Having never owned a phone in her entire life, Clare had to admit that she was intrigued by this contraption. It was a fairly new model too. Her grandparents used to own those stone-age type of handphones for a period of time before deciding that they didn't really have a need for them anyway. It sounded quite lonely, come to think of it, considering all the new media technology that the modern age seemed to indulge and obsess with. Didn't they have close friends or relatives that they wanted to keep in contact with? For a moment a bitter feeling crept up her chest as she thought of the multitude of things she wanted to know more about her grandparents, but will never get the chance to do so anymore. She quickly swept it aside and busied herself with the phone instead.

While she was figuring out the basic functions of the phone that night, it had vibrated and beeped suddenly with a foreign tune. She made a mental note to prioritize finding the silent mode function before checking out the message:

Hello DC members, Teresa here, just checking that your numbers are correct. Drop me a reply to confirm your identity! Thanks and see ya all soon (:

Considering this was Teresa's own phone and number, Clare thought that she probably didn't need to reply. She closed the message and continued to fiddle with the phone. It then dawned upon her the puzzling thought of why Teresa would own two phones. For business purposes maybe? She heard of some people selling stuff online and using a different handphone number for that. Maybe she could ask Teresa some time.

The next day, instead of heading to work after school, Clare found herself in the Drama Room with six other members of the script-writing committee. They have all been called back for an extra EA session to discuss the plot of the play. Seated in a circle on the floor, everyone's eyes darted around nervously since they were still not really acquainted with one another. Len, the classmate who introduced himself yesterday was also in the same committee, and was seated cross-legged beside her. His yellow wind-blown fringe lay messily on his forehead while he looked to the ground silently.

Among the six other people, Clare vaguely remembered from yesterday that the senior sitting directly opposite her was the committee in-charge. The senior was adjusting her auburn bangs, her dark purple irises observing the rest quietly. It wasn't long before she decided to start the ball rolling.

'Alright, hello little ones, I hope you are all aware that we are the script-writing committee. We need to get the plot and first draft of the script out as soon as possible since time is so tight. Let's just start with a quick round of introduction. I'm Galatea, Year Three, the committee in-charge. Okay, you next.'

That was done with quickly before they entered the main topic of discussion.

'Right, refreshing your memory from yesterday, we managed to come up with the idea of the Twin Goddesses of the Love. Does anyone know the gist of the story? Any ideas?'

There was silence for awhile before a Year Two hesitantly raised her hand to answer. 'May I…?'

Galatea waved her hand to dismiss that polite action.

'Come on guys, though we're not exactly the best of friends, or at least not yet, can we just spare each other the ceremony and just speak what's on our mind? If not, we'll probably be here the whole day and stare at one another's face until the poor Goddesses appear and perform for us instead...'

Despite the randomness, that managed to crack a genuine smile on some faces and break the awkward atmosphere. The students all began to loosen up slightly. It spurred the Year Two on too, as she spoke with more confidence.

'I think there are many versions of it, but this is what I heard. The two Goddesses are called Teresa and Clare. In the medieval times, there was a warrior called Teresa who fought monsters that preyed on humans. On the surface, she was just blood-thirsty monster slayer. She met and saved a little girl called Clare, who saw the pain hidden in Teresa and decided the follow her. Through their journey, little Clare managed to melt down that cold and emotionless exterior to reach into the warm and loving Teresa within. However, Teresa sacrificed herself saving Clare during a fatal encounter, and Clare took on Teresa's will of exterminating the monsters and maintaining peace. After Clare's death, the villagers built a statue in memory of them and dubbed them "The Twin Goddesses of Love".'

The rest listened in awe. The idea sounded interesting enough and might turn out to be a decent play after all. Excitement rose as everyone got into the heat of the discussion. Ideas upon ideas were thrown in and the details of the plot were developed nicely, with Galatea furiously scribbling the minutes of the discussion. Clare however was mostly listening intently to the development of the story. She couldn't help but be intrigued by the story plot, even if she had yet to contribute. After all, it featured someone bearing her own name, and another called Teresa.

