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"So, I haven't seen Midnight... around the school recently," Julie thought out loud while in the shower about what to ask or say to the principal about his recent whereabouts. "Has Midnight been here? Just used to seeing him... Ugh, no." This was harder than she thought. Anything asked by her would be odd. No other student cared about him except for Julie. "Whatever, I'll have to come up with something." Monday came quicker than expected, and she already felt more nervous than she would be five minutes before a huge test. Julie brushed her hair after she got out of the shower.

"Just like any other day, except you'll be willingly visiting the principal's office." She attempted to reassure herself while getting dressed in front of the bathroom mirror. Julie sighed and stared at her reflection. "It has to be done, or else you'll never know." She gave herself a good reason, built up some inner courage, and was eventually off to school. She dressed simple, a white t-shirt and a pair of blue skinny jeans, not forgetting her running shoes.

--

After entering the school, Julie didn't say hi to a single person but gave a few half-smiles as she walked down the hallway. It wasn't very much a relapse as it resulted from her not feeling her best lately.

She sat through Regional History, but that was all Julie did. She often fell into a daze during the lecture. Fortunately, the teacher didn't notice, and the class ended before Julie knew it. There were ten minutes left until her English class started, and as Julie walked to her locker, she saw Alyssa waiting to the right of it.

"Hey, you don't look too good," Alyssa said.

Was it that obvious? "I wanted to go to the office today during lunch, but I'm not so sure I can." Julie unlocked and opened her locker.

"Sure you can. If you want to go today, then let's go. What's stopping you, Jule?"

"What am I supposed to say?" Julie closed her locker after getting her textbook and looked at her.

"You're overthinking. Just go in there and ask. You love him more than anyone else. Besides, I'm going with you, remember?" Alyssa told her as she began heading the opposite way. "See you soon," she added.

Julie watched her walk off and eventually fade into the small groups of other students in the hallway. Alyssa was right. Julie had thought about this a lot over the weekend. She had to do this. She would.

In her next class, Julie paid more attention and tucked her thoughts away for the time being, writing notes when necessary. After English, like a countdown that she kept constant track of, she knew there were only two more classes she had until it would be time for lunch. They came and went quickly, too. It's how it usually went with anything when Julie tried to hold off the inevitable.

Julie rubbed her eyes while leaving class and approached her locker.

"You ready?" Alyssa asked, waiting beside it as she was last time.

"Nope."

"That's the spirit, come on."

While they walked to the office, Julie prepared herself. It was a simple question, really, but she felt uneasy having to ask about it. They arrived in front of the door to the office, and Julie looked over at Alyssa.

"You stay out here. I need to have a clear mind while I do this," she said, and Alyssa understood. With a deep breath, Julie grabbed the door's handle and slowly opened it. One step more and she'd be inside the office, It was a tidy room. She saw a counter with a red-haired middle-aged female receptionist behind it, along with gray, metal dressers that held documents tucked into corners behind her.

Julie walked to the counter and grinned before she spoke. "I'd like to uh... speak to Mister Willam. I just have a few questions." Fortunately, not a stutter was present within Julie's words.

"He'll be back in minutes. You may wait for him in his office," the woman replied warmly, which made Julie feel welcome.

"Thank you." She walked through the space at the counter's left since the principal's office was behind it. She then stepped ahead to the brown door and sat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. 'What were you thinking Julie? This is stupid. He'll think it's a joke or a waste of his time,' she thought and nervously sat up in the chair while waiting the minutes away. Julie's thoughts only made her feel worse about being here. Her heart raced.

The door opened behind her. "Oh, hello, Julie! Questions?" At least he was kind so far. He walked around her and sat in his own significantly bigger chair across from her.

"Y-Yes, just one..." Julie swallowed and waited for a beat. "So, the umbreon I see around the school every day... Midnight, I haven't been seeing him recently. I'm just curious about where he is." She decided not to bring up that she was worried about him.

"Ah, surprised anyone asked. Well, I'm getting older, you know? Unfortunately, I can't care for Midnight the way I used to. I don't want to release him to the wild either, so I'm going to see if I can rehome him. He is currently staying with a friend of mine."

Julie froze for a second. That meant she would likely never see Midnight again. She had to say something, and mentally, Julie panicked. She calmed herself as best she could. There was no way Julie could screw this up. "So... That means you're looking for anyone to take him as long as they treat him well, right?"