A True Friend

Time seemed like it was going by slower than usual today. Perhaps it was because today is a Friday, but Charmaine couldn't wait to get off work. She felt particularly antsy after this morning when an agent stopped by her apartment and tried to take Evelyn away. Yeah, like Charmaine would ever let that happen. Charmaine sighed. All she could worry about was her poor friend. Evelyn has been in a bad spot ever since moving to Epron, and Charmaine couldn't help but feel responsible for everything that's happened to her.

"Charmaine!"

Charmaine jumped in her seat and sat upright. "Yes, ma'am!" Charmaine looked over her computer screen and saw her boss standing over her with her arms crossed, tapping her foot in annoyance.

"Charmaine, did you turn in those file reports yet?"

"Uh, just about!" Charmaine flashed a crooked smile. "I was just about to, but I've been meaning to talk to you, Zahra."

Charmaine's manager sighed. "You know, there's only a few minutes left in the work day. If it can wait until tomorrow- ."

"It won't take long, I promise!" Charmaine said quickly. "I just had a quick question."

Zahra shook her head. "Alright, then. Shoot."

"You see, I have this friend, and I know she could be a valuable asset to this team. She doesn't have any higher education or much work experience, but she's a hard worker and- ."

"Let me stop you right there, Charmaine." Zahra pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know that Buzz Media is the most prestigious news and entertainment company in all of Epron, right? That's why we hire talented minds such as yourself to work with us. Bringing in someone with no related education or experience is, well, detrimental to us. I mean, this is a fast-paced work environment. I can't have some intern who doesn't know what they're doing just waltz right into the workplace. It just isn't right."

"Zahra, please," Charmaine begged. "I know it's really inconvenient and she doesn't have the qualifications, but I know she can do it. She's hardworking and highly intelligent, and she can learn very quickly. I promise you, she could be a useful asset. Please, Zahra, she doesn't have anywhere else to go and she got…" Charmaine stopped herself, realizing she had to carefully word what she was going to say next. "… mugged and hospitalized recently, and I'm really worried about her and..." Charmaine started to burst into tears. "And it's all my fault. I'm such a bad friend. I should've been looking out for her this whole time, and I just want to get her a new job- ."

"Charmaine, stop crying!" Zahra sighed, contemplating a little bit. "Look, I can't promise I can land your friend a job here, but I'll look into something she can do. Don't get your hopes up too high," she said when she saw Charmaine's face brighten. "I said I'll try, but it won't be easy because she won't be eligible for a lot of positions, but I'll try to find something."

Charmaine squealed. "Thank you so much, Zahra! I could just hug you right now!"

"Please don't." Zahra glanced at the watch on her wrist. "You should get those files in before the day is over. I don't want the president breathing down my neck about it again."

"On it!" Charmaine got back to work, but she couldn't wait to go back home and tell Evelyn the exciting news. She's been worrying most of the day about her, especially after that strange man showed up at their door this morning. It was even more worrying after what Evelyn said about the Rebellion. She could hardly believe such a thing happened or the fact that the government was up to something sinister. A chill went down Charmaine's spine. Whatever it is, hopefully it wasn't something that would happen again. As long as Evelyn was safe from the government and the Rebellion, everything would be fine.

When Charmaine finished her work, it was already time to clock out. She took no time in gathering her things and heading downstairs and out of the building. She was on her way to the train station, but stopped when a familiar figure waved at her. "Kit?" She bounced up to the brunette male excitedly. "What are you doing here?"

Kit flashed her a smile. "I'm here to walk back home with you, silly." He put his arm around her. "You look sexy in that pencil skirt."

Charmaine rolled her eyes. "Pervert. Besides, I don't know if you should. My roommate has been going through a tough time lately."

"No worries," Kit shrugged. "I'll just pop in and say hi real quick and then leave. I haven't gotten to see you in a few days, anyway." He kissed her cheek. "Not trying to run away from me, are you?"

"No, I've just been getting caught up in life." Between work and everything that's happened with Evelyn, Charmaine hasn't had much time to see her boyfriend lately. She felt a little guilty. "Alright, you can come over for a bit, but only for a little bit. Evelyn is a bit shy around strangers."

Kit and Charmaine walked arm in arm to the train station, getting ready to board the next stop. "Oh, babe, I got something I wanna show you." Kit reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a small plastic bag filled with dark blueish, dried-looking round objects. The shape kind of reminded Charmaine of truffles.

"What is it?"

"I crossbred a couple of psychedelics I had and came up with this absolute fuckery of a masterpiece. I call it Blue Devil because this shit will absolutely fuck you up."

"Oh?"

"Yeah!" Kit laughed. "Me and a couple of my buddies tried it, and we'd been throwing up that entire day, but the high is so worth it. We should take it together sometime."

Charmaine laughed. "Okay, then."

The train arrived, and Kit and Charmaine boarded it. They spent all of the ride catching up, but Charmaine didn't dare say anything about Evelyn or what's been going on at home. Charmaine thought it would be best if it was something that should stay between her and Evelyn once they figured out what is going on.

The train reached their stop in no time, and Charmaine and Kit walked up to her apartment together. "Ev, I'm home!" Charmaine called when she opened the door. "I brought my boyfriend, Kit." The pair walked into the apartment to see that the living area and the kitchen were empty.

"Weird," Kit said, surveying the quiet apartment. "Maybe she went out?"

Charmaine shook her head. "Nah, she lost her holo-device, so I doubt she would go out without leaving a note."

Kit winced. "That sucks. I lost my holo-device once and had to pay, like, a bajillion bolts just for a new one."

Charmaine checked the bathroom and her bedroom, but there was still no sign of Evelyn. "This makes no sense. Where could she have gone?"

