3 Chapter 2 - Siblings To The Bitter End

Once again I find myself sat alone in this eerily deserted cloakroom staring out towards the now torrential rain falling menacingly towards the earth, a recently common practice of mine as the heavens release their fury. Darkness descends temporarily upon me as the unyielding clouds prevent the sun's rays from penetrating through. The deeply disorienting feeling makes me question my sanity: Is this reality? Is this a dream? Am I real?

Wearily shaking my head I glance towards my watch. The deep sigh escaping my lips a consequence of the realisation that were I not to leave towards registration soon, my timely reunion with Mr Detention would occur sooner rather then later. I truly despised that metaphorical man, never happy to see me yet unwilling to let me leave until I apparently embraced my own personal shortcomings.

Suddenly an unwanted yet familiar thought materialised in my mind, funny isn't it how your thoughts are seemingly drawn towards the most important topics at the most inappropriate times? The dream-like and hazy image of a girl who's facial features and tone of voice are impossible to place, however who's words remain frighteningly relevant.

"What do you want??"

When formed into a single sentence, these 4 simple words can be used to devastating effect.

Why you ask? Indulge me for a minute if you will: Though sounding innocent enough, the context through which the question is posed, the surroundings chosen and the current mental states of both the questioner and questionee will all invariably impact the answer. Subsequently this recurring nightmare of mine has only served to provide confusion as well as self-deprecation as the words of the ephemeral girl penetrate my flesh and embed deep into my soul.

"What do I fucking want??" Muttering hopelessly to myself as I begin my tedious journey to class, being careful to wipe away the evidence of my sadness on the sleeve of my garishly green blazer.

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"I de-Creed you'd be late"

"Hahaha...Never get tired of that old joke do you Joe?....Bakaro!!" (Bakaro = Japanese for idiot).

Allow me to fill you in: That ridiculously pathetic joke was made by my old and dear Scottish friend Joe Mccormick. Joe's a good guy and what with him being slightly more sociable then myself, he'd become friendly (or at least respected) by the more popular cliques in school. Joe's also halfway decent at sports and quite average in his studies, the phrase Jack of all trades yet master of none comes to mind (or Joe of all trades perhaps?) However if you were to believe even half the drivel he spurts on a daily basis, you might end up believing he was Jesus incarnate.

"Shimon.... Joe....Whilst myself and the rest of the class remain deeply engrossed in your riveting conversation, I am scheduled to begin this class....Roughly 5 minutes ago. Perhaps you two could consider writing a proposal for your own school rules? Or even better you should just rename the school from Lavender High to [Creed and Mccormick's Fun Haven]. Does this sound like a suitable solution for you two??"

"Sorry Miss Valdez."

"Yeah sorry Miss we'll be quiet...Promise."

The famed Miss Ariana Valdez: Early 30's (I think), drop-dead gorgeous complexions with an hour-glass figure that would make most women her age and below want to commit Seppuku, not to mention her sexy Colombian latina accent to match. However Miss Valdez was genuinely caring towards her students, going above and beyond the necessary if it meant helping her students progression (though she seemed to think myself and Joe needed more attention than most!!) In the few years Miss Valdez had been working here, her caring attitude had earned the love and respect of both her peers and students alike.

Fiddling about with my calculator, (which in my infinite wisdom I was able to convert into a mobile version of Tetris). I come to appreciate how civilised my class tends to be as opposed to some of the more rambunctious classes, (for example class 3B who famously brought about the early retirement of a whole department). My class is pretty small with 18 students evenly mixed between boys and another sex too complicated and diverse to be defined so intricately as just "females" and thankfully remained devoid of any particularly troublesome students (you know the ones I mean). Subsequently once a student became attributed towards a particular clique either due to sporting ability, looks or intellect, they generally didn't harass students from any of the other groups.

"Pst Simon....See-mon...Seee.....Mooooonnnnnnnnnn." Turning to my side Joe has his hand conspicuously cupped around his mouth, hopelessly failing at his asinine attempt towards acting covert.

"It's Shi-mon."

"What?" A quick glance towards Joe's blank expression left me glaring towards my desk in despair as I begin pondering over the idea of exchanging Joe for a very cheap gerbil...Or perhaps a trained monkey (at least I could teach it to do some tricks unlike Joe).

"Shiiiii-monnnnn it's French Joe, how are you still not able to properly pronounce my name after 2 frigging years!!!!....Forget it dude what do you want???? Your gonna get us both in shit again."

"I recently got hold of some new pics of Anna for your infinite collection."

"....Really?" Hearing Anna's name drastically improved Joe's standing. Being one of only two people to know about Anna (the other sadly being Eve), Joe had remained a loyal and significant contributor towards my Otaku fascination [love of animation culture].

"Yep half swimsuit digitally enhanced 4k quality, just for you my dear friend!!"

"Damnnn your one hell of a friend, why didn't you tell me sooner.....Wait a second....Whose hands...Are those...On....My.....Table??" The question was obvious at best and hopeful at worst, frankly even Nostradamus could have predicted this one correctly.

A deeply despondent sigh escaped my lips as my gaze slowly raised, invariably to be met by the highly intimidating figure of Miss Valdez. An all too mischievous twinkle gleamed in the corner of her eye when you consider the harsh punishment she would eventually reign down upon my poor....Though possibly deserving soul.

"Shimon....That is the correct pronunciation is it not? I consider my linguistics in relation to French at least above par. Therefore Shimon consider yourself my Numero Uno lucky winner in this game we call life and take a guess what incredible prize you've just won?"

