Chapter 6
Epiones' POV
"Oh…" I looked down somehow feeling guilty to make her tackle a sad topic
"I'm sorry, I made you open a sad memory" she chuckled by my sentence
"it's actually okay, it's not your fault she's gone so you shouldn't feel sorry at all, and besides, whether I tell you that story or not, Lola won't bring back to life anytime soon" she explained which made me feel less bad about myself for a bit
"ah, if it wouldn't pinch a heart, did your grandmother died naturally?" I asked her, she removed her gaze from the moisten window to me
"no she didn't, she was murdered" my face formed a an 'oh'
"And until now, I'm not letting her case close, cause I made a promise to her after her death that I'm going to give her the justice that she truly deserves, she shouldn't die the way" she continued but pain and hostility is laced on her voice
"hey, it's okay, I know it is painful to loose someone who's fond to you, and I also know that it's unacceptable to let someone who took care of you and been by your side for a long time to pass away, but for what I'm sure of, you will find that person who left their responsibility and give your grandmother the rightful justice" I explained, she just smiled by my words
"thanks, it actually made me feel better" I nod in response
The waiter then came to our table to serve our orders, after we thanked him for his service, we proceed on digging in to the delicious foods, the crispy and tenderly Shanghai, the aromatic Pansit with two fluffy buns, the refreshing lemon iced tea, coke zero, and how come I didn't noticed that she ordered two Halo-Halo for the both of us?
…
"Hey, thanks for the meal earlier, I'll make sure to treat you to another time and you can't certainly do anything about it" I told her which see hummed teasingly in response before releasing a whole-hearted laugh
"yeah yeah, we'll see"
Flashback
Third Person's POV
Once the two friends are done with their lunch, Epione stood up to pay for their meal on the counter
"Well, it seems that somebody already paid for it ma'am" the cashier said with a smile
"huh? Who?" Epione asked
"you're friend right there ma'am" she points with her mouth, Epione then followed the direction only to see Chaeryoung looking back at her with a playful grin
"She paid for both your meals right after I took your orders ma'am"
…
Epiones' POV
"You could've told me so we could've split the bill though"
"No it's okay, it's my decision to pay for two orders in the first place, so I guess…better try next time then?" She uttered playfully
"will sure do" I smiled
As we saw the Black Volkswagen outside, we stood up and went out the store to enter the car and drove us back to the school
…
"FELIPE! prepare the sledgehammer for the girls and spiked baseball bat for the guys!"
"Aight!"
"hey you! Bowlcut guy, put all these spray paints in your big suitcase-like bag!"
"Y-yes Silver "
"Snake! You're in charge of putting all the collected stones from the wheelbarrow inside those two sacks!"
"noted"
" Opium! Make sure we have enough teargas and smoke grenades, I don't want to repeat what happened last time "
"affirmative"
"Binary! You're in charge of technical support! Make sure no CCTVs are active and running by that time"
"No problem"
"The rest! Prepare yourselves!"
Shouts and commands are the first thing to greet us once we entered the room
"oh great, the newcomers are back, here take this" Jinhee greets us while throwing the two sledge hammer to us
"W-wait, what's all this?" I quivered a little nervously
"weapons obviously, we'll fight against the dream 2, they've been getting into our nerves since Monday, and war is not yet over between us" she responds before proceeding on giving orders to our classmates
"N-no, you can't do this, don't you remember what miss Pillarion said? That if you and your friends got included and get caught again by the Guidance then all of you will be exp-"
"I don't care" she deadpans while looking at me straight into the eyes
"but I care-"
"oh shut up Epione, you only care cause you're included and your affected, but don't act like you care genuinely cause just like any other people you will encounter will never be like that, not even my parents" she retorts back which took me off guard
"no, you should stop this" I still stopped her by fixedly holding her arm, which made me earn a glare from her
"and who am I to listen to you? And most importantly who are you to dictate my decisions in life?" she aggressively grabs my arm firmly making me loose my grip from hers
"Yah stop with the violence, it's not a good time for war right after having your peaceful lunch right?" Chaeryoung interferes trying to lift up the mood yet she stares intently at Keisha whilst grabbing her left shoulder slightly pushing the eldest away from us
"then tell your useless friend here to not interfere with my business, and if both of you don't want to be included in the upcoming war, then better shut up and go back to your 'good student" seats" she spats before turning her back away from us
" No, please, you gotta stop whatever you're about to do Jinhee cause all of us will be in big trouble!" I pleaded her, doing all my best just to change her mind and not make a huge mess in the very near future
"And I just said that I don't care didn't I?! Why are you even stopping me useless dog huh?!" she lashes out making me flinch in response, I didn't notice that we just gained the attention of all our classmates in this classroom
" Well what?! Come on tell me?!" she continued, but I just stood there wordlessly, while my eyes are fixated on the floor
"Ahh I get it, you're trying to save your scholarship here and to college right?, The contract that that stupid Counselor made us sign on, so what if your scholarship is cut off?! You could still even continue your good-student picture even without a scholarship as long as you have a hundred percent functional brain, so why does it even effect you so much huh?!" she rants as I feel her stare strikes me like a cold blizzard in the middle of an avalanche
