Okay, let me just say that I am stoked by how excited some readers are over this fic. As I write this, I'm still working on my outlines. I know how it ends, but there's just a few things in the middle I need to figure out, how to get from Point A to Point B. But all the positive buzz this fic has been getting has been inspiring me to figure out how to make those connections. Thank you to my regular reviewers, Illyrilex and JojoDO, for all the kind words. And also a big thanks to the self-proclaimed extreme minority of Malin fans who reviewed. You know your fic is good when you get reviews from first-timers who have never reviewed any of your other fics until now. Thank you, everyone!
All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them, the video games, or the anime.
Chapter Four: Roommates
Much as she would never admit to anyone, Melanie found the infirmary without too much trouble thanks to Kimberly's directions. She was still trying to figure out just what the other girl's game was as she knocked on a door which, like Joan's office, also had a frosted glass pane in the center, this one with a red cross painted on it.
"Come in," said a soft voice on the other side of the door, more matriarchal than Joan's. Melanie turned the knob and entered.
The woman who ran the infirmary was older than Joan, with salt and pepper hair which was done up into a bun over a round face adorned with wire-rimmed glasses. Melanie was about to explain why she was here, but the nurse surprised her by saying: "Ah, I see you've had a run-in with Regina."
The small blonde tried to mask her surprise and pretend to be unimpressed, but she failed, as both her eyebrows shot up for a moment. "Um... yeah," the girl answered with a hint of wariness.
"I knew when I saw your nose," the nurse said with a chuckle. "Regina does love to use her head. If she used it as more than just a weapon, my job would be easier. But sadly, you're not the first of her victims I've tended to today." She gestured to a nearby examination table. "Please, have a seat."
Melanie did as asked, seeing an opportunity to get more information. "So... Regina does this a lot?" She asked.
"Too much, honestly," the nurse answered. She had just donned a pair of rubber gloves, and handed Melanie a tissue. While Melanie used it to staunch the blood flow, the nurse probed the rim of her nose with her fingertips, feeling for signs of snapped cartilage. Melanie winced a little, but kept her discomfort to herself.
"I'm surprised Ms. Landy does nothing to stop it," Melanie said with a shrug.
"Well, for some reason, our headmistress seems to think that bullying in small doses is healthy for the girls around here," the nurse said in reply. "Says it builds character. That's why she allows it, as long as the bully doesn't 'cross any lines'. But I wish Ms. Landy would do more about it."
Another shrug. "Well, that's fine. I wasn't gonna tell her about Regina, anyway. I'm not a snitch, and I've never needed grown-ups to fight my battles for me. I'll be okay on my own."
The nurse gave a sad shake of her head. "It isn't right for one so young to think like that."
Melanie laughed in spite of herself, remembering something she'd heard from one of her foster parents, whose name she couldn't recall because their names had never mattered to her. "Yeah, well, a lot of things in life aren't right. But that's life. So, deal with it."
Another sad head shake. "I'm sorry that you carry such a burden on your shoulders, child. I wish it weren't so. Children your age shouldn't have to."
The woman sounded weary, as if her job was starting to take its toll on her. But Melanie still didn't feel like trusting her. "And yet here we are. You can wish in one hand, and shit in the other, and guess which one fills up first?"
To Melanie's surprise, the response seemed to make the graying woman even more sad. But she simply sighed, as if this were normal life around here, and walked over to one of her cabinets. "Well, the good news, dear, is that nothing is broken. I'm just going to give you a little spray to help clear out the blood, and you'll be on your way."
"Uh... spray?" Melanie asked her.
The nurse nodded, and started back towards the exam table with a smile on her face, the melancholy of a few moments ago either forgotten, or repressed. In her hands, she held a small nasal spray bottle. "Yes, dear. Just a little saline mist. It'll disinfect the area, too."
Melanie began to fidget on the table. "Um... no thanks. I'm good." She held her tissue away from her nose, streaked with red. "See? I think it even stopped bleeding on its own."