The hopelessness of the situation began to sink in, leaving no option remaining except to unwillingly play along with this sultry mistress of pain. Momentarily closing my eyes as I awaited the inevitable, my response departed my lips in a barely audible whisper:

"A one way ticket to the hallway, coupled with an all expenses paid ticket to meet Mr After-School-Detention himself?"

"Ding ding ding ding ding we have a winnerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....Go NOW!!!"

Miss Valdez's general attitude is the antithesis of temperamental and therefore witnessing her anger is about as rare as capturing a mythical creature such as Big Foot. Consequently upon hearing the dangerous shift in her tone, I decided the best course of action was to hurriedly pack up my things and make myself scarce from the suddenly deathly silent room.

A self proclaimed suspicious looking delinquent (such as myself) stood huddled against a corridor wall would look more akin to some sort of pervert awaiting his next victim, were a young and impressionable girls gaze to accidentally meet his. Therefore rather than risk losing whatever negligible popularity I currently held, I decided to utilise my time more efficiently and take a little stroll around the school. Considering I had already enraged Miss Valdez and earned an after school detention, my day could hardly get any worse...Right??

The unmistakably grandiose Entomological and Botanical based designs littered across the corridor walls and floor marked my entrance into Lavender High's esteemed Science department. In general I actively aimed to avoid this particular department as my astute and popular younger sister's classroom was situated towards the end of the corridor and any sibling contact was strictly prohibited under my own personal rules and guidelines. However faint memories of one of Eve's recent early morning rants springs to mind, whereby she either stated her teacher was on a temporary leave of absence, or her ridiculously silky smooth hair wasn't quite up-to it's usual perfect standard....Slight paraphrasing being utilised of course.

"You really think your gonna get one over on me Miss student Prez whore???"

The sudden raised....Grammatically error-strewn voice caused me to stop dead in my tracks. Eve is the girl's student council president, what the hell is going on in there?

"Ronnie those rumours are all bull! We were only talking about student council work you have to believe me!"

That's definitely Eve's voice, though I could tell she was choking through her words; Silently approaching the classroom where the voices originated, I conspicuously peered through the small window in the door and sure enough a particularly thuggish looking group of girls stood in a circle surrounding Eve and another girl whom I assume is Ronnie. My younger sister has always been extremely apprehensive in confrontational situations and therefore inevitably this will end in tears.

The baying group of girls resembled vicious piranhas chomping at the smell of fresh high grade blood and nothing was higher than the beautiful and intellectual girl's student council president. However my options in this dire situation remain extremely limited; Big-brother running aimlessly into the class would invariably not only turn Eve into this years running gag, my slim physique was also highly unlikely to instil fear into anyone and therefore Eve wouldn't be the only Creed in physical danger. So the question still remained: What the hell do I do??

Desperately searching for anything even remotely resembling a solution, the sudden twinkling reflection off a small red square on the wall catches my eye....The fire alarm that's it!!!!! Recently revised school policies have resulted in video cameras being installed above every fire alarm and therefore feigning ignorance was out of the question (though perhaps pleading insanity could work?) …....Focus Shimon!!!! Eve's running out of time and your sarcastic quips aren't helping the situation, regardless of our differences Eve's my own flesh and blood and therefore I refuse to just abandon her in her time of need!!!

Nervously reaching out towards the alarm, I hesitated as my finger brushed the [break here] section of the glass. Retracting my hand a few centimetres back, I momentarily closed my eyes and took a deep breath hoping to consolidate a moment of composure.

"PLEASE BELIEVE ME!!"

Eve's desperate cry from within the classroom signalled that I had run out of time. Clenching my right hand into a fist and narrowing my eyes determinedly towards the fire alarm, I threw caution to the wind and let loose. All of a sudden alarm bells blared out with a vengeance across the campus. The muffled words "This isn't over bitch" hung forebodingly in the air as the previously feral group of girls hurriedly ran out the class and into the hall, before joining the rest of the school in the meeting area on the field.

Taking a deep breath before exiting my small hiding place in the corner and hesitantly ambling into the now emptied class, the sudden realisation hits how ill mentally prepared I am for the despondent scene currently presenting itself to me. Eve remained deathly still (not having moved an inch from when I saw her outside) her hands determinedly clenched as she stared towards the floor. However this superficial silence was never destined to last; Sensing my presence, Eve's gaze gradually raised to meet mine as tears began to well up in her eyes. Her piercing stare seemingly ripping my soul from my body as I no longer felt like a participant and rather a bystander, witnessing this wretched scene unfold before me as if stuck within some terrifying nightmare.

"You did this didn't you Onii?"

".....I"

"I DIDN'T ASK FOR YOUR HELP!" Eve choked her words out through the tears currently streaming uncontrollably down her crimson-tinged cheeks.

Unsure how to react I hunched my shoulders and stared hopelessly towards the floor. I'd like to believe that my mastery of sarcasm comes from my ability to think and respond almost simultaneously, sadly no sarcastic quips or whimsical remarks would improve this incredulously dire situation. A wave of silence enveloped the room as sudden pangs of guilt began endlessly tugging away at my heartstrings. I didn't feel ashamed for helping Eve, the guilt was directed towards my own selfish conjectures. Jealousy took priority over my duties as an older brother and the realisation that Eve was suffering merely due to her own hard-earned achievements, hurt more then you could possibly imagine.

As Eve attempted to walk past me towards the door, I'm unsure if you can call it an involuntary movement or whether the deep feelings of helplessness coupled with regret affected my ability to carry out logical decisions. Whatever the case I suddenly grabbed my baby sister tightly and hugged her close, saying nothing as the warmth of my embrace spoke the volumes my tongue was unable to verbalise into words. Eve didn't attempt to push me away or try to argue her case, she simply buried her head deep into my shirt and began to weep.