Reverse Grief
Her tears dampened the pillow. She rolled in her bed. Never had she felt so alone. Some girl had gotten his attention. Someone dared take him, her love, away from her. But all she could do was feel helpless and defeated.
Sarah wished with all of her might for her pain, that chest-pressing pain, to escape her and invade someone else... anyone else. She fervently wished her life had not turned out in such a way. Palpable grief started to give way to a feeling of slumber. As the strawberry blonde's consciousness floated away to a realm of relief, Sarah lamented herself, wondering how her life would be had her fate not followed the events she now endured, events of love and unrequitedness, and instead it would take a turn in reverse.
"Wake up..."
"..."
"Wake up."
"... huh."
"Sarah, wake up!"
"Huh? What–" Sarah rose from her bed, mildly annoyed at being woken. "Ed, what the hell are you doing in my–"
She stopped right there. The strawberry blonde rubbed her eyes, sure they were playing a trick on her.
"Ed? Why are you... small?"
"Me? I've always been smaller than you, Sarah!" Ed said, as he laughed.
Sarah widened her eyes a little. "What are you..."
"Your friends came a little while ago and they were asking for you. Are you going to school today?"
"Friends? Oh, you mean Jimmy?"
"No... I was on my way out to his place, actually... Hopefully he didn't sleep in again today..."
Sarah arched an eyebrow. Jimmy never hung out with Ed! What the heck is going on?
"Anyways, that pink guy and his sock-wearing friend are downstairs waiting..." Ed said, as he made his way out. "... That Eddy guy was fuming! I wouldn't make them wait too long, big sis..."
This time, Sarah's eyes bugged out. "Ed, wait..." But the boy had already closed the door. Sarah stood up to catch up to him, when she realized it:
Her feet touched the bottom perfectly, and she stood higher than the height at which she normally measured herself against the door knob.
Expectant, she looked at herself in the mirror. Even through her pajamas, she could see her arms and legs were longer, her hips were a bit more rounded, and she had developed a bit of a bust.
A yell let itself be heard all over the house. Unbeknownst to the girl, two boys made their way upstairs rather hastily.
"Sarah! We heard you scream and–Aurgh!"
"Ow! Heey!"
A couple of slippers landed, one against each of the Eds. "Get out, get out, get out!" The boys had no choice but to step outside of the room as fast as they came in.
Sarah fell to the floor on her knees, panting heavily. Even her fingers looked longer. Just... what is going on here?! Why am I suddenly bigger and, why did Ed call me...
... big sis...
The words echoed in her head time and time again. She made an effort to remember what she had gone through the day before, and how she wished for once to be the eldest child of her household. Noting how Ed was smaller and younger than her, she realized what had happened: her wish had become true...
... But, the devil is in the detail. Somehow, her life had rearranged itself that given such a change, she now stood in the place her former big brother used to fill in.
As the door was slowly opened, Eddy and Double D turned their heads around to it, worry quickly disappearing from their faces.
"Uh... Hi guys... Sorry... I had a... midlife crisis?"
Eddy nodded, not even understanding his friend fully.
"But you're not... You're..." Double D responded, raising a finger to point at Sarah. Eventually, he shrugged his shoulders and let the incident go. He knew from experience that there was too much for him to learn about girls.
"Sorry, Double D. That hit must've hurt, huh?" Sarah said, daring, and yet a bit red.
"Well..."
"Hey, you got me, too!"
The girl turned her eyes to the one she always regarded as an eyesore, and who she had to now endure. She found it funny that now she was slightly taller than him. "Yeah... sorry, Eddy."
"Are you ready yet? We can't miss today!"
And so, the girl was dragged by the short con, as the smart boy with them followed. Wait a second... Sarah thought. How could Eddy be interested in school? He always gets bad grades!
She got her answer. As the trio entered the school, Sarah could appreciate the mid-February decorations that adorned the whole place.
"Oh, how pretty..." Sarah looked left and right. Suddenly she realized the big chance she'd been given. Here she was, in Valentine's week, meters away from the guy she liked! Hastily, she checked her watch to confirm the date.
Remembering Jimmy's words, Sarah came to an important realization: If today is the 14th, and Double D and that Kanker got together on the 24th, then he's... he's single right now! Sarah could not help but to scream for joy on the inside. She was given a marvelous chance indeed, to get Double D's attention and start her relationship with him!
"Figures you'd say that." Eddy said, struggling. "Sockhead! Help me get this out here!"
Double D dropped his own lock to help out his friend. "Sure, Eddy... I'm afraid I fail to understand why you would keep such a thing here!"
Eddy scoffed. "That's why you never get the girls, man! You gotta use that brain of yours to come up with these things!"
Sarah moved hastily aside, as Eddy pulled out and placed a big, wooden, shelf-like stand with lip balloons hanging from a sign that read Kiss the Hunk, disco ball included.
"No one's going to resist me and my kissing booth!" Eddy declared proudly, as he brought out a jar. After looking at himself in a hand mirror and combing his three hairs, he turned around, acting suave.
