Yeah. . . I kind of murdered the cover image. I began to realise how dumb and clickbaity it was XD. I hope that relieves some of you.
Got a bit of a longer chapter this time around and it also picks off from where we left off. The chapter will detail the rest of the crazy events that go on for the remainder of the day. I wish that you enjoy it.
"If a drop of rain falls for each time you pass my thoughts, it will be raining forever"
An Endless Intrigue
Masami directed Candice down the leftmost hallway when leaving the classroom, the two walking side by side to the other end; everyone else made their way to the playground. The sentient cloud had no place in particular interest in mind when guiding her around the school, to which Candice was oblivious of. She merely assumed she was taking her somewhere of relative importance. At least, that's what she hoped she would do.
"So, I heard that you and that fish sister of yours have moved here from Welridge." Candice immediately picked up on the way she spoke. It seemed as if she had a patronizing tone – almost treating Candice as if she was her subordinate. She pondered if she did this to others.
"Yes, it was because of a business opportunity."
"Which I am all too aware of. You're daughter of Luke Green, right?"
"Yes. . . How do you know that?"
"My father, the owner of the rainbow factory, has joint his company with your father's. So we will be seeing each other a lot more. Our dads are currently some of the most powerful people in this town. Really quite fortunate we are, aren't we?" Stated the cloud. This was the last sentence that was uttered for a straight ten seconds. Afterwards:
"So, how do you like the school so far?"
"It seems alright."
"Really? Could you elaborate?"
"Well, I think Miss Simian is better than any teacher I've ever met."
"On the contrary for most people."
"I think they just don't understand." Said she. The cat hadn't faced Masami since they walked out the classroom. She had hoped that this would insinuate her unwillingness to converse, but nothing of the sort was understood by Masami. Her smile grew.
"Candice, I think we'll make a good companionship. While everyone in the school is my friend, I never really was willing to bond with any of them. I mean, why should you and I ever need them – none of them had the same, shall we say, decorum as you and I." She said, followed by a chuckle. Who does this girl think she is? She thought, her face transitioning into a contemptuous expression.
"I only really have them to keep my reputation up; they couldn't hope to achieve the prosperity that you and I share. Together, Candice, I think we will dominate this school." Posed Masami. Candice became absolutely baffled. Why was she assuming that Candice shared her outlook, over abhorring it? Her condescending demeanour really got Candice riled up – she can't be allowed to act like this! Truth be told, Candice was extremely wealthy, but she wouldn't even think about acting in this way. Her eyebrows were threatening to criss-cross.
"Really, we could do anything together, couldn't we? I can't wait to get to know you! What's your favourite brand of dress? I only really buy-"
"Listen, I'm only with you so I can find my way around, so can you please cut it out? I am not the person you think I am." An aggravated cat said, literally on the precipice of shouting.
"Well, don't need to be so rude about it."
"What about yourself? You can't treat other people like this just because you have money!" Masami gasped.
"I am shocked that you would think that about me!"
"Well news flash, I do." Masami groaned.
"Ugh, what is with you, can't we just be acquainted?"
"I think this conservation was all the acquaintance I need." This earned a perplexed look from Masami.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I would never want to befriend someone as stuck-up as you!" At this point, the two have stopped walking, and were both glaring each other at very close range, each on the verge of snapping. The air was thicker than honey badger fur. Masami spoke first.
"You know what? Fine, if you apparently don't want to be near me, I guess you don't need my guidance around the school! See you later, Candice Green!" And with that, Masami cumbersomely floated away, her white surface swiftly turned into a dark, menacing grey.
Candice mumbled to herself quietly, and then found a bench she could use to wait for her next lesson, the girl not wanting to get lost in the hallways. Strangely, the cat changed back to her usual uninterested expression right after the lump of condensation left. She was left apathetic to what she – or possibly her – just did. In fact, she was actually a smidge glad that she left, along with the opportunity to form an intimate relationship with one of the most awful calibres of people; especially as quickly as it did occur. It was almost impressive. Candice had a belief that she always adheres to, which states that social situations are always the worst situations. She just can't stand being around others, something bad, without failure, always happens. Solitaire was what Candice preferred more often than not, and she was pretty stubborn on that viewpoint. While her actions towards the cloud were somewhat justifiable, the main issue that she still felt uneasy over were the potential consequences.