The nurse shook her head. "Now, now, dear, it's my job to take care of you girls. The headmistress is quite clear that she doesn't want any of you permanently damaged." Melanie tried to jump up from the table, but the nurse brought her free hand down on the small girl's leg, showing surprising strength for one her age, keeping Melanie fixed in place.
Despite her protests, Melanie wound up getting a stinging spritz in each nostril. No sooner had the nurse finished than Melanie all but leapt from the table, and began doing what looked like an odd dance around the room. Though she'd learned at a young age how to take a punch, she still had never gotten used to the sting of disinfectant on her wounds afterwards. "Ah, fuck, it burns! God-motherfucking-dammit! Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow! Shit on a fucking cracker!"
When she'd regained her senses, Melanie ran to the nearest box of tissues and started to blow her nose repeatedly. There were streaks of red at first, but eventually what came out was clear. She glanced over at the nurse, saw the elder woman giving her a reproachful glare.
"Where does a girl your age learn to speak in such an un-ladylike manner?" She asked Melanie.
"Foster homes and TV," was the reply.
Again, the look of reproach suddenly turned more world-weary. Then the nurse shook her head. "Well, you're obviously all better. So off with you now."
Melanie nodded. "Thanks... um... Miss..."
"You can call me Gladys," the nurse said with a smile. "I tell all the girls to call me that."
"Oh. I'm Melanie."
The smile grew wider. "It's nice to meet you, Melanie. Try and stay safe out there."
"Um... right." With that, Melanie turned and left the infirmary. Unlike Joan, Gladys had actually seemed sincere in her kindness. Not that she likely wasn't hiding an ulterior motive (as far as Melanie was concerned, all adults had those), but for the moment, Melanie decided to put the nurse's threat level at "low."
As long as she isn't wielding disinfectant. The blonde girl shuddered as she walked down the hallway. Her eyes flicked rapidly from side to side, reading other doors whenever she passed them. This appeared to be the building where most of the classes would be, as indicated by the writing on the doors (BIOLOGY LAB, MATH LAB, AUXILIARY LIBRARY, etc). Which would also explain why Melanie hadn't run into anyone else, as it was Sunday.
Finally, she was back outside again, and the sun had moved even lower in the sky. She saw fewer girls playing on the grass, as most of them seemed to have moved inside until dinnertime. But the girls left outside still paid her no mind. No surprises there. If indeed Melanie was Regina's newest punching bag, anyone with half a brain would avoid being overly friendly with the new girl. I dunno why Kimberly seems to think this is that different from the outside.
"Find the infirmary?" Melanie heard a voice behind her, then turned and saw a familiar black-haired girl leaning against the wall next to the double doors, thumbs hooked casually in the belt of her pleated skirt.
Speak of the devil, the petite blonde thought. Before Melanie could respond, Kimberly pointed to the other girl's nose, no longer bleeding. "Ah, I see you did. Which means you met Gladys. She's really nice. Probably one of the nicest staff members here. I got to know her pretty well, since, you know, I used to be in your position..."
"Don't you have anything better to do than follow me?" Melanie snapped at her, cutting her off.
"Sure I do," Kimberly answered. "But here's the thing, Mel: I don't really believe you when you say you don't need help. I mean, if you hadn't listened to me just now, you'd be walking around with tissues crammed up your nose for the next hour. So that leads me to believe you're too stubborn to admit you need help. Or maybe it's pride. Short people like us tend to have a lot of that, and it gets wounded easily."
"I have better things to do than be analyzed by you," Melanie growled, and started to walk away.
"Like what?" Kimberly asked.
Melanie stopped walking, and spun more suddenly than Kimberly was expecting in order to face the other girl. "Look, what's your game, here?"
Kim seemed not to understand the question. "I don't follow you."
"There's something you're getting out of this," Melanie explained. "That's the only reason I can think of that you keep pestering me like this. You'll save us both a lot of time if you just tell me what it is you want, so I can tell you to get lost."
Before Kimberly could say anything in response, they heard the whine of the PA system. "Attention, students and faculty: dinner will be served in ten minutes. Please report to the dining hall."
