There was rarely a time when she felt this sad, this depressed, or this angry. In the entire six and a half months that she was in Japan, she was never so utterly irate that she wanted to hit something. Or sad enough that she wanted to break down crying. It was the worst emotional complex, forced to deal with something so out of reach...and the fact that she COULDN'T deal with it. Not the way she wanted to.
Right now the LAST thing she wanted to do was go to school, considering she figured her hand would go right through one of the sheetrock walls. But at the same time she HAD to go...to cherish the memories...even if everything around her made her want to cry.
It wasn't fair! Why did EVERYTHING in her life change without her consent? Couldn't there be something that SHE could decide on?? Didn't ANYTHING in her life matter? Apparently not...since the last argument with her father proved all that.
Heaving a sigh as she walked side by side with Kevin down the halls, she ignored his sympathetic gaze and automatically set her backpack down, heading for the desk near the back. The afternoon sunshine shown in through tall, narrow windows, almost inviting her to come play. She looked at the small bits of surrounding areas the view provided, feeling even more down than before.
She'd been depressed ever since she saw Cye at typing and hadn't been able to pick her mood up. At lunch she almost wanted to cry upon seeing the five move to the table with greeting smiles on their faces. She got out of a lot their conversations by saying she wasn't feeling well, which was partially the truth. She was worried, mad, and had no appetite for anything but to curl up and sleep the world away. To hopefully pass all her problems by.
Abandoning the desk for nearby cupboards, she pulled out a good-sized, unfinished canvas out of a cubbyhole specifically and set it on an easel near the windows. She looked at the half-done oil pastel. A palm-sized picture was gently attached to the side of the wood frame. Gently, she reached up and grabbed it, taking the tape off to not tear anything.
It was old; no denying that. Taken almost a decade ago when she was still so young...it was a picture of Miguel and her when she was seven. The Chihuahua was so small in her arms, even though he was already a year old in that shot.
Her eyes involuntarily watered. Miguel was one of her only friends at that age. A household companion and someone she told all her secrets to. The lack of his presence in her life, even at such an elder age, was proof of how little influence she held over her own life.
"Epi?" She jumped and whirled around to find Kevin inches from her, a minute, concerned look on his face. It softened and looked to the picture. Hands slowly raised as he took it and tacked the picture so it draped over the top of the canvas for use. "Let's go get your paints." He suggested, a small, encouraging smile on his face.
She nodded and almost sullenly walked to the plastic containers, getting what colors she needed for the palate. Kevin sighed, giving a small shake of his head. She was going to do it to herself again if someone didn't pull her out of it. This was almost exactly how it started in America and she COULDN'T go through something that painful again. He didn't know how she'd survive.
Kevin let her go with those five, knowing she needed friends in her life...but at the same time, didn't want her getting so deeply involved as she was doing. If only she remembered harder about everything that happened, maybe she would've tried harder to NOT get involved with the guys.
As he slowly followed for paints, he knew something needed to be done. Whether Epi cut ties now with everyone like she did upon leaving America, or find a way to extend their stay till the school year was over at least. He agreed - having somewhat become friends with them as well - that it wasn't fair to leave and never be able to write them. He could see if it was a pen pal type scenario. If they were able to keep in contact, it would ease the hurt a little. But the Marzellos moved around almost constantly to the point of it being a military life.
~*~*~
"Does anyone have ANY clue what was up with Epiphany today?" Kento asked, looking at everyone from his upside-down position in one of Ryo's chairs.
Just passing the hall from his bedroom, Ryo gave Kento a reprimanding glare and propped hands on his hips. "Kento! Sit in my chair like a NORMAL human being! They wear out fast enough as it IS."
"Yes mother." Kento kidded, swinging his feet off the top portion of the chair. They arced over his head and he landed, standing and plopping back down seconds later.
Heaving a sigh with a shake of his head, Ryo went into the small kitchen area and hopped up on a counter. "I have no clue Kento, but I wondered that myself." He answered, resting his chin on a knee. His gaze looked to the right. "Cye?"
