Chapter 1189: Tomorrow
Eleven walked beside Hesta, quickly crossing the front hall. It was empty now, with only the sound of their footsteps.
Halfway across, Hesta suddenly sensed that something was off and gradually slowed down. It was not until they reached the stairs that she realized it—Eleven had been unusually quiet today.
When they arrived at the children's dormitory, the teacher sleeping next door heard the sounds in the corridor and came out to see what was happening. The moment she saw Hesta leading Eleven over, her face went pale. "...Sorry! I... I thought... I didn't hear anything... Before I left, I made sure every child was—"
"It's all right," Hesta hurriedly explained. "It's not your fault. She's just impossible to keep track of."
The teacher hurried forward to take Eleven's hand, but Eleven suddenly began circling Hesta, refusing to let the other woman catch her.
"What do you want?" Hesta asked.
"...I don't want to sleep," Eleven answered. "I want to stay here."
"Where?"
"With you. I want to be with you." Eleven grabbed Hesta's trousers with both hands. "I'm not going in."
Hesta did not quite understand, but she still agreed. She pulled over two chairs, and she and Eleven sat together in the corridor.
At first, neither of them spoke. Hesta quietly reflected that she probably was not a qualified guardian. After leaving District 14, she had essentially abandoned her studies of the District 14 language. Even now, she and Eleven could only communicate through simple short sentences, and mostly through Eleven speaking District 3 Language.
Still, compared with when they had first arrived in District 12, Eleven's District 3 Language had improved greatly... even if the child herself did not feel that way.
"Something happened, didn't it?" Hesta looked at Eleven.
Eleven nodded.
Holding Hesta's