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Jada had added a new ritual to her day, and that ritual had been to go see Audrey. Her free exercise time was often spent staring in a window, seeing Audrey's room full to overflowing with all of the people who loved her. Jada stood outside it all much of the time, out of respect for the others; If anyone could get her to say it, it would come out that in part it was because inside the room she was struck with the terrifying reality that this could be her friend's deathbed. Another friend, stolen away by inexplicable violence. Another friend, this time someone she would happily take a bullet for without hesitation. Not a token friend, but a true friend.

This place did not share the feeling of the coma ward where Jada had been comfortable and at peace, no, Audrey was surrounded by strangers, and Jada didn't fit in along with them. Still, she got her moments alone with her, though they were precious and few. It was in those moments that she lowered her voice even more, and whispered to Audrey. All the little things in her life. All the things Audrey missed during the day, telling her about lunch and her classes. Jada knew she wasn't the only one. How could she be?

Audrey had told her once that she loved Daisies. So while the room was filled with roses and mini bouquets from friends, Jada had chosen daisies. They almost lined the walls, on every available surface, and still nobody had told her to stop sending them, but she had. As each group died, another replaced it, so that when Audrey woke up, she would wake up to something beautiful. With their luck, Audrey would wake up in one of those rare moments that someone was outside, and think she'd been left alone, or forgotten, or...

Ah, well.

Today, she tossed her bag down in a chair and sat down on the edge of her friend's bed, opposite the blonde who never left her side, kicking off her high heels. "Good afternoon." she said to both of them, and got the silence she was expecting as response to her chipperness. "I've got a story to tell you today, Audrey." She cleared her throat, eying the door to see if anyone else was going to come in. When no one did, she started her tale.

= = =

...… Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl, the prettiest creature who was ever seen. Her mother was excessively fond of her; and her grandmother doted on her still more. This good woman had a little red riding hood made for her. It suited the girl so extremely well that everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood. One day her mother, having made some cakes, said to her, "Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother is doing, for I hear she has been very ill. Take her a cake, and this little pot of butter." Little Red Riding Hood set out immediately to go to her grandmother, who lived in another village.

...… As she was going through the wood, she met with a wolf, who had a very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not, because of some woodcutters working nearby in the forest. He asked her where she was going. The poor child, who did not know that it was dangerous to stay and talk to a wolf, said to him, "I am going to see my grandmother and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother."

...… "Does she live far off?" asked the wolf.

...… "Oh I say," answered Little Red Riding Hood; "it is beyond that mill you see there, at the first house in the village."

...… "Well," said the wolf, "and I'll go and see her too. I'll go this way and go you that, and we shall see who will be there first." The wolf ran as fast as he could, taking the shortest path, and the little girl took a roundabout way, entertaining herself by gathering nuts, running after butterflies, and gathering bouquets of little flowers. It was not long before the wolf arrived at the old woman's house. He knocked at the door: tap, tap.

...… "Who's there?"

...… "Your grandchild, Little Red Riding Hood," replied the wolf, counterfeiting her voice; "who has brought you a cake and a little pot of butter sent you by mother."

...… The good grandmother, who was in bed, because she was somewhat ill, cried out, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up." The wolf pulled the bobbin, and the door opened, and then he immediately fell upon the good woman and ate her up in a moment, for it been more than three days since he had eaten. He then shut the door and got into the grandmother's bed, expecting Little Red Riding Hood, who came some time afterwards and knocked at the door: tap, tap.

...… "Who's there?"

...… Little Red Riding Hood, hearing the big voice of the wolf, was at first afraid; but believing her grandmother had a cold and was hoarse, answered, "It is your grandchild Little Red Riding Hood, who has brought you a cake and a little pot of butter mother sends you."

...… The wolf cried out to her, softening his voice as much as he could, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up." ...… Little Red Riding Hood pulled the bobbin, and the door opened.

...… The wolf, seeing her come in, said to her, hiding himself under the bedclothes, "Put the cake and the little pot of butter upon the stool, and come get into bed with me."

...… Little Red Riding Hood took off her clothes and got into bed. She was greatly amazed to see how her grandmother looked in her nightclothes, and said to her, "Grandmother, what big arms you have!"

...… "All the better to hug you with, my dear."

...… "Grandmother, what big legs you have!"

...… "All the better to run with, my child."

...… "Grandmother, what big ears you have!"

...… "All the better to hear with, my child."

...… "Grandmother, what big eyes you have!"

...… "All the better to see with, my child."

...… "Grandmother, what big teeth you have got!"

...… "All the better to eat you up with."

...… And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up.

= = =

As Jada finished her terribly morbid story, she took a sip from her water bottle. “There is a moral to this story, Audrey, for all that I am probably giving you nightmares. If you really need to know why I felt like telling you the story of Red Riding Hood, you can ask me when you wake up.” The question was if by the time Audrey woke up, Jada would be able to tell her. Things were happening in her life that scared her, and sometimes Jada... well. "I hope it is soon, for everyone's sake." The heiress leaned over to the chair, pulling something out of her bag. It was a gold gilt frame, with a picture inside. Three people were in the image, and it was one of the last truly good memories Jada could claim to have had, even with all the drama surrounding it. In the picture, three young women were captured, each of them on the brink of womanhood. Fallon Novette-Naim was on the left, Jada Chamberlyn on the right, and in the middle, sticking her tongue out at the camera, was a laughing Audrey Collins. Nowhere in their faces was the strain of the night before, or of the fact that Szelem had been in fierce form as an outfit-stealing woman, or that Fallon and Jada's parents were going to be contemplating divorce- that Jada's parents would do it. It was just...

She leaned down, brushing her lips across Audrey's forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said, and no one in the room was really sure who she was talking to.

Next to Audrey's bed, three girls smiled out into the stillness.