Saved by the Bag || Rachel & OPEN
When Tobias came up with the idea of carrying their Yeerk-morphed teammates to the pool in bags, rather than inside anyone's head, Rachel had almost broken-down sobbing with relief. If it had only been Tobias there with her, or maybe even Tobias and Cassie, she probably would have cried -- but with everyone there to see, she couldn't let herself weep like that, even though she could see Ax's four legs going just about as limp with relief as she felt. But she was the tough one, the fearless one; she had to keep it together.
And she did. She had. But suddenly, right in the middle of school the next day, it had swamped her like the world's harshest tsunami. Perhaps it had been staring at Mr. Tidwell's ear all through math class; perhaps it was the book they'd been reading with Mr. Davis; perhaps it was just a matter of timing, of knowing what was coming and, now, what wasn't coming in the near future. Perhaps it was just from being strong for so long; too long.
Perhaps it was just ugly adolescent hormones.
Whatever the reason, Rachel suddenly found the mixture of stress, fear, and relief too much to bear. She'd dumped her half-eaten lunch in the trash and slipped out into the half-off-limits-but-not-officially courtyard outside the lunchroom. Unnoticed by the gossiping, arguing students trying to scarf-down their food in the too-brief allotted time, Rachel crossed the faded, sickly grass and slumped down on the far corner bench.
She rested her head against the warm brick wall, closed her eyes, and out there where nobody could see her, Rachel Berenson cried. The tears slipped silently down her cheeks, leaving unaccustomed tracks of wet emotion on her skin. She hoped Tobias wasn't flying overhead today; while he might be the one person whom she'd be able to endure seeing her weak and weeping like this, she hated the idea of anyone catching sight of her in an unguarded moment of pathetic tears. It was very much at-odds with the image she cultivated; the image that she clung to, when all else seemed ready to fall apart. Rachel had to be strong for herself as much as for anyone else -- but not even she could be strong all the time.
Just most of it.