So uhh this is largely self-indulgent projecting? But it's okay I can do what I want cuz it's my birthday and I'm celebrating with more scoliosis scar rep
Please don't be afraid to leave a review!
It hurt, at first.
That was what she was immediately aware of after the surgery. She could feel it dully under the painkillers she'd been given. Moving hurt. She didn't even want to think about sitting up. Thankfully, the nurses and physical therapist didn't make her try for a couple of days. Even then, Atua smiled upon her; she was out of the hospital after less than a week.
However, that didn't mean she was out of the woods. Some days, she couldn't get out of her bed. Most days, she couldn't sit up long enough to paint or draw. It took a couple weeks for her to want to, but as soon as she could, she spent long days on her island's shores. She wasn't in the mood for going in the water. Laying in the sand wasn't an option for her, since there was so much sunscreen on her scar that the sand would stick to it. As if she needed anything call more attention to the scar to begin with. She wouldn't be able to wash it all off on her own.
One month after the surgery, she bought her favorite yellow jacket. The island's weather was too warm for any jacket, but she wore it anyway. It was soft, so it didn't tug on her scar like her bikini top did, but still, it was heavy. It took some time to adjust to it, but she liked it so much better than eyes wondering where the scar came from.
Art didn't start becoming the main investment of her life for another month after that. Finally she could sit for an hour or two and work on something. Atua's skill flowed through her fingertips onto the canvas, and for a moment, everything was the same as before.
That summer, she learned that she would be attending Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Artist. Who was she to pass up such an invitation? Her yellow jacket was the first thing she packed; that is to say, as often as she already wore it, she swore to herself that she wouldn't take it off.
Being at Hope's Peak didn't feel any different than being on her island. The main difference was that her room wasn't hers alone- she shared with Tsumugi. She was certain that her tossing and turning some nights, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in, kept Tsumugi awake. Thankfully, she never said anything about it.
They took turns in the bathroom they shared to change. So nobody saw her scar. Nobody even knew her scar existed. She tired to keep it that way.
Gym class wasn't awful. She wasn't exactly cleared to do anything more than walking, but it wasn't like class was mandatory. Unless it was nice out and she felt like walking the track, she skipped. Not many people other than the athletes and rule-followers went anyway. Instead, she kept to the art room. Not many people bothered her there.
She had one chair in the art room she really liked when she didn't want to stand. It was perfect, and unlike the other seats, her back didn't feel like it was on fire before she finished. She always made sure to grab it before anyone else was in the art room, not that it was much of a competition.
Summer vacation was nice; she returned to her island, once again with her jacket. She was much more used to the cooler Japan climate then, and even debated shedding her jacket, if only for a while so she wouldn't overheat. The thought of showing her scar again won out in the end; the jacket stayed on.
She was Not Happy when winter came to Hope's Peak. All of the sudden she was freezing all the time and felt like she could barely move. Her classmates wrote it off as her not being used to cold weather, and she readily agreed with them. Who knew if she'd be reacting the same without there being metal in her back. But having them assume that meant they didn't have anything to question, and she liked that.
During the cold months, she didn't bother with her yellow jacket unless she felt like it. She wasn't stupid- she wore long-sleeved shirts instead of her bikini top when it was so cold. She didn't have to worry as much, despite being more sore and much less active.
She donned her jacket once more when the winter started to defrost. It layered over crop tops and her favorite bikini top, seemingly defeating the purpose of wearing such clothes that were technically against the dress code.
"Why wear it?" Tsumugi asked on a couple occasions. "Your outfit looks great without it."
"I like it, and Atua likes it," was her answer on said occasions. Tsumugi usually dropped the topic after that with a shrug.
(Her class had played strip Never Have I Ever before. When Himiko said "Never have I ever gotten a scar," she waited for the topic to change before slipping off a sock.
To her class, scars weren't a big deal. Just about everyone had at least one. They wouldn't care at all if they knew about it. That didn't mean she was going to tell them.)
There were some days she woke up and her back ached from sleeping wrong, or her muscles were tight for some other reason. On those days, she didn't let anyone know her back was bothering her. She'd much rather put on a happy-go-lucky face, maybe hide out in the art room, and pray for it to pass. She couldn't remember the last time she'd truly been comfortable, but at least she wasn't always in pain.
