It was a bright day.
It was a day that she'd one day forget.
Just as she would all the others.
"So, what are you two having?"
The young Beanish girl was short in stature, and an excited demeanor had taken-over her features. She wore a school uniform; that of the higher-set students. "I think the mint looks ice... What about you?" The second girl was a koopa, one of the second-to-last evolution on the first line. She turned to face the taller girl beside her as she spoke, leaning over the glass curvature that protected the various flavours of ice-cream.
"... Eh? Oh, strawberry, please." "Are you okay? You seem to be phasing-out a lot. Is it one of those human sun-stroke things?"
"No, no, I'm fine. I promise."
"Vivian, you always lie about when you're sick. You don't have to worry about worrying me. Maybe you'll feel a little better after having your ice-cream. Here, have some."
"Thanks, Claudia."
"Hehe, don't mention it."
"You know I will anyway."
"Of course."
The other two took their respective ice-creams and continued on their way down the cobblestone street to the next destination.
It was her first day of secondary school. She'd been placed in the middle sets so far due to her teacher's discrimination against her at her last school, but they couldn't deny the results of her official tests. She was walking to her second lesson with the left strap on her backpack hanging loosely below her waist, when she heard a cry for help from behind the corner a few meters in front of her. She crept up to it and looked around, keeping as much of her head and body hidden as possible. She saw a student in the boy's top-set uniform and year 8 tie being held up against the thinly-plastered concrete wall by two male students with year 10 ties and being kicked and spat on by a year 11 boy. She wanted to intervene immediately, but she was scared to as the boys were human, making them likely to attack her if she tried anything, plus they were a foot or so taller than she was. "Please... let me go..."
"Why the fuck would we let a fucking tranny pussy cunt like you go? You fucking faggot."
"I never did anything to you." "You were fucking born, that's what you did. You fucking pussy bitch."
"Yeah, you like dressing like a bitch, don't you?"
"Haha, fucking pansy."
She uncovered herself from her hiding place...
...and stepped forth.
...
After a while, the two stopped to rest on a bench far between the two main buildings of the school in a tree-covered retreat of the alternate link-path route. "Thank-you for saving me back there. My name's Vincent Ombres, but I prefer to be called Vivian. What's your name?"
"I'm Claudia. Claudia Flurrie."
...
She awoke from the dream. She took-in her surroundings: A plain room with a wooden structure for the walls. Her prison. The diazepam ground and poured into water on her bedside table. Her poison. The photo beside the tall, half-empty, chipped glass. Her peace.
She dragged herself out from beneath the tattered covers and made her way to the bathroom beside her chamber. Her whole body hurt, her lower abdomen being the worst offender. She took a look at her reflection; unkempt purple hair on the red side of the spectrum, a torn pyjama top with frayed sleeves that was far too big for her, but thankfully covered up the top halves of her thighs, and tired eyes completely devoid of life. Yet somehow, not joy...
A small voice chimed in.
"Mama, Morton fell and bumped his nose on the table and now he's crying."
"Okay, Ludwig, I'll come and help."
Her oldest son, only four and already capable of dealing sensibly with situations even adults would find stressful, toddled out of the room and disappeared through the living room door. Her children were her last stand of hope. The bulge in her abdomen indicated that another, her fifth, was coming along. After what had happened to those that she loved...
Killed...
Tortured...
Just because they were close to her...
She had no-one left to care for her.
She was a prisoner of that man. She was his slave. She was his toy. She was alone.
But she held strong.
Even though it hurt.
She did it for them.
She did it for them.