Teresa. Right…

An image of that senior appeared in her mind, giving her a feeling that she could not put her finger on. It's like, she felt close to, or rather felt like she wanted to be close to Teresa, not in the physical sense of course but emotionally. In other words, there was something in her that really wanted to be friends with the senior, to get to know Teresa. It was definitely the work of her unconscious mind because in all honesty, she really didn't know what to think of Teresa. The senior was the friendly Drama Club President, the famed idol of the school, and just so happened to be the one who beat the guys into a pulp just the day before too. It was all rather perplexing.

'…Clare. Hey ho, are you there?'

Focusing back to the now and here, Clare spotted Galatea eyeing her questioningly, her elbow resting on her knee and propping her head up. Her piercing eyes were locked with Clare's, without any menace though.

'You look like you just came out of a trance…is everything okay? And well you've have been pretty quiet this whole time. Any thoughts on how to proceed? We're kinda at a stalemate thinking of how Teresa was killed.'

Looking around, she was quick to realize that the others had become very restless, probably due to the mental block and unable to conjure something to continue. It was only Galatea staring at her, but it was enough to make her shift uneasily nonetheless.

'I mean, I suppose you know how the actual story goes right, considering the fact that you are Clare, you know like one of the Goddesses? So, some holy enlightenment from you perhaps?'

While initially it seemed as if Galatea was mocking her, Clare noticed the twinkling eyes and teasing smile and concluded that the senior was only joking. Moreover, it was true that she had yet to say anything from the start, though an idea had been sprouting in her mind.

'Well, I was thinking maybe Teresa battled a monster to protect Clare, and right before killing it, the monster had feigned remorse and tried to beg for mercy. Out of sympathy, Teresa let down her guard for a moment, and then the monster just took the chance to... you know.'

She didn't think much of her idea but, Galatea's eyes glimmered and everyone else seemed to have been 'enlightened'.

'Hey that's not a bad idea.'

'Teresa was probably feeling compassionate because she had spent time with Clare…'

'Clare would get very emotional after seeing her guardian in such a state…'

And the buzzing continued with the members getting excited yet again.

'That was good thinking Clare.'

She turned her head towards the boy who just spoke, greeted by a wide-eyed smile from him.

Clare merely nodded to Len in acknowledgement.

After a quick conclusion, at long last the session came to an end.

'Alright you guys were amazing today, great job! I'll type it up and send it to Teresa. From the looks of it I think we're gonna blow the rest of the Drama Club members away!' Galatea beamed and stood up, stretching her arms and legs.

'And well, looks like time flies when you're in good company, the time is almost seven already. Everyone get home and take a good rest okay.'

With that dismissal, everyone started getting up lazily and leaving. It had ended earlier than Clare had expected, which meant that she could still turn up for work for a few hours. She promptly picked up her bag and left silently.

'So this Drama Club thing is just time-consuming pain eh?'

Joshua busied himself with dusting the racks, while Clare did her homework at the table beside the counter as usual. Yet again, she has missed a few hours of work because of the EA. Admittedly it was time-consuming, and no doubt things would just get busier and end later as the days drew nearer to Drama Night. But she would not exactly consider it a pain. After all, today's session had been surprisingly alright.

'It'll only be for this week and next week. After that I'll just tell my sensei to let me off the hook.' Though, it was frustrating to have many hours worth of pay less because of it.

Just a little bit more than a week, then I can get out of this mess I suppose.

'Well, better not work yourself too hard yeah kiddo? Juggling Middle School curriculum and work is tough enough even without that EA thing. Just tell me if you need a break.'

Despite everything, that brought a slight smile to Clare. As aloof and clumsy as Joshua was, he really cared about Clare and her well-being, albeit in his own subtle ways.

'Anyway, I totally want to kiss and thank the heavens, Riful is just this totally gorgeous and amazing woma…'

His sentence was interrupted by the sound of the door bells as he paused to shout a 'Welcome' instead. On cue, Clare just lifted herself from the chair and stood at the cashier counter. Her brain was still figuring out a math question and it took her awhile to register that the customer was…Teresa. Her eyes widened in surprise.

What's she doing here again?