Cye shrugged when his eyes met Ryo's. "She was quieter than I'd seen her in months." He muttered, stirring their dinner. The five converged at the Mouri household for supplies and took Cye's car to Ryo's, since the youth had a rare day off from work. Because neither really got to hang out after school as often as they'd like, this was one of those days they were taking opportunity of.
Rowen stretched on the couch and propped his head up. "Maybe she's having another test crisis." He kidded, smiling a little. "You saw how she gets whenever Algebra tests swing around."
"I dunno Ro, I don't think it's that." Kento muttered, leaning his head on the back of the chair. "Is dinner ready YET Cye?" He asked, abandoning the topic.
"No. That's the fourth time you've asked in the past twenty minutes and it'll CONTINUE to be no for another half hour." Cye chastised, not looking away from the stove.
Ryo grinned and snickered, casting his gaze to the living room, finding Kento pouting. Garbage gut. His apartment was always the least favorite of Kento's places to hang out in, since the fridge wasn't well stocked.
"If you want something to do to pass the time, set the table. I'm sure by then, supper will be ready."
Kento groaned. "But that sounds like so much work."
"Then stop whining about dinner." Cye instantly retorted, smirking.
Sage smirked from his position by the window. The others never ceased to amuse him with their little quirks, and he was glad. His friends always indulged him a little more with their ways whenever they hung out like this. He leaned against the wall, content to stand and stare out the window. Though it looked like he had no cares in the world, his mind was whirling with the questions they asked.
He'd been thinking it ever since he saw Epiphany at lunch, when she didn't really smile or say much to any of them. When the others asked what was going on, he knew she lied to cover something up. Something was happening, though she hid it very well. Hid it everywhere from her face except her eyes. He knew about the saying with a person's eyes, and hers showed a deep pain and rage. His eyes thoughtfully narrowed as he turned to the others, trying to connect the pieces. He wondered what it was...
"Is dinner ready YET Cye??" Kento whined, turning sideways in the chair. "I feel like my stomach is trying to eat me alive!"
Cye growled and grit his teeth. Ryo smirked and leaned against the fridge, ready to jump down to keep from annoying the other tenants around him in case something happened. The four knew the rules in the apartment where noise was concerned, but it was always entertaining to watch Cye and Kento. Especially since Cye normally found a way to beat Kento into submission with his smaller size.
"Kento...come here." Cye ordered, setting the stirring spoon down. The auburn youth strode to the front door and unlocked it, stepping just outside the doorway. "Come. Here." He reiterated, tone telling Kento to do as ordered.
Almost warily, Kento slowly got from the couch, mind trying to process what Cye was going to do. He figured Cye would yell or ignore him till it was time to eat. Or maybe even make him set the table. A brow rose. "We heading somewhere?" He suspiciously asked, stopping a few foot from the door.
Cye only looked Kento in the eyes. A brow rose in return. Everyone looked on, smiles or watching with threatening laughter. In less than a second, Cye latched onto Kento's arm and swung him in an arc that landed him outside in the hallway. Quickly shutting the door in Kento's stunned face, Cye locked both deadbolt and chain, heading back to the stove with a smug smile on his face.
"I KNEW it!" Kento shouted, pounding on the door. "I knew that's what you intended on doing! Cye! Let me in NOW!" More pounding. "Don't make me break this door down! How would Ryo explain that to the landlord?"
The four laughed at Kento's predicament, but shut up when the door across the hall squeaked open.
Ryo's ears perked, body stilling that they were going to get in trouble. Kento knew the rules, but when it came to food, he was inclined to break them sometimes. The people around here were pretty cool and nice, but that didn't mean he wouldn't get reported. It would suck since this'd be the first incident he ever had since starting high school.
"Young man...will you keep your voice down? There are other people in this immediate area who don't appreciate your shouting!"
Kento's head nearly hung to the floor in embarrassment, cheeks flaming. "Sorry sir." He mumbled, leaning against the door.
"I heard somewhat what was going on over there and it serves you right for getting kicked out. Behave yourself next time."
"Sheesh," Kento muttered, "who knew the old geezer had such good hearing?" With a heavy sigh, he slumped against the wall and waited to be let back in. He was - at the moment - entirely locked out since his keys were on the phone table with everyone else's. Everyone put them there for safekeeping to not forget them.