Kit shrugged. "Maybe she went grocery shopping or something and forgot to leave a note."

Charmaine frowned. "But that's not like her..." Charmaine didn't want to imagine the worst and hoped Kit was right, but she couldn't get rid of the uneasy feeling that something terrible could have happened. Her mind wandered back to this morning, when the agent showed up at their door. There's no way the president actually wanted to see Evelyn. It was just too bizarre. There had to be a perfectly reasonable and reassuring explanation for why Evelyn was gone.

"Babe," Kit frowned. "Your hands are shaking. Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Charmaine looked down at her hands, and they were indeed trembling. She clenched her fists, trying to get the shaking to stop. "I'm fine."

Kit sighed and walked up to Charmaine, taking her hands in his. "Babe, no, you're not. You look like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong?"

A lump got caught in Charmaine's throat, unsure of what to tell him. But Kit was her boyfriend, and she needed his support now more than ever. Charmaine suddenly broke down in tears as she clutched her boyfriend's hands. She told him everything, from convincing Evelyn to move to Epron, to how when she went to her job she got assaulted. Charmaine decided it was best to leave out the part about the Rebellion and the microchips Evelyn told her about, but kept in the part that someone mysterious was at their apartment this morning and was trying to take Evelyn away.

"Babe, what the fuck?" Kit's pierced brows furrowed. "You should've called me this morning when that happened. I could've taken care of it. I'd knock that motherfucker out if he tried to put his hands on you."

"It's fine. I handled it well," Charmaine sniffed. "I'm just worried that someone maybe broke in and kidnapped her."

"Well," Kit looked around the apartment. "It looks pretty clean in here with no signs of struggle, and the door was locked when we got here, so it's safe to make the assumption she might not have been kidnapped."

Charmaine choked on a sob. "I just feel so responsible for all this. Evelyn's life was fine until she moved to Epron, and I was the one who convinced her to move here, and I let her go to her new job unsupervised, and now she's missing."

"Hey, we don't know that." Kit tried to soothe her. "And it's not your fault, babe. You've been a great friend to her. There's just some fucked up people in Epron, that's all. It's not your fault." Charmaine sobbed as Kit pulled her into a hug.

A sudden buzz came from Charmaine's purse, breaking the sorrowful atmosphere. Charmaine stopped crying and pulled away from the hug, reaching for her purse. She pulled out her ringing holo-device and saw she was receiving a call from an unknown number. "Ugh, spam." Charmaine declined the call.

"Babe, why did you do that?" Kit asked. "What if that was Evelyn?"

Charmaine's eyes widened. "Shit, you're right!" Charmaine quickly went into her contacts and dialed the number again. She bit her lip as the dial tone rang, hoping to hear her friend's voice on the other line.

The line clicked. "Hello?"

Charmaine's eyes lit up, and a surge of happiness and relief washed over her. "Evelyn! Where are you? I have good news for you, but when I got to the apartment, you weren't here."

"Charmaine," Evelyn's voice was calm, but there was a hint of caution to it. "I won't be coming back home."

Charmaine's smile slowly disappeared. "What?"

"Look, it's a bit difficult to explain, but I've found a new calling. I got a new job and decided it would be best to... move away."

"Move away?" Charmaine repeated. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. "So you're going back to Cathesia?"

Evelyn was silent on the other line for a moment. "Not Cathesia, but I am moving. Don't worry about me. I'm safe, and have a good job lined up, and I'm taken care of. It's best if you don't try calling this number again."

"Wait, Evelyn!" Charmaine felt like her heart was breaking. "You're not leaving like this, are you? Not even a face-to-face goodbye? And what do you mean you're taken care of? How? Where even are you right now? I'm worried sick about you!"

"I know." Evelyn's voice sounded like it was breaking, but she quickly regained it. "But you're just going to have to trust me. I'll be fine, and I know you will, too."

"Evelyn," Charmaine's voice waned. "Why does it sound like we'll never see each other again?"

Evelyn sighed. "Char," her voice sounded like she was on the brink of tears. "Please don't make this any harder on me than it already is."

"Hard for you?" Charmaine was suddenly furious. "How can you just go missing and then call me saying not to look for you and you'll be fine? After everything I've done for you? I gave you a place to stay, and I was even going to provide you with a new job, but now you're going away just like that and treating me like I'm, what, just some disposable crutch for you? Evelyn, ever since you've moved here, I've been breaking my back for you covering rent for the both of us, begging my manager to find you a job, and I even covered your hospital fees, and this is how you treat me? You don't even tell me where you're going or what you're going to do, and you expect me to just be fine with it?" With every word, Charmaine felt her blood boiling. "It's like after everything I've done for you, you don't even care about me!"

The other side of the line was silent for a long time, and with every passing second, Charmaine felt herself calming down, but it felt awkward with her harsh words hanging in the air. Finally, Evelyn collected a breath. "You're right. I've been a shitty friend to you. I can't explain much of what's going on, but I need you to trust me."

"No, fuck that! Where are you? I'm coming to get you right now." Charmaine picked up her purse, getting ready to kick Kit out and go to the train station herself.

"No, Char." Evelyn's words made Charmaine stop in her tracks. "I can't let you do that. Trust me, everything I'm doing is to try and protect you."

Charmaine's brows furrowed. "What do you mean 'protect me'? Why do you need to protect me, and from what?"

"Char, please," Evelyn begged. "I really can't explain it, but I just need you to trust me."

Charmaine was fuming so much that she couldn't even handle the conversation anymore. In a fit of rage and annoyance, she dropped the call.

Kit watched Charmaine warily as she put her holo-device in her purse. "So... what happened? That sounded like an intense conversation."

Charmaine eyed Kit in annoyance, still feeling frustrated with the call. "I'm gonna go get my best friend back."