel: My arms turned black again. I guess I'm a little stronger, but I think that's just because I'm older. Why are you asking? Emily: I've heard that Dr. Alexa has been hoping to run more tests since F.E.N. and that one girl left - Kevin: Hi, Engel. *Engel turns around to see Kevin. The leaf ears and tail have multiplied, although, his height hasn't increased by much. * Engel: Hi. It's been - Kevin: A long time. I know. Engel: What have you been doing here? Kevin: I've been trying out for being Dr. Alexa's lab assistant like Joy was. Well, after I get a degree and stuff. Engel: That's nice. Have you made any friends outside of here? Kevin: Well ... I guess not. Engel: Hey, Emily, you mentioned a girl was here. Emily: yeah. So, Dr. Alexa made this creature in the lab. Dr. Alexa said it was failure and she ran away. Dr. Alexa could've gone after her, but she didn't care to try. Kevin: You're such a snitch. Emily: I'm just trying to keep him up to date on what's been going on. Engel, you said you were leaving school, where are you going to live? Engel: A friend is letting me stay with them. Emily: Aren't all of your friends dead? Engel: Well, I made a few new ones since I left. Emily: Can I meet them? Engel: Maybe later. I kind of want to get settled and warn them first. Emily: Warn them? Engel: I phrased that wrong. Sorry. I promise you'll meet them soon.  Emily: Fine. Kevin, y- Kevin: I don't know. I'd rather keep on helping Dr. Alexa. Engel: Alright. See ya later. Emily and Kevin: Bye! *Engel exits the lab, returning to Biscuit's home. Biscuit opens the door. * Biscuit: Glad you're back. Engel: yeah. I'll clean the dishes, alright. Biscuit: Sure. *Engel turns on the water and starts cleaning the dishes. * Engel: So, what job do you think I could get? Biscuit: Well, there's a gas station. It's the closest thing here. It'll cost the least if you use the bus. Engel: *sighs* I wish MoeMoe could help. Biscuit: I do as well. They were a good cat. Engel: Isn't it a little weird to say that? Biscuit: I don't really care. You know that I'm referring to those bipedal cats. Engel: *chuckle* Yeah, I get it. Has Anova been okay? Biscuit: She's okay. The mental hospital hasn't been bad from what she's told me. I still haven't told her about Claire. Engel: ... How do you think we should? Biscuit: I don't think we should until she's completely stable. Engel: Wait. I forgot about visiting her. Biscuit: It's okay. We'll be able to visit next time. *Engel finishes cleaning the dishes and goes back to sleep. *