Inside, Rowen fell off the couch with a thump; Ryo was clutching his sides in fear of falling off the counter; and Sage gripped the chair to help him stand. Cye seemed the only one to contain his laughter enough to keep dinner from burning. The smug smile on his face rose even higher.
Kento was going to take retribution for locking him out when dinner was so closed to being done with, but his absence from the room made it all worth it.
~*~*~
The days were pretty cold for January, but that was expected. Foggy breath left parted lips as she sighed, teeth lightly clenching a mechanical eraser. Wrapped up in a thick wool comforter to combat the cold, even though she was already bundled up in warm after-school clothes, the chill seemed to penetrate deeper than before.
Tension amongst the family was so thick and she wanted to break it, but couldn't. So she grabbed one of the sketchbooks she insisted she travel with and hide on the balcony till supper was ready. She needed something to keep her from letting everything get to her and grabbed the pictures from her birthday with something in mind.
It seemed, save for English, that she was a 'right-brained' person. Fluent in things like art and expression. Able to speak better through colors and textures than words or thought. Drawing, along with dance, was a forte she was popular in. It was something that excluded language, having one all its own. She liked it, and right now was indulging herself by forcing her hands and blank sheet a bout of creativity to occupy her mind.
The pictures of her friends helped as something to jot down, to keep forever in her art book. Though she rarely drew anymore it seemed, art classes helped bring out inspiration. And tracing was always something she was good at. Capturing faces of her only friends was something she felt she NEEDED to do.
Eyes snuck a peek inside when she looked away to rest them. All was quiet...on the front anyway. She sighed and shook her head. She was getting tired of all the pretenses and niceties her mother did to keep the peace. She wanted an all out family discussion, but her mother feared what would happen if that did occur. Willow couldn't be included because she didn't understand what was going on except the 'grownups' were 'yelling' at each other.
She wanted to talk about what was on her mind...but knew her father wouldn't listen. He wasn't going to quit the business he set up, or let someone else take it over just to placate the family.
Brown closed before burning tears could fall. Life was one cruel joke sometimes and she was tired of being the butt of its gags. All she wanted was a place to call home, to own more than clothes and small accessories that adorned her body, to have friends for more than a few months at a time, and to get a job like OTHER girls her age were doing. And to have the same worries girls her age did. Facial and body complexions, dating worries, and homework problems. She had a few, but they were different types of the same worry.
She didn't bother comparing herself to those around since almost everywhere she went held people of entirely different nationalities. The dating worry was something she hadn't experienced much, not in the past few years. But the homework was probably the biggest worry...only dumbed down by having an interpreter along.
She leaned back in the porch chair and put the mechanical pencil on her ear. With a wistful thought, she flipped the pages back to the start of her excursion, becoming blasted with an almost uncanny sideways and lively view of Ryo's face. A tender smile flittered across her face. His eyes were a challenge to draw, but they came out so well and were the best feature he owned. Besides the hair that almost didn't fit in the large facial portrait, the smile she meandered out of the shot was another good quality of his.
A quiet flip showed another sideways shot, of Cye this time. She turned the heads, even frontal views, to askew traces. She managed better that way and it was easier to get more of the face in.
'Definitely the hair.' She decided. It turned out the best of all his features, though his smile came in a close second. The light, choppy tracing just made his hair seem softer than the picture. She liked Cye's smile as well...it just looked so pleasant and alive. Though they didn't talk as much as she, Rowen, and Kento did, Cye was a very nice person. She knew she captured that essence in his smile.
She giggled at the picture she worked out with Kento. He didn't expect his picture to be taken, mouth full of pizza from the arcade at that time, and she drew it all in. The wide eyes only set off the comical picture that spoke a lot about Kento Rei Faun.
A hand whipped up and grabbed the pencil off her ear, doing a little better shading on the eyes. She played with the right until it was a better size, smiling in satisfaction. The pencil went back as she checked out the adjustments. Her head nodded in acknowledgement. An improvement...and it make Kento look even more comical and funny than before. She grinned again. She couldn't have asked for a better picture to work on than the one she was staring at.
