WELL
SHRIMPY HUMAN GOT THE FIRST TUMMY ACHE IN FOREVER
SO SHE CAN'T CALL ME AN IDIOT FOR GETTING ONE BECAUSE SHE GOT IT BY EATING TOO FAST
I WILL BE THE HOSTESS
HI
HI
HELLO
HI HOW ARE YOU
ENJOY THE CHAPTER IT'S MERELY UP AHEAD
AND AS A FAIR WARNING THERE IS A CHILDHOOD MURDERER UP AHEAD ABOUT THE TOOTH FAIRY
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Len's POV
"Hey," Rin said, dragging herself to the kitchen table. Her normally bright and perky eyes (if perky eyes make any sense) were droopy, framed with dark circles. I don't keep a leash on her so I didn't comment about what might've made her so tired. I did, however, grunt in response to her greeting like I was speaking a primitive form of language. My mother took the approach of a mother. "Hay is for horses, dear," she said.
That day, although it was a little uncommon, Mom and Dad were sitting next to me on either side. Grandma had just finished making toast and set it in front of us, whereupon Dad grabbed a slice and slathered it in marmalade. Then he took a gulp of something hot and sweet-smelling - probably tea. Mom was sipping lemon zinger very slowly, as if she wasn't happy about leaving soon. (I knew that was a the type of tea she had because Rin stared at hatefully, willing the cup to be full of something not lemony.) They were both dressed up rather nicely, like they were headed to an important office or fancy party.
The steam drifting from all the tea made the setting hazy and dreamlike. All I did was quietly eat an omelette, and when they weren't looking I stared at them to try and solve the mystery. I guess I was the only one thinking it was weird for someone to arrive at the breakfast table in a dinner jacket.
We were all strangely silent, the only noise being my fork scraping against the plate, crunching toast and someone drinking lemon zinger for at least two minutes. Mom said a quick "Thanks mum" for the breakfast Grandma made, before she sat down with us. And then, Rin found it important to say, "Neru was texting me all night long because she was ranting. I didn't want to be rude and tell her to stop sending me mail, but I would appreciate someone telling me if that would have been the right thing to do."
I put down my fork and studied the remnants of omelette. Even then, I could tell what they were doing. Mom and Dad stared at her while Grandma happily continued eating, humming an old Beatles song. Rin hummed along to distract herself from their confusing expressions. However, Rin Kagamine has never been very patient and couldn't take it for long.
"By someone I meant among you people," she said, slightly vexed. "Well, what on Earth could she want to rant to you for?" Grandma asked. Mom, free of her transfixed curiosity, nodded along and let go of her cup. It seemed she was almost connected to the handle.
"You really should've told her that you didn't want to continue at such an ungodly hour," she advised. I stood up from the table and carried my plate to the sink, and as I caught a glimpse of Rin I found myself wondering why she wasn't wearing her bow.
"Len, my boy," Dad began slowly, carrying his plate and setting it down next to mine. I secretly wondered how he could gobble up all that toast in the time he did. While waiting expectantly for him to finish his sentence, I started washing the plates in the basin, which I am admittedly not a world-renowned champion for in the first place. It took some concentration for me to pour dish soap and to pick up the sponge, and also to remember it was best to use the abrasive side for scrubbing.
"This is a little out of hand, but are you attracted to girls?" He asked, which made me drop everything, disregarding the clatter/spraying water, and look up at him. And I swear to God, his expression was so serious I felt severely speechless.
"Well, yeah," I responded, laughing nervously.
"Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure." The sound of rushing watered filled the stinging awkward silence like static on the other end of a phone conversation.
"Okay."
"Was there...any special reason for reassuring yourself?"
"There would be nothing wrong with you if you didn't. Just...wondering," he murmured, and then he just frowned. That was all I got out of him while I slowly got back to washing my plate.
"Don't worry," Rin professed, "They'll ask that for a little while and then rush back to head quarters. They just get curious." She was suddenly on her phone again, her thumbs moving at the speed of light while our mother donned a look of inexplicable disappointment.
"It's true. They're checking their work since your the only son," Grandma added.
"We asked Rin the same question," Mom chimed.
"Okay-"
"YAY!" My sister screamed, pumping her first and her phone into the air. She tossed her head back with a triumphant grin. I was still confused as to why she wasn't wearing the bow, but that paled in comparison to her sudden elation. And to think she had been so tired just five minutes ago.
"Why! I don't remember allowing phones at the dinner table."