If I am being honest, It actually doesn't matter if I got accepted to scholarship or not if I have enough money invested for my full educational support, but I'm only living by myself, no actual family to support me, my uncle only supports half of the water and electricity bill, but the rest is all up to me, so I can't tell That I don't need any scholarship at all, cause it's the least thing that I could do to settle me into a better future without doing something illegal and would only cause criminal offenses to others, that's why I need this scholarship
"I…" quivering with salty crystal falling from my eyes, I slowly look up to her
"what?" she scoffs, I gulped one huge humanity before deciding to continue my words
"I need that Scholarship" I finished as I let one drop of tear to fall from my orbs and it rolls down all the way to my cheek,
a tear is all it takes to express pain…
"everyone needs scholarship Epione, but not everyone has enough brain power to get accepted"
"T-That's why I needed that scholarship-"
"Oh shut up! Why am I'm even wasting my time on you?!" she rage like an aggressive storm growling Thunders from the dark sky, and just like two clouds pressed together to form a rain, my tears completely fall from my eyes like waterfall
But crying will never make it enough to show how broken you are, cause their judgment towards you weeping will only taste as salty as those tears in your eyes
"oh great you're crying again, until when are you going to be like this Epione Huh!?, Ever since we were still in Kindergarten, you are wimpy and you've been already running around carrying your nickname of a crybaby! You cry because of this, you cry because of that, big or small you cry at almost everything! Heck I won't even be surprise if you cry because you accidentally stepped into an ant!" she lunges towards my direction but was stopped when Chaeryoung stood in front of me to protect for any sign of attack, while I was left nothing to do but just silently cry at her words that are true…but hurtful
" I'm sorry" a small exhausted sigh escaped from my lips
"Oh what an Idiot! And now you apologize for things that isn't even considered a crime?! What is this?!-no, what are you even trying to do?! Act like a saint?! You're trying to change our attitudes?! Redirect our mindsets?! Then why don't you go to Church then enroll and study there instead! Then come back here as a missionary Nun so you can officially shower us one whole tank of holy water to cleanse our souls, oh that's such a religiously virtuous idea, may all our souls then could surpass heaven!!" she blurts out while breathing heavily, when she noticed that all the attention was to us she shooed them away
"and what are you all looking at?! This is not some sort of soap opera or K-drama, cause there's no background music and slow-mo effects! So go back to what you're doing or else I'll shove a whole gallon of dishwashing soap into your mouths individually so you won't spit filthy garbage out of your mouths anymore, and I am being serious right now do not test me!!!" then they all scrambled away to go back to what they're doing
"hey dog, if you really care for that scholarship of yours, then do all your best to stop me if you can, because I don't care whether I got expelled or not, cause I know even Cuianas' vision is brighter than my future life ahead" Jinhee's voice is no longer enraged and now turned into a cold bland one
"but Jinhs, Cuiana is blind" Snake interrupted
"I know" Keisha deadpans, then looks at Chaeryoung
"you're her bodyguard?" she asks
"I'm her friend" The Korean girl corrected her in front of me
*scoffs*wow, it's actually surprising, well whatever is your connection with her, better bring a lot of tissue papers or baby wipes, cause what you're protecting right now is a crybaby, so prepare yourself, unless you want your shoulders to be soaked all the time with a bawling Koala clinging on your side, and your ringtones will be replaced with useless rants and whines" she said looking the girl in front of me straight into the eyes
"I don't mind" she simply replies leveling to the coldness the eldest is giving
"suit yourself" Jinhee turned around, but afterwards looked at us by her shoulders
"the war will still continue, but your scholarship is still safe for now little dog, cause the event will happen outside the school premises not inside here nor their classroom, and also, go home the both of you, our schedules have been revised by our adviser just this afternoon, so we officially have no afternoon classes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I'm only saying this because I'm the class president, I'm not as irresponsible as you think I am…and Epione"
"Y-yes?" I asked sniffling a little
"only babies cry for no reason, so stop crying over small things, you're not good at it" she states before completely walking away from us
Chaeryoung turned around to face me
"Are you okay bud?" she asks me with her voice laced with pure concern
"Y-yeah, thanks for protecting me…again" I said with a shy smile
"No worries bud!, even if I have to save you nine times a week and protect you 25 hours In a day, I won't let a single mosquito lay on you…though that's a little too much, but still, I won't mind doing all that, cause that's what true friends are for, and expect me to never leave your side ever again, you got that?" I nod feeling grateful because of her patience and concern
"now let's go, looks like this classmates of ours won't change their decision about going to this 'war' any further, and the class president named Jinhee? Assured you that your scholarship is safe, so don't stress about it for too much alright?" I hummed as we exit the classroom and walked our way out the school, luckily the rain stopped pouring any further, though it's still drizzling for a little bit, but it's safe enough to drive a motorcycle without getting all my stuffs soaked by the rainwater
"hey, it seems like the cloud is still upset, you can hop a ride with me if you want, Just tell the driver where you live and we'll take you there" she offered openly
"That's a nice offer, but I would have to kindly decline, I have my motorcycle parked just in front of the school, so I can just drive my way home" I politely declined her offer which she nods in understanding, then we bid ourselves goodbye as we part ways
I casually hop on my motorcycle and turn on the engine and drive away