Another good, full headshot blasted her eyes, this one of Rowen. A small smirk lit her face. Instead of just behaving and smiling like a good boy when she said to say cheese, he gave one of those smart-assed looks and stuck his tongue out. So she drew it that way. Changing the image just to make the picture look good wasn't art. Drawing the character exactly as one saw on paper, or close enough to distinction, was better at capturing the image. She could draw any of them once she got facial features familiarized, but this suited her better. It showed more of Rowen's TRUE personality.
With teeth nibbling on her lower lip, a hand slowly turned the to last page, as if seeing the final and most obvious face would cause her harm. Emotionally yes. The newest picture kept inside was a duo of both Sage and Ryo, well...Sage with bunny ears.
She fought a smile. She didn't intend on ever getting any shots of Sage, since he was camera shy it seemed. But he begrudgingly accepted a few and she was at a crossroads with his pencil drawing. This picture didn't have a smile in it, and part of her wanted to draw one in. Just to see if she COULD mentally picture Sage with a smile. She didn't know if she could finagle the eyes and cheek structure to make things work out. Though his eyes weren't cold, his face was just an even mask. It was a decision that caused her to stop after she got both eyes and the general outline of his head done.
Still trying to figure out what to do, the patio door quietly swung open. She nearly startled from her skin and whirled around. Philippe stood there with a not very happy expression on his face, directed it at her. She quickly flipped the book closed and sat up. "Did you want to talk to me father?" She quietly asked, feeling chastised without being talked to.
Philippe's eyes narrowed a little. "Are you ready to talk like a NORMAL adult?" He retorted, almost glaring.
Her nose upturned, eyes narrowing a little. The last 'discussion' they had ended up being a small yelling match that got postponed by her mother telling them to give themselves an hour and talk it out again. That break was what caused her to come outside and seek solace in the first place. "What's the POINT padre?" She quietly and bitterly muttered. "You won't change anything."
Philippe glared. "I'm tired of getting into this before every hotel we leave!" He nearly bellowed. "You, young lady, don't realize that I am providing you with the necessitates you need to live."
She felt anger rise and let it come. It happened every time, these fights did. At least she wouldn't feel the cold anymore.
The comforter went to the floor when she shot to her feet. "And I'M tired of you always treating me like a little kid who is still expected to follow her daddy around like a faithful puppy! I'm SIXTEEN now!" A hand thumped her chest. "Can't I have my OWN life?! Why can't we go back to Spain??"
Philippe gave a bored look. "You KNOW why hija. I already told you half a dozen times! You're not old enough to stay in the country without either parent to be your guardian! When the companies offer to pay me and my lodgings I go. The program I designed is too precious to waste on just corporations in Spain alone. The places here and in China will offer many other months for you to stay and get friends. Be lucky you stayed THIS long."
"Oh big WHOOP." She quickly retorted. "A whopping six and a half months. That's not even half the SCHOOL year! I haven't even gotten my midyear report card yet!" She snatched up the blanket and drawing book, stomping past her father to the living room. She dumped the blanket on the nearest chair and stalked up the small bunch of steps to her bedroom. Willow's cherub face slowly peeked out with wide eyes.
"Don't you walk away from me young lady!" Philippe bellowed, grasping her other arm. He swung her around and glared her down, but was met with another glare. "You NEVER walk away when your father is talking to you!"
Across the way, the bedroom door slowly opened, two pairs of eyes peeking from a slit.
They were fighting again. Consuela bit her lower lip, brow turning. Why couldn't her daughter and husband get along for once? Did they ALWAYS have to fight about the same subject time and time again? She heard the same version so many times, it was horrible. There was hardly any peace in her family anymore! Brown speared Willow almost hiding behind her bedroom door and had a big urge to go rescue the youth from another spat. Willow didn't know anything that was going on, didn't retain the reason for the fighting.
She truly was the only innocent in this whole endeavor.
Kevin's eyes narrowed, wanting to protect his cousin, but also wanting to pull her away from his uncle. Philippe had plenty of reasons to work on his computer program, but Epi had more than enough reasons for wanting to live in her original homeland. They were at a stalemate, neither wanting to give up and deal with it. Even if Epi dealt with it more often than Philippe did. The elder Marzellos got to live his dream and Epiphany was stuck in the tow. It was just a shame they couldn't work something out.