"Ritsu was stubborn as an ass about not going to the Sweets Shop! But I convinced her, like the jack-of-all-trades that I am, to come! And also I need to take Len with me." The last sentence made me extremely happy. I just happen to like cake.
"That's okay so long as no one stays out past ten," Dad said, shrugging. He started at the bottom of the cup like he was expecting a well to be down there.
"Are you sure?" Mom asked, biting her lip. She was the one who worried about safety, and I probably got it from her - to some extent, because I don't worry too much. Rin was the one worried about whether or not they would reserve a table at the shop.
"Let's let 'em live, the little dears," Grandma said softly. And by that time, everyone had finished their tea.
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Normal POV
Oh crap.
She really did it.
She really, really did.
Ruko let out a small breath, gently setting the phone down where it poked out from under the bed as Miku had left it. The creaking floorboards sent her heart into a frenzy of wild beats.
She didn't mean to. Honest. All that happened was that the raven noticed the door was unlocked, and she heard a buzzing form the phone, so she ran to stop it and save her precious child some twenty minutes of sleep, but she pressed a button and received a text from "Rin-Chan The Totally Awesome Bestie." She answered it. Then she got a message in return. And then it turned into excepting an invitation that she hoped to God Miku would want to receive.
The shop had a weird name she didn't understand. But it was at a mall, and it would be fantastic - hopefully. She knew Miku enjoyed her friend's company, so maybe.
She gulped and reached under the pillow for the pocket knife. Usually it would be there. And if it wasn't, then -
"Nnnn." Miku rolled over, her sheets half covering her body. Her face seemed as always, expressionless and stoic in a weird way. She was a messy sleeper but not a heavy one, so Ruko squeezed her eyes shut and prepared to justify herself. One would think, as a mother, that wasn't necessary in the least. But this is Miku we're talking about.
Yet she wasn't going to let her keep that knife. It was a dangerous thing, and Miku was quite capable of hurting people as it was. She knew she had stabbed a couple of people with that thing. Mikuo barely got her out of trouble each time until, toward the end, he suggested she get rid of it. The problem within that was that Miku always, always, always found it no matter where it ended up. Ruko could see her connected to that destructive piece by the hand.
She slipped her hand under the pillow, pretending Miku was a little girl who left her tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy and she was being a mother for once, about to take that tooth. She could recall being so excited about being able to do those things when she was pregnant. Of course, Miku didn't believe her when she told her things like that. She only believed that woman "Nurse-chan" back in Germany...what she wouldn't give to have that woman's experience with kids.
And meanwhile, Mikuo was sitting in his office, thinking it would be a hassle to return tonight. He didn't really need to see Miku's face - the child could do without him - and Ruko would be perfectly fine by the time he returned to sleep. He sighed and spun around on his fantastic office chair, doodling on a clipboard. Lawyers don't do anything in particular for break time.
Sure, he could be worried, but at the moment he worried over his client a little more. Miku didn't really like him that much, and he was used to avoiding her and her activities no matter how shameful it is that way. He was also considering getting Ruko a custom coffee grinder "just 'cause," maybe grab something for the tealette too. What would she like, anyway? A leek?
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Miku's POV
When I got up, Ruko seemed quite vigilant and she asked me all kinds of questions about how I slept and how much I enjoyed having friends at school and "You should wear your hair differently today, wouldn't that be nice?"
I find that the best way to avoid an anxious interrogator is to feign illness and run to the toilet. If it was particularly bad, I would copy the extent that a coyote is willing to go to when it is trapped. But rather than chewing my leg off, I would stick a finger down my throat. Except that morning I didn't do it on purpose - I read a new text I had received minutes before and for some reason it managed to get to me.
Message from ANONYMOUS:
hey bitch miss me?
you may be learning your way around school but i learned it better. i barely have to lift a finger and you can kiss len goodbye
but oh - that's right, you can't kiss him at all. because if you do you're dead.
so lay off of him and rin and maybe ill let you live it down huh?
sent at 8:06 a.m.
What really terrified me was the one I had received earlier:
Message from Rin-Chan The Totally Awesome Bestie:
MIKU-CHAN I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE COMING!
The place is at the big mall just down town and it has a fancy pink katakana sign. dress up pretty because Len will be there and I want him to have a NOSEBLEED. XP
Call me the minute you get this.
Sent at 7:25 a.m.