…
Just a few more minutes and I'm finally arriving at the house, but as I'm driving my way home, there come a huge accident happened on the spot which caused a long heavy traffic, and I'm the one who witnessed it all right in front of my eyes, how the delivery truck crashes at the motorcycle, the poor young guy is laying lifeless on the cold moisten asphalt, his helmet is broken into half making me see half of his face, but unrecognizable since his face as well as his body is covered with blood, I saw that the truck driver whose face is fully covered hopped down and approached the lifeless body, so I expected him to help and take full responsibility, but it's all the opposite of what I've predicted since I saw him took the black package from the victimized boy's hold and run away leaving the body and his truck, I was about to chase the culprit by my motorcycle but he got faster when a black Van stopped in front of him and let him hop in and they drive away quickly, I quickly check on the lifeless body instead to check for his pulse, but it's no longer in him, I looked down sadly, somehow feeling down for the loss of someone I don't even know at the first place, and like the usual, a single sympathetic tear escaped from my sorrowful eyes, heaving a heavy sigh, I stood up once I heard sirens approaching our direction,
One officer approached me and asks if I am somehow related to the victim, I shook my head as a no, and told him that I'm just a standing witness who saw how the driver of the truck escape the mess without taking the responsibility with him, he nods in understanding and told me to give him my contact number in case they need more information from me about this incident, then he finally dismissed me afterwards
…
"YOU LITTLE B*TCH!" Like an angry hungry lion who came out of its cage, Uncle Trojan Roared at me the moment I entered the house
"uncle, what did I do this time?" I asked a little nervously, bloodshot eyes staring at me, veins popping out of his head, excessive sweating, snot coming out of his nostrils, and his twitching mouth, looks like someone has taken drugs again
"You are sinning aren't you?!" he growled while pointing his right index finger at me aggressively
"Uncle, I'm not sinning-" I defend myself for something I haven't done in my existence
"That's what a sinner would say!!" he cuts me off while he pulls something from his pocket, I saw a blue envelope on his hand and he threw it at me
I cautiously opened it and saw a pregnancy test with two lines in it, oh no…uncle must've thought the wrong idea
"no uncle, this is not mine!, I'm not pregnant!" I exclaimed defending my side
"I know you're not pregnant" he replied
"then why did you-"
"cause you're the one who impregnate someone!!" he yelled, which completely caught me off guard
"Uncle that's not possible because I'm literally and genetically a GIRL!" I respond disbelievingly
"Shut up LIAR!" he Roared, the drugs might've made his illusions to mess up making my appearance of me to him as a guy instead of a girl
"for your sin…you are charged with punishment, and that will be in the waters" He declared making my eyes dilute immediately
"N-no uncle! This envelope isn't mine even! It's written here that this letter belongs to Yvonne not Epione! So therefore it's not mine, please uncle listen to me!" I plead at him as I point the letter name for him to realize, but the drug really has a different effect on him
"Liar! I know how to read so don't dare to correct me!, And what did I told you huh?! Don't correct the elders! How come you never learn your lesson little trash huh?!" he charged at me and slapped me really hard making me almost lose my consciousness
"U-uncle please, stop it" I quivered whilst holding my left cheek as I'm trying to calm him down, but he replied to me with a strong punch on my stomach, as I yelped in pain, then he drags me to the bathroom
"since you've committed too many sins as of now, I will have to cleanse your filthy soul, one…correcting an elder, two…lying, and three… impregnating someone without taking responsibility" he uttered as he drags me by both of my arms, I cannot impregnate someone, I'm a girl…but uncles' manipulated vision says otherwise, also, the pregnancy kit is not even mine and I don't know who even Yvonne is
Uncle turned on the faucet of the bath tub and waits for it to get filled up
"I thought I told you to read the Bible!?" he asks me with a raging glare
"but uncle we're Mahayana Buddhists!" I replied to him but I think that only made him to get fueled up more
"Shut up!!!" he demands then dragged me into the bathtub, the water is a little hot but I don't think that's my main issue for now
"now I will drown you until your soul is cleansed" he spat before slapping me twice at each side of my cheeks then grabbed me by the neck then pushing my head into the water, I keep fighting his hand to release me because I'm slowly loosing consciousness, since it has been thirty seconds since he pushed me in the hot water
Miraculously, he pulled me back up making me gasped all the air that I need, I plead for him to stop but he didn't listen and pushed me back into the water for another thirty seconds, an pulled me up again, I bawled and begged for him to stop already but, it's all useless, and aggressively pushed me into the water for the third time, making my head knocked on the bottom of the bathtub a little making my head throb in pain, then I feel that I'm slowly loosing my senses when I noticed that he's not pulling me out after one and a half minute, feeling that I'm at the peak of losing oxygen, and I might involuntary breath in water out of desperation, my adrenaline neurotransmitters made me hit his arm repeatedly, but unfortunately, he didn't even move a muscle, which indicates that my hits weren't enough to make him loose grip suddenly, a flash came up to my mind remembering about what Chaeryoung gave me earlier before we part ways,
Flashback
Third Person's POV
"drive safe on the road Epione," Chaeryoung said to the younger which the Canadian nods in response
As Epione was about to hop on her Motorcycle, Chaeryoung called her all of a sudden
"wait Epione!" Chaeryoung called her while running to her direction
"yes?"
