Chapter 38: Yoko, Panotty & Jaan: Frantic Fix-up Friendship by kirbymanx/huskynator
It is recess, our favorite time. This sentiment was shared with Yoko who shared a bench with her friend Panotty after a tough session of Math. The two buddies were chatting it up.
"I really should visit your forest sometime, 'Notty." Yoko quietly giggled before she sipped her cooled-down Tulsi tea from her thermos cup.
"Ya really should." Pannotty grinned at the thought. "You'll finally get to meet Archan in person. You'll like her, she's basically me, but not a musician."
"Mm…" Yoko's whole demeanor went down again, staring at her warbled reflection in her tea. Panotty regretted saying that last word. It went so well.
"Sorry Yoko! Ididn'tmeanto." The elf apologized. Musical ability has been a sensitive topic for Yoko since she… you know.
She sipped more of her tea, in fact, it was a moderately sized gulp. Which was a bad idea the tea was still fairly hot enough. "Owowow!"
"Yoko!"
"Owie… my insides of my neck…" She sounds like she'll be okay.
"I don't have any water on me."
"It's okay, 'Notty." She said one eye-lid tightly shut, eyes teary. "I just can't drink tea right."
"Yoko…" Panotty muttered, a little tired of his friend's attitude. Though what was he supposed to say? Don't ask him, he's not built to be a therapist. Where's Ally when you need her?
Over there, on the other side. Practicing their moves with the rest of the cheerleaders, including Jaan. Surrounded by a few onlookers. Raina will get Raffina to punt Panotty into next week if he wanted to pull Jaan and Ally away now…
Those two were better at snapping Yoko out of her depressive funks than Panotty is…
"'Notty…" Yoko said as quietly as a whisper. "I did it again… My wings and heart feel so heavy…" Heavier then she usually felt them as of late. The sophomore angel's body language shivered, she closed her thermos. "I… uhm… sh-shouldn't say this… Um…" Yoko's teeth showed due to nervousness, she looked at the ground and slightly away from her friend.
To her in-the-moment shock, Panotty held her arm with his. "Yoko. Just say whatcha wanna say."
The girl quietly moaned. If her friend insists, she didn't want to, but Panotty nicely encouraged her. "I miss singing."
"…" If Panotty had wings they'd be rivaling how Yoko's felt right now. Very heavy. He has no idea how to handle this. "Ah…"
"I will never ever ever ever sing again. Because nobody likes me." She keeps saying that, no matter how much evidence goes against that. It stung Panotty as much as it stung Yoko. "But it did make me happy." She said like a ray of sunshine through a cloudy day.
Panotty was thinking of a way to cheer her up.
"Nobody was ever happy when I sung. Whuuuuh..." Yoko sunk too deep again. She tried not to cry too loudly in case her voice breaks all nearby glass again.
Anyone close by was happy Panotty was near Yoko, she cried into him like he's a stuffed bear. Panotty gave her some non-verbal comfort back.
"Harpy was happy, why can't I?" She hoarsely asked.
Panotty felt so nervous and a bit uncomfortable. He'd just want to see her the best she can be. His eyes looked at the cheerleaders talking. Specifically the ones who're Yoko's friends. Jaan, and Ally. 'We really should work on finding her a hobby…'
Later that day…
Ҽʍɑμɑμɑ
Panotty hadn't planned anything concrete out, he is winging it. He just drags Yoko by the hand the moment he had the opportunity. "Wh-Where are we going?"
"You'll see. Trust me, Yoko. We're gonna try something."
Yoko's mind began racing. What's Panotty gonna show her?
Down several stairs and halls, the two friends got outside.
"Two, three, four, five, six." Panotty counted them, and they're all here, and about to start.
"WAIT!" Panotty shouted at the cheerleader.
"Oh, hey Panotty."
"Hi~" Jaan and Ally greeted like the friends they are.
Amitie waved a hi too at the elf, though her face soured looking at the angel. Other than Draco who was close to indifferent, Ess and Raina had a sour face at both the prankster elf and the angel of dischord.
"Yoko needs a hobby,"
"I do?"
"Let her become a cheerleader!" Panotty demanded like something isn't going his way.
Reactions of the group (who're all Yoko's classmates) varied:
Amitie cowered in fear of Yoko.
Draco said just "No".
Jaan and Ally, despite their support for Yoko, looked very nervous about this.
And Raina and Ess were disgusted by the notion.
