The following day at school, nothing seemed to have changed since during class her new friend Emily avoided her no matter how many times she looked over her shoulder. At that point she was already thinking that perhaps this was a hoax and the whole friendship was based on a lie. Keeping to herself up until lunch time, it was then when Emily had pulled her aside and tried to explain things to her.
"Hey sorry for avoiding you until now, I just didn't want the other girls to see we were on speaking terms" said Emily.
"Why not?" asked Shiva.
"Because I am pretty sure they'll try to separate us just to leave you isolated again...and I don't want that to happen since you're my friend" said Emily smiling at her.
Emily looked sincere about this and all Shiva could do is agree to this and carry on. School still felt lonely and without the communication between her and Emily, it was hell for her. After school, Emily waited for her at the same spot as yesterday.
"Shiva, remember that I told you that Patricia had detention yesterday?" said Emily.
"Yes" said Shiva.
"Well, apparently she has detention until further noticed. She must have done something pretty bad in order to get that, lucky for you right?" said Emily.
Hearing this, her body didn't know how to respond to it. Should she be happy that after school she would no longer get pummeled or forced into a beat down? Or come to wonder if this was still a set up? So it's been two days that she's gone without a beating, it still doesn't make up for the years she had to put up with it to begin with.
"Let's go to your house shall we?" said Emily.
"Sure" said Shiva.
Both of them walked peacefully to Shiva's house in order to find her brother Gary talking and drinking with his other friends. Gary heard the front door open and greeted Shiva and her friend for coming home.
"Back from school already? Hey! You brought a friend over!" said Gary.
"We're going upstairs" said Shiva taking the lead up the stairs.
"What? Wait why not come over and tell me how school was today?" said Gary.
Ignoring him for the time being, Emily walked over to Shiva's room once again, but this time to be more observant of her room. It wasn't exactly what she remembered from yesterday. The room itself was a mess, clothes everywhere, her school bag was tossed in the direction she was walking, the bed looked like it was never done and just slept on everyday, the room needed a good cleaning. Yet what can one expect from someone who suffers from mental damages?
"Shiva, you need to clean up your room once in a while, keep it tidy for yourself" said Emily.
"I think it's fine as it is...I find things easier this way" said Shiva.
"Hmm...well if you feel comfortable like this-" Emily was cut off by Shiva's quick remark.
"I am" said Shiva.
"Your choice" said Emily.
Shiva was already starting to feel uncomfortable with Emily commenting on her living style as her room was the only place that would be considered messy. That and perhaps the kitchen and bathroom too. To Shiva it all seemed fine, especially since she was living by herself, but now with her brother here for a while it would probably be better if she cleaned up a bit. Even so, finding the will to actually pick up anything flew past her.
"So what do you normally do when you get home?" asked Emily.
"Eat and then go to sleep" said Shiva.
"That's it? You don't watch tv, or use the computer?" asked Emily.
"No, there's nothing I would like to watch or do" said Shiva.
"Well, why not try watching this show called "Beach House", it's really cool and all the girls at school watch it. There's a lot of cute guys in it and they're always trying to get girls but they're only going after good looking girls. Which is why I want to lose some weight and fix myself up some more, maybe I can someday get myself one of those types of guys!" said Emily with such a smile on her face.
"I don't have cable..." said Shiva.
"It's on the local channels! Trust me, you'll love it! Maybe you'll like one of the guys! I should give you a make over! I'm sure if you let your hair grow out longer you can curl it up and you'll look so cute! Where are your clothes?" said Emily looking around.
"Closet. But I like my hair short...I don't want to grow it out just so a guy can like me..." said Shiva stroking her hair.
Looking in the closet, Shiva had few pieces of clothing that consisted mostly of plain T-shirts or that had some sort of design on them. Nothing but old jeans and used up shoes was all she could spot at first glance. In a way her school uniform was the best pair of clothes she had in there, and that was not to say much either.
"Is this all you have? Girl, we need to go shopping for you" said Emily.
"I don't like going to malls...they're so crowded and the clothes are so expensive. I could just go to a thrift store and get the same stuff for super cheap" said Shiva.