"I almost forgot to give you something" she replied as she fished something from her pocket while Epione give her a confused look
"here, take this" she said then hands her a lipstick?
"Uhh, I don't think if this is a rhetorical question, but what is this?" I ask hesitantly which made her chuckle
"It's waterproof" she smiled, Epione creased her eyebrows
"Are you promoting lipsticks?"
"Pftt no" Chaeryoung stifled a laugh
"look, if you twist it once, it will look like a regular aesthetic matte smudge proof lipstick, but if you twist it for another time, it will be a Taser and stick this to someone most effectively when they are in contact with water, then expect them to be a dead horse for the next 36 hours, this might be small in size but believe me when I say it gives terrible effects, and also…this is solar powered and chargeable" she explains
"But, why are you giving me this?"
"Well, first, as your buddy, I want you to be safe even without my presence, since I can see that you are quite a trouble and danger prone type of person, and second, take this as our first token of our friendship "she smiled as I reciprocated the gesture, then we completely bid each other goodbyes and part ways
"Drive safe buddy!"
"You too and thanks for the Taser!"
…
I pulled out the small lipstick/ Taser from my pocket, removed the cap then twists it twice and then stabbed it on his arm making him groan in pain and release me from his grip, I took this as a chance of escape and ran away from him while he's still out of consciousness
Now I only got 36 hours safe from my uncle, I was about to run outside the house, but I thought about rationality, what will I do after running away?, Be homeless and leave my future hanging? Not too rationale, Or Contact a person instead? Well I don't have anyone in my contacts except for Chaeryoung, but I don't want to bother her either, she had already done a lot for me, and I don't want to be a burden at her peaceful time, also, this day is considered as a regular one for me, getting beaten up and drowned, is there anything new about it? Non, I heaved an exhausted sigh as I went back inside, and I know that I may look stupid but I'm completely aware of what I am doing, I still care for my uncle, he might just really have a huge problem facing in his life, so I understand him as well as his action, I just need to stay away from him as much as possible whenever he is awake
Walking back to the bathroom, Uncle is laying on the cold bathroom floor unconscious, worried that he might get muscle cramps once he woke up, I carried him by his shoulders and did all my best to bring him to his room, and since I grew up with a petite body, I struggled a lot dragging a middle aged man to his bed, but after some few good minutes, I finally did it, I sighed in pure exhaustion then left him on his room once I saw that he is completely sleeping soundly and his mind is probably wandering to another dimension of dreamscape
I went upstairs to my room to change into my dry clothes, once I'm done, I slumped my body into the bed and sniff the scent of my comfort item…my pillow, I'm nearly drifting myself to sleep when I got interrupted by the ringing sound of my phone, confused by the sudden disturbance, I picked it up and saw that the caller is just an unknown number, hence I accepted the call and tried to initiate a conversation
"Hello? Who's this?"
"Hi! Congratulations! You have won 200,000,000$ from the raffle promo you participated named Jelly Joe! All you have to do is to come to Erlins' street at the 56th to claim your prize,! We will wait for you here at the Coco store!" the male caller said with full of glee, well…more like lied though, cause I never participated in any raffle and also…I'm never fond of Jellies ever since I was a kid so it's quite possible to win at such thing, but I decided to go with his flow
"that's cool, but isn't Erlins' street was just roads with bunch of trees and unknown houses? Also, I've been to 56th avenue last week…but I didn't see any Coco store at the sight" I explained and waits for a response, but the caller dropped it, so I considered the It was just another spam and a scam trying to fool people
Then another ring was produced by my phone, different caller…still I accepted it
"Hello?"