She jerked her arm from his grasp, clutching the sketchpad tighter. Her glare deepened. "I'll walk away if I WANT to! Until you show MY life some respect, I'll show YOUR life respect equal to the way you treat ME!"
"And just what does that mean?!" Philippe snarled. Hands clenched into fists.
Her jaw clenched at the anger in those dark eyes. "Figure it out yourself! You're the GENIUS." She snapped. Before her father could react or say anything, she opened the door and almost hit Willow with it. Not apologizing, she quickly headed for the bathroom and locked herself in.
Getting over the shock, Philippe pushed past Willow and grabbed the locked knob, turning it to no avail. His fist met the door. "Open this door Epiphany Sundance!"
"No! Go away and leave me alone! I don't WANT to leave Japan! I LIKE it here!" She cried turning the vent on to dull his shouts. Almost hurriedly, like an animal pursued, she headed into the shower and shoved the shower curtain closed, trying to hide herself entirely.
"Epiphany Sundance Marzellos! You open this door right NOW!"
"NO!" She almost screamed, clutching the drawing book to her chest. Her arms tightly wrapped around it as she huddled in the bottom of the shower, wishing the day was gone, or she could disappear. She wished to be anyone, anywhere than who and where she was now.
"EPIPHANY!" One hand kept hitting the wood, the other futilely turning the knob. Philippe was beyond anger and frustration, unable to make her see his reasons. She was his kick in the ass that he needed to make a better life for his family all those year ago. SHE was the reason he went back to school. Now that he was a mildly wealthy man and could more than support his family, she was throwing it back in his face and disrespecting all he was doing.
In the middle of the commotion, Consuela almost hurriedly snuck from the safety of the bedroom and hurried to the middle of the living room. Her gaze was on Willow and as soon as the youth looked at her, those motherly arms stretched in waiting. Willow wasted no time in running to the only safe haven she had at the moment and tightly hugged her mother. One hand smoothed some of Willow's hair upon finding the girl shaking at her family's rage.
"Come on." She soothingly muttered. With Willow still clinging to her waist, Consuela maneuvered them to her bedroom, Kevin solemnly holding the door opened.
Kevin met his aunt's eyes, feeling embarrassed about his family's situation and that there was nothing he could do to truly change it. Nothing could be done until Epiphany turned eighteen and surely went back to Spain or possibly even America. His gaze lowered to Willow, finding her nearly glued to the elder's side.
His brow turned, head shaking in sorrow for his cousin. Willow shouldn't have to listen to all the anger, marking it in whatever part of her mind could retain memories. Whatever she had to look back on should be nothing but HAPPY times.
With a final look to the spectacle still taking place - shouting and pounding on the door - Kevin slowly shut the door on it. Seconds later, the lock was clicked into place, keeping out the anger and pain.
~*~*~
The next day at school was not a good one for ANYONE in the Hispanic family. Having spent all night locked in the bathroom to keep from getting yelled at and dealing with the anger, she didn't get up till seven, effectively missing the bus. Kevin slept in the master bedroom with Consuela and Willow, feeling like the man of the house. He ended up getting ready in the master bathroom because she refused to open it in fear that her father would barge in and yell at her. Philippe slept on the couch due to Consuela refusing to unlock the door after what happened the night before. Neither school pair ate breakfast. Neither had any APPETITE for it.
Throwing on the same clothes from yesterday, hotel key in her backpack, Philippe already out of the suite for the day, both high school students left and started for lobby. A cab had to be called, since the bus wouldn't make another stop. The family paid the school to pick the duo up. The two arrived a few minutes into second period. With an ache from the hip and shoulder that slept against the porcelain tub, she slowly walked her computer with all eyes on her. No smile was given, neither embarrassed nor pleasant.
Cye watched as she set everything down and momentarily rubbed her neck with a small wince before starting in on the lesson. His brow furrowed in confusion and wonder before shrugging it off and turning his attention back to the lesson. He'd have time to figure out what the matter was later.