"Er... What do you say, Sarah? Wanna be the first lucky girl on my list?" Eddy said, as he looked at the girl with a smirk and raised both eyebrows suggestively.
Sarah, who had now accepted the idea of having to hang around Eddy to be with Double D, couldn't help but gag. "Bleargh! As if!"
Eddy looked like a deer under headlights, as Double D started to laugh. "I knew you'd refuse him, but it's the first time I have seen you so vocal about it, Sarah!"
Sarah had to contain herself. If she acted too out of place, someone could notice things were different. We are all friends after all, right?
"Ehem... Sorry Eddy, I mean, maybe not right now..."
"Feh!" Eddy looked visibly annoyed.
"Oh, cheer up, Eddy! If you don't demonstrate a livelier mood then how would you expect to 'get the girls'?" Double D chimed in, teasing his friend, to which Eddy scoffed.
"Anyways, while we wait for class to start, I wanted to give you these." Double D says, as he brings out two cards and hands each of his friends one. Eddy simply looks at his weird.
"Oh! Ummm... That's... very nice... " Sarah said, as she failed to understand the involvement of science on what's clearly supposed to be a display of love. "Anyways, Double D, what about–"
A clacketing of metal noises from the metallic locker doors could be heard in the distance, interrupting the strawberry blonde in her talk towards the boy in the beanie. Instinctively, Eddy and Double D gulped. Such sound could only mean trouble.
"Who's making such a noise–"
"Run, guys, run! It's the Kankers!"
"Kankers?"
Immediately, Eddy imprisoned himself in his locker as Double D ran across the hallway, entering the janitor's room. Sarah was too confused to move.
From the other end of the hallway, she saw three silhouettes. Each shadow crept from the floor towards the wall as the three sisters approached. Finally, the shadows were overlapped by the figure of a tall redhead with curly hair, a blue headed girl with an emo hairstyle which covered one of her eyes, and a blonde with straight hair, which flowed down to her waist. Despite it being divided in two, giving way for an easy view of the girl's forehead, her head, tilted to the ground, made it hard for her face to be seen. Lee walked closer to Sarah with a smug smile on her face, completely sure of her actions. Her immediate younger sister's demeanor was no different, as Marie looked at the strawberry blonde with a mix of arrogance and disgust. May didn't bother to look at Sarah, or at anyone for that matter. Her hurried steps simply bothered themselves to follow her eldest sister. As the trio came closer, it was rather obvious how un-menacing, insecure, and frail the blonde looked.
"Hey there, shrimp! You haven't seen our boys around, have you?"
Even though the Kankers, as she had come to know them, were less menacing just as little as a day ago, having Lee stand right in front of her, towering over her, made her feel intimidated.
"What-you-you mean Eddy and Double D?" She said. Curse her tongue, Sarah couldn't help but to close her mouth tightly as the beanie wearing boy's name was pronounced out of her mouth rather softly.
"That's my Dreamboat you're talking about! Watch how you address him!"
"Yeah, who else could we be talking about, girlie? Where's my Eddy?!"
"..." Was all May could say, as she barely raised her head to look at Sarah.
"I-I don't know, okay?" Sarah raised her voice, standing up for herself. "Why don't you go search elsewhere, if you're so int–"
A couple of slams made Sarah close her eyes tightly. Her ears hurt. After a good second, as the girl dared to open them, she noticed two pale arms on each of her sides. She couldn't help but widen her eyes as she saw the locker doors underneath them, and the huge dents they had taken from the impact. Self-preservation kicked in, as Sarah started to tremble, her adrenaline filling up in her body, readying her to leave running, should it be necessary.
"Watch your mouth, brat. You're lucky I'm in a good mood today, or else you'd end up face first in the trash. C'mon girls! We got boys to catch!"
Laughing, Marie followed, as May simply hurried her feet, but not without giving Sarah a look.
Sarah couldn't have felt more vulnerable. The blonde Kanker had a frown on her face, as her lips struggled to open, but regardless of whether they would have or not, May said no word.
And so, they closed, droopy, as she turned her head and sped up her walking away. In the distance, she could hear her enemies speak, as the words they uttered couldn't come off any more selfish and greedy.
"Ooh just wait til I find my pint-size, I'm gonna kiss him so hard..."
"No way you'll kiss him any harder than I'll kiss my Oven Mitt!"
"Yeah, you just watch... What're you dragging your feet for, May?"
Silence.
"Hey, what're we gonna do with her? She's gonna slow us down, like she always does!"
Scoffing, Lee couldn't help but to agree with her sister. "Yeah, you're right. Why don't you go hide that face somewhere, May?"
That was it. Sarah turned her head, finally allowing herself to look at the three she-demons, as she got surprised at what she heard. May Kanker, tired of enduring what Lee and Marie were saying about her, expressed her disgust in the form of sobs as she turned and hastily entered through the first door she found.
"Psst. Sarah!"
Startled, the girl turned.
"Are they gone yet? Can you help me out of here?"
Sarah forgot her latest encounter with the sisters most feared by the cul de sac and proceeded to help her now short friend.