"I am inside your house" a creepy voice creeps, though it gives me chills or I'm just having some aftereffects from what happened earlier making me a little dizzy, hence, I decided to continue
"Oh, I must've forgot to lock it, could you tell me what you need ma'am? Or you must be very thirsty and in deep need for water since I notice that your voice is a little raspy and dehydrated, you can get some from the fridge if you want, and if you also want, I have chips hiding in the hanging cabinets, feel free to get some according to your favor" I replied not minding the fear that I'm feeling
"ooh little girl, you don't get it hihihi, I am a hungry ghost who eats the humans alive, and now I'm inside your room, and if you really want to seeee meee, then check under your bed" she singsongs creepily, I'm honestly scared right at this moment but because of my let's say clumsy defense mechanism, I made a silly response
"But…I only have a comforter here, I have no bed" I lied
"….' The other line was completely silent before she speaks again
"Sorry…wrong number" then the call was dropped
I stared at my phone screen for a moment, then just Shrug it off
I was about to set it aside and then sleep but was interrupted by another call, tired from all their games, I answered it not looking at the ID caller any more as a small is visible on my face
"Look, I know you are bored and want to fool someone just for your entertainment needs, but let me just politely inform you that the number you have dialed is either too inactive our out of her peaceful aura, please try your call again never, so please stop calling my number because I desperately need to sleep" I plead with a little whine in the end
" o-oh I'm so sorry Epione, I honestly didn't know it, but don't worry I'll drop the call now and won't disturb your rest time any further, rest well bud!" the voice is familiar to me, so I replied immediately
"wait! don't drop the call! Hello? Chaeryoung, is that you?" I asked
"the one and only! I Just called to check up on you, are you okay? You seem a bit under the weather" Chaeryoung said, and I know she's smiling right now
"well, I'm alright, just probably tired from school"
"Ahh I understand, yeah school is sometimes stressful and 'disorganized' though there's a word 'organized' in the acronym of it" she comments
"Wait…school is an acronym?" I asked completely surprised by the sudden information
"Yeah, it stands for Study Centre House Of Organized Learning"
"How come I didn't know that from my earlier grades?" I ask myself, not expecting Chaeryoung to hear it
"Well, I guess there are some things that are limited for us to learn" she simply replied
"or you're just really smart" I uttered
" I'm not smart"
"But you do know a lot of things" I replied
"its because I read a lot whenever I'm bored, but just because I know many things, that doesn't mean that I know everything, everyone has their own level of intelligence, you just have to reach that level" she explains which I wordlessly nod with a hum in response
"Anyways, the sole purpose that I called you is because I wanted to invite you, but of course only if you want to attend" she start
"uhm, what invitation are you exactly saying?" I asked
"well, it's actually not that big, but…it's actually my birthday this coming Friday and I'm planning on throwing out a party…so…only if it's okay with you, you're invited to attend" she continued which I immediately agreed, it's her special day, so why would I let it pass
"Sure! I'm willing to attend your special day" I replied with voice laced in delight
"that's great! I'll just send you the address, I'm honestly glad you will attend, cause I'm really expecting you to be there!" she levels my level of exhilaration
Under five minutes, we just talked about some random stuffs and funny life stories that we can share, until we finally bid goodbyes to each other
"hey, it was actually fun chatting with you, but I have to do something really urgent, I guess see you tomorrow!" said Chaeryoung
"yeah, see you!" then the call was ended
I sat the phone on my cabinet right beside my bed then flopped myself to the soft cloud-like cushion
At this lonely time like this, this is where bundles of wandering thoughts visit me like a grains of sands flowing with the wind and some of it feathering your eyes forcing you close to close your eyelids and make you remove your view from the reality even for a quick second , these thoughts are , how come I'm still alive and breathing yet I don't even know my true purpose, like a flower who is expected to bloom at the perfect day of spring but got delayed and sprung itself at the dead of winter instead…will there be any future for that poor flower? Or would anyone would care to save that flower despite the fact that it's not that special since there's a lot more breed of it that you can find at anywhere ordinary…yeah, just like in this world we're living, every human is just a bunch of varieties of flowers, everyone or most of them are thinking that they are a special breed with petals that are as colorful as paradise that can certainly gain everyone's attention…but we all know that everyone thinks they are the main character because every people is living in 1st Point of view, I wonder…who would break the fourth wall and tell them that they are not the main character, that they are just some supporting character who is just there to make the main character look more appealing and stood out more? Or maybe they're just another villain who is against the hero to give a thrill to life, cause a story will never be good and eye catching if there's no conflict, and we have to admit it, no matter how much we love and fond the hero, at the middle of the story we kept waiting for that villain to enter the plot, and there will be….*suddenly fell asleep*
*Ring*ring*ring*
I was woken up by my alarm clock, I checked the time to see that I only have an hour left before my shift, so I heavily pushed myself off the bed and prepare for work
…
"Epione! Our early bird!, though you look a little tired, something bothering your bubbles?" Missy asked the time I approached her on the counter
"oh…it's just some school stuffs, nothing big"
"Uhuh, I gotta agree on that one, even my little sister Porie is struggling to her studies, I actually hear her sniffles at night since we share the same room, I can see her struggles through her weary eyes and exhausted sighs, that's why to at least lighten up her mood, I always cook her her favorite chicken Porridge and bagel with scallion cream cheese to start her day with a healthy brain, it's one of my way to support her and tell her she's being loved" she foretell which made me smile, I appreciate sisters who would do their best to show support to their siblings
"it's good that she have a loving sister like you" she smiled then hands me a paper
"hmm? What's this?" I asked our of curiosity
"well, I don't think I'm at the right position to answer that, but for more information, read that letter first, and go meet our manager at his office at the very back" she said seriously before switching it to a smile which made me feel a little bad about this, hence I tried to smile it off the excused myself to go to work
"no, don't go, boss said that you should read that letter first then you go meet him, it's a note that he left me, so please if you may…" she said before gesturing her hand for me to sit at a vacant chair, I followed her words with reluctance, why does it feel like I'm about to enter something bad, it's my instincts that tells me, and my instincts never fail me, but I trust my co workers since I've been working with them for quiet a long time now, it's just, I'm walking into a big fire, since I'm starting to feel the heat from afar, not in such a very good way though,
After settling at an empty seat I opened the letter to read whatever is written inside
.