~*~*~
By the time lunch came, she was so utterly exhausted. Staying up with an anxiety look, the lights off in panic and fear, huddling with her pictures for comfort...that's how she spent every minute until eleven before falling into an exhausted sleep. She wanted to skip today, but wasn't going to stay around. She didn't want her father to know and yell at her for not going. And she didn't want to hear any lectures from her mother.
The only problem was she was so incredibly tired. First looks from Cye, then Kento, and Ryo and Sage at gym. They all gave confused and wondering looks, which she mostly ignored. It was rude to not say anything more than a mumbled hello, but she fought to stay on her feet in gym! As soon as she and Kevin secured their table, arms were used as a pillow for an incredibly heavy head and the collective talking only served as a catalyst for her slumber.
"Well THAT'S something you don't see every day."
What seemed like only minutes before ended up being at least ten when she finally pulled her head up. Sleepy, blinking eyes looked to find the five setting their things down. They seemed taller, or was she still using the table as a pillow?
"What?" She sleepily queried, yawning. A hand rubbed the continuous crick in her neck from sleeping against the side of the tub. Not one of the better moves she ever made in her life...
"Did SOMEONE have a late night last night?" Rowen kidded, leaning over the table with a leer.
"You okay Epiphany? You were late to second." Cye wondered.
"And looked pretty out of it in third and fourth." Kento added, voice a little more worried than Cye's.
She looked to the five, feeling every emotion during her drawing inspiration surface. She fought the tears burning her eyes and settled for plopping her head back over her still folded arms. "It was a...long night last night..." She mumbled, trying to evade getting them connected. They were enough in her life. This ordeal was the LAST thing she wanted them getting in the middle of!
"Like what?" Rowen asked, giving an odd look. He dug in his bag and took out one of the sandwiches in his fridge, starting in on it. Though Rowen knew something had to've happened at her hotel last night for her to be so tired, he knew less than the others did.
Slowly, getting tears put back where they belonged, she looked up and locked solemn eyes with Rowen. Their gazes held before she quietly looked to the top of the table with hooded eyes. Rowen blinked and looked to the others with an utterly confused look. They all saw her face by the mirrored expressions Rowen saw. Something more than late night studying had to've occurred last night!
Daring to ask what the five were dying to, Sage leaned over Cye and looked at Epiphany's eyes. They were locked on nothing in an utter thoughtful gaze. She was staring at the table as if she was the only one here. Sleep was rimmed around her eyes, and in the time he warred with asking and keeping his mouth shut, her eyes never blinked. "So...what happened?"
Her gaze widened and shot to his, though her head didn't leave the cushion her arms made. To say she was a little surprised was correct , if grossly unspecified. Keeping his gaze for a little while, Sage watched as she slowly leaned back and drew nonsense patterns on the table. With brown locked on her finger, some hair covering her face, Sage watched her mouth purse to a pout.
"Guys...would you...miss me if I was gone?" She quietly asked.
The five looked over. "What do you mean Epiphany?" Kento asked. Being directly next to her today, he dared to reach out and brush back a small lock of hair to be able to see her face. It was like a dark curtain that kept her from being seen.
She looked Kento in the eyes, then the others. She propped her head up with hands and seriously stared them all down. "Would you guys miss me if I was gone from this school and this country?" She reiterated, gaze flittering around multiple eyes.
"Of course we would." Rowen answered, mildly surprising her. "You think we're that crude after almost seven months of knowing you?"
"Six." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes.
"Seven." Ryo insisted. She opened her eyes and met his. Ryo's were serious as they locked. "Just because you didn't talk doesn't mean we still didn't sit together at this table for an entire month."
A small smile, probably the first today, touched her mouth. Brown were in danger of watering over again, but they closed before that was possible. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes to try and stay awake. So they WOULD miss her? Then how would they take the news she was inevitably supposed to tell them?
"Why do you ask?" Cye queried, leaning over the table to look at her. Being on the end didn't allow for a good view of her face to see what was going on. He for one would like more answers to see what was plaguing his friend. SOMETHING was definitely troubling her by her mood.
Her jaw clenched. She didn't want to tell them the news. She detested it, but it was on the tip of her tongue. This was exactly what happened to her in America, these feelings were the same as last time. It was eating her alive, even through exhaustion.
