Chapter 8
The next
morning, when Rie is entering the kitchen with Seth on her tail, her
dad puts a large plate with pancakes in front of her nose.
,Goodmoring, chicky."
Rie stares down at her plate, then shoves
it aside and let her head bang downon the table. She isn't hungry.
Eating in the morning is a murder, especially with everything that
happened yesterday and last night.
,You must eat, squirrel."
Her father says and Seth is nodding.
,I don't want to eat."
Rie looks up at her father, who smiles at her. ,Well, mom is helping
Aye in his clothes, so… how's Seth doing this morning?"
Rie
covers her head up with her arms. ,Ask him."
,I can't ask
him." Her father says, sitting down next to her, helping himself to
some of her pancakes. ,I can't see him, like you can."
,Try me!"
Seth cries out with enthusiasm.
,Seth says: Try me!" Rie
mumbles and she peeks through her arms to her dad. ,…I don't
think you believe me… I think you think I'm making Seth up."
,I don't
think you're making him up." Her father promises.
,When is
the little van showing up?"
,Van?"
,That one of the House
For Crazy Girls? Did you call it already?"
Now Seth jumps right
next to her ear and shouts,,You're not crazy, dammit!"
Rie
sits right up and pushes her pink in her ear. ,Ouch! You stupid ass!
Don't shout like that! I don't want to end up with eardamage!"
She gives Seth some Dark Looks and he sticks out his tongue.
Rie
notices her dad looking a little surprised. ,So… that was
Seth."
,Hell yeah." Rie growls. ,But from your point of view
I might as well look like a lunatic."
,Well, I believe you on
your word, because you are being so cranky about him." Her father
promises her. ,If he wouldn't be a nuisance, he would be made up…
I guess."
,Dad, you don't know shit about psychology!" Rie
sneers. ,But I… what if I am crazy, huh? What if it turns out that
asshole here isn't real at all and I'm just losing it?"
Now Seth looks really insulted. ,Not real? I am real! I'm the real thing!" He is making energetic gestures with his hands to his chest.
,Shut it, you aren't part of the visible conversation now!" Rie locks Seth out of the conversation and eyes her dad. ,Well, dad? What you think?"
Her
father leans back in his chair and thinks. ,Well… then if you
think this way, I think you should try to think of evidence that he
isn't a mindthingy."
,I am not a mindthingy, dammit!" Seth
cries out,,I can touch you! I CAN TOUCH YOU! That's proof! I'm
not totally made of air!"
,Stop shouting!" Rie cries out.
,You sound like somebody is killing you!"
,You can touch me!
TOUCH ME! THAT'S PROOF!" Seth now hops up and down, totally
excited all of a sudden. ,Touch me! Lean against my shoulder in a
way no normal human could do without somebody to lean on!"
Rie
stares at Seth, but then she thinks this isn't a really stupid
thing to do.
,Okay… dad… you want evidence?"
,Yeah,
bring it on." Her father sits up, looking amused.
,Seth stand
here." Rie demands. Seth
hurries to the spot Rie is pointing, right in front of Rie's
father. He is looking like a 5 year old kid who had just been handed
out candy.
,Dad,
stick out your hand and move it here." Rie says.
Her father
does as he is told and his hand moves right through Seth. Seth is
shivering, apparently not liking the feeling of the hand moving
through his body.
,You're moving through Seth's body now."
Rie explains. ,You can't touch him. But I can." She stands up
and stretches out her hands, wraps them around Seth's neck and let
herself hang on his body, pulling her feet of the floor.
To her
it is like she is just hanging on somebody's neck, but her father
pushes his chair back so hard he thumbles over and with large eyes he
stares at his daughter floating in mid air. ,You…. You're….
How… ow dear god!"
,I think
we got our proof." Rie says.
,You're heavy." Seth mumbles,
trying to keep his neck straight.
,Heavy!" Rie lets herself
go and slaps him in the face. ,I'm not heavy!"
,You don't
have to slap me!" Seth cries out.
,Shut up, you … pile of
cheese!" Rie now turns to her dad.
,I think
you really believe me now huh?"
And he dad nods, seeying a
little white in the face. ,Yeah… I absolutly believe you now,
honey."
Seth
just comes to school with Rie and she ignores everybody she sees,
even the teachers. She doesn't dare to look anybody in the eye, but
the whispers around her back are even worse. The news of her losing
her mind is known by the whole school now. Everybody who didn't
know about her, now do.
And it's starting to pull on Rie's
nerves. She doesn't want to stand out in school.
But the school
is starting to look like a boy giantic version of her little annoying
brother. Lucky Seth is helping her as good as he can.
He is
really shutting up when he has to, but sometimes he does talk and Rie
shuts him up very easy, by using the signs the agreed on. Like
coughing and poking.
But when a lot of girls are talking about
her behind her back, with the intension being loud enough for Rie to
hear, Seth begins to sing as loud as he can, to cover up the gossip.
And Rie thinks it's very sweet, but Seth is a terrible singer.
But
today, when Rie is walking through the hallways to her next class,
she passes this group, also known (by Rie) as the Three Blond Boobs.
She hates them, because they are always flipping their dyed blond
hair back, their full chest showing in their tight shirts, leaving
guys drooling behind them.