"That girl's gonna be the end of me, I tell ya!"
"I know. Did you see where Double D go to hide?"
"Mmm, I think he went to–"
The bell rang. Almost out of nowhere, a bunch of students passed by the hallways, scrambling to get to their own classrooms.
"C'mon, Sarah. I'm not sure where Sockhead is, but he's bound to come to class. Let's wait for him there."
Sarah had to agree with Eddy. Though a bit saddened as she hadn't accomplished her goal, Sarah was hopeful that she would get to ask Double D out later on the day.
Sarah answered to Eddy's banter rather absentmindedly as she was busying her eyes on the door, wary of the moment at which Double D would show up. The bell rang again, and the professor made his way in. Students started to quiet down and sit still on their seats as he imposed silence.
Sarah heard Eddy sigh in annoyance. She realized that, if she was older then her classes could be harder and she would have different professors. Worried, the girl decided to try and pay attention to what the teacher was explaining...
... Not noticing that Double D had just entered the classroom, a smile adorning his face.
"Argh! I can't believe he gave us so much homework!" Eddy said, as he slammed his locker door open. "I have a stand to man!"
Sarah rolled her eyes. Regardless of how mature she may have become, Eddy still sounded rather whiny.
"Cheer up, Eddy. The professor did say several of the problems from it can help us for the exam coming up."
Eddy scoffed. "Figures a teacher's pet like you'd say that." He said, making Double D pout. "You've been rather smiley since class started, Sockhead! Are you that in love with Math that you can't help but show it?!"
Sarah widened her eyes, as she closed her locker door and stared at her friend. "You were?"
Realizing he was the center of attention, the smart boy couldn't help but to laugh in embarrassment. "Well... Let's just say I did my good deed for the day... Shall we go to our next class?"
"Hold on! I need this stupid lab folder." Eddy said, as he muttered on the mystery of why he had to carry so many papers to every chemistry class.
"It is really a shame that you would not wear your coat. We're working with dangerous materials today! Why, if we fail this project, we will lose forty percent of our final grade!" Double D said, a mixture of worry and excitement. "Sarah? Why aren't you wearing your coat?"
The strawberry blonde just realized she was completely unprepared. "Ah? Oh... y-yeah. I... my coat. Eh... I must have it here somewhere..." Sarah opened her locker. Curse my luck! I never had to take Chemistry before, and-and Ed's never worn one when I was younger, so I mustn't have one–
But, to her surprise, she found a neatly hung lab coat staring at her as soon as she opened her door.
But, but... I swear I didn't see it before...
"... Ah, here it is." Sarah said, as she put on the coat. "Let's go."
"Okay. So the solution turns a shade of green, and..."
Sarah was aware of every detail of Double D's work as she sat to his right, staring at him intently. Seeing his focus and expertise at work made her swoon. It was inevitable that a sigh would escape her lips...
"Oi, Sarah! Come help me with this!"
And yet, her bliss was abruptly interrupted. "Eddy, don't you see we're working here?"
"C'mon Sarah!" Eddy pleaded from behind them. "Period's about to end! And-Double D can handle himself, you know that!"
"But–"
"It's okay, Sarah." Double D said, though not looking at her. "I am almost done, you should go help him."
"... If you say so..." It was almost painful for her to leave her dream boy working, as she had an obligation to keep with the ever-increasing agony of a friend (or rather leech) that Eddy was becoming.
"Okay. Where does this go?"
"Dude, you have the instructions sheet in front of you!"
"Okay, okay! Hold this while I read the next step." Eddy said, as he passed the soda-like substance to Sarah. The female member of the trio had to bend over to reach the beaker and avoid having it fall to the floor.
Sighing, Sarah wondered how long she could stand being in her position. I get to spend a lot more time with Double D, but why does Eddy have to be around all the time?! Why can't he work on his own, like–
As the strawberry blonde turned her head to look around, she noticed the lone girl working on the assignment. Due to the relatively short distance that separated them, Sarah could appreciate that, while she still looked very quiet, there was something about May Kanker that made her look livelier now.
"Okay, how about this?"
"Huh?" Sarah reacted too late as her lab partner poured a white dust onto the beaker. The glass seemed to vibrate for half a second, after which all the girl could see was a flash of red, orange, and black, accompanied by a loud bang.
"Arghh! My shirt!"
Sarah could feel the eyes of everyone, Double D included, on them. Seeing Eddy's bare belly, she hurried to cover herself. Luckily, the lab coat had taken most of the damage.
"WHAT THE HELL, EDDY?! What did you put in the glass that made it explode?!"
"I-I don't know! I just added some of this–"
Both were very surprised when an ashy hand brusquely snatched the bag eddy had in his hand.
"Eddy! How can you be so stupid?! Don't you know never to mix boric oxide with an aqueous suspension? I was almost done, and you ruined it!"
This time, all eyes were focused on the blonde girl, now black and with frizzy hair, act uncharacteristically loud. Noting her sudden outpouring of emotions, May lowered her head a bit as she slowly made her way back to her seat.