Darwin's arm felt like it was being ripped straight out of its tendons – the fish performing such acts not refraining in the slightest – Natasha rather whizzing down the hallway with his new compadre in tow. Inadvertently and somewhat naïvely, Natasha seemed like the guide in the operation – while possessing no directional knowledge of her environment. Her orange reflection was dumbfounded at what he got himself into. He simply refused to believe that he was the one meant to give this new, really cute student a tour around the entire school. At this rate, his entire face was at a danger of changing permanently rosy red. Darwin after a while, started to think that the Universe contrived against him, as his escorting wasn't well executed.
"So, where's the library?"
"I—It's uummm—"
"How big is it?!"
"I—I'd say moder—"
"Are the librarians nice?!"
"W—well—"
"Oh! Does it have any romance novels? I just love those!" Darwin didn't bother responding; partly because he knew what the outcome would be, and partly because he couldn't relate at all.
"I'll check later. Oh yeah! Where are the bathrooms?"
"T—to our right."
"Is that the gym? It looks so cool!"
"Yeah, I—I agree."
"I know right? Woah!" She said just as the two skidded to a stop, and were presented by a wall.
"Heh, I guess I wasn't looking where I was going. I'll go a bit slower this time." And with that, the two leisurely paced backwards to the next corridor. Natasha gave a more open question for Darwin to take a shot at, her hand still firmly gripped on his.
"So, do you like it here, Darwin?" It was at this point that Darwin's timidity decided to exercise its prevalence over Darwin. What could he say in response? I mean, he didn't like the lessons because most of them were with Miss Simian, but he did quite like break and lunch with his friends and the clubs are pretty cool as well. Oh! I'll say that.
"W—well, I do lik—"
"Wait, is that where the choir is held?!"
"Yes. W—what I was trying to s—say is that—" His trail of speech was halted, as panic started to settle in its place. I completely forgot what I was going to say! Natasha, unbeknownst to her interruption, stopped and spun her head around to face her peer.
"Are you okay? We still have tonnes more too see!" Natasha burst out with, and resumed running down the next hallway with pure, reignited alacrity – exhilarated to see more of what the school held.
The gold fish was quite discontent with the how the ordeal was going so far. It wasn't Natasha's fault, the blame can be attributed to the modicum of confidence Darwin actually possessed. He never was too good at talking to anyone new or any girls, so the combination just made it a shipwreck. Often times, He had hoped that he would at least be able to uphold a conversation for a reasonable amount of time – but presently – he couldn't even initiate one. He was just lucky that Natasha maintained her boundless fascination to the entire school. Darwin wasn't nearly as excited in his first year here. Swiftly after a multitude of incessant queries followed by inopportune answers, they sat on a hallway bench, both exhausted from the excessive dashing. Phew, I'm tired out! Natasha's hand never really left Darwin's, and after several or so breaths, the goldie realised this, and blushed profusely. Natasha wasn't aware. Another query snapped him out of his dozing. This time, it wasn't focused on the building.
"Darwin, can we be friends?" Natasha had turned for this, and stared at Darwin with sincerity. Partaking in this simple yet powerful question never felt obliging to the other people she met in the hour she had been here, but with Darwin, it felt like just that. Darwin was left shocked. He couldn't think of saying no – he made no arrangements to hurting a newbie – yet, it was so hard to say the correct answer. How would she interpret it? Presuming he did say yes, would that mean they would start hanging out more? That simple scenario already left Darwin flushed more so than he was, and it became incredibly hard to utter a word – exacerbated by her adorable smile. Sweat was beading down his forehead, as moment after moment past, and the question still lingered.
"S—s—s—sure, I would l—l—love to!"
"Yippee!" Exulted Natasha, as she squeezed the boy senseless.
