two: all is not what it seems
"Look who decided to show up!"
The red haired boy blinked at the welcoming sight, of cheerful students and an absent teacher, that greeted him when he finally arrived by the doorway. Hanging above the doorway, the sign gleamed brightly, in black inking: CLASS 2B.
Eh? How did I know to come here?
"Did you sleep in?" Another boy suddenly appeared in front of him, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Having wet dreams about a girl didn't you now?"
Well, I was late because of a girl. His mind flashed back to his earlier encounter with a cerulean haired beauty—
—and how close he was to committing a crime as a pervert.
"Hey, hey," The boy was shooed away; his grin disappearing and annoyance replacing mischievousness. "can you get back to doing the work sensei left behind for us?"
"Good luck," The boy whispered in Sora's ear, patting his shoulder, "dealing with her."
"I heard that," a girl with cherry colored hair appeared, hands placed on either side of her hip. Her aquamarine eyes flashed brilliantly. The boy faked a yelp and ran off, leaving Sora confused. The girl stared at the boy who left and sighed. "This class is hopeless."
"Anno…"
"Oh yeah, you," The girl looked back at Sora, her right arm outstretched in an offering manner. "Here."
What? Sora stared quizzically at her arm, wondering what he should do with it. Does she want to shake hands?
The girl cocked her head, lips forming a barely visible—but still there—impatient pout. He gradually lifted his own arm, pressing his palm against hers. Though her hand was tiny in comparison to his, his hand fitted perfectly in hers. He gave it a firm shake.
"Uhm…Sora…what are you doing?"
"Hm?" Sora glanced at the girl whose expression was contorted in a mixture of confusion and surprise. "…what do you mean?"
And how do you know my name?
"This." With her free hand, she gestured to the hand he was still shaking with. "Why are you shaking my hand when I'm asking for the permission slip I gave you yesterday?"
"Eh? But I…" His shaking hand slowed as Sora's eyebrows scrunched up into a frown. "…what permission slip?"
"You mean you forgot about it after I reminded you about a billion times? I know things are tough for a transfer student but this is important—" She stopped, eyes flickering from his face to their joined hands. "Wait is that why shook my hand?"
"Uh…"
Without waiting for him to respond, the girl laughed, letting go of his hand and clutching her stomach. Tears sprang to her eyes as she giggled and snorted; her shoulders rolled with laughter, briefly capturing the attention of some. Sora felt a bit uncomfortable, scratching the back of his head and searching a way out of the situation.
But then he caught sight of the tiny, fleeting smile she wore after she finally stopped.
C-cute!
"Well then, Sora," she finally composed herself. In return, Sora swallowed back his thoughts. She forced a piece of paper in his hands. "Here's the sheet. Don't forget. And by the way," she winked, "my name is Stephanie. Stephanie Dola."
He was about to introduce himself when he realized she already knew his name. He shook his head. "Alright." She gave him one last grin before walking away and Sora was left on his own. He was about to find his seat when the boy from earlier approached him.
"Hey, hey, Sora. What do you think of this chick?"
A photograph was shoved into his face and Sora squinted to make out the figures, vaguely able to outline a person with a blonde bob. The second figure however…
"Shiro?"
"Oh you know her?" Stephanie appeared by his side, tilted head brushing his shoulder a bit. "I thought you wouldn't since you just moved a week ago. Funny you'd know this but not the paper I gave you yesterday."
"No but," he ignored what she was saying, pointing adamantly at the lifeless looking girl in the photograph. "Why...does she look so dead? Like—"
"—a corpse? Well, she is nicknamed Death after all."
"Death?" A chill ran down his spine, his lips forming a crude smile. He didn't know whether he was amused by the terrible nickname or perplexed by the choice of the nickname. "Her? Why is she called Death?"
"Apparently she's some kid genius," Stephanie shrugged, "so she lives in the laboratory. Because she's still a kid, people who work at the laboratory play with her. Recently, they've been getting kids our age to play with her."
"So the blurred out person here is..."
"Right," Stephanie nodded. "He was our classmate, Keito."
"Was?"
"Keito...he..."
"That's why she's named Death!" The boy, from before, blurted, coming in between the two of them. "She psychologically kills people!"