"Are you guys okay?" the beanie wearing boy said as he walked to his crispy friends, offering a hand to each.
"... Kinda. Thanks, Double D."
"... S-Sorry, Sarah. Here, let me hel–"
"Don't. Just, don't touch me, Eddy." Sarah had had enough for the day. Much of the time she had spent by Double D was ruined because of the short guy that had always plagued her existence. If things continued as they did, her sanity would jump out the window! Fuming, she stomped away to where she knew she would find solace...
"Double D, can I work with you? Eddy blew up our project, and–"
... But her surprise was palpable as the smart boy was gone.
Relief, though noticeable on her expression, did nothing to decrease her exasperation. For some reason, Double D's work was laid on the table, unattended, which Sarah then used to turn in something for a grade (after including Eddy's name as per his unavoidable and unbearable insistence). The bell rang a few minutes after the explosion, to which the children reacted to by grabbing their belongings outside. Just as the strawberry blonde had made her way to turn in her work, she noticed May ahead of her turning in some work of her own, leaving quickly after.
But... didn't she say her own assignment was ruined?
Thinking little of it, Sarah dropped off her papers as she went ahead to catch up to the two Eds she could hear from outside. All the while ignoring the fact that both assignments had similar handwriting.
"Just for once, I'd rather not smell like sweat all day!"
"Please, Eddy. Gym shouldn't be so bad today..." Double D, walking along with his best pals, retorted, rather uncertainly.
"Ha! For you, maybe. You have no one to impress!"
Yeah, I wonder about that... Unbeknownst to the con, his two companions were thinking the same thing.
"Think about it this way, Eddy. The sooner we do this, the faster you'll get to shower to... impress the ladies..." Double D added, rather hesitantly. And yet, such words were enough to make Sarah giggle.
"What's so funny, Sarah? You have it way worse than us!"
"What are you talking a..."
As Eddy opened the gym doors, the girl understood what he was referring to.
"...bout...?"
The colors drained from Sarah's face. Suddenly she felt a new respect for her once older brother. As she stared to the front, bug eyed, Nazz came out of the lockers excitedly. That would not have been a problem, save for the two brutes that walked behind her. Lee and Marie started fighting each other with badminton rackets as May stood to a side quietly.
Turning to look at her friends for protection, Sarah realized their class had conveniently been divided so the boys would take up one half of the gym, and the girls the other. W-Who came up with this?
"C'mon girls, calm down! Ugh, that's not cool. Sarah, come'ere!"
M-Mee?! Gulping, the girl took uneasy steps towards her friend.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here. You're like, the only good egg! Everybody!" Nazz called, making the two older Kanker sisters turn to her rather annoyingly. "We're gonna play badminton today, so form teams!"
"I'll take Lee!" Marie said on the spot.
"Okay, Sarah. I'm supposed to referee, so I can't play with ya. May, you're on this side! Go with her, now."
"B-But.." Sarah couldn't object as Nazz slightly pushed her to the other half of the badminton field.
"Ok, grab a racket... If you don't already have one. Drop that, Marie..."
"Urgh!" Marie exclaimed, annoyed, as she dropped her second one.
"Now, when I throw the birdie, you're gonna start the game. Sarah, May, you'll start first.
She could hear cackles from the opposite side of the field. Trembling, Sarah held tight to her racket with both hands.
"Okay, and... go!"
Easy does it. Sarah swatted the birdie softly, a little confident that if she was careful enough, she'd be able to see where either of the she-demons would toss it at.
But such thoughts were far from her opponents' minds, as Marie practically batted the shuttle back. Luckily, Sarah managed to move away fast enough to dodge it, missing it by mere centimeters from her face...
... But, it landed on the blonde behind her. May fell to the ground rather unceremoniously.
"Mwa hahaha! Good one, Marie!"
She didn't know why, but watching her enemy rub her cheek made her feel a bit of pity. "... Are you alright?"
"May! We're, like, playing a game, remember? Pay attention."
Even so, and while she was sure the hit must have hurt, Sarah was surprised to hear the girl laugh. "Yeah. Sorry. I was... distracted..."
"Okay. Here goes..." Sarah threw the birdie, carefully, again. Even though she prepared herself to dodge, Sarah got hit as Lee had batted even faster than her younger sibling. The satisfaction of seeing the strawberry blonde fall on her behind made the two older girls laugh hysterically, as they high-fived each other in congratulation.
"Are you okay, Sarah?"
Her eyes widened. Here was a girl she had never got to know her entire life (or for the one year they had settled down on the outskirts of the cul de sac), and yet she had her hand outstretched, willing to help her up. For a moment, Sarah looked at the blonde's green eyes.
There was something about the half smile May dedicated to the strawberry blonde that seemed to irradiate strength, as well as resilience gained through a life of hardship. Sarah almost felt tempted to sincerely smile...
"C'mon, wimp! Floozy here wants us to play, right?! We ain't got all day!" Lee yelled, to which Marie followed suit by laughing louder.
"Hey!" Nazz complained.
That was it. If there was something she had never tolerated, it was people who would mock her, and right on her face! Sarah grabbed the birdie...