"I can tell this is the start of something great! Just think of it – two fishes being the best of friends! It's like some sort of TV Show!" Natasha's grin became unparalleled and her eyes were blissfully closed, savouring in the great moment. Natasha always felt as if friends were the most important things in one's life – so she couldn't help but have a reaction of such relief. Yet, taking that into account, she was maybe hugging him a bit too hard. Meh, he won't choke or anything.
"I—I—I can't b—breathe!" Darwin vainly confirmed. The hugger loosened a bit, but wasn't planning to stop. His body froze. In his head, there was no possible way any other message could leave his lips. He had never felt so deprived of all his thoughts and reason in one foul swoop. She's hugging me! He thought incredulously, the boy sweating bullets, his eyes wavering and his cumulative blush deepening. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, time and space were meaningless, all that seemed to exist for him was this moment, and this moment alone. He didn't care about the provocation, he didn't care about the intention, he didn't care about the stigma, he just cared about how long it would last, yet, he also wanted it to end, as it was the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen to him, rivalled by the reveal of his baby pictures. The feeling from the classroom came back – but it came back surging – the result making Darwin feel warm, cosy, happy. It was all simply. . . Amazing.
All this, in just six seconds, as the bell's unwelcome ringing greeted everyone's ears, causing Natasha to finish her friendly gesture. It was nothing of the sort to Darwin, however.
The proceeding lessons flew by for the pupils and their next priority was lunch; arguably the best time of the day. In accordance to everyone else, Gumball, Darwin, Natasha and Candice all made their way to the canteen. The group, excluding Candice, then headed at the centre table with their food – after a pitiful attempt of Darwin trying to explain how to order to her female counterpart, with every other utterance being barraged with intensive stuttering. They all became seated and started to talk.
"Hi! I'm Natasha."
"The name's Gumball."
"Cool name!" Gumball chuckled.
"Thanks. Aren't you the newbie that Darwin's meant to show around the school?" Darwin subtly looked away.
"That's me!"
"Did you know he's my brother?"
"Really?" Eventually, other people started to join the three, and quickly the table held six or seven people.
Exempt from everyone else, Candice can be found in the last table in the bottom row of the canteen, eating the contents of her tray with a fork. She decided on mash potatoes and sausages for today, along with some baked beans on the side – just enough to satiate her appetite. There was no one sitting next to her – most genuinely not noticing her as the region was subconsciously dismissed by the majority. The rest decided to be in the presence of her sister, her peer who bared a stark resemblance to her, and Gumball. Just thinking about that name widened her eyes. She raised her head from her melancholy table and brought them to another, in the centre of the canteen.
She saw him, and she saw nothing else. He was currently resting his forearm next to his tray, with a smile plastered on his face. That same smile. His eyes were still full of life from her past observations; fully open and sparkling from the lamps above. She knew the effect was cat specific but. . . They still seemed to be more than that to Candice. The best way she could portray them is by comparing them to a teddy bear – consoling, reassuring, precious. . . Almost like they were telling her that they would make sure nothing went wrong. His orange fish friend's cryptic words elicited a heartfelt laugh from him. The laughter then became pervasive – causing everyone on the table to share a chuckle in response. The effect was so pervasive that it induced an uncharacteristic giggle from Candice, the red cat studying him with a trance-like expression, two hands rested on her chin. He's so. . . Although, the noise didn't pass Gumball's senses, and he was swift to seek the source. His eyes landed on the second new student from before. After a jolt and an audible halt of breath, she promptly spun her head to the window adjacent to her. Hmmm. . .
"Hey Natasha?" She faced the feline.
"What is it?"
"Isn't that your sister over there?" Gumball questioned, and then beckoned Natasha's eyes over to the bottom right table, still desolate, other than a certain cat, who had her back turned to them.
"Oh yeah, she is! Her name is Candice. She doesn't like to talk much. She doesn't really like going near anyone for that matter."
"Not even you?"
"Well, sometimes, but she usually likes being on her own."
"Is she shy?" Natasha placed a hand on her chin, and her eyes redirected themselves to the ceiling above. Five seconds passed.
"I don't think so, she just prefers being on her own." And with that, Natasha turned back to Bobert, who asked her of her opinion of the state of the global economy. Expectantly, Natasha was clueless.