.
.
"well this is a weird way of getting a promotion" I said while unconsciously scratching my not so Itchy brow, I stood up and approached Missy who's taking orders from a senior citizen
"so four pizza pockets, two small size of cheese-frenzy-overload pizza, and a cup of lemon tea, for dine in ma'am?" she asked the senior lady who's now fishing something from her what looks like a hand woven hand bag but looks finely sophisticated
"yes, and if you may young lady, I have my senior citizen card here and would like to take some discount if it won't hurt" the older lady said nicely while showing her the discount card
Midissy smiled by the action
"you don't need to ask twice ma'am"
"Here you go, oh hey Epione" she greets me once she saw my silhouette approaching her direction
"hey"
"so…have you read it already?" she asked in a playful manner
"yeah, and I didn't know that our manager is this creative, promoting someone through a letter is non-predictable in some perspectives" I chuckled, but I saw her form a small smirk to my words
"promotion? That's good! It feels great having another member to the party, go meet our manager at the back, he'll be glad to talk to you" she grins then proceeds taking orders from the next costumer
Walking like a cautious prey with a strong instinct, I stride my way to the managers' office then knocked three times then waits for a response
"Come in!" I opened the door only to see a mid twenties guy smiling widely…it doesn't seem right
"Hi"
"H-hi Mr. Chui, I've heard that you've been wanting to see me?" I asked politely
"oh yes, well, I suppose you've already read the letter" he continued
"y-yes sir"
"oh don't feel tensed, go on take a seat, make yourself comfortable miss Paramnesia" he said softly but…it's quite intimidating
"now, let's talk about your promotion" he smiled as I wordlessly nod
"what do you think of a trustworthy servant? you could say it in the fewest words possible" he asked
"Someone who doesn't betray" I answered
"shorter"
"not a traitor?"
"make it shorter"
"…loyal?"
"bingo" He smiled proudly, and in a calm manner
"promotion means raising up your loyalty level, higher position means higher service, and higher service means, higher rank of loyalty, isn't that fun?" he exclaimed excitedly
"a-ahh yes sir, it is fun" I released an awkward chortle then faked my level of excitement same with him
"As a reward for your outstanding service, I will give you a higher position" he smiled
"and…I'll make your salary…9 times" his smile turn into a smirk, this made me widen my eyes
"r-really sir?!" I ask full of glee, this time, my reaction is real
"Always true never...lies!" he raise his hand gesturing that he is an honest person
"And all you gotta do…is wear a mascot while delivering Pizzas"
Wait…that's it? Is that even worth 250$ a day? The work seems a little too less?
"is that it sir? Don't you think that my Salary is a little too much for just wearing a mascot while delivering Pizzas?" I asked which he shook his head in response whilst releasing a chuckle
"oh trust me it's not, and I guarantee that you will enjoy it" he smiled widely whilst clasping his hands together in a slow manner, but I just shrug it off and accepted the offer, we shook hands then he told me that I will start doing my job as a mascot tomorrow, and I will also be working with Missy and some of the crew members, before exiting the office, he left me a quote that until now lingers in my head
"Roosters will never make you feel defeated and down in a competition, if it wins in cocknefying, you get money, but…if it loses and it's not able to fight anymore, then you could just cook and let it win in your stomach instead, you don't want a useless pet, do you?, Thus, I hope you're that rooster who wins, And not a roasted chicken who disappoints…Miss Epione"
…
Hallowhand University, school gate, 6:50 AM
As usual, I parked my motorbike on the parking lot then met Chaeryoung at the School gate
"Hey Epione! Buddy! Good morning!" she waves at me not minding the looks given by the people around us, I shamefully approached her while ducking my head a little low
"h-hey Chaeryoung, good morning to you as well" I greet her with a bashful smile
"How are you? Not exhausted anymore?" she asked while stretching her arms…why does it look like she just woke up?
"nope, not anymore, I guess all I needed was a good long sleep" she nods in response
"That's good" she replied before yawning a little but the miniscule action is enough for me to take notice
"I suppose you're the one who didn't get enough sleep?"
"Oh me? Well…you can say that I…played overnight" she smiled bashfully
"…I…don't have any comment with that, did you win though?" I asked playfully
"Worth it" she whisper yelled while throwing a fist, indicating victory because she did win, which caused me to stifle a laugh because of her antics
…
At the classroom…
"GOOD MORNING DREAMERS! LOOKS LIKE EVERYONE WOKE UP FILLED WITH ENERGY TODAY!" Miss Cluff greets them with a huge smile, if there's anyone that can look energetic right now, it's Miss Cliff, but the rest? Well…is this still considered energetic when…
Half of the girls are wearing very healthy eye bags, and almost all of our classmates are wearing bandages, and Band-Aids, and I don't think a completely frowning disheveled face filled with plasters and pain relief patches is considered an energetic expression?