... which in turn, made Marie shut up, as the blue head fell to the floor, a green spot developing on her face.
"Wow, that was a good one!" The girl behind her praised her, but Sarah was at a loss for words. How did I...
"Tchk... How... How dare you, you twerp?!"
Then she realized it yet again. Neither of the girls looked bigger! Her new life manifested itself now more than ever. Not only had she become taller, but her arms were stronger.
Which means...
"You're gonna pay for this you hear?! Lee, let me serve!"
"Got it."
I can do this...!
Furious, Marie threw a fast shot. The flapping of the racket along with the pounding it produced on contact with the birdie made a loud echo in the gym...
... But little did it mean for the girl on the other side of the field, who managed to hit back. Lee had to run back to pick up the shuttle.
"Who does that brat think she is...?" Marie spat, grinding her teeth.
"Suddenly you think you're so tough, huh?! How 'bout this?"
As Lee served, Sarah narrowly hit the birdie back. The blue head saw this as a good chance.
"Take this!" This time, the birdie Marie sent back was directed straight towards Sarah's face, who had little chance to recover...
... But another racket got in between them. "Hey... I wanna play, too!" May smirked. Sarah didn't even question herself on why she smiled back.
Nazz was proud. To her eyes, she was doing a great job! The teach's gonna be so proud of me when she hears I got the Kankers to play! Her complacency wouldn't allow her to see that, what to her seemed a friendly game of badminton was, in actuality, an all-out battle with little defense. Swats were given to the now five-feathered birdie, dented and scratched all over, as Sarah and Marie exchanged blows, trying to best each other.
"So watcha drawing?"
"Oh... here." Sarah saw the piece of paper Double D was working on.
"Eh... Drawing's so not your forte..."
"Hee hee. Well, I thought I was doing it well."
"You kidding? Look, the pigeon has such a long neck, and one eye is bigger than the other."
"It's actually a turtledove..."
"Who cares? They're all the same! You could've just drawn me, since you're turning this way so much..." She teased.
Double D said nothing, as he minded Sarah's words carefully. The urge of looking over her head seemed to overtake him from time to time...
"Yo, Sarah! Since you haven't started yet, why don't you draw me?"
"Sorry. Not into modern art."
Double D laughed, understanding the implication.
"Argh! Fine!"
He tapped his fingers on the board that served as a table.
"They're gonna come... any minute now..."
The girl rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed, but rather getting used to it. "C'mon Eddy. Valentine's was yesterday. And someone didn't get me anything besides a card..." Sarah said, as she turned around to look at the smart boy, immersed in the nerdy universe that was his locker.
"Huh? Did you say something, Sarah?"
God, give me patience... 'cause if you give me strength... "Double D, come'ere one second..."
Obediently, the beanie wearing boy followed his female friend, as the two walked away from Eddy.
"What did you do yesterday afternoon? Was it fun?"
"Oh yes! Why, the Geometry homework we got was rather well thought-out! The problems could not have been any more approp–"
"Oi, not what I meant, Sockhead..." She covered her own mouth. Where did that come from? "Tee hee, I mean, don't you ever... you know... feel like going out somewhere?"
"Somewhere? Like where?"
"I don't know! You know, go out and have some fun...?"
He thought about it for a second. "Oh yeah! I know just the place!"
"Really?" She beamed. "Well, what do you say we go this afternoon?"
"Um, but Eddy hates it..."
"What does Eddy have to do with this?"
Double D arched an eyebrow. "Didn't you say for us to go to..."
Sarah slapped her forehead. "No... no, no, no... I meant... for us two to go..."
This time, Double D arched the other eyebrow.
"It'll be fun, you'll see!"
Thinking about it again, he smiled. "Yeah. It will be. So how about I go to your house at 4?"
She couldn't remember when the last time she smiled so brightly was. "Ok! It's a date!"
If one thing she adored about her new life, it was that now every girly dress she had was bigger and looked a thousand times better on her. As soon as she finished accommodating her skirt, the bell rang.
"I'll get it!" Her little brother called, as he broke into a dash to the front door.
"Hey Ed!"
"What's up, Double D?" The two boys played with each other as the beanie boy gave Sarah's brother a noogie. Suddenly, he stopped.
"Ed, please tell me the liquid coming out of your hair is water..."
"No, it's gravy!" the boy yelled, as if he was happy to share his love for the sauce.
"Oh, Ed... Here you go, Double D..." Sarah handed the boy a sheet of paper towel. "You look... casual... I guess..." Sarah complimented, as she saw little change in the boy's attire.
"Oh, thank you. Shall we go?"
"Alright!"
"This is the place?!" Sarah almost yelled, as she couldn't believe where she had been taken.
"Yeah! Isn't it great! Hundreds of books, Thousands of pages, millions of words from all the brilliant minds that have set foot on the Earth! Isn't this fun, Sarah?" Double D exclaimed, excited, as he made his way to the steps that led to the library door.
"Wait."
"What is it?" Double D turned, as he noticed his friend stood still on the pavement.