"It takes a lot of practice to join." Ally put it as nicely as possible. She did a split and effortlessly got back up again. "See? Don't try that."
"Yeah…" Jaan picked up what Ally was getting at. "You're not that nimble."
"I know." Yoko shyly said. Hiding behind Panotty who's frantically realizing he's made a mistake.
"Please consider." Panotty doubled down in a panic, switching position pushing Yoko forward against her will because Yoko really didn't want this.
"Panotty…" Jaan tried her best to gently, non-verbally discourage this for Yoko. "Are you okay?" She didn't have the guts to say out loud amongst her other friends.
"Captains?" Ally nervously asked Raina and Ess.
"Let's discuss." Raina and Ess moved away from the group to fairly consider their classmate Yoko's chances. "So neither of us wants Harpy in, right?" Raina wanted to make sure.
"No duh. If she'd join she'll only drag us down." Ess said.
"You mean, drag you further down?" Raina smugly replied.
"Sh-Shut up!"
Back at Yoko, Panotty, and the rest of the cheerleaders looking at these two disgressing into a brief bicker. "Are th-they fighting?" Yoko asked, fearing she made them do that.
"No, that's just how they communicate." Jaan said.
Back to the cheerleader captains: "…and with those brightly colored wings…"
"She's bound to take the center of attention."
"She's bound to take the center of attention."
"Ew. No."
"Imagine Harpy's voice getting better."
"Like chant worthy? We can't let that angel join and train her to be better than us."
"Agreed, she's bound to be the hood ornament of this group if she does."
The rivals smiled as they shook each other's hands. Satisfied with their conclusion. They rejoined with their group and addressed the meek angel.
"We decided that you should perhaps find a different hobby."
"Something you're good at, maybe." Raina and Ess said as gently as they could. It's fairly obvious to anyone with a brain and who's even remotely cynical it's because they don't like Yoko.
'I can't do anything right.' They triggered that mantra in the poor angel's head. "It's fine… I didn't want to anyway…" Yoko walked away with dry tears. Making her friends feel terrible. Panotty followed and gave her his earnest, but frantic apologies and an explanation.
"Okay, girls, practice time. Get to it." Raina and/or Ess signaled.
"Sorry, Captains." Ally spoke. "I gotta make sure Yoko is okay."
"Same." Jaan said.
"Ugh. Go." Their Captain said.
"Thank you."
"Thanks."
The two caught up.
"That is such a nice thought, 'Notty." The weeping angel told the sorry elf. "But please don't do that again."
"Yoko!" They caught her and Panotty in the halls.
"Oh… Hi." Yoko took her hand off her heavy chest for a moment to wave.
"We wanted to make sure we're still friends." Ally hugged her, as she often does. She prompted Jaan to join in. Panotty was already joined in.
Yoko sniffed. She hugged them back with her wings.
Once they broke off the hug Jaan proposed something: "We could help train you if you want."
"'S fine." Yoko spoke softly, nicely declining the offer. "I have weak legs anyway."
"We can train them." Ally said, trying to uplift the angel.
"And I could probably grant you a wish in three days. Maybe that way you may be able toggle your wings off and on. I heard Raina and Ess mouthing your wings."
'They don't like my wings?' That stung her. "No, I don't want to be a cheerleader. I don't want attention…"
"Then why come to us?"
"'Notty threw it on me." Yoko's neutral claim got Panotty a glare and stare from Jaan and Ally respectively.
Later that day, Jaan pulled Panotty aside for a private talk.
"What went through your head?" Jaan asked in a harsh tone, a tone Panotty isn't used to hearing from Jaan.
"I'm sorry, okay! I told her I'm am sorry Yoko was really sad she missed singing but didn't wanna sing anymore I did my best thinking of a solution so she can be happy again I saw you guys practicing and thought you guys are sorta an acapella group without actually singing so I thought Yoko would like that!" The distraught Panotty caught his breath, his guilt was clear.
Jaan felt guilty as well. Panotty frazzled, and she yelled at him like this making him more frazzled. She gave the little mischievous forest elf a hug, to make sure he knows they're still cool. "There there."
"I'm desperate to have Yoko be happy again all the time… She deserves to be happy."
"She does." Jaan agreed. "Hm… I'll talk to Ally." Jaan left Sig out. She knows Panotty's stance on him by now. "We need to try and help her more often. There's gotta be something she likes doing."