"Why don't we go to the mall one of these days when they have a clearance special and let's get you something, ok?" asked Emily.
"Um ok?" said Shiva unsure about it.
"Do you have internet?" asked Emily.
"Yeah, I need it to do some of the homework I get. For research" said Shiva.
"Mind if I use your computer?" asked Emily.
"Sure go ahead" said Shiva.
Walking over to the desk that had the laptop sitting under some trash, Emily simply brushed it aside and proceeded to use the laptop to check her stuff online.
"You know, you should get yourself a Glitz account and start making friends online! I have one and I made friends all around the world. You should give it a try" said Emily.
"I don't know about that..." said Shiva.
"Here let me make one for you! That way you can choose the people you want to talk to and talk to me whenever you want! You can post up your pictures, tell people what you're doing and everything!" said Emily.
"Why would I want to tell people what I'm doing..." said Shiva.
"Oh come on give it a try! You'll like it! Here, I already set it up for you. Just upload some pics and I'll add you when I get home. Just play around with it for a bit and I'm sure you'll like it" said Emily.
"Alright, I'll try" said Shiva sitting down to stare at her computer screen.
Emily looked at the time on her cell phone and it was time for her to head home.
"Shiva, I gotta get going but mind if I come over tomorrow as well? It's gonna be Friday so maybe we can go out and do something" said Emily.
"Sure, I'll see if I could go out" said Shiva.
"Why, you need permission to go out?" asked Emily.
"No, sometimes I don't feel like going out" said Shiva.
"We'll go somewhere fun! You'll forget about even coming home!" said Emily.
"Alright..." said Shiva.
"Take care and I'll chat with ya over Glitz!" said Emily.
See ya" said Shiva.
Emily left the house and Shiva sighed. Closing the laptop screen to her computer, she went downstairs to get something to eat. To no surprise, the trio were still downstairs drinking and talking about some of the missions they did back at work. Minding her own business, Shiva simply went to the fridge to make herself a cheese and ham sand which. Taking a bite of it before walking out of the kitchen, all she could see where her brother and the other guy John laughing at a joke they had recently made, but she couldn't see where Simon was. Taking another bite while she walked out, Simon was walking toward the kitchen and bumped into Shiva by accident. His larger frame obviously knocked her back as her head hit the edge of one of the counters. Wincing in pain, Simon was quick to react by rushing over to inspect her head. Her brother and John heard the loud thud and came to the kitchen to see what had happened.
"I'm sorry about that, are you alright?" asked Simon.
Feeling a little intimidated by having three full men surrounding her got her a little freaked out as she quickly stood up while holding her head.
"I'm fine, it was my fault...I wasn't watching where I was going" said Shiva rushing out of the kitchen.
"Sis, are you-" Gary wasn't able to finish his sentence once she was out of sight.
Simon noticed that she had dropped her sand which in the process and picked it up to throw it away.
"What happened?" asked Gary.
"We ran into each other by accident but she hit herself on her head and I just wanted to make sure she was alright" said Simon.
"You should go check on her, Roach" said John.
"Yeah, she could have a cut and it would need treatment" said Gary.
Gary ran up the stairs and knocked on Shiva's room. Opening it was out of the option since it was always locked and all he could do is wait for an answer.
"Sis, you alright? Do you have an open wound?" asked Gary.
"I'm fine, I really am. It's just a bump" said Shiva.
"Are you sure? Let me have a look at it" said Gary.
"I said I'm FINE" said Shiva with a stern voice.
At that point he couldn't do anything any more except sigh and leave her be. He was starting to feel a little left out, and maybe a little ignored. Then again what could he expect when for years he's only been here once a week every year. Like his Captain said, he would need to spend more time with her and get their family bond strengthened again. In the room, Shiva continued to hold her head while looking in front of a mirror that was attached to her wardrobe and take a peek at her wound. It was a small cut but some blood was trickling down and she knew she would have to get it patched up before it would get infected. Until night time, she would have to add pressure on it with a rag.