"This is really your idea of fun?"
"Why wouldn't it be fun? There's so many ideas, so many anecdotes and stories in just a single place that the thought of reading them all–"
"Sorry"
"What's that?"
"I... think I gotta go, Double D..."
"But we just arrived..." He wondered.
"I know! I know... I just... I really have to go, Double D. See you tomorrow..."
"... Okay, see you at school tomorrow!"
Pitiful, she turned and walked away.
"Soo... how did it go with Double–"
"Oh, just shut up..." Sarah said, as she made her way around Ed to her room. She closed the door, and made her way to sit on her bed. Oddly enough, she felt rather uncomfortable, but she knew that if she lied down the tears would flow out, so she dragged herself to the edge until she slowly sat on the floor.
In all of her new life, despite the ups and downs that this one had brought, she never thought she would feel so depressed. She had tried, but so far all that she would get out of Double D would be more displays of his huge love for anything that involved knowledge. A tough realization was building up in her mind...
Could it be that... I never really knew him that well? Have I fallen in love with just an image of him?
And yet, such thought was short lived. She had never given up so easily...
I have to keep trying! I know if I put my mind into it, I can...
... I can make him notice me...
Resolute, she sat back down on the bed as she tried to think of new ways to gain his attention tomorrow.
She berated herself. Panting, she had finally made it to school, with as little as two minutes before classes started! Sarah made her way to class, quickly, as she couldn't help but to kick herself on the inside for sleeping through her alarm.
After a swift turn, she noticed her two friends chatting. For some reason, Double D seemed to hide his face in his locker as Eddy had a book in between his front teeth...
"Eddy? What... are you doing?"
"Oh there you are!" He said, as he spat the book. "I thought you wouldn't make it"
"Well, why didn't you guys wake me?!"
This time, the smartest one among them spoke. "We figured you may have reacted just as you did two days ago..."
"Oh... well..."
Dropping the subject, he turned to Eddy. "I do hope you are quite done of getting your so-called teasing out of your system."
"Nah, I'm just getting started! Get this, Sarah!" Eddy said, becoming louder by the minute. "Sockhead here found a note with a chocolate attached to it! And it's from that bucktooth Kanker! I pity you, man, you have two freaks to worry about now!"
She froze. "... What?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Double D said, scratching the back of his head, rather unaffected by the torment Eddy expected him to suffer. "She just wanted to thank me for helping her out"
"Double D... what do you mean by that?"
"Well, the other day when you guys blew up your project, I gave her a hand to try to re-create hers."
"Mwa ha ha! This guy's such a sucker!"
Double D got a little annoyed, as the two of them walked to class, Sarah following them from behind. "Oh, come now, Eddy. This may sound foreign to you, but I couldn't help but to feel... concerned for her. Why, the other day when we were hiding from her sisters, she entered the place I was in. And you must know, she was crying. She said she was so ugly, she would never find a valentine... I can't just let someone feel so sad, I just can't. So I gave her one of my Great Minds of Science cards, and well... that actually cheered her up."
She stopped.
... What?!
Suddenly Double D lost his balance as he was pushed slightly to a side. "Don't you get it, Sockhead?! You're making excuses left and right!" Eddy said, as he mocked his friend, amused but at the same time annoyed by his words. "Man are you pathetic, we're supposed to get away from those monsters and you go and fraternize with that idiot"
"Eddy, please. There's no need for you to–"
"Then what are you gonna do? Oh, wait, you're a genius!" Despite his praise, both of them could notice that, given Eddy's tone, he was being far too sarcastic. "You're thinking that getting in with the blondie is gonna get you away from Marie? Dude, she's bat shit crazy about you! You're just making more trouble for us–"
Exasperated, Double D thought of putting their little discussion to a halt before things got ugly...
"Look, I get it. What do you want me to say? If you don't want me to fraternize with the Kankers then I won't, alright? I thought of being nice, that's all, but I don't like May Kanker. Are you happy now?!"
... But alas, it was too late. No sooner had Double D spoken than they noticed a particular trio of girls standing close by.
If Lee's eyes were not covered, she could have been seen raising an eyebrow. Marie only huffed, annoyed at the thought of her dumb-as-a-brick sister ever being with her man. May, unlike her sisters, did not react indifferently. Her eyes were open wide, but she had no words to say. Her eyes met those of Double D.
The colors seemed to drain from Eddy's face, who yelped and almost seemed to jump in place as the ringing of the bell scared him. "R-Run... guys, to sanctuary!"
Dragging Double D with him, Eddy couldn't have ever been more grateful to see the teacher inside.
And yet, as if nothing had happened, two of the sisters stepped in say and passed by the Eds, not a word to say to them.
Sarah, still outside, watched as May seemed to excuse herself to her siblings, as they seemed to shrug off her quick paces away from the classroom towards the restroom.
She didn't know why she was washing her face. Something felt... weird, as if something was... broken. May Kanker couldn't identify what she was feeling, but she equated it to the odd time she had done something wrong at home and received punishment.
Suddenly, the ambience of the room felt different, as if she wasn't the only one in there. Turning around, she found her suspicions were correct.