They aren't as popular as Fanny and
her Gang Of Popularity, but they do get a lot of attention from
everybody in the school.
And normally the Three Blond Boobs don't
pay attention to Rie, don't even know she excists. But apparently
they have taked notice of her.
,Hey, you're that crazy girl!"
The first one says loudly.
What an entrance, Rie thinks, forcing
herself to continue her walk.
,Hey, I talked to you!" Blond
Boob No. 1 repeats.
,Hay is for horses." Seth mutters under his breathe and Rie grins.
,Hey! Crazy chick!" The second one now shrieks. The Blond Boobs aren't used to being ignored by people.
The bubblegum in their mouths are making sobbing noises.
Rie just passed the Three Blond Boobs, staring straight in front of her, completely ignoring the Blondies, who can't totally not stand this. Especially when they are trying to pick on somebody in front of a public, for as they are quite a lot of students in the hall, making their way to class too.
It happens in a flash.
Rie's way is being blocked by a high heeled foot, belonging to Boob Numero Three.
Rie looks up at her and she wish she didn't have done so, because the Boobs now have what they want: her attention.
,Hey! It's true huh?" Number Three says.
Rie frowns.
The second Boob pats her foot impatiently. ,She means: that you're crazy, hey!"
,Gowd, what's with the hey?" Seth growls, feeling slightly annoyed.
,Hayfever." Rie mumbles to him as a reply.
She shouldn't have said this, because not only the Three Blondies are looking at her, but so is the whole hallway.
Too late now, she thinks, and she continues her stare at Cilicone #3, who is now staring back at her with her mouth open in surprised shock. The big piece of horrible pink colored bubblegum is a sore in the eye. Then she jams her jaws shut, opens them again to talk and the chewinggum makes an aweful sucking sound.
,Ow... my... gowd." Blond Chick 3 says.
,You're right... I'm grossed out." Rie agrees on her, judging her on the sucking bubblegum. She can't keep her eyes of it. Come on, the gum is brighter colored then the clothes the Boobs are wearing!
,I am grossed out!" Booby 1 mingles in. ,I mean,... hey! You are like talking to like... nothing! I mean, hey, what's that all about?"
,Yeah! Like the hayfever thingy, you know! That was totally weird." Number 2 now says. All three of them keeps chewing on their bubblegum.
Seth is eyeing them and then he makes gagging gestures, like he's throwing up.
Forcing herself not to laugh, she continues to stare at the Three Blond Boobs and then mutters,,Yeah, totally weird... ehm... you know you can chew too much bubblegum? Causing your jaw to unlock?"
About every pair of eyes is staring at Rie now. They didn't expect this answer.
,Wha-?" Number 2 says while breathing out in 'shock'.
Thinking it's not true what she says, Rie just continues her lies. ,Well, if you chew on those giant pieces of gum every day you are bound to chew your jaw off. I don't think you three look so stunning when your jaw is hanging on your collarbone, right?"
Apparently this conversation is containing a too high IQ for the Blond Boobs to follow.
They smack with their bubblegums a couple of more times, look at eachother. The students around them are holding their breath, looking at them.
Then Number 1 says,,You're like so crazy! What do you think you are saying?"
Rie narrows her eyes. ,What I'm saying? If you don't have anything usefull to say, then keep your blowjob-mouth shut! That pink bubblegum is making my eyes hurt!"
Judging by the stunned look on their eyes, they didn't had a clue what Rie tried to say, but they did catch the words: Blow-Job and Bubblegum.
But they don't know how to respond.
With this silence Rie has stalked away, Seth on her tail, laughing so hard he is running out of air, his cheeks red like apples.
,Hey! You are a total freek!" Boobie Two now shrieks. ,You are so crazy! You talk to people in your head! Everybody thinks you're crazy!"
The third joins her by crying out,,Crazy! Crazy!"
The first quickly follows,,Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!"
It echoes through the hallway and Rie turns around in her footsteps. This is really starting to look like a home situation. It's like Aye has transformed and duplicated into a few pubering schoolmates.
The rest of the students in the hallway either laugh or join the cry.
It echoes through the hallway and Rie is clenching her teeth, her hands into fists: her fingernails are pressing so hard in her hands, it starts to bleed.
She is staring at all those students who are all being against her and she wants to cry. She wants to buckle her knees, fall on the floor, surrender to being an everlasting loser and cry.
But Seth is standing next to her, his upperarm pressed against her. And he starts shouting back,,SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"
And Rie doesn't feel alone. It doesn't matter that they can't see him! He is really here!
Her dad knows! She isn't crazy! She isn't alone!
And she has nothing to lose!
With a few quick pases Rie walks towards the Three Blond Boobs and with one single gesture slaps the first one in her face.
The shouting stops abruptly, everybody holds their breath as one person.
,You bitch!" Rie bellows. ,You stupid bitch! You have inhaled too much nailpolish if you ask me! Why don't you all leave me alone huh?"
She focuses on everybody her now. ,Just leave me alone! I never bothered you! You never bothered me! You are just too stupid to go with the flow! To judge me on the base of a rumor! You really are shallow! All of you are so immature! All you care about is popularity, on the heads of people who aren't as social as you are! Well, you can all drop dead where you standing for all I care!"
And she turns around on her heels and walks away, she doesn't run, she walks; leaving everybody to look at her, because nobody knows how to respond.