"Well I was just wondering-" Teeth quickly bit her lower lip, gaze averting to the table. She couldn't bring herself to do it. Why WAS that? Because she didn't want to leave them! These five, though not very knowledgeable to many secrets of her life, were close to her. They were her life to far and it was getting torn up again!
"Well...I was just wondering...in case I'm not here for the next school year." She mumbled. There...THAT was vague enough...
A few looked at each other. "Are you feeling okay Epiphany?" Ryo asked. She looked okay, if not majorly tired.
Her head slowly shook. "I'm exhausted from last night. If it's alright with you, I'm going to sleep through lunch." Her head was already back in her arms before the last sentence was done with. "Kento...my lunch is in the main pouch of my backpack. You can have it...I'm not even remotely hungry." That said, she let the blessed darkness swallow her up.
Ryo, Rowen, and Kento looked to Kevin for answers before Kento eagerly dug into her bag. Kevin silently stayed from their gaze for as long as humanely possible before looking up. He nearly gulped upon finding five raised brows with questioning eyes demanding answers. With a quiet sigh, a small, forlorn look to his cousin, Kevin just shook his head.
Biting his lip, a hand snaked over the table from his usual position and gently shook her back. A pitiful moan came from the bundle of hair and school uniform. "No madre...cinco más minutos..." She almost inaudibly garbled. No mother...five more minutes... She fell back asleep almost immediately and Kevin knew it was safe to say something.
Looking with sad eyes, his gaze diverted to the tabletop. "There's not much I can say guys." He quietly began. Deep brown looked down to his hands, open and empty over his English book. "Epi and her father had a fight about our housing situation again, like they ALWAYS do. She spent last night locked in the bathroom, him on the couch, and me in my aunt's bedroom." A hand ran over his face, tired of it. More than solemn about having to break it like this to five nice people, he met the group's gaze. "We're most likely leaving in a few weeks."
The five sat back, stunned beyond belief. They were LEAVING? "Why?" Cye breathed, mouth hanging open. What must've happened to a parent and his child that made the poor girl shut herself in a bathroom all night long??
Kevin looked to his hands again, tapping a finger on the table. "It's just our way of life. Epi hasn't told you much because she doesn't want people involved FOR this reason. Philippe - my uncle - has a computer program he has to manually install to any system in high tech companies. He wrote it and has the patent on it, and goes wherever the companies tell him to. Phil's a brilliant man, but a little thick-headed when it comes to our family."
Her shoulders stirred with a small moan, gaining six eyes before she stilled again.
With a small exhale, Kevin looked to them. "Epi's never had a normal life after the age of twelve. She's been from Spain to Italy, America, Russia, and Japan so far. The longest she ever spent in any country was in America for two years. The reason she had for that first month here was due to losing a bunch of friends she made in America after leaving the state. She told me that she was making a promise to herself to never get involved to never get hurt again." The explanation was interrupted by a long yawn, since he didn't fall asleep till after ten himself. "It's taking its toll on her now that she let people in again. She's been fighting with my uncle for the past two weeks now. Everyone is tired of it, but they're not going to stop. They haven't stopped since we all initially left SPAIN."
The five sat back and quietly digested this news. They never knew such a thing could be possible. How horrible to never be able to make friends, to never LET yourself have friends. The five solemnly looked to each other, knowing they were highly close. To lose that due to a parent ripping you away from the place you were born? They couldn't fathom that.
That explanation shed a LOT of light onto the Hispanic girl's behavior. It showed them, upon looking back, reasons for her being so shy and easily embarrassed. Being the new kid all the time must be harsh. Not to mention having to get used to new people all the time.
As the silence slowly became oppressive despite all the talk around them, their gazes slowly drifted back to the slumbering form as the lunch hour rolled by. It didn't move until Kento reached over and gently shook her awake for next hour.
When she awoke, she found moods nearly matching her own. After a yawn, feeling a little better after that nap, her mind was a bit clearer. Walking with the others in silence amongst the crowd, her mind slowly tipped on the scales of two decisions. As she said goodbye to all but Kevin, her mind slowly turned to one. With a set jaw and firm eyes, she started planning what she was going to say to everyone.