I knelt before the toilet, coughing up sour remains of whatever it was I had last eaten. I have lied many, many times in my life for social purposes, such as lying about my hobbies, family, childhood, school, past interactions, and even my name. But I would never lie about attending a public outing and then NOT REMEMBER SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT THE TOPIC. I was confused and probably out of my mind with paranoia that someone had set this little play date up - with a girl who could count as a friend but merely gave herself the title "Bestie" - to spite me. And whoever it was did a good job of it.
And also the threat kind of sucked but it wasn't as big of a deal.
After flushing and then rinsing out my mouth, I tell Ruko to stop pounding on the door, that I'm okay. Kind of. Then I leave the bathroom and stumbled back into my room. Prepared to never see the light of day with the exception of the window whom I promise to later request the destruction of.
Damn, it's terrible. I didn't even know why it made me upset that I was invited. If I was just a normal teenager, wouldn't things be better?
Ruko could've been thinking that in the back of her mind as we had a conversation something like this.
Ruko: "Are you okay to go to school?"
Me: "I have never in a decade and over a half been okay to go to school!"
Ruko: Enter dramatic sigh. "Are you physically sick?"
Me: "No."
Ruko: "So are you going to school?"
Me: Groan.
Ruko: "Right okay be lazy and skip I gotta go do mom stuff."
Me: "You're not a mom."
Ruko: "You're a daughter."
Me: More painful groaning.
Ruko: "Go eat something to settle your stomach!"
Me: Wildly searching underneath my pillow for the pocket knife.
After a little while the conversation was quite cold and quiet, but mom stuff must've included standing outside or the door like a creeper because she remained standing outside of my room. I allowed my anger to silently increase because she, again, had nicked my knife.
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In the Nurse's Office
I lay down on the cot, thinking over and over again something that should never have crossed my mind. They were things like wanting to have a social life, wanting to go outside and laugh with friends. But it was not supposed to wander my mind, even if the twins were the best things that had happened to since...my sister.
I like them. I want to be their friend. I just have to avoid being a skulking brat and I can be. But I'd feel so much better if I was allowed to take my pocket knife with me.
"Oh shut up, will you," I moan, turning over on the creaking cot. The stiff white sheet smells like disinfectant, making me think of being in the Hospital with all those other sick kids that were still way better off than me. I can remember arranging all those blocks by colors and shapes, and each time I messed up I only knew because a man with glasses that shone white with the fluorescent lights would shake his head disapprovingly, his pen scratching the thick stack of white papers on his clipboard.
"What was that?" Muttered the approaching woman, a lady with green hair piled up in a messy bun. She had a white coat draped over her shoulders and a white mug of steaming hot tea. I snapped out of my little episode of disturbing memories and shook my head, sitting up to mumble I wasn't talking to her.
i immediately tolerated Sonika (Ch. 11 she was introduced) because of her vivid green eyes (color association has become stronger in my mind as I meet more people) and her relaxing lack of query, something I would deal with if it was any other adult. Apparently she did not yet know that I was a psycho with no doctor-patient confidentiality because I was on my last leg and the school didn't even trust me to be alone with certain people at this point.
And I digress because I am insane.
She shrugged cheerfully and sat down on the other end of the cot. While she wasn't heavy-set in any way, she had some form that indicated she had more flesh, a.k.a. she was curvy, and I feared our combined weight would break the stretcher. This person struck me as extravagantly normal but her intelligence, as far as I have seen, is nowhere near acceptable.
"So, Not-Chearleader," she just called me that like I hadn't told her my actual name, "lunch would be ending soon."
I nodded. No questions at all so far. Merely comments that might indicate curiosity. She took a long, slow sip and I could hear it echo through the room. Then she paused, swallowing hard, and made a satisfied little sigh.
"We should get a swivel chair in here. Then I would have something fun to do."
I nodded again.
"Its the best thing in the world when your office has a chair that spins. I am pretty hardcore, so I used to spin my co-workers on it too."
Finally I didn't see the point in shutting up. "I don't know if I should trust a nurse who prescribes a swivel chair for a job," I deadpanned, finding interest in a leg of the stretcher that kept quivering slightly.
"You should!" She exclaimed, lifting her mug into the air. I watched warily as a tangy-smelling dark brown liquid jumped up and then back into to cup. "At least three swivels a day, I always say, and a swivel is 39 spins."
The cot is creaking more than it was before so I was getting somewhat nervous. Or, as I was already that way at the beginning, I became much more anxious.
But I never had to voice my concerns because she suddenly stood up and proclaimed, "Hey, didn't your boyfriend look like that?" Her eyes trained on the little window the door possessed.