"... can I help you, Sarah?"
"Oh, I'm sure you can." The girl said. Given her tone of voice, it was undeniable to the blonde Kanker that the girl before her seemed upset. "What're you trying to pull?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb! I heard about the little note you left Double D..."
She frowned. "Oh, that."
The strawberry blonde snorted, mocking her rival. "You say it like it's a trivial thing." Sarah could observe as the girl before her grabbed a paper towel to dry herself.
"So why is it important to you?"
Even when she had come along, thinking of possible comebacks against her, Sarah was left speechless by her reply. Stuttering, she finally responded:
"T-That's none of your business. But I don't want you close to Double D, you hear me?"
And yet, despite her threats and raise of voice, all May would do is sigh as she lowered her gaze. "Why should I get close to him?"
It was the second time in such a little while that Ed's sister was left without words to say. Sarah couldn't simply tell anyone about how she used to live her life, resigned to the idea that the blonde she was arguing with at the moment would be Double D's girlfriend. She had to stop such a future from ever happening. There must be something threatening, menacing enough that I could say to her to st–
But, before the girl could reply, Sarah heard more words come out of the blonde's mouth. "You heard him yourself. He probably finds me... repulsive..."
She had never experienced such a situation. Sure, when she was indirectly rejected by Double D, she had felt horrible. And yet, despite her situation then, she knew she had people to count on, be it Jimmy, her brother, or maybe even Eddy.
But she had never felt the atmosphere around someone so heavy. The blonde Kanker was openly ostracized by her siblings, and due to their bad fame, by everyone else. She's all alone... she's...
... She has no one...
Something inside of her told her to stay. That she was supposed to do the right thing. But her immediate desire for supremacy on what she thought would be a duel to win the heart of Double D won out. Sarah resisted the urge to move ahead and comfort the lone Kanker, to instead turn around and ensure herself that, now that May was out of the way, she would be able to start a relationship with Double D.
"Aren't you supposed to be in class now?"
It was Kevin, apparently performing a last minute patrol as his duty of hall monitor required him to do so. While he always acted himself out to appear menacing, even at her previous life Sarah had never been intimidated by him. "What's it to you, shovel chin? I had to go to the restroom..."
The boy cringed, an act which the girl was too tempted to follow. I guess hanging out with Eddy's rubbing off on me...
"W-Well, then, you'd better hurry to class! By the way, you wouldn't happen to know who that weird booth belongs to?"
A bead of sweat ran down her neck. "Hey, it's not like I keep inventory around here..."
"Hmph. Smart mouth." Kevin huffed as he opted for getting away from the strawberry blonde.
"Seriously, couldn't they have given us chicken this time?" Eddy said, as he walked alongside Ed's sister with a tray of plain macaroni and cheese.
"Beats me. Where is Double D?"
It was something about her words that annoyed him. "Him? He went ahead, remember? So he must be sitting down here somewhere..."
"You know, he was rather quiet back in class..."
A scoff. "Hey, he's always quiet, Sarah."
"I know, Eddy. But... there was something else..."
He didn't remember a time where he had felt so uncomfortable. "Oh, look at you. You're reading minds now?"
"Hey!" She replied, "At least I'm worrying about my friends. Maybe you sh–"
"Should what?" He raised his voice. "You think I'm that dense? I don't know what's going on with you lately, but for the past few days you've been acting so weird. Can't you talk about anyone else besides Double D?!"
The realization that she was rudely referred to by Eddy made her widen her eyes. Just what kind of life did I have before... ? She had never stopped to analyze the situation, as her behavior may have conflicted with how the people around her would normally know her. She was about to reply, when suddenly she saw her friend deposit his own lunch tray on the trash.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"I'm not hungry anymore. Later..."
Eddy left, leaving a speechless and rather puzzled Sarah. Even when the con spoke with a harsh tone, the hurt in between his words was too palpable.
Just... what kind of friendship was I supposed to have with Eddy?!
Her thinking was forcefully halted, as she dreaded to imagine the unimaginable. As she walked on, she noticed the one she was looking for, sitting down on a table. Relieved, she made her way to join him, grateful for being able to occupy her mind more, to avoid considering what else was going on between her and the other Ed.
"Hey, Double D. What are you doing here all by your lonesome?"
In response to her, and to anything anyone may have said, the beanie boy barely raised his head. It was then that Sarah noticed his eyes too, seemed to reflect strong feelings of pain.
"Oh. It's you, Sarah. I'm not sure what you are asking, we all come here to eat, right?"
She laughed a bit. "No, silly, of course. But you seem rather... iso..."
"Isolated?"
"Yeah! That's the word..."
Even though he guessed her word, and as she was sure she had successfully started a conversation with him, the smartest boy in the cul de sac had no more words to utter.
"Seriously, Double D. What's wrong?"
But again, there was no response. Getting desperate, Sarah walked to stand next to him.
"C'mon, Double D," she bargained, "what can I do to get you to talk to me? Something's eating you, right?" She giggled, trying to make a joke as the boy calmly brought his spoon to his mouth. "What is it?"
