A/N Everything Undertale belongs to Toby Fox; Ginny, as well as anything unfamiliar, is of my creation.
It was the following day when there was more added to the mystery of Ginny. Undyne and Alphys had spread the word about her former job to the rest of the monsters searching for her. Toriel pointed out that with the information, they had a few less places to look for Ginny. So it didn't completely go to waste.
Sans and Papyrus were wandering the sidewalks of town, looking around for her. Several of their other friends had signed Papyrus's neck brace, turning it from white to several different colors. "YOU THINK I'D BE ABLE TO HAVE METTATON SIGN IT?" Papyrus asked Sans, his eyes sparkling with the possibility.
"if you're able to ask him, he'd probably be more than happy to," Sans answered. "he'll sign anything that stands still enough, after all."
"TRUE! THOUGH, I'D PROBABLY BE SO JITTERY WITH EXCITEMENT, I'D BARELY BE ABLE TO STAND STILL!"
"oh, i forgot to mention, but asgore was able to go home today."
"AH, THAT IS FANTASTIC! SO, THE INJURY WASN'T TOO SEVERE?"
"it was probably enough that he had to stay in the hospital for a couple of days. but apparently, he healed enough that he was sent home. good thing too. apparently, flowey was able to escape his pot while asgore was gone, but didn't go far before he was accidentally run over by a neighbor's lawnmower."
"OH, MY GOODNESS! I DO HOPE HE'S ALL RIGHT!"
"it's kinda funny to think about," Sans chuckled, imagining how the nasty flower looked: dirty and disheveled, with crinkled roots and chopped petals.
"SANS, IT'S NOT NICE TO THINK OF SOMEONE'S PAIN AS FUNNY!" Papryus scolded.
"guess he wish he stayed planted where he was."
"IT'S STILL NOT FUNNY!"
Sans rolled his eyes as Papyrus continued to lecture him, still smiling lazily. When he casually glanced behind his brother, his eyes widened when he saw three familiar girls. "hold the phone, paps," he interrupted, holding up a hand. "see those girls?"
Papyrus turned his whole body around to look where Sans was pointing. "THOSE THREE GIRLS? YES, I DO. WHAT ABOUT THEM?"
"i saw those girls that day that ginny fell. they were with her on the bridge."
"AH, I SEE WHERE YOU ARE GETTING AT! MAYBE THEY KNOW WHERE SHE MIGHT BE?"
"if they're friends with her, they'll probably have an idea."
Papyrus followed Sans as he approached the girls. They were walking down the sidewalk, chatting among themselves and smacking bubblegum. In the crooks of their arms were shopping bags, and one girl was holding a clear cup full of coffee. They stopped dead in their tracks when Sans said, "s'up, girls?"
"What do you want?" one girl sneered. She had shoulder-length brown hair and pale skin.
"we just wanna ask you a couple of questions," he answered, ignoring her rudeness. The other two girls were looking at them as well with a mix of interest and contempt.
"YES, WE ARE LOOKING FOR A FRIEND OF OURS! GINNY, IS HER NAME. WOULD YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW WHERE SHE IS?"
All three girls stared at them with blank expressions. Papyrus glanced down at Sans, fiddling with his gloves, and continued, "ER, SHE HAS REDDISH-BROWN HAIR, SOMEWHAT DARK SKIN, AND WEARS A LONG BLACK COAT! AND SHE'S SOMEWHAT SHY, BUT REALLY NICE! THREE DAYS AGO, SHE FELL OFF OF A BRIDGE AND HURT HER HEAD. MY BROTHER TOOK HER TO HER SIBLING'S HOUSE, WHERE SHE SLEPT FOR THE WHOLE DAY; BUT THE EVENING BEFORE YESTERDAY, SHE DISAPPEARED!"
Once he had mentioned her accident, one of the girl's eyes widened. She clutched at her coffee cup with both hands and stared down at it, looking nervous and guilty. She had pale skin, even paler than the girl that had previously spoke, and short red hair.
