Chapter Text
Fifteen rested her head against the windowsill. One-Hundred Six grabbed her wrist and pulled her down. She checked Fifteen up and down, then shook her wrist aggressively.
“What did I tell you about going up there? You could fall!”
“I know.” Fifteen pointed towards the pile of pillows and mattresses on the ground nearby. “That's why I put those there. You're always worried about me fallin', so I made sure it wouldn't hurt if I did.”
One-Hundred Six sighed. “Come on.” She pulled Fifteen along. “Dinner's done.”
“I don't like the way you cook. Your food tastes weird.”
She stopped walking, glaring at Fifteen. “Where did you learn to speak like that? Even so, I'm doing my best to take care of you. You best be grateful.”
She pulled Fifteen over to the table and seated her down in her usual spot. One-Hundred Six vanished into the kitchen. Fifteen looked back up to the window. It was a large triangle window, high off the ground. If she was the one who designed the house, she would've put a window like that within a room in the attic; it looked better than being in the living room. Fifteen sighed lightly.
“Where's Sixty-Seven?”
“I told you already, he left us. He couldn't handle you.”
“But what did I do? I hardly remember them.”
“Good.”
Fifteen kicked her legs in the chair as One-Hundred Six pulled out two plates of food. “Imagine if there was another room in here. We could move Sixty-Seven's stuff into the attic or something. And that window would work great. And-”
“Stop daydreaming. That gets you nothing. People only get things done when they work to do it. Now eat your dinner.”
Fifteen stirred the rice with her fork. One-Hundred Six ate in silence, not once looking at Fifteen. Fifteen watched, not eating, her until she eventually finished and left, taking the dishes with her. Fifteen waited until she was washing off the dishes, then hurried to her room with her plate.
She put the plate on her bed and forced the window open. Her room was on the second floor, it was a long way to the lawn. Fifteen grabbed the plate and spooned the food out the window. She carefully shut the window and returned to the table. She slid her plate onto the table, placing the fork in its proper place to show she finished, then went to One-Hundred Six's bedroom. She dug through the closet until she found the toolbox, then dragged it back into the living room. She climbed back up to the windowsill, pulling the toolbox with her. She pulled down a wooden plank leaning against the wall and lined it up to the edge of the window. She found the nails and dumped them onto the windowsill. She grabbed a nail and held it against the plank of wood. One-Hundred Six was using the wood to fix the fence. It could surely be used for something better than that.
One-Hundred Six entered the room and dropped the mug she was holding. “FIFTEEN! Get down from there! What do you think you're doing?!”
“You said that-”
“GET DOWN FROM THERE!”
Fifteen put the nails back, rested the board in its place, and jumped down. She landed on her prepared cushions. One-Hundred Six hurried to her and grabbed her by the wrist. She scolded Fifteen, but she simply toned her out. She'd heard it a million times. One-Hundred Six pulled Fifteen into her bedroom and told her to stay put. She slammed the door shut on the way out.
Fifteen exhaled. Alone at last.
She had to get herself in constant trouble in order for One-Hundred Six's constant watch to finally take a break. Fifteen wasn't allowed to do anything she wanted to do. She was only free at school and in her room. She flopped on her bed and covered herself head-to-toe in her blankets. She wanted One-Hundred Six to leave her alone, forever. It was only wishful thinking, though.
And she knew that.