Etude 5 (?): Allegretto Leggiero

Okay, I've just realized that I don't like this stuff. But it's words. So it goes in the count, and it goes in the blog. I didn't want to figure out what happened after yesterday's cliff-hanger, so I put it off by giving Sarah amnesia. Now I'm thinking of just tossing both Sarah and Armand into some dream realm and having them run around adventuring, in which case this section will go bye-bye.

Sarah woke in her bed, and couldn't remember how she got there. The events of last night seemed dream-like and unreal; had they been a dream? She wasn't sure. But she touched her face, and felt the bruise there. So it couldn't have been a dream. She wished she could remember what had happened after she'd run after Armand... Maybe I should call him to see if he's okay? No, wait, he'd probably kill me if I tried to do anything like that... And I already know he has a temper. She fingered the bruise, poking at the area to see how large it was. Ow, ow, ow, not ow, ow, ow... Wait, how am I going to cover up this bruise? I can't just go around with a big bruise on my face -- everyone will look at it and ask me questions about it! And I don't want to tell them what happened...

She turned over in her bed and looked across the room to see her roommate at her desk. "Maggie?"
"Hmm?"
"How late did I get in last night?"
Maggie turned around to face her. "Pretty late, but I don't know when. I was in bed when you came in. Why?"
"I, uh, don't remember what time it was and I want to know how many hours of sleep I got." Which is also true.
"Oh. Well, how do you feel?"
How do I feel? "Tired."
"Probably only a couple of hours then. Are your eyes throbbing?"
"No, but my head is."
"Poor baby. It's Saturday, so you can sleep in if you want."
"What time is it?"
"Nine o'clock."
"That's pretty early."
"Only for you." She grinned.
"Well, um, nyeah."
"Sleep. I think you need it."
"Okay."
But after a couple of minutes, Sarah couldn't fall back asleep. "Maggie, I can't sleep."
"So read or something until you're sleepy."
"No, now I feel really awake."
"Ahh."
"I think I'm getting up now." She sat up and swung her legs out over the edge of the bed. "Whoo, that made me dizzy..."
"Sat up too fast?"
"Yeah. Ow, my head."
Maggie made a sympathetic noise. "I have some Tylenol if you want."
"Let me see if it passes first."
"Okay."
Sarah gingerly got herself off the bed, holding onto it when a wave of dizziness passed through her. Can I get to the bathroom without showing my face to Maggie? She looked around the room. Blast it, I don't think so. Okay, how can I tell this to Maggie? Let's see... "Maggie, last night I got chased by Armand, who turned into a bright, menacing ball of light. Then the light disappeared and he tried to kill me so that the light would stop taking over his mind. Then I have no idea what happened, but anyway, I got these bruises when he punched me." Yeah, that'll go over real well. Even if she believes she'll try to convince me to report the incident, and if she doesn't, she might report the incident as "Sarah is hallucinating, I think she needs psychiatric care." Okay, so what's the usual explanation for bruises. Oh yeah "I ran into a door." Um. Except that nobody believes that... How about "I tripped and fell?" That did happen last night... Or maybe I could just pretend I don't remember what happened last night... I guess I'll try that first. Okay, Sarah, here we go.
"Maggie?"
"Hmm?"
"Did I try to tell you anything last night?"
"No, you didn't wake me up at all. Why?"
"Umm, I've got this bruise here --"
Maggie turned to face her. "What? Wow, that's a shiner all right!"
"-- and I don't remember how I got it."
"Um, Sarah, are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, I think so. It's just... Umm... I don't want anyone asking me questions about the bruise..."
Maggie nodded. "You really don't remember anything?"
"Not since after my recital."