So she likes to be alone. . . the feline apprehended, staring at her with nothing short of intrigue. The girl did show semblance of these traits – no one was sitting next to her, probably due to her own causation. In fact, Gumball had heard nothing from the girl throughout the day, very much opposing her sister's behaviour. He found the idea perplexing. Isolation didn't seem like the ideal state for any person, yet, it was a proclivity to many. He started to ponder – did she self-impose it, or was it done without conscious choice? The more Gumball seemed to enquire the notion, the greater his concern for the girl grew, and Gumball, after a while, began to build sympathy for her.
Meanwhile, Candice swore she was on the verge of collapse, the embarrassment weighing on her like an elephant. Somehow, her face became more red than it already was, being instantly wrought by acute blushing – heating up strongly in the process. The only thing she could see was the faded window. Why did I do that?! One moment, she was absentmindedly perusing the boy, for no discernible reason, and the next moment, she was in eye contact with him! He's going to think I'm a creep now. . . She thought dreadfully. But that lead her onto another point. Why was she doing it in the first place? Why did she care about his face, his smile, his stunning eyes. . .Argh! I'm doing it again! What is it about this boy? It seemed like she was tied to him by some ethereal rope, tugging them together, or something similar, as she could not get him away from her at all! In third and fourth period, during which she remained situated next to Gumball, there was not a single note take, not a single thought, not even a single answer that wasn't influenced by him. And yet, she still knew nothing about him. What if he was a secret criminal? Why couldn't she rationalise this, like she does with most of her issues? She thought maybe she could, so she then turned her head to look at him again. . .
. . . To find he was looking right at her.
Both gasped, both whipped their head to their right, and both had blood rush to their cheeks – one of them much more preponderant comparatively.
I'm never going to catch a break with this guy. . . Realised Candice, dreadfully.
Ooops. . . Gumball scolded, the boy in even more wonderment as to why he was blushing.
The final bell of the day rang, after an awful fifth period, and the school doors opened to spew out a large collection of students – all eager to get out of the blasted place. The sisters were walking down the stairs leading to the pavement – the more cheerful of the two waving behind her towards her fellow students, all acknowledging her departure by waving as well. They both turned to their left and shortly afterwards they found their car, with their parents inside. They got inside and drove off.
"So, how was your first day, girls?" Her father spoke. He intended it to be directed at both his daughters – but he only got one response.
"It was great! I made loads of new friends!" Natasha said, followed by a gleeful smile.
"What about you Candice?" Questioned her mother.
"It was alright, I guess." Candice, somewhat clichély, responded with. The car drove in the opposite direction to their house.
"Why are we driving away from our house?" Asked Candice.
"We decided to head towards the park after school. It's a good opportunity to meet some new people." Candice grimaced at the notion, but at least it will give her an opportunity to provide clearance to her mind. Hastily, the car arrived at the park, and everyone went past the entrance after getting out of their automotive.
Even Candice was impressed by the sight, mostly because of its apparent vastness. She couldn't really estimate its specific size – as stretched out towards the horizon. The park grounds primarily consisted of grass – all a vibrant bright green hue and very well maintained, with not a single patch devoid of the plant, except for where the various structures were within the park, and the stone slab pavement, which started from the entrance and twisted and turned throughout the place – all halting to a stop at a landmark or other area of significance. Every hundred metres of the pathway contained a bench. She could also make out a playground, a football field, a lake, a tennis court and, further out from her vision, what seemed to be a river. Additionally, the region of land seemed a tad unstable, as the entrance was place on a hill – so the altitude of the park slowly decreases further out. Most notably, a wide span of forest encompassed the other end of park, and was outgrown to the point that the stretched beyond the border of the place – the partly dense collation of trees being almost entirely pine, and as such the extent boasted a basil green colour. Curiously, she could just make out a shade of purple towards the visible end of the forest. The front of the park expanse was bordered by a grey wall.
Most of the family was taken aback by what they were seeing. The area seemed very invigorating yet quite mellow at the same time. All decided on heading towards the playground to their left; they figured that's where most of the people would to be, to which they were correct upon arrival.
"Hey Natasha, over here!" Shouted Penny, who was also there with most of the guppie's newly formed friends! She gasped in response.
