A/N: Hey guys! Sorry chapters are being posted less frequently now. . . Ah. . . The beauty of high school gag. But here's something you guys might be interested in: I've got some Death Note fan art and a drawing of a scene from this fic posted in my DA gallery. Check my profile for the links!
Chapter 10
When Aurora awoke, she felt light and refreshed. She could tell it was going to be a good day. She took a long, relaxing shower in her small bathroom, wrapped a towel around herself, and began planning out her day. First, she'd eat some breakfast, then she'd find Roger and thank him for the clothes . . . Wait . . . New clothes! Finally, she could go to a job interview without having to worry about her skuzzy, poverty-stricken, tattered apparel.
Adding "getting a newspaper" to her mental schedule, she picked through the contents of her closet and pulled out a nice outfit. (Not that it was hard to find one.) After she quickly got dressed and applied some makeup, she took a look at herself in the mirror. "Wow. . ." The reflection stunned her. She looked great! (The only exception being the stitches in her head, but they weren't really THAT noticeable . . .) Smiling at the duplicate in the mirror, she decided she was ready to face the day. I can't wait to show Matt!
As Aurora opened the door, she noticed something on the floor in front of her. Picking it up, she grinned again. Today's newspaper had been delivered right to her room! She began her trek towards the kitchen, flipping through the pages, looking for job openings. Finding one in a matter of minutes, she kept a finger on the ad and focused on remembering the path to the kitchen.
It didn't take too long. She looked at the dining table. "Hi Mello!" Although she was a bit nervous, Aurora smiled encouragingly at the other blonde.
Barely looking up from his bowl of Coco Puffs, he nodded quickly in her direction. His apathy made her feel so awkward. She tried changing the subject.
"Hey, do you know where Matt is?"
Mello dropped his spoon in the now empty bowl. His glare almost made her pee her pants. "He's going to get your brother," he spat. The blonde angrily got up from his chair and stormed out of the room.
A part of her was glad that she was going to get to see her brother again. However, the other part of her felt bad about having Matt get him. He wouldn't have let you go anyway, she needed to keep telling herself.
"I apologize for his attitude."
Roger's voice made her jump. "Roger!" She stood up and practically ran to the man. "Thank you so much for the clothes!"
He laughed. "So they fit alright?"
Aurora twirled around, (a totally uncharacteristic gesture for her) letting her skirt (something she hardly ever wore) shift with her movements. "I can finally interview for a job now!" She beamed.
Roger smiled again. "If there's anything else I can do, don't hesitate to ask." Aurora nodded, but she didn't want to ask him for anything more. He'd already done so much.
After he left the kitchen, she was in there alone to focus on the ad she'd seen in the paper. She read it again and walked over to the phone, reciting the number in her head so she wouldn't forget it. The phone rang only a couple times before someone answered. Aurora hung up the phone after scheduling the interview, finished her breakfast, and washed her dishes. Since her appointment was in a couple of hours, she decided she should head out. Once again, walking sucks.
Aurora stood outside of the old-fashioned diner. Even from outside, she could hear the classic 50's and 60's style music that was playing. She smiled to herself. She'd always loved these types of restaurants. The ones where you'd order an awesome cheeseburger and they'd deliver it to you on roller skates. Then, when a song that everybody knew, like "Jailhouse Rock," came on, the employees would all begin dancing. Roller skates and all.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the diner. Instantly, she recognized the Leslie Gore song that had just begun playing. The sixteen year old let herself relax, and walked over to the front desk.
"Hi there," Aurora began, "I'm here for a job interview."
The twenty-or-so year old woman (Maria, judging by her name tag) behind the counter smiled. "Sapphira, right?"
Aurora nodded.
"Right this way!" Maria led Aurora to the manager's office, sending a silent prayer to whichever god happened to be listening. Sure, they'd had many interviews. However, everyone who'd come in had either been totally weird, or didn't know how to skate. Hopefully she'll be different.
Aurora waited anxiously for someone to answer the door Maria had knocked on. When the answer finally did come, she sighed a bit in relief. It wasn't some creepy, acne-covered, obese, pedophile-looking guy. No, the woman who opened the door was somewhere in her late fifties with a kind face, round glasses. . .
"'Ello, love."
And apparently a lovely British accent. Of course, Aurora had an accent too. . .It just wasn't as noticeable. She smiled at the woman and stepped into her office, noticing that the lady hadn't once looked at the unsightly stitches the adorned her head.
Matt approached the small, beat-up house, not sure what to expect. How could he? If those people had been able to do something so horrible to their own daughter, what would they be able to do to him? He worried about Sapphira's brother, too, quietly praying that he was okay.
When no answer came after several minutes, (and several sets of knocks) he turned the doorknob and let himself in. Ugh. . .What's that smell? Once he saw the two adults passed out on the couch, he recognized the stench as vomit. His heart instantly filled with pity for the Eshethea siblings. No one should have to live like this. . . He couldn't stand the thought of his Sapphira living in this trash hole, even thoug – Wait. . .his Sapphira? Oh, man. . . What was he getting himself into? They'd just met! Besides, she didn't even know his real name. . .He shook these thoughts from his mind, proceeding through the house.
The redhead walked down the hallway and opened the first door he came to. It looked like a teenager's bedroom, but no one was there. He tried the room across the hall. The bathroom. Once again, it was unoccupied. The room at the end of the hallway was his last hope. After opening the door, he concluded that it was definitely an adult's room. Yet again, not a person was in sight.
"Evan?" Matt quietly called the name his friend had given him, making his way back to the first room. There was no reply, and the orphan began to fear the worst. Where is he. . . His eyes were drawn to the folded sheet of paper sitting on the dresser. He picked it up and read the name "Rora" printed across it. Recalling the name "Sapphira" had entered on the Soul Blade high score screen, Matt shoved the paper into his jeans pocket. Not wanting curiousity to get the best of him, he thought about what to do next.
After thoroughly searching the house one more time, he decided to grab Aurora's clothes. He knew she'd been given all new clothes, but he figured she'd probably want some of her old ones too. The next thing he knew, he had piled up her clothes into the passenger's side of his car, lit up a cigarette, and was driving back to Wammy's House. How am I going to explain this to her. . .
Aurora walked out of the restaurant, practically skipping. (Something she'd never even considered doing before.) The interview couldn't have gone better. Esther, formerly known as "the manager," had told Aurora that she was pretty much a shoe-in. After all, she was very well qualified. Never before had the girl imagined that roller skating with the kids back at her old school would land her a job.
Aside from all that, she would be able to show Matt how great she looked in these new clothes. (She was still wondering about why that mattered so much to her anyway.) And she'd be able to see her little brother within the next hour. Could this day get any better?
The walk back to Wammy's seemed extremely short, for which Aurora was glad. She must have been too distracted by her thoughts to notice the time pass. Eagerly, she opened the main doors, and headed straight for Matt's room. (She figured Matt wouldn't let Evan be alone while he waited for her, so Matt would probably take her brother to his room.) Not wasting any time, she tapped a tune onto his door. When he opened the door, she smiled brightly.
"How do I look?"
Seeing how happy she was, Matt felt a pang of guilt. And, to Aurora's surprise, he pulled her into a strong embrace. "Beautiful," he whispered into her ear.
Trying (and failing miserably) not to blush, she looked up into his eyes. Not being able to think of anything else to say, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.
"Where's my brother?" Did Matt just. . .Flinch?
Not letting Aurora out of his arms, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the paper he'd found. His hand found hers, and he laced his fingers with hers, handing her the note. She didn't need to ask. His eyes said it all, even if they were partially concealed by her goggles. And, just like that, her day went straight to hell.