"What?" It sounded absurd; that such a little girl with abnormal intelligence would pull off such a thing. "Why would she do that?"
"Because she's corrupt," was the boy's reply. "Keito was the happiest and smartest student in class until he started visiting her."
"Is this..." He turned to Stephanie, whose visage was grave and solemn. "...true?"
"I hate to agree with rumors but yes... Keito was...my best friend. Death came to him too early."
No. Way.
—
The faculty was large and foreboding, matching exactly the descriptions of all those evil headquarters where the villains performed experiments on innocent children. Large, cylindrical structures right after the other lined up all in a single row, spanning over a few miles. Separating him from such an unknown world, were iron gates, towering in unfathomable heights, and its metal corroded in chips still attached to the, appearing like silver little leaflets with jagged ends.
The sight was a mixture of manmade beauty and horror.
His stomach churned.
"This is the place?" He checked the scrap of paper with instructions he had gotten from Stephanie. The girl was strangely apprehensive, contrasting the friendly attitude she carried. It was funny; she appeared the type to harbor her own opinion, to not let it become affected by anyone else's yet her face contorted to the same expression as everyone else's when Shiro was mentioned—
—it was one of absolute terror.
"Is she really that bad?" He wondered, not knowing where to begin, not knowing where to enter. Deciding to walk left because he preferred it over right, he crumpled the paper and threw it across his shoulder. "There wasn't anything scary about her though..."
That was right; there was nothing he should be worried about. But...
"The picture...did someone really commit suicide because of her?"
He doubted it. He wanted to doubt it. But even if that was true—if he was right—why would his classmates say that she indirectly killed someone? The stories didn't match up. Considering her physique and appearance, she wouldn't be capable of murdering anyone.
Brrr...brrr...brrr...
Feeling his back pocket vibrate, he reached in to pull out a cell phone; its screen lit up with a message: REMEMBER DINNER IS NOODLES AND PORKCHOPS; DON'T BE LATE.
A grimace spread on his face as his fingers around the cell phone tightened. How could he forget? When his mother so ardently reminded him the morning of his favorite meal being tonight's dinner, he was looking forward to it. Yet, dinner was the least on his mind and he couldn't bring himself to care about the disappointment his mother would feel.
"I'm such a bastard," Sora muttered as he began texting an excuse to his mother.
Just as he was about to hit send, a shadow loomed over his screen. He stilled.
"Well, well," a familiar—feminine—voice sounded through the quietness in the air, "who do we have here?"
He tensed, back becoming rigid and breathing erratic. He didn't know who would be around here besides the faculty and judging how ominous and oppressive it felt, the workers would most likely match its appearance. Would the smart thing to do right now be to make a run for it?
"You can't run away!" The voice sang, startling Sora. "I'm pretty sure you'd know how far you'd have to travel to get here and besides—"
The voice was suddenly right next to his ear. "—I'm a rather fast runner."
She didn't have to say anything; the underlying message was crystal clear.
Stop fooling around and give up your identity.
Gulping, Sora did just that. Turning around, he braced for the worse.
He doubled back at what he saw instead.
"Good!" A woman, with purple-pink hair tickling down to her knees, smiled, donning a large white lab coat. "You've made this a whole lot easier than I wanted it to." She approached him closer, her perfume faintly detectable. It was unlike the smell of high school girls; it was more womanly, more mature. He held his breath, refusing to let himself become intoxicated.
Too late.
One of her arms stretched out, grabbing onto his with surprising strength.
He winced.
"Then," she was smiling, revealing pearly white teeth. "You don't mind if I take you in...right?"
Word Count: 1,521
A/N: This chapter is a lot less dense in story than the previous chapter since it's still introductions and all. The next chapter should be a lot heavier on the plot. Well still not but oh wells. I did hope I was able to capture Sora's awkwardness, because in the end, he was a NEET which means he isn't well versed with people that well, never mind his charisma and all.
What I like about this chapter is introducing Stephanie and (guess who). They'll be fun to write, Stephanie to a lesser extent since she doesn't have that big of a role, so far. Anywho, I hope this chapter was enjoyable despite the slow pacing the story is at so far.
Thanks for your follows, favorites, and reviews! I hope to hear from you guys soon and to continue having your support!