"H—hi guys!" But, just before she could speed off towards the crowd, a voice was heard behind them, one none of them recognised.
"Oh, are you the new family Gumball has been telling us about?" Candice's blood froze after hearing that name, and she became much more alert as opposed to apathetic. H—h—he's here? Again? Feeling compelled to confirm, she spun around, followed by her entire family.
They saw Gumball, Darwin and Anais, just as you would expect, but they also found two much taller people standing next to them – one of which being a rather big, male, pink rabbit, who was wearing a white suit emblazoned with a brown tie. The other was a female blue cat wearing a white polo shirt and grey skirt – along with a rainbow coloured badge perched up on her shirt.
Candice could not tell were her thoughts were at. On the on hand, she found this ridiculous that he was here, out of all locals in Elmore, with her, at the same time! It did not seem to agree with the laws of chance and rationale, as well as grinding all of Candice's hope of easing her thoughts with the boy into dust. But still, on the other, she could not feel any frustration with the occurance. As strange as it were, she had a premonition that this would happen, and how it arose was beyond her.
"Oh! Yes we are. I'm Luke; this is Elizabeth, this one's Natasha and this one's Candice, although your children probably already know them."
"I'm Nicole and this is Richard."
"Hello!" Richard chimed.
"So, what brings you to the park?" Nicole asked.
"Well, we wanted to meet some new people, but you seemed to of made the task much easier." Joked Elizabeth, to which Nicole giggled. Luke picked up on the badge Nicole was posing.
"Hey, do you work for the rainbow factory?"
"Yes I do, need to feed the kids right?"
"Well Nicole, you're speaking to the new owner of your company."
"Oh! Did you kick Mr Yoshida out of office?"
"No, simply merged with him."
"Guess we'll be seeing each other more often." The adults chuckled at this. The kids, on the other hand, were dying from awkwardness. Fortunately for them, Richard noticed this.
"How about we let the children go for now, honey?" The feline turned to look at them, and then she became embarrassed by her mistake.
"I think we should Richard. Anais, Gumball and Darwin I want you to all be back at 4:30 okay?" All three couldn't be happier to comply.
"The same goes for you Candice and Natasha." The two nodded in acknowledgement. Natasha, Darwin, Gumball and Anais paced towards the equipment, and joined their friends in the fun. Opposed to the idea, Candice once again found solace in sitting down on the intimate bench. She was more of an observer than a participant anyway.
The girl bore a flippant set of half-closed eyes, with hands draped to her sides and her legs stacked on top of each other. She saw her sister on the monkey bars with her friends, and she looked like she was having fun. Not much else was notable beyond that. She turned to find something else worth consideration, and found Darwin (that was the name Natasha said to her in fifth period) was on the round-a-bout with what seemed to be a potato, a cactus and. . . Him. The boy that was causing her so much trouble as of late was boasting a similar countenance to Natasha, and was audibly displaying it to, an exhilarated "Whhoooo!" Escaping his lips. She smiled as a response, but almost immediately tried to withhold the action. The last thing she wanted was a replay of the events in the canteen. A blush formed at the recollection. She wondered if her interest in this boy would ever cease. Candice had almost entirely had given up on trying to deduce why she had this incessant obsession with this cat. . . At least for the day. The fact had left Candice wholly disquieted during fifth period, but she tried to dismiss it as much as possible. Still, she couldn't help but feel that something about this boy was different, some aura seemed to make him stand out, some type of future prospect involving him; it was there. She knew it was there, but the specifics were completely over her head, so she just resumed taking the view of the park and its inhabitants, putting her at ease. Maybe I'm going too deep into this. . .
Sure hope you all liked the extra amount of words! Waayyy past the target I set in the last chapter XD. I didn't really receive any formal complaint, but in comparison to some other fics mine just started to seem. . . Puny, I guess.
I decided to incorporate some scenarios I've been in or imagined before into this chapter. This will be a reoccurring theme throughout the story. Hopefully you like them!
I think I'll stop wasting your life now, thanks for the read! Make sure you leave a review, and see you in the next one!
CrOxxx.