A painful silence seemed to live within the span of the unbearably long three seconds for which Sarah had to wait. Finally, she heard Double D exhale as he spoke.
"I'm afraid I'm not sure..." he said, as he set his finished tray aside. "Something happened this morning, and I don't know if I should be okay with it..."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well... I could see it in her eyes." Sarah frowned, as Double D's words broke mid-sentence. "Do you... think I hurt her... too much?"
No...
"What?"
"She didn't even make it to class..."
It can't be...
"... you mean... ?"
"I shouldn't have said that. I mean, Eddy did pressure me, but she might not know that." He sighed. "I thought I could actually get along with May, but..."
NOOOOOOO!
"M-M-May?"
Double D raised his head to look at his best friend, his confidant, to whom he had for about a year now trusted with the knowledge of how he admired a certain blonde, whom he believed to be misunderstood.
"I wish I wouldn't have said what I did. You don't suppose she'll want to hear me out?"
Silence.
"Maybe... maybe I should talk to her. Yeah! Um, sorry I won't accompany you while you eat. I have to go and set things right. See you later, Sarah!"
And with that, the boy in the beanie hat, Eddward Marion, left to where he supposed he would find her.
Her. It was always her.
As a tray full of pasta fell to the floor, everyone in the cafeteria freaked out when they heard a high pitched shriek. Its owner collapsed, knees to the floor, as she sobbed and close her hands into fists.
"This can't... be... WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO MEEE?!"
Sarah lowered her head, as her denial made her unable to understand how her fate was sealed. Anger soon gave way to sadness.
And yet, after a while, the girl who had started a new life rose.
As she raised her head, a decisive expression reflected on her face. Sarah was resolute to not be affected by what she was undergoing.
"This can't be happening... I... won't... allow it!"
She almost seemed to yell, as denial filled her out to the pores, the smell of gravy suddenly filling out the ambiance...
"Eat up, baby sister! You have to maintain your strength!"
Slowly, ever so slowly, her eyes opened up. Ed's smiley face seemed to engulf her whole line of vision.
"Huh?"
"And I brought you an ice pack for your head!"
"What?"
Soon enough, the tallest of the Eds jammed a thermometer on her mouth, and no later than that he grabbed a spoonful of the gravy from the bowl he had brought. "Don't worry, baby sister! Ed's going to take good care of you! Here, open wide!"
Finally she had enough of the situation, as Sarah spat the thermometer to a side. "What the heck, Ed?! I'm not sick! And what are you doing in my room so early?!"
The guy trembled. "B-But, Sarah! It's ten o' clock! I-I figured since you wouldn't get up this morning to go to school, then maybe you would be sick! I couldn't just leave you alone…" Ed said, as he moved the spoon closer to her. "At least eat some, Sarah! You will feel lots better, it always makes me feel great!"
Remembering where the gunk of gravy came from, as Ed "recycled" the gravy he didn't eat, made Sarah gag.
"I don't need your garbage! And get out of my room!"
Sarah fought with her big brother to get him to leave. She found solace as the thing she grabbed to throw at him bopped him in the face, making Ed close the bedroom door in haste, the object of her ire falling to the ground with a squeak.
Now, that she sat in her bed, she couldn't help but to feel uneasy. True, yesterday had been a horrible day, what with the way Double D rejected her and all...
... But there was something else, deep within her mind that she couldn't quite make sense of, no matter how hard she tried.
I remember feeling... happy... then sad... then angry... what happened?
Sighing, she laid back down on the bed, on her back. It was pointless to assume that something as insignificant as a dream could make her feel any better. To her, the world was always the same. No love from Double D, no way to get rid of the Kanker, and no possibility to ever have the pain that had been crushing her chest as of lately be changed into some form of reverse grief that would liberate her of her sorrow.
Dull, she opted for turning her eyes to the object that had had fallen on the floor.
Polly Poo Poo...
Her day wasted, Sarah decided to try and have some fun, the likes of which she had failed to experience in a while. She grabbed the doll by its shoulders as she made it walk over the surface of her bed.
"My, my, what a lovely day!" She squeaked, her mind becoming more and more at ease...
Notes: Please keep in mind that, while memories may come and go, not many people can vividly remember what they dream about at night, and even if memories remain, these are hard to evoke.
Can anyone guess why I gave this story such a title?
The tricky part about this story was to make sure to try and accommodate life for the Eds in a way where Sarah would be included, and how this would affect canonical events in Ed Edd n Eddy, such as Hanky Panky Hullabaloo which takes part within the story, but with several elements modified (such as the lack of mountain sprites, since Sarah is present and Jimmy is at least mentioned), and non-canonical ones, such as More than just a Hullabaloo, where Eddy has no reason to be mad at Double D in the beginning and Marie is not furious at May. Regardless, since everything occurs within the MTJAH "universe", the core behavior and personality of the Ed Edd n Eddy characters is preserved to an extent.
Though it could be a little hard to attempt a continuation, I think it may be done with enough planning. What do you think?
Please review!