65. Day 5 Part 4

"Now, are you absolutely positive there's nothing else I can do for you?! Would you like a glass of water, perhaps? A pillow to sit on? Or maybe…"

"A-As I've told you a thousand times already Rose, I'm fine now. So you can stop fussing so much, and go and sit over there. Or anywhere else, where you're not almost on my lap. I still don't like your perfume, you know."

"I'm sorry Chloe, but I'm not going anywhere until I'm one hundred-percent convinced you won't burst into tears again. That mountain of tissues over there didn't form by itself, after all. Anyway, are you sure there's nothing you want to say to me, other than 'go away'? I'm a very good listener, you know."

"GRR! F-Fine, you win Rose, if only to shut you up. But if word of what I'm about to tell you gets out to anyone else in the school, I'll… I'll..."

"Let me guess… throw my gym shoes onto the roof again? Put a 'pinch me' sign on my back when I'm not looking? To be honest Chloe, you can do your worst. I won't leave your side until you tell me what's bothering you so much that you haven't been able to stop crying for the last half-hour. I wouldn't be able to look my parents in the eye if I left for home this afternoon without at least trying to help you, so I guess until you spill, you're stuck with me. However long that might be, is entirely up to you. So um… the ball is in your court, or something. D-Did I say that right?!"

"...Wow Rose, you really are something of a dark horse, aren't you? You're usually so meek and mild and, well... the complete opposite of how you're behaving now. Since when did you get so forceful? I'm not sure whether to be impressed or slightly terrified…"

"W-Well, let's see... both of my parents work for a charity helpline where they assist young people that might be homeless or suffering from addiction, and occasionally their clients are a bit cautious at accepting aid, so the local volunteers sometimes have to push the issue. They always taught me that whenever someone looks to be in desperate need, no matter how much they might try to say 'it's okay', if the signs say otherwise, then I shouldn't ignore them. In your case Chloe, you still look really sad even after exhausting the entire supply of toilet paper in here, so I have to say I'm a bit hesitant to take you at your word. I-I'm not wrong, a-am I?"

*SIGH* "No Rose, you're not. Oh well, here goes nothing. Are you ready for this? It could take a little while…"

"We've still got an hour left of our session together Chloe, and when it comes to helping others I have the patience of a saint! Now, let the healing… begin!"

"... Please don't ever say that again, Rose."

"O-Okay, Chloe."

Mrs Binoche of College Francoise Dupont was understandably surprised by the unexpected arrival of two totally healthy students in the middle of the morning, and even a bit annoyed when she remembered that one of said pupils was responsible for a major commotion inside her clinic the previous day.

But Rose's bright blue eyes, when fluttered a certain way, were enough to manipulate anyone into doing absolutely anything, even allowing her the opportunity to 'borrow' the medical facilities for the rest of the a.m.

Seeing as it would be a few weeks until hayfever season, and the still-bawling Chloe clearly needed a bit of alone time with her companion to cheer up, the nurse readily agreed to leave them to their own devices… but not before clearly signaling to them both she expected no funny business during her absence.

This meant no messing around with the eye chart so it spelt out dirty words, no substituting of the aspirins for jelly babies, and absolutely NO tinkering with Mrs Binoche's specially locked security cabinet where all of her most delicate life-saving equipment was located.

Rumours that there was nothing inside but medicinal whiskey which the grown up regularly imbibed to persevere through some of the more difficult shifts were naturally completely fictional, pure speculation by the most rambunctious children unfortunate enough to be shouted at when she was in one of her infamous 'moods'.

Regardless, the pair of blondes were by themselves now, although precious little communication had been exchanged between the duo for the first third of their allotted time together, as Chloe raided her tear ducts until they were bone dry and Rose whispered sweetly reassuring words of comfort in the heiress's ear.

Now that things had finally quieted down a bit though, the pink-attired teenager was prepared to hear everything her miserable classmate had to say, whether she liked it or not.

Who knows, maybe if I do a good job with her she'll stop picking on me and the others so much from now on, Rose thought optimistically, hoping for a positive resolution. In any case, it should be good practice for when i'm working alongside my parents when I'm older involving some of the more difficult individuals they advise. And something tells me it doesn't get a lot more tricky than to empathise with the school bully. Ah well, here goes nothing…

Chloe looked as though she was going to say something for a second, then stopped. She scanned the room carefully, as if making sure the door was secure and there were no hidden bugs anywhere, before finally blurting out the burning question on her tongue. "Rose?"

" Y-Yes?!" The girl in question twitched uncomfortably at the heiress's abrupt change in volume.

"How on Earth do you do it?!"

"How do I do… what?"

"Stay friends… with Juleka, I mean?"

"W-What are you saying, Chloe? Are you implying that I'm not good enough for…"

"No no, Rose… that's not what I mean at all. What I'm getting at is... the two of you are so obviously different in so many ways, just like Max and Kim, Mylene and Ivan, me and Sabr… oops. What I'm basically asking I suppose might be: how can two such obviously mismatched girls who have absolutely nothing in common on the surface be such good friends to the extent that they are?! C'mon… you can tell me your secret. If I'm going to tell you mine, it only seems fitting that I should know some of yours. What do you say? Do we have a deal?"