"Why does this concern any of us?" the brunette, who seemed to be the leader of their clique, asked.
"because that day she got hurt, i saw you girls with her on the bridge. i figured, as her friends, you girls would know where she might be." or at the very least, be concerned about her.
The brunette suddenly threw her head back with a loud guffaw. "Friends? We're not friends with her!"
"Yeah, like, why would we want to be even associated with a homeless girl?" the third girl snorted. She had long black hair and tanned skin.
Sans and Papyrus glanced at each other with wide eyes. "H-HOMELESS? ARE YOU SURE?"
"Why else would she be standing or sitting on the corners of streets? Or randomly in the parks? Heck, she's got signs and buckets with her, begging for money."
"Her clothes are always filthy too," the tanned girl added, wrinkling her nose as if she smelled something nasty.
"She needs to get a job, like a normal person," the brunette sneered. "And not be loitering around."
"I thought she works at The Burger Joint?" the redhead finally asked. "I've seen her there once. She was taking the trash out the back."
"Taking the trash out?" the brunette and tanned girl both laughed loudly. "That's the best she could do?"
"Maybe that was the only job she could get; she already looked like a garbage person."
"all right, if you girls aren't friends with ginny, why were you talking to her on the bridge that day?" Sans asked, quickly growing fed up with them. "and when she didn't get up after falling, why did you just run away?"
"We was just talking," the tanned girl shrugged. "She was the clumsy one who fell. Maybe she threw herself over the railing?"
"She didn't do that! And she didn't fall either!" the redhead shouted, having the decency to look appalled. "Muffy pushed her!"
Suddenly, the brunette slapped the redhead across the face as hard as she could. She nearly fell over as her coffee cup flew out of her hand and exploded on the ground. Even the tanned girl looked startled. "Shut up, Madison!" she snarled.
Sans and Papyrus were completely shocked. Obviously, the girl being loudly slapped was startling. But that paled in comparison to learning just how Ginny had been injured. "you... pushed her? why would you push her?"
Finally realizing she had been caught, the brunette, evidently Muffy, shrugged, "She was annoying me."
"Yeah, she shouldn't have been, like, so rude to us," the tanned girl nodded. Madison remained quiet, nursing her red cheek.
"THAT WAS NO EXCUSE!" Papyrus snapped, furrowing his eyebrows. "I DON'T CARE IF GINNY WAS RUDE TO YOU! THAT DIDN'T MEAN SHE DESERVED TO BE HURT! I KNOW GINNY! SHE WOULDN'T BE RUDE ON PURPOSE! WHY, I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF IT WAS YOU BEING RUDE! AFTER ALL, YOU WERE BEING RUDE TO US! JUST BECAUSE SHE'S NOT THE SAME AS YOU, IT DOESN'T MEAN SHE DESERVES TO BE BULLIED! YOU SHOULD ALL BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!"
Sans and the three girls were all stunned into silence. Sans had rarely heard his brother scold someone so harshly.
The girls, however, didn't all seem to take the scolding to heart. Muffy simply rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Whatever." As she walked away, pushing through Sans and Papyrus, she muttered something about bleeding hearts under her breath. The tanned girl followed after, sticking her nose in the air with a humph.
Madison was the only one who looked remotely ashamed. She paused as she followed after her friends, and looked over her shoulder at the monsters. Her hands were shaking as she opened her mouth to say something.
"Madison, let's go!" the tanned girl yelled back.
"C-coming, Megan!" Madison squeaked, taking off after the other two girls. Her coffee cup laid on the sidewalk where it had fallen, the only reminder of the girls previously being there.
Sans stared after the humans. Papyrus finally released his clenched fists with a sigh. "i never seen you be so stern. you okay?"
"...I'M ALL RIGHT," he said, quieter than usual. "I'M JUST DISAPPOINTED."