The alarm went off loudly, and Dirk opened his orange eyes slowly, hoping that somehow he may wake up outside of this limbo he'd come to know so well, but as always it was an empty hope. Same pale pink walls and porcelain cats. Same white bedding and chrome alarm clock sitting on a cold glass topped nightstand. He sat up, shirtless and wearing only soft, fancy sweatpants. He risked a quick look in the drawer to see if his shades were still safely hidden, and got up to get ready for school.
At least, that's what it was supposed to be.
Really, it just reminded him of some stereotypical Japanese school from an emotional shoujo anime, filled with whiney moe girls and clueless shota boys. It was only right that it be this way too, because it was so overwhelmingly fake, like some carefully crafted dream in mind control hell. Really, he wasn't sure what this place was, or if it even existed. Was it really physical, or did it exist purely in their heads? It dismayed him to think that he had absolutely no idea. All he knew was that it felt real, and everyone was content to believe it was real, everyone but him.
For some strange reason, when they slid him in that tube and pumped him with drugs and flashing lights, he hadn't been effected, but apparently everyone else had. At first, he thought he was having a nightmare, but he quickly realized that he was supposed to be brainwashed too. He was supposed to have some phony personality and not remember anything or else they'd take him in for the infamous "touch up" to fix it, and he really didn't want that, seeing as it was supposed to screw you up. Therefore, he faked it. He pretended to be the stupid popular guy, and fake his way through.
The disturbing thing, was that he couldn't remember how he'd gotten there. He was just getting out of that awful trickster hangover when suddenly bang! Visions of ridiculous pants and getting his ass handed to him by a variety of goes filled his head before he woke up here. It was because of that, and of course this whole brainwash thing, that convinced him that there was something really nasty and convoluted at work.
He sighed, taking a shower, getting dressed and styling his hair to douchebag white boy perfection. He hated going without the shades, but keeping them hidden was worth keeping his cover. One school uniform later and he was ready to play pretend for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, he was already aware that his looks were the least of his concerns compared to what the rest of the day had in store for him.
"Dirk? Are you almost ready? I made you cat shaped pancakes. I know how much you love them!" Came the uppity voice of the girl who once was Roxy from the other room.
Dirk sighed. "Yeah, I'm coming."
Honestly, he didn't like the cat shaped pancakes all that much. That was just an elaborate lie to please her, because under all the cat obsession, which truly was just a mockery of the old Roxy, and the sweetness, she was a nightmare. She wore pink, and lace, and argyle, and mary-janes, and sweater vests. She drank tea, kept things absolutely perfect, and was demanding and bossy to no end.
Of course Alcohol was out of the question for this Roxy. She much preferred sweet tea and frappucinos. Being late and missing school was also out of the question. She was an honor student. This isn't to say that Roxy wasn't smart before, she just wasn't petty, and all about concerning herself with appearances.
He walked into the living room and sat at the small, well set table by the kitchen, yawning and watching as Roxy came over, her hair sprayed and curled a-la fifties housewife, and her uniform perfectly pressed. The uniforms also had a suspiciously anime feel. White button up shirts with fuchsia ties and black blazers with gold button and cufflinks. Black pleated pants with black dress shoes for the guys. Black miniskirts, black mary-janes, and gold and fuchsia plaid over-the-knee stockings for the girls. Black, Fuchsia and gold were certainly odd school colors, and Dirk found their recurring nature suspicious, that, and the fact that all the food was produced by the batterwitch herself. He cringed when he saw the red Betty Crocker trident on the pancake mix.
Roxy placed the pancake in from of him with fresh strawberries, maple syrup, powdered sugar, and orange juice. "Now eat up. We only have an hour before school starts, and I want to be there early."
"Of course. More time to talk to Rose and John." Said Dirk, really trying to sound upbeat.
"Exactly. Outside of school, Rose's fashion sense is excellent, and though I wouldn't condone it if it weren't so interesting, she's always up on the latest gossip. She tells that the juiciest parts while I tutor her."
"Oh yeah, Roxy, really cool." Said Dirk with feigned interest. "I'll let you ladies do that while John and I discuss plans for our next game. We've been on a non-stop winning streak."
A completely fake one.
"And I'll be on the sidelines cheering you on!" Said Roxy excitedly. "Just remember, Rose and I have cheer after school."
"Alright, maybe I could buy us some fancy takeout while you're gone, and we could snuggle up for a move later."
She smirked. "You Dirk, you sly fox, I'd love that."
"Great." He said with a forced smile, because perhaps the most awkward thing about this place was that no matter what he did, Roxy was inevitably, inescapably, his girlfriend.