"Or…let's say the least of you are looking…alright" she said slowly before shifting her attention to the class president
"did something happen, miss class president?" Miss Cluff asked Jinhee who's now looking more beaten up and exhausted than the rest of our classmates, she looks gloomy, and it clearly looks like she had gone from a fight, same goes to her three friends
"We we're just over-energetic that we failed to control ourselves" She deadpans while up at looking at her blankly which miss Cluff eventually bought in, only Me and Chaeryoung, as well as the eyes above knew that it was a half hearted lie since it's beyond far from the actual truth that caused their situation today,
"uhm, oh well that's what we call as sugar-crash dear, anyways let's start our discussion about every students' favorite subject of all…Basic Calculus!" she exclaimed which earned a wave of groans and silent complains and cursed from the whole class
"oh don't be dramatic, it's just numbers, and everybody loves numbers right?"
"you probably got that information from a wrong person ma'am, and when I say wrong I meant from a nerd who's obsessed at trivial and statistical studies" Snake complains quietly while fixing her bandages that's loosing on her right cheek
"wow, coming from the nerd itself who loves to talk about trivial facts and would open it at any possible moment you can find" Binary commented at her side
"well, look who's talking, as if you're not obsessed with numbers and random letters running around in your dark mode monitor, and face turns red when you're computer pops out an 'error' " Snake records back which made the older to fume
"that's called coding Slockerpouch! And at least I program something convenient, unlike you who doesn't do anything but sit around and play with your weird shaped glass cups and weird looking tubes containing nothing but dirt and some watercolors and a lighter"
"What do you think of me? A play doe-phyla? Those glass cups you are talking about are called beakers, and the weird looking tubes are the test tubes! And excuuuse me, they're not just dirt, they are elements and minerals, and I experiment their reaction when they're combined with other liquid elements in a process called collision, and they're not watercolors, they are liquid Elements! Numb-numb! I study Chemistry!" she spat back
"uhuh? But guess who is the most obsessed nerd between the both of us then huh?!" Binary shoot a glare to the younger who's also glaring back
"Both of you" they both stopped when Jinhee interrupted their fuming up arguments
"The both of you…are fairly annoyingly obsessed with facts…numbers, and other things that we can't even understand and only you can interpret those stupid witch-like incantations and alien language, and If you still don't stop talking nonsense…I'll make you loose all your six senses that will make you a numb-numb bedridden Slockerpouch for one whole month" she warns them with her low voice glaring at them making the two to settle back and behave on their seats while looking in front
The reason why I can hear their conversation is because our seats are just approximately close to theirs.
….
The class went well smoothly, though the only one talking was miss Cluff since most of the students here are all silent and can't say a word about whatever she was blabbering, but after some few minutes of what it seems like a linear communication, she dismissed us with an assignment containing 30 items that will be submitted by the end of the week
Once no silhouette of teacher is present in the classroom, this class went to its normally loud situation, it's no different from my previous section actually, everyone minding their own world of consciousness, yet I would still prefer to be in this section if it means no people would waste their time playing me again, like a crowd of kids mercilessly beating a piñata, waiting it to pop out cavity-causing sweets, the only difference is that what I can only offer them is my pale iron deficient blood which is what they apparently like, that sudden aftertaste of memory suddenly gave me a small creep throughout my spinal chord,
dozing off to my thoughts, I felt a small poke from my shoulder
"you know how to swim?" my friend asked which led me confused by her sudden question of the day
"Y-yes, why?" I answered her with a face filled with confusion
"Well I noticed since a few seconds ago, you keep staring into nothingness, and I guessed that you were in deep thought which made me concern that you might drown in your own consciousness so I asked you if can you swim" she explained, which realized me that I was dozing off for a little while now
"oh, I'm sorry, just thinking of something"
"Ahh is that so?, Well it is okay to think on some stuffs, but you shouldn't overdo it though, thinking too much could lead to depression, especially if it's questions that you are pondering with and there are no known answer fitted to the thought yet" she foretell, which made me do nothing but nod
A couple of more short minutes, another teacher arrives, exit,, and so on and so forth.