The dark-haired girl stood up straight from the wall, Melanie's comment forgotten. "Come on, Melanie. Lemme show you where the dining hall is."
"Are you deaf or just fucking stupid?" Melanie growled. "I told you: I. Don't. Need. Your. Help."
Kim rolled her eyes, "Look, Melanie, I don't know where you come from. This tough girl act might have worked for you on the outside, but you are in a completely new situation now. One you know nothing about. You don't even know where things are in this school, and right now, you have someone standing in front of you willing to show you where the goddamn dining hall is. You can either take my help, or try to find it yourself, and maybe you will. Or maybe you won't, in which case you'll go hungry tonight. So what's it gonna be?"
Much as Melanie hated to admit, but Kimberly had a point. "Okay," she conceded. "You can show me where the dining hall is, at least."
"Good enough," Kimberly said. "Let's go." So she started off down one of the gravel paths at a brisk pace, with Melanie following close behind.
"But just so we're clear," Melanie said to the other girl. "This does not make us allies, and it does not make us friends."
"If you say so," Kimberly said. But all the same, her face carried an odd grin, one that made Melanie trust her even less.
The dining hall turned out to be in the main building, which the limousine had parked outside of earlier. It both did and did not remind Melanie of dining halls in every orphanage she'd ever been in. There were two long tables for the students on one side of the room, and the shorter tables for faculty and staff on the other end. That was familiar. What wasn't were the fact that everyone had an individual chair (instead of one long wooden bench that everyone had to share), and also there did not appear to be any assigned seating.
Of course, some girls still congregated to certain areas of the table. Regina was down at the end closest to the faculty, and sitting alongside her were the same girls Melanie had seen sitting close to her at assembly. Melanie quickly claimed a chair at the other table, as far from the faculty (and Regina) as possible. She was slightly dismayed that Kimberly took the chair next to her.
"Stand behind the chair, Melanie," the dark-haired girl said when she noticed Melanie pulling it out to sit. "We don't sit until Landy tells us."
Melanie said nothing in response, but she did remain standing. After most of the students had filed in, the adults began to do the same. It was a minute before six when the headmistress entered the hall, walking smartly between the two student tables, and taking a position behind a chair in the center faculty table.
Joan raised her hands, ordering everyone to silence, then her steel-blue eyes swept over the students, stopping at Melanie. "Melanie, dear, would you mind saying grace?"
The other students bowed their heads. Melanie, however, simply gazed back at the headmistress. She was hoping to go at least one day without having to test her elder. But it looked like this couldn't be helped. "Yes, Ms. Landy, I would mind."
This raised more than a few heads. Even the faculty now eyed Melanie with curiosity. The blonde girl heard a snicker from Regina.
Joan's expression remained neutral, her tone flat. "And why not, child?"
"Because I don't believe in God," Melanie responded.
This earned a few murmurs from those assembled. "That's irrelevant, Melanie," said Joan. "You were given a direction."
"Which I won't follow, because I don't pray," Melanie shot back. "Besides, even if God does exist, why should we thank him for this food? He didn't do any work to make it, or bring it to us."
The murmuring stopped. All eyes, both children and adult, were on Joan Landy. The elder woman gazed long and hard at Melanie. Then she said. "I see. Regina, will you please show our new student the proper response?"
"Yes, Ms. Landy," Regina said. Everyone bowed their heads as Regina said grace. Joan then took her seat, followed by everyone else, and then the kitchen staff began to wheel the food out on serving carts. Various platters and bowls were placed in the centers of the tables, along with pitchers of milk and water.
"Ooh, meatloaf tonight," Kim remarked. "Let's see if Nikolai used actual meat this time." She forked a slice from the platter closest to them and put it on her plate, then cut a piece off the end and tasted it. After swallowing, she frowned critically. "Almost. Well, at least we have ketchup."