Just like the day before, she was dressed in casual clothes, though this time she had long running pants and a towel draping on her left shoulder. Tiny beads of sweat covered her forehead and her cheeks flushed a pale red. Evidently she had been working out, but this late at night?

The senior had begun to browse through the shelves on the side, slowly making her way towards the counter. Clare kept her eyes on her all the way until Teresa stood right in front of her, her tall frame easily towering over Clare.

Her famous faint smile appeared on her lips as she put her right hand on her hips. "Hello, Clare."

Teresa's voice calling her name sounded so…dear. And gentle.

Urgh, damn all these weird and unwanted feelings.

Hearing someone call Clare's name seemed to have caught Joshua's attention. He spun around to face the customer, holding the wiping cloth awkwardly. His eyes scanned the stranger curiously.

Teresa tilted her head and lifted her eyebrows at him. 'I assume you are the employer of this girl over here?'

'Well yes for the fact of the matter I am. And who might you be?'

'Great. My name is Teresa, I'm the President of the Drama Club that Clare is participating in. I'm aware that Clare has been and will be missing quite a bit of work due to preparation works for our Drama Night, and so I'm just here to find out how much she's paid an hour so that I can pay her back for the time lost. Since she has yet to message me about it.'

Teresa shot a feigned angry look to Clare at the last sentence, which mildly amused Clare. However, she wasn't going to allow Teresa to do a ridiculous thing such as paying her back. It wasn't her fault that Clare had to participate in Drama Club and it did not make sense for Teresa to fork out money from her own pocket to pay her. Before she could say anything, Joshua had started speaking. 'Right, so it is your Drama Club that is causing her all the trouble… By the way, she doesn't have a phone so she can't message you or anything. I guess it will be good to reimburse this poor child some money, well her pay is-'

'-nothing that you should be concerned with, Teresa-senpai. I will deal with the money problem myself. It doesn't even make sense that you should be the one to pay me back, you're just a student and it's not even your duty or your fault. I'm fine on my own.' Clare managed to cut in before Joshua revealed the vital information.

A hint of amusement flashed across Teresa's face.

'Well, as the President, I need to look after the welfare of my members right? And it seems like you have financial problems don't you, so in a sense I am just fulfilling my duty. Cut yourself some slack girl, it's probably hard enough that you have to juggle school, EA and work at the same time. I'm just trying to help out.'

But Clare was stubbornly independent. Or at least, she wanted to be. She wanted to be able to fend for herself and rely on her own means to survive. Relying on others was a weakness. It made her a liability. And she did not want that.

'I said I'm fine. I don't need your help. Whether I get enough money or not is my business. I appreciate the thought, but I can manage on my own.'

Teresa narrowed her eyes, then gave out a sigh of defeat. 'Alright alright… Just tell me when you need help yeah. Don't be too hard on yourself.'

That sounded familiar… She's like a second Joshua.

'Anyway, I read the draft story plot that Galatea submitted, and I must say that you guys did a pretty decent job of coming up with it. And I heard you contributed a pretty important part too. Not bad eh, I thought you would be practically mute for the whole discussion or something. Looking forward to the script next.'

A warm feeling filled Clare's chest. Before she could assess what she was feeling, Teresa was already turning around and heading for the exit. Just before stepping out, she turned to Joshua and called out. 'By the way you over there, Clare does have a phone now, I lent her mine just yesterday.'

Winking sneakily at Clare, she went off into the night.

Letting out the breath she didn't know she was holding, Clare groaned inwardly. She had yet to tell Joshua about the phone. She wasn't sure Joshua would be convinced. After all, it wasn't everyday that a friend simply lent you a phone to use.

'Wait what! Did she just say that she lent you a phone for everyday use? WHAT why didn't you tell me? She's a little too nice to be true isn't it, offering to pay you your work money and even worse, a phone! That justtttt doesn't add up man. Maybe you should be careful of her. Where's the phone now anyway?'

Clare sighed. That's the second time in a day that someone tells me to beware of Teresa…

Though she had to admit, Teresa was acting weird. She had been treating Clare way too nice, almost as if she wanted to… get closer to Clare or something.

Maybe she just does that to all her members…

Or perhaps...She feels something strange too?