The morning went well with four teachers attending and dismissing the class, and I myself can agree to the thought of learning Calculus, Physical Science, Chemistry, and Algebra consecutively without break is definitely not a good idea, for it can actually drain all your brain power, but a lunch break will be a great defense for that
"Green Panlafilo?" Chaeryoung suggested
"Sure, but it'll be on me this time, it'll be unfair for you if we split the bill" I defended
"we'll see" She cockers playfully
…
Walking to the school hall, we just talked a lot more about the different life between South Korea and Canada, and since those two are in a different continent, there's a huge gap of our similarities, and maybe the only thing that we're sharing is the fact that both of us are essentially humans
"by the way, you keep saying South Korea, and for one thing that I know is one can only say a direction before the name of a certain place is if a country or continent has two or more sides, like a barrier, just like in North and South America, so…is there another side of Korea or is there another Korea?" she hums by my question
"Yes, apparently there is another side of Korea, it's the North Korea" she answered
"oh, that makes sense, have you been there before?" she quickly looked at me and released a short chuckle
"oh trust me, no one can ever enter there, well if there's someone who can visit it they're only limited to see the view inside and it takes a very long and difficult process" she answered
"…also, if you will actually have a chance to visit such place, I think you won't really conceive it's worth to stay as a month vacation, if you once see South Korea as a colorful, advanced, and a lively country, then the North is completely the opposite, it's a one party government, and…well I cannot actually say this, but their leader is actually narcissist, each house needs to have his picture frame displayed at a certain corner of their house , they should only follow his orders, and should also only care for him, if you disobey, you'll be killed, or you'll be punished with forced labor, your choice" she followed
I didn't know it was that strict, no wonder the only Korea that I know is the South
"that's actually sad, but if that's his way of leadership, how come there's still people who lives there?"
"it's because they can't leave the country, their president is trying his best to preserve the culture of living, and that includes the people living inside, the only person who's gaining liberty is the leader itself, and also his daughter, whom he fond the most, at least he's a loving father, but not the best leader" she reasons out
"what if they escape?" I asked out of pure curiosity
" if they get caught, then not only that person will be sentenced to heavy punishments, but also its family will suffer from the effects of the cause, like a domino, all is connected and affected to the downfall of one"
"that's hard"
"yeah it sure is"
"you sure know a lot of information about that certain country"
"it was apparently taught to us at some certain grade level, also, I love to read Documents and articles back in the day" she replied
"wow that's very educational, you sounded like our history teacher" a disembodied voice came from our back, we turned to see who's voice does it belongs, only to find out that it was one of the people whom I need to watch over
"J-Jinhee" I said slowly, she looks at me with a blank face before deciding to speak
"first of all, I'm not pleased to see you, but miss Pillarion wants a proof that we are actually doing what she had told us to do, that lady is actually persistent at her new hobby, breaks a puzzle apart and rebuilds it according to her wants" bored eyes stares at my figure waiting for me to break the tension by means of responding, but all I know is that I bit my own tongue and no words would fit this situation right now
"So you will agree to-" but before I could even finish my sentence, she beats me up to it
"no, not a chance at all, we're not going to be an inch close to each other, and most importantly, I won't follow your statuary advise to change our paths but instead, what we're gonna do is a win-win for both parties, so unfortunately you'll have to stay with us at least most of the time possible, we just found out that she has two unknown disguised beans assigned to spy our actions, making sure that we're barely making any troubles, and once she found out that we're rarely making any communications at all, I'm pretty sure you know what will happen to all of us next" she explains while fishing her phone from her pocket
"There are rules that must be followed though, first, only mind your own business, I won't disturb yours as long as you don't disturb mine, respect our personal space in life and you will gain the same action from us, and you will gain the same action in return, second, as I've mentioned, you need to include yourself in our circle which means just stay close to us, but that doesn't mean that you should belong yourself, that means no small talks, chit chats, and personal life questions, remember rule number one, privacy, if you don't stick your nose to our business, you'll get a vice versa from us, and third…though you are assigned to look over our action, that doesn't make you the boss of us, so you will follow our orders instead, never complain, and never disobey, that's all" she foretell one-by-one before dialing someone on her phone, first I was curious who she was trying to contact not until my phone rang, and the answer is obvious enough to who might be the caller
"How did you know my number?" I asked out of pure curiosity
"Binary is good in terms of hacking people with a not so confidential and controversial information, and that includes phone numbers of a simpleton like you" she answered matter-of-factly
"From now on, each time we need to go somewhere inside and outside the school premises, you have to come with us, you'll know it once I called your number" she then turns to the Korean girl on my side
"You, Korean girl, you can come with her if you want I don't care, but follow the rules as well, so there won't be any red that's stained on our hands in the future " she points out on Chaeryoung who didn't say anything right from since earlier, I don't know, but it feels like the atmosphere here gets thicker at each time we're having an uncommon reunion
"That's all I gotta say, starting tomorrow, you stay near us, just put an act that we're really on good terms, but don't let the character take over you, we're still not friends, you're just doing this for your scholarship, while I'm doing this for something else that doesn't include you In it" I was left nothing to do but nod
They left us after about some few minutes without bidding any proper goobyes
"I don't know which one is funny, it's either I let what seems like a confidential conversation unfold in front of my eyes without intervening like what I usually do, or the fact that both you and that Jinhee girl share some similarities in facial features despite the fact that the both of you have really huge personality gaps, but either way, that was surprisingly unpredictable for me" The Koreans' silvery voice surrounds the quiet atmosphere, her statement slightly made me confused at the thought.
"I…didn't know about that, the similar facial features I mean" she chuckled in response before deciding to speak
"you don't need to overthink that for any longer, it's just another random thought of mine, cause there is actually no way the both of you are conjugally related to be honest" both of us chuckled and just proceed on walking
Busy by our own little world, a disembodied voice of a man took both of our attention
"Young Mistress Song"
...