Today has felt unusually tense. It seems like a couple people are more irritable than normal. Maybe it's the process of realization, how there is no one keeping us in check but ourselves. Since there isn't any kind of government coming up anytime soon, it would be easy to-

No. I shouldn't think that way. This study isn't even halfway done, we still have 21 days.

21 days.

Now that I think of it, what's going to happen after this is all over? I mean, we would probably just go about our daily lives but.... is everything going to be the same again? It's going to be hard going back to a life of restriction after being almost completely free for a whole month. At least here, we're not being dictated by a higher presence. We are okay.

As my train of thought fades out of my head, the silent halls are interrupted by what seems to be a struggle. It sounds like two guys, and maybe a girl? I turn around to face the noise, but it sounds like it's coming from downstairs.

I get a better view after hopping off the bottom stair. The two guys are punching and wrestling, while the girl is attempting to break them up. I shout out for them to stop, but the only one to notice  is the girl, who looks to me in hopes that I will help.

I rush to one of the fighters, and yank back their shirt collar until they are beside me. The girl is able to get between them and keep the other one pushed away. We keep them apart until they are able to calm down.

"What is wrong with you guys?" I say, glaring into one of the boy's eyes. "You are making a scene and it's waking up the whole building!"

"He was stealing from the cafeteria!" The other boy said from behind the girl. "Check his pockets!"

The girl signals him to wait before checking the pockets of the one I have. Immediately, she finds a roll and a few apples.

"Do you realize we are limited in supplies Derek?" She firmly asks. I assume that's his name.

"Oh come on Danee" He says sarcastically. "The little ones don't need to eat that much, right?"

I shove him to the side, ordering him and the other boy to leave. As, I guess her name is Danee, starts walking away, I catch up with her before she gets too far.

"I was just wondering" I ask, matching her casual pace. "But do you help Aniston with the cafeteria and office stuff?"

"Oh, um, yes." She answers quietly. "How did you know?"

"I have a couple friends that help." I reply, hoping to seem kind after the issue earlier.

"That's cool. I should probably get to the cafeteria, before I miss breakfast." Danee says, and begins to walk to the side doors.

~~~~

I run into Clove in the clinic again, she is sitting on the makeshift bed people would lay on when they got sick. It looks like she is searching through records.

"What's up?" I ask as I enter the room. She seems a little startled by my appearance.

"I'm hoping to learn treatments by looking through records." She says, not looking up from the current folder in her lap. "Speaking of, how do you treat lice?"

"Vinegar and mayo." I reply, looking at the trinkets on a nearby counter. "I was just wondering, has any of Aniston's group looked at anything in the office rooms besides the clinic?"

"Not that I know of." She said, turning a page in the folder. "But I heard some leftovers from the beef jerky fundraiser were in the copy room, it's locked though."

I nod. "Well, I'm going to look around and see if I can find anything."

Clove responds with a quiet flip of a page, and I begin to make my way into the main lobby. Behind the waiting room is Ms. Janet's desk, where she transferred all the calls and dealt with late buses. She usually has candy of some sort in her desk, but when I checked her drawers they were completely empty. The phone wasn't there either.

I quietly sighed. All of the other offices in the lobby were locked, only the ones in the hall were open.

Wait.

The halls.

The principal's office.

Why didn't I think of this sooner?! If anyone had keys to the rooms, it would be the principal!

Rather than walking, I use Mrs. Janet's computer chair to scoot amongst the office. Once I get to the halls, I leave the chair in the clinic to avoid the carpeted floors.

I wander the main hall until I reach the principal's door. From the window, the room is dark besides the light of an oddly colored lava lamp. From what I heard, most teachers only had enough time to get the basics before leaving.

I slowly turn the knob, causing the room to be filled with an eerie creak. I wander my hand along the wall until I find a light, and flick the switch to get a better view of the room. Honestly, it seems bigger than I thought it would be. The walls are filled with photos of school events and art made by students, and a huge whiteboard is behind the desk listing everyone's schedule. Some of it looks wiped off.

I step closer into the room and make my way to the desk. My footsteps are once again muffled by carpet, and the only noise comes from the still running lava lamp. Behind his desk are more drawers, empty. But the one on the left seems to be locked with some kind of code. As I get a closer look, there is a small screen along with a keypad containing the number 0-9.

In hopes to open it, I begin to enter combinations in hopes it would open.

1-9-7-2 nope.

8-6-0-6 no.

4-8-9-3 Yay! Oh wait, no.

4-8-8-3 Still no.

6-9-0-2 noooooo.

Hmm, if I had a safe what would my combination be?

1...9...5...4...

Suddenly, the safe gives off a series of clicks. The door abruptly popped open, hitting my leg in the process. I moved a little and opened the door out of the way. As I looked inside, I found a large ring of keys.

~~~

I proudly left the office tossing something into the clinic real quick in hopes Clove would find it. There, on the old tile floor by her feet...

...was a thing of beef jerky.