First Impressions

Each step she took made a rhythmic click that echoed through the room. A week had passed since then, and life in Corazon city had become colder due to the impending winter. As Alicia took the last step to the end of the room, the room became still as the sound faded.

Theresa then approaches her with the wheelchair to give Alicia a break after a prolonged exercise,

"Good job you did today; sit down and take a break; you wouldn't want to walk for all-day, don't you?"

Alicia replied as she sat down in her wheelchair to take a brief break. The ink leaks when Theresa presses her pen against the paper as she writes everything on the clipboard with her pen.

"That's it done for today. It seems it's getting late; why don't we head back to the dorm?" As they talked, Alicia's stomach growled; Theresa saw this and glanced back at her,

"Y-Yeah… that would be great; I'm starting to get hungry, heh,"

"I'll work harder when I step into the kitchen."

Alicia looks to the side, trying to avoid Theresa's gaze after hearing her stomach area make a sound. After that awkward moment, the two began returning to the dorm after e long day of work.

Theresa greeted a few students while pushing her wheelchair onto the dormitory steps. Students are conversing, and people are chatting on couches. One caught Theresa's eyes, two male and female students arguing with each other.

She saw this and decided to approach and stop the two from escalating into something worse.

"Hey, the two of you two---"

Fiona came out to the scene, still in her student uniform, and calmed the two students down. Theresa stopped at this when she saw Fiona comes in her place to break the two.

A smile spread across Theresa's face as she saw two residents who had been arguing now shaking hands. This shows that Fiona influences everyone, and they would follow suit.

As the two made up, Fiona turned around and saw recognized the two, and she then walked toward them,

"So you're done with your practice? Why didn't you guys tell me so? I could have decided to take a visit." Fiona said.

"Eh, I only took another lap, so, I mean, you have other things; you don't have to visit me every day."

"Why you don't like me to come over and visit you?" Fiona said.

"T-That's not what I meant….Right, you can always come by." Alicia slides the conversation out.

"I should go to the kitchen now and help one of the staff," Theresa said as she began to walk over to the second floor.

"Hey, miss Theresa, can I come and help around the kitchen?"

"Hmm? Do you want to lend a hand? That's unusual, but we need some help. Come help us."

Fiona joined Theresa and Alicia in the communal kitchen as Alicia was a bit puzzled. After a long day, the students finally have their dinner. Afterward, they return to their perspective rooms and begin their activities.

As Fiona sits on her bed, Alicia enters her room to hang out. Fiona takes out a sewing kit and grabs a needle and black thread. A meter-long thread is pulled out and easily inserted into the tiny needle.

Fiona begins to sew a fabric of clothes. She uses the needle to stitch up a turn-up dress,

"Sorry for bothering you in your sewing,"

"It's no big deal, and it's part of my habit to do this at night. We do it often, and you watch me sew fabric for clothes."

"Yeah, your right…."

Alicia turned around to look at Fiona's room. Alicia saw piles of different-colored fabrics. Instead of a desk for studying, it had substituted a sewing machine for the desk. The floor was littered with her books. Does she check on the floor? Alicia thought when she glanced over it.

Fiona was the first person to encounter Alicia in the clock tower while she was a doll. The first encounter it awkward because she was a first-year student back then.

====

Alicia begins to recall their first encounter, which was in the afternoon; it was also when many students went back home after class, but one particular girl came across an abandoned Tower.

She was astonished by this and decided to check what was inside that unknown place, she thought as she walked toward the old double door. The door is holding itself well; she then holds on to the rusty ring door knob and tries to pull it.

The double door suddenly opened, and as the girl finally could see the full view of the inside, she found many bookshelves empty and dusted, the floor a mess, and many wooden chairs and tables destroyed or missing parts.

But in general, they are no longer in use; as she tries to explore the inside, she finds an elevator. She pressed one of the buttons.

*Click*

Nothing happens. The girl sighs as she turns to the right to find a singular metallic staircase to the top. Without hesitation, she takes it and climbs to the top. After a long gruesome climb up the stair, the girl finally reaches the top; it only takes a hundred steps.

At the top, she crouches down as she takes her breath slowly. After that door that cracked open, she stood up and peeked inside; they were clean and brand new like no one had ever been inside.

She opened the door slowly and walked inside, "Wow, this place looks interesting."

She looked at the different kinds of books piled up like a tower scattered throughout the floor; inside, some were clean, and the shelves also had it. As she walked inside the room, something caught her curious eyes; she found a life-size doll on a chair.

The doll was like any other doll; it wore a gothic maiden outfit, and her golden sand hair was short; this made the girl comes toward it to check the doll's condition; as she toches, the doll's arm, the doll's head suddenly moves, "Woah hold on??"

This sudden movement surprised the girl. and she backs away from the doll,

"Do not be afraid."

"You can talk?" the girl said as she saw the doll opens its mouth and start talking.

"So what brings you here, dear?" the doll said as she looked at something to read from the towers of books.

"Just curiosity gets the better of me..."

"Is that so, then what is your name, child?" the doll asked, "I'm Fiona Alcaraz, and you?" Fiona said.

"Call me Alicia,"

====

The dress I wore at the time intrigued her. Almost every day, Fiona has walked over to me over the clock tower, accompanying me on my journeys of reading every book I can find and she brings, and my way of speaking has changed considerably since then,

"Back then, I remember you keep always coming to the clock tower to use me as your mannequin to design," Alicia grumpily said

"~ I mean, you agree to wear that, right? you were cute wearing that small outfit I usually made for you. ~"

"Yeah, but those aren't fitted for me anymore."

Alicia commented that since then, we had become close friends until now; she came to me to ask for advice or to hang out.

"Speaking of relationship, how's your progression with Hugo?"

"H-Hugo? What are you talking about?"

Upon hearing the name Hugo, Fiona stutters. The door opens, and a man comes in wearing dark blue trousers and a maroon collared frock coat.

As Fiona rose from her knees, dropping the dress cloth out of the sewing kit into her hand, she was stunned to see this man enter her room and ask.

"Father? what are you doing here,"

"I came here to get you back, and we have family business to discuss with you."