She didn't take her yellow jacket off for anything. Not when she danced in the rain one day, her and the jacket both soaked through. Not when Tsumugi helped her dye the tips of her hair turquoise, little greenish stains left behind for a few washes. Not when her dare was to take it off, the consequence of which being kicked off of the couches to lie on the "uncomfortable" wood floor of the common room. She was more comfortable there than she had been in ages, really. The fact was that she wouldn't take it off if her back was otherwise exposed.
Unfortunately for her, the class trip in March, before school ended, was to the beach. As much as she wanted to swim, she didn't want to take her jacket off. Her sunscreen job wasn't the best, either, since she couldn't exactly reach around to apply some to her back. The water looked so welcoming, the rolling waves lapping at the shoreline, just like her island…
She scanned the beach, looking for anyone who wouldn't make a huge deal of it and could keep a secret. If she got in the water quick enough, her other classmates likely wouldn't see it.
Just as she expected, thankfully, Maki didn't breathe a word about it, barely even pausing when she saw how long the scar was. Angie ditched her jacket on her towel and went running into the water as soon as Maki was done, splashing everyone in sight just because she could.
Even though she was the last in, she was also the last out, following everyone else to the beach. She wrapped her towel around her shoulders. If she closed her eyes for a moment, the salty breeze and sand beneath her toes reminded her of her island home. Once she was dry, she traded her towel seamlessly for her jacket, warming her up as night fell.
At the bonfire that night, she was tempted to drop her jacket and show everyone her scar by the firelight. The warmth of her jacket felt too amazing to leave, so she kept it on.
Maki was nice enough to not bring up her scar to her when they returned to Hope's Peak. She continued trying to be comfortable when she slept, her yellow jacket staying with her. Only a couple of days and she'd be heading home for the summer break. She wanted the warmth of the sun and the sand again, so badly.
The day before she was supposed to head back home, she realized after changing from her pajama top to her bikini top that her yellow jacket was gone. It was too warm for her to wear a normal tank top or t-shirt, too late to dig through her bags to find one. Her jacket was just nowhere.
She called Tsumugi's cell first, praying that she at least had an idea of where it was, but Tsumugi hadn't seen it since the two of them had gone to bed the night before. Neither of them were quite sure where it could possibly be. She was debating sending an SOS message to the group chat, but before she could she received an anonymous tip (from Shuichi) that Kokichi had taken something from each of them. Something about wanting to be sure they all said a proper goodbye before leaving.
Of course he wanted to mess with her. Of course he wanted to mess with all of them. She told herself it didn't bother her. Obviously it was Atua's will for her to be less self-conscious about a scar she couldn't even see on herself unless she twisted or had two mirrors.
Even so, it took her five minutes to convince herself not to tear her bags apart looking for a shirt to change into that would hide the entire length of her scar before leaving her dorm. She didn't like it one bit, she was sure her classmates and upperclassmen took notice of it. Even if nobody said anything, she knew questions nagged at their minds. She'd be damned if they saw her as anything less than her normal, peppy self. Even if she felt much more threatening than that, more self-conscious than that, she would only let a touch of a threatening look into her eyes. Atua willing, Kokichi would feel her wrath.
Kokichi surrendered her jacket without a fight, surprisingly. It was as though he'd been waiting for her to show up. Even though she was itching to pull her jacket back on, the soft material rubbing a bit against the still-numb area around her scar, she folded it over her arm. With the usual spring in her step after a warm hug for Kokichi's goodbye, she hurried a tad to get to the art room. She'd shown her scar; she deserved a little off-time.
Her phone was flooded with words from her classmates that filled her with confidence (plus an apology from Kokichi she was fairly certain Kirumi made him write to everyone). None of them made a huge deal of it (save for Kaito, who made a huge deal of everything). Nobody even asked where it was from. She couldn't have been more grateful for that.
Summer break began, and she returned home with her trusty yellow jacket, hanging it on one of the bed posts in her room.
Come time for school again, she left it there.