"What?" I snapped, feeling my muscles tense in preparation to run, away from my embarrassment. I just didn't like the idea of Len being called my - wait a minute how the did I know she was referring to Len?! Stupid, stupid, stupid! That's ridiculous!
I followed her line of sight to realize she really was talking about a a blond girl with her mouth wide open in laughter, and Shion hovering around her with a placid grin. It wasn't his regular, stupid look but that of an experienced actor. It sent blood-curdling shivers down my spine.
Because it took a few seconds to recognize an expression like that, I was initially confused. But then I realized there had been people giving me that same smile right before something terrible happened, people who were paid to befriend me. Those people were like the scum on the bottom of a dumpster and had to be scraped off before shit just piled up. And I already owed Rin so much, in my mind this was like doing a little favor to myself rather than helping her.
"I'm going!" I shout, jumping up. Sonika had a bemused little smile, sending me of with a stiff and awkward wave. I'm in such a hurry and bang my shoulder on the door frame. But I don't stop, instead I dash the miniscule five feet and clasp her left elbow, prepared to listen to stupid chatter if only to stop this.
"RIN!" I called, not caring if it was too loud. She blinks, then laughs. "Miku-chan, were you that excited to see lil' old me?" She beamed like she was the happiest girl in the world, but I was disturbed by the lack of unnecessary ornaments on her head. Where was the bow?
Shion scowled at me. I saw it with my own eyes. While Rin is preoccupied by my actions I give him my best death glare, strong enough that he looked away and raked his fingers through his straight navy-blue locks.
"I have to ask you a question," I said so quickly that the words almost sound like gibberish. Shion set a hand on her shoulder, presumably to stop her, that she shrugged off like a jacket, allowing me to drag her away. I felt my heart ache with its rapid beating. Why did it take me so long to realized how she was in danger? Even that threat in the morning, that had included Rin...
"So are you going to ask the question?" She asked, boring into me with her giant green eyes. She looked so innocent it was hectic on my cardiovascular system, causing that stupid muscle pound erratically. I had not actually prepared the question but - ah, yes! The text about that shop gave me a perfect idea. But I couldn't just feign sickness until the opportunity passed by if I confirmed I read it and everything...
God help me.
"Um, the shop we're going to meet at, I didn't catch the name," I muttered slowly, dropping her arm. Her face practically exploded with joy as she wrapped her arms around me and screamed, "YES, YOU'RE COMING!" I was almost entirely used to loud sounds like this out in the hall, just not including me. I ignored my throbbing shoulder even when she squeezed it in her bear hug.
Phrases like "Yeah, I'm going," "It'll be fun," etc., were exchanged while she bounced up and down. I also pretend there isn't any Shion, who was staring from somewhere deep in the ever present crowd. And I thought of all the things I would need to prepare.
"I can't really tell you what the name is, I don't know it myself," She giggled bashfully, but she did promise to send me a picture as she rambled on and on about things like marmalade and something called hummus. What is hummus?
"Mm," I murmured each time she paused, nodding. There were so many things I had to do, such as facing "Her" and getting her to lay off. Rin didn't like that I was spacing out - understandable. However, she was still incredibly naive in the world of bullying and didn't know how to protect her open heart. Which meant I still had that much to worry about.
I noticed she occasionally reached up and then, nervously, put her hands down. Her habit of playing with her white bow was becoming fervent, and I realized she still wanted it. As I asked about it, she quickly brushed it off as wanting to look different for a while, which caused an uncomfortable anger that boiled in my gut. I just had a feeling it was a deep problem that I couldn't prevent. Not that it made me feel hopeless about my new resolve.
"She" was getting rather possessive of the twins. And I was certain I couldn't allow that. I was ready to pound "Her" without knowing where "She" would go with any of this, only following my demented paranoia. "She" didn't have the right to get close to them if "She" was such a sick and twisted thing.
Well, I suppose I didn't either.
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"You're positive she shouldn't have noticed anything?"
"Why else would I be with Rin?!"
Well, you can be pretty idiotic."
"God, you sound just like the blond twerp."
"You shut up about him."
"You are entirely in love with that kid aren't you?"
"N...no. I just care about him is all. I didn't appreciate you throwing ice cream packages at him at the park, by the way."
"I was improvising. What else am I supposed to do when you send me to a park right before dinner."
"Not ambush him with Very Vanilla, that's what!"
"Fine. God. If Len overheard you now..."
"Well, he isn't around. So shut up and get around to that thing."