Melanie ignored her, and forked her own piece from the platter. She cut off a bite, and almost gagged when she put it in her mouth. It definitely didn't compare to the more extravagant meals she'd gotten used to over the last few days. But it looked like there was also mashed potatoes and gravy, which were impossible to ruin. Melanie spooned some onto her plate and then reached for the nearest tin gravy boat. She jumped a little when her hand collided with another girl's.
"Sorry," the girl said, this one also blonde, but with freckles adorning her cheeks. "You go first."
Melanie again said nothing, simply took the boat, poured gravy on her meat and potatoes, and put it back in the center of the table. After the freckled girl had also taken some, she said: "You're the new girl, right? My name is Niko."
"Oh," Melanie said. "Well, if you were at assembly, you know my name." She then picked up her fork and started to eat what was on her plate, but she did think it interesting that the girl had a Japanese name, despite not looking Japanese.
"Niko is a whiz with electrical stuff," Kimberly said around a mouthful of food. "Not just taking it apart, but putting it together."
"That's nice," said Melanie, in a tone that made it seem like she only cared about her food. But she at least filed that bit of intel away in her mind. For the rest of dinner, there was not a lot of conversation. Both Niko and Kimberly seemed curious about the new girl, but they could tell that Melanie was not in the mood for questions. Then, after about twenty-five minutes, when most of the plates were clean, the staff came and started to clear away the dishes. When they were finished, Joan stood up from her chair and once again waved everyone to silence.
"Now, then, children, I promised you all a treat due to the lack of disciplinary reports on my desk. And here it is: tonight I've ordered the staff to serve something a bit more special for dessert tonight. Enjoy!"
Her announcement was met with some applause, and the kitchen staff began to cart out bowls of ice cream, and set them in front of the students, as well as setting bowls of sundae toppings in the center of the table.
"Sweet," Kimberly remarked, as a bowl of choclate and vanilla was placed in front of her. "Usually we just get a pudding or fruit cup."
One of the staff was about to set a dish in front of Melanie, but Joan was soon at his side. "None for her," she said with a shake of her head. The man nodded, and served the girl next to Melanie instead. Melanie gave Joan a quizzical look. "Rewards are earned here, Melanie," Joan explained. "In this case, the other girls earned this by behaving well in my absence. You were not here to earn it with them."
"Hardly my fault, isn't it?" Melanie protested.
"Perhaps not. But you were disrespectful earlier, and that must be punished. Perhaps next time, you will say grace when asked to. Or perhaps you need to be given other incentives to change your attitude. I'll leave that up to you." With a curt nod, Joan turned on her heel and started back towards her table.
Both Kimberly and Niko eyed the other girl warily as they tried to top their ice cream as discreetly as possible. Melanie could tell what they were thinking and snapped: "Don't even think about offering to share yours."
"Whatever you say," Kimberly said with a shrug, and started to eat her sundae. Niko said something similar, and also dipped her spoon. Melanie was silent for the rest of the meal, staring at the empty place in front of her, ignoring the laughter of Regina and her crew, which could still be heard even over the lively conversations of the other students, but every now and then she would glance at the headmistress out of the corner of her eye.
If she thinks I'll ever say grace, she's in for some disappointment. I don't care how much ice cream it costs me, I will never pray to any god...
After dinner, Melanie lost track of Kim. Which was fine, as she seemed to get along okay without her. She didn't know what time lights out was, and decided that she'd tested authority enough today. So she followed some other girls at a distance, and in doing so eventually found the dorms: a cozy-looking two-story building with creeper vines running up the red brick exterior. There was a bulletin board on the wall by the main entrance, which listed all the girls alphabetically and their room number. Melanie was not much interested in looking at the other girls' names, so she jumped straight to "M" and found her room.
It contained no furniture except for two twin beds (separated by a nightstand) and two dressers. Melanie's clothes were stacked neatly on one of the beds. The other bed had a plush doll of what looked like some sort of robot mecha resting on the pillow. Judging by the action figures set up on one of the dresser-tops, and also the poster of some anime called "Devil Hunter Yohko" tacked to the wall, Melanie had a fairly good idea of her roommate's tastes, which made her dislike this person already.
