Reese watched Florence storm out of the dining hall, "I've got to go check on something." She said to Amiya.
"Okay, see you later." Reese walked over to the girls who had been conversing with Florence.
"What happened with Florence?" She asked one of the girls.
"Oh, I don't really know." She responded.
"Yeah, I think she might just not be feeling well." Said another.
"Okay, thank you." Reese walked off after Florence. She checked her dorm, and the bathroom. Florence was on the right side, washing her face, "You okay, Flor?" Reese asked, concerned, "Some of the other girls said you weren't feeling well."
"No, I'm fine, it's just-" she paused.
"What is it? Did you have a fight with your friend?" Reese tried to piece the situation together.
"Wait, you know her?"
"Well yeah, if you're talking about the girl you ran off with yesterday after the match."
"Yes! Oh my god, I'm not the only one! Her name's Lily." Florence said, seemingly relieved.
"Of course, I know her, I'm her dorm captain. What do you mean you're 'not the only one'?" Reese gave her a confused look.
"Well, this morning, she wasn't in her bed, so I asked the other girls in the room if they had seen her."
"Okay, and…?"
"Absolutely no one I've talked to even knows her." Florence finished.
"How's that even possible?"
"I don't know. They asked if I was feeling alright because I kept asking about her."
"Hmm… did you check where her stuff was?"
"Oh, I almost forgot about that!" Florence practically ran out of the bathroom and Reese followed her, "No, no, no!" Florence looked around her bunk frantically, "All her stuff is gone. It's like she wasn't even here."
"Her name's been removed from the bedframe too." Reese touched the bare nameplate at the footboard, "How's this even happening?" Reese asked, suddenly more concerned, "Wait, what about my roster?" She pulled out a small piece of paper from her back pocket, "Okay, Lily Wyles, umm… she's not on here either!"
"It'd at least make a little more sense if she'd just left, but this is the original roster you read off of on the bus!" Reese nodded and took a moment to think it over.
"What if we asked the entire dining hall? If no one knows her, then we might have to give up."
"What?!? We can't just give up on her!" Florence exclaimed.
"We'll talk about it when it gets to that point, okay?" Florence nodded her head slowly before they walked back over to the dining hall. Reese clapped her hands loudly before the room went silent, "Does anyone know who Lily Wyles is?" She asked. Most everyone shook their heads.
"Isn't she Florence's imaginary friend?" Snickered one of a few girls from her dorm.
"Haha, laugh it off. That wise crack just got you three obstacle course runs," the girl who had spoken stopped smiling as her companions laughed at her softly, "each." Her friends went quiet as well, "Okay, now that that's settled, thank you for your time." Reese saw Florence leave the room, and she followed her back to her dorm, "Flor…" She looked at Florence slumped on Lily's old bed, "Are you okay?"
Florence sniffed and Reese realized that she had been crying, "I-I just ca-can't believe she's gone." Reese approached her and hugged her on the bed. Florence leaned into her touch and tried to wipe away her tears, "I know we had ju-just met, but we were close. She was the nicest person I've ever met, other than you I guess." Reese blushed lightly and gently brushed Florence's messy hair back with her hand.
"I know what it's like, to lose someone close to you that is." Florence looked up at her. Her usually bright green eyes were dulled, and reddened with tears, "I can tell you about it if you'd like." Florence nodded and Reese began her story.