Having finally heard all of Chloe's lengthy inquiry, it was all Rose could do to avoid breaking out into the biggest grin. Not only did it afford the short-haired girl a chance to extol the virtues of one of her most favourite people on the planet, the heiress's question had revealed hitherto unseen depths in her persona which Rose wasn't aware even existed before. She hadn't missed Chloe's little unintentional faux pas there about her ex-bestie there, either.

"There's no real 'secret' to our relationship, we just genuinely get on and trust and care about each other deeply…" Rose giggled slightly, as if amused by the very idea there was anything more complex behind the origin of their friendship. "I like nice things, she appreciates more ghoulish stuff. I love bright colours, she's attracted to darker hues… just because we have different interests, it doesn't mean that we can't get on. We've always been able to smile together, laugh together, enjoy each other's company… you have to learn to give and take a bit, as well. If you ever want to get Sabrina back, maybe that last part is something you should recognise, too."

"What?!" Chloe nearly cracked her head on the ceiling upon hearing Rose's 'preposterous' claim at the end there. Upon landing, she began to admonish her companion, who remained remarkably unphased throughout. "H-How could you… I-I mean, think that… I-I would never…"

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you miss her a lot, so don't try to say I'm wrong." Rose recited those words rather smugly, silently thanking her parents for the lessons they gave her in doublespeak, which enabled her to permeate even the most belligerent of denials. "That's what the trouble in the lesson was all about, wasn't it? You miss her and want her to be your friend again, but you don't know how to go about doing that. I am right... aren't I?"

"M-Maybe…" Chloe grit her teeth and sat back down, grumpily turning away from Rose at the despicable notion of showing any kind of weakness. "I-I know what you're going to say: I did some pretty rotten things to her over the years, so it'll be almost impossible for her to forgive me. B-But recently, she hasn't exactly been nice to me, either. Did you hear about how she almost got me taken into care, and…"

"H-Hold on for just a second…" Now it was Rose's turn to be amazed, as she interrupted Chloe by randomly grabbing the heiress's head and spinning it round to face hers. "Y-You mean to tell me, that you actually, honestly, sincerely, regret every single horrible thing you ever did to her?! Are you telling me the truth right now?"

"Yes! Yes! Now would you please remove your arms from around my neck, Rose. You're cutting off the circulation to my face!" Chloe growled in anger, attempting to remove the limpet-like grip of her suddenly ebullient classmate.

But Rose hadn't quite finished yet, and still managed to persistently cling on as she revealed the second part to her question. "D-Does that mean you feel bad about all the other things you did as well, like rip up my letter to Prince Ali, shut Juleka in the toilet on picture day, get Alya's mother fired from her job…"

"Absolutely! Without a shadow of a doubt! Although, that last one was nothing to do with me… it was all my Dad's doing. Now Rose… would you please be so kind as to just give me some damn air!" Chloe was more than happy to put the record straight about her very real regret about her past misdemeanours, but considerably less enthusiastic about dying before even becoming a superhero at the hands of an overzealous little squirt.

"Oh… Oh! I'm sorry! So, so sorry!" Rose apologised profusely before finally letting go, and a gasping Chloe gratefully inhaled the biggest gulps of air she'd ever taken. "It's just… I'm so happy! I never dreamt the day would come when I'd see you so eager to turn over a new leaf! I'd almost think you were lying, but I'm pretty good at telling when people are doing that… and I believe you mean every single word! I know it'll be hard for you at first after acting that way for so long, but I genuinely believe, with a bit of help from me if you'll accept it, we can turn your entire life around! First off, we have to work on getting Sabrina back, then…"

"Alright Rose, while I'm very pleased you're on my side now and are willing to assist me in my quest to be a 'better person', could you like, I dunno… cool your jets a bit?!" It was all Chloe could do to pin her excitable fellow blonde down, as if Rose had been waiting all her life to partake in such a worthy activity. "The thing with Sabrina, while massively important, is not the only issue dragging me down at the moment. Didn't you hear the part where I told you my own father set me up, to take the fall for a certain chef getting the sack?! There's also the fact that I might have a stepmother I don't even want soon enough, if they ever find her that is. Plus…"

Suddenly understand the old adage about when to talk and when to hush up, Rose duly obliged by taking a seat adjacent to Chloe, and for the next hour or so until lunchtime the newly affable pair discussed many subjects both big and small, with Rose doing her best within the parameters of her own limited experience to offer sage advice for what was troubling the disconcerted heiress.

She happened to do pretty well, as it happens.

Of course, some topics remained firmly labelled 'out of bounds'. Like Zzubo for instance, and deceased mothers. Also, hirsute feet. And Lila, who we shall return to shortly...

…

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I had too many good ideas for this chapter to delay its publication for very long, so here you go mateys.

I have even MORE for the next chapter, but it probably won't be ready nearly as fast. Just warning you in advance… ;)