But as long as she stays out of my way, there won't be a problem. She busied herself by putting the casual clothes away in the empty dresser, though she noted it wasn't completely empty. The top drawer contained a few dark brown nightshirts, and some personal hygiene items. She also noted that her name had been written on the tag of each piece of clothing that Joan had purchased yesterday. After her casual wear was put away, Melanie hung her extra school uniforms up in the closet, which was small but adequate enough to suit her purposes. Whoever her roommate was, she seemed to have taken one side to hang their own uniforms, so Melanie simply took the other.
By the time she was done putting everything away, she felt like getting ready for bed, even though she still didn't know what time lights out was. She shut the door to her room, pulled out one of the nightshirts from her top drawer, and changed into it. There was a wicker hamper in the corner of the bedroom, so Melanie gathered up the components of the uniform she'd worn today and dropped them into the hamper (she also noted that her name had been written on those tags as well).
As soon as she was done with this she heard a knock on the closed door. "Yeah, what?" She called.
"Are you decent?" Called a familiar voice. Almost too familiar.
"Uh, yeah," Melanie said warily.
"Great!" The voice answered, and a second later the door opened to reveal Kimberly dressed in a bathrobe with a towel draped around her shoulders, her ebony hair undone from its braid and still glistening with residual moisture. The girl also had a look of extreme elation on her face, Melanie had no idea why.
"Don't you have someone else to annoy?" Melanie asked her, stretching out on her bed.
"Not really," Kimberly answered. "I mean... this is my room, too." She entered, shut the door, and quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a brown nightshirt of her own. After hanging her robe on a peg on the door, she sat down on her own bed and started to run a comb through her hair. "I'm really glad we're rooming together, Mel. I've always been on my own, because we had an odd number of students. But now, I finally have my own roommate!"
"Most people in your position would love rooming by themselves," Melanie said, remembering some of the sleeping situations in the orphanages of Fresno County.
"Well, I'm not most people," said Kim. "I think it's great that I have someone to share this room with now."
This girl was starting to make less and less sense to Melanie. "Look, what's your fucking game, Kimberly?" She snapped, sitting up sharply on her mattress.
Kimberly stopped combing, her brow wrinkled in confusion. "You asked me that earlier. I... still don't follow you."
"Why are you being so nice?" Melanie explained. "You say that you were the runt of this school until I came along? Okay, then. Now that the torch has passed to me, you should be happy that someone else is gonna start taking all the shit that you took. And if you had anything remotely resembling a brain, you would be treating me like garbage, in order to get on Regina's good side. That's how the system works."
There was a long moment of silence, during which Kimberly frowned sadly at her new roommate. "I'd be a real shitty person if I did that, Melanie. Yes, I was the runt of this school for years. And because of that, I know what you're in for with Regina and her crew. I would never wish that on anyone. That's why I want you to believe me when I say there is no game. I'm here to help you, in any way I can."
"Okay," said Melanie. "You can help me by staying the fuck out of my way, and staying on your side of the room."
Kimberly looked genuinely hurt by those words. Then her expression hardened somewhat. "Fine, if that's the way you want it."
Melanie gave her a nod, then lay back down on her side, her back to her roommate. Kimberly ignored her, and started to re-braid her hair. After a few moments, however, Melanie turned over to face the other girl, her expression softened just a bit. "Look, Kim..." she said. "Maybe... it would be okay if you could show me the ropes around this place."
A smile played over Kimberly lips. "Are you asking me for help?"
"Yeah... I am... you know, if you still feel like it. I'm start enough to figure things out on my own, but if it means that much to you, then... maybe you could help me out."
The smile grew wider. "I'd love to, Mel. Thanks!"
Melanie nodded, then turned her back to Kimberly once more and focused on sleep. I mean, I will need someone to show me where everything is in this school, Melanie thought. And as soon as I don't need her anymore, I can start ignoring her again.
Long after it was lights out for her girls, Joan Landy was still in her office, getting caught up on her work. In truth, she'd rather be in bed herself, as it had been a long day. But she was expecting a call, and her caller was the sort who did not like to leave messages.
Sure enough, she soon heard the phone ring at Candace's desk, which was answered politely. A moment later, Candace rose from her desk and was standing in Joan's open doorway. "It's the director, line one," her assistant said.
"Put him through, please," Joan told her. "And also, shut the door."
"Yes, ma'am," Candace said with a curt nod, then turned back to her desk, closing the door as she went. Seconds later, the phone on the headmistress's desk started to ring. She picked up the receiver, raised it to her ear.
"Good evening, sir," she said in her most cordial tone.
"I just finished reviewing the test results from her doctor that you faxed to me," spoke the voice of the same man she'd talked to the other night. "Ninety-nine point nine-nine-seven percent positive match."
"There's no doubt, sir... she even has her mother's eyes."
"After all this time, we've found the one who went missing."
"Yes, sir... the wayward child has come home to us."
The voice on the other end of the line became reproachful. "But was this truly necessary? We already had forty-nine of the subjects... that's more than enough for our purposes."
Joan clucked her tongue. "Matthew, Chapter 18, Verse 12: 'If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine to go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?'"
"Some sheep are better left straying," the director answered. "Especially if there is a chance they might be black. We both know why she was wayward in the first place."
"That was due to the actions of an insane fool," Joan insisted. "And perhaps she did us a favor. You've read Melanie's police file, sir. These skills she already has... and unlike the other students here, she's had no training whatsoever. Everything she's learned has been self-taught, almost as if it's instinct. With me to guide her, she could easily become our star pupil, the crown jewel in what we've been trying to achieve."
Still, the man on the other end sounded wary. "But all these behavioral problems I've read about..."
"It's because of those problems that Melanie belongs here, where we can keep a close eye on her," Joan insisted. "If she remained out on the lunatic fringe, there's no telling what she might grow up to be. But here she can get the proper guidance. We can mold her into something that fits our goals. Just leave her to me, sir. Once I can get her to conform, she'll likely become a richer commodity than even Regina."
"Well, you do have a way with children," the director conceded. "Very well, I'll allow this to proceed. However, it's fair to warn you that your fate is now tied to this girl's. If you cannot get her to conform before graduation, you will suffer the consequences along with her."
For a split-second, Joan's mouth pinched into a tight line. "I understand, sir. I won't let you down."
"I hope not," said the voice. Then the line disconnected. After a minute, Joan hung up on her end, as well. No sooner had the phone gone back to its cradle when she heard a knock at her door. "Enter," she called.
Candace opened the door and took a cautious step inside. "Ms. Landy... is there anything else you need before I leave?"
The elder woman nodded. "Yes, dear. Please pour me a brandy, and then you may go."
"Of course," said Candace. She crossed over to an ornate wooden cabinet, opened it with a key around her neck, revealing a small "bar" of several different types of alcohol and styles of glassware. The assistant selected a snifter and poured a small measure of amber liquid into it, then locked the cabinet, placed the glass on her employer's desk, and took her leave for the night.
Joan picked up the drink, cupping it in her palm to warm the alcohol in it, then swiveled in her chair to look out the large window behind her desk, which overlooked the lush quad area. Occasionally, the bright oval of a searchlight on the fence would creep over the lawn, but other than that, it was pitch dark. She had brought order to this school, at least the type of order favored by the organization, and had kept it. It would likely be a hard road ahead, but she was sure she would succeed in her new task.
"We both have our work cut out for us, Melanie," Joan Landy spoke to herself in the silence of her office, and took a sip of her drink, to warm the slightly icy feeling in her stomach.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
So, I forgot to mention last chapter: Malin's SNK wiki page has a sprite of her in a school girl's uniform. The uniforms worn by the students of Clemency School are modeled after that sprite.
Also: there is a reason Melanie is an atheist at such a young age, which I'll get into in later chapters.
Next chapter: Class is in session!
