Chapter Two
A Name I Call Myself
The Kitchen - The Chat Kevin Can't See
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:04 PM: Hi I'm back lol.
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:04 PM: Looks like Alex already set us up.
*Star* (Artemis) - 8:04 PM: who are you
Monopoly (John) - 8:05 PM: ?
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:05 PM: ALEX WHO IS THIS
wee (Caleb) - 8:06 PM: You're being surrounded.
wee (Caleb) - 8:06 PM: Surrender.
Pancake Panic (Patty) - 8:07 PM: oh hey, you're back!
wee (Caleb) - 8:07 PM: Yea.
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:07 PM: Yea I just said that.
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:07 PM: patty who is this ;-;
Monopoly (John) - 8:08 PM: yea and why is there a new channel
Pancake Panic (Patty) - 8:08 PM: It's Leah!
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:08 PM: I'm Leah.
wee (Caleb) - 8:08 PM: She's Leah lol.
Monopoly (John) - 8:08 PM: ok we get it
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:09 PM: and leah is?
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:09 PM: Too bad my name has emphasis on the first syllable otherwise I'd be quoting mean girls (2024) but with my name where Regina's would go lmfao.
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:09 PM: "My name is le-AH SCHAF-fen" yea see it doesn't work.
wee (Caleb) - 8:10 PM: When's Hally gonna get here I thought we were bombarding the chat together.
wee (Caleb) - 8:10 PM: Like the three musketeers.
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:10 PM: Guess we'll do it without her lol.
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:11 PM: how would we know you?
wee (Caleb) - 8:11 PM: Do none of you know how to capitalize.
*Star* (Artemis) - 8:11 PM: …
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:12 PM: hmm what's wrong with that sentence
Monopoly (John) - 8:12 PM: i don't get it
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:12 PM: his name, john. it's lowercase
wee (Caleb) - 8:12 PM: You have a point but I've elected to ignore it.
*Star* (Artemis) - 8:12 PM: we should get alex for this
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:13 PM: Good idea, lemme get her rq
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:13 PM: The Library of Alexandria
*Star* (Artemis) - 8:13 PM: Alex Gigas
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:14 PM: What
*Star* (Artemis) - 8:14 PM: oh i guess she changed it while you were gone
*Star* (Artemis) - 8:14 PM: whoever you are
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:15 PM: I *literally* made the chat.
Rainy Springtime (March) - 8:15 PM: Oh, did you now?
*Star* (Artemis) - 8:15 PM: march since when have you used proper grammar
Rainy Springtime (March) - 8:15 PM: Arty, I'm not *always* casual.
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:16 PM: still, why did she change it?
Alex Gigas - 8:16 PM: Oh, hello Leah! Caleb! Good to see you again!
wee (Caleb) - 8:17 PM: You saw us yesterday?
Alex Gigas - 8:17 PM: Where's Hally?
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:17 PM: Hally is… idk, eating white bread or something.
Alex Gigas - 8:18 PM: Pardon?
wee (Caleb) - 8:18 PM: Good answer Leah.
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:18 PM: Shut your trap writer boy.
Rainy Springtime (March) - 8:18 PM: Oh, Caleb, you're a writer as well?
wee (Caleb) - 8:18 PM: Yeah! Just got back from uni for it.
Monopoly (John) - 8:19 PM: "as well" march what are you talking about you're not a writer
*Star* (Artemis) - 8:19 PM: aren't they?
Rainy Springtime (March) - 8:19 PM: Yes?
wee (Caleb) - 8:19 PM: …ok let's move on—
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:19 PM: Let's…
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:19 PM: i still have no clue who any of you are
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:19 PM: Likewise. Alex?
Alex Gigas - 8:20 PM: Oh, alright! So, Leah, Caleb, and Hally (who isn't here), are all friends of mine from high school! They're back from Uni for the summertime!
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:20 PM: ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh
Monopoly (John) - 8:21 PM: OK i catch ya
Rainy Springtime (March) - 8:21 PM: How splendid!
THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS! (Vivian) - 8:21 PM: Coooooooool
*Star* (Artemis) - 8:21 PM: oh hi vivi
THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS! (Vivian) - 8:22 PM: hi!
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:22 PM: Neat.
wee (Caleb) - 8:22 PM: Yea, so that's us, and while Alex is typing, could any of you explain your business here.
Gina in a Bottle - 8:23 PM: They're part of our anthropology study group. She added them to the chat for it, but only people in said study group can see those messages.
*Star* (Artemis) - 8:23 PM: oh hi gina
wee (Caleb) - 8:23 PM: Hi Gina!
Rainy Springtime (March) - 8:24 PM: Hello, Gina!
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:24 PM: hi gina and march stop using correct punctuation to impress caleb we all know youre cringefail
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:24 PM: Jane that's mean lol.
Rainy Springtime (March) - 8:24 PM: Thanks.
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:25 PM: Np lol.
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:25 PM: Hi Gina.
Gina in a Bottle - 8:25 PM: Hello, awkward third wheel in my relationship.
Monopoly (John) - 8:25 PM: tea?!
wee (Caleb) - 8:25 PM: No.
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:25 PM: Hey, that's no way to greet an old friend, is it Gigi?
THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS! (Vivian) - 8:26 PM: gigi? I'm using that now.
Gina in a Bottle - 8:26 PM: I know Leah, lol.
Pancake Panic (Patty) - 8:26 PM: They go way back!
Alex Gigas - 8:26 PM: We do, Patty! Yea, so now my old friends *and* my new friends are here to help with Project Kevin! Great!
Alex Gigas - 8:27 PM: (Hi Gina!)
Gina in a Bottle - 8:27 PM: (Hi Alex.)
Gina in a Bottle - 8:27 PM: (3)
Alex Gigas - 8:27 PM: (Aww…)
Monopoly (John) - 8:28 PM: get a room you too…
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:28 PM: *two
Rainy Springtime (March) - 8:28 PM: Oh, I think it's sweet.
THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS! - 8:28 PM: are you for or against romance i cant tell you like change it every day
*Star* (Artemis) - 8:29 PM: they're a romance novelist?
Danny 3 - 8:29 PM: They aren't a novelist.
Rainy Springtime (March) - 8:29 PM: why are all of you so mean to me—
wee (Caleb) - 8:29 PM: I'm not I'm just really confused rn.
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:29 PM: Good job Danny, you aren't the last one here this time.
Danny 3 - 8:30 PM: Shut up.
Gina in a Bottle - 8:30 PM: I feel like we're a little off-topic…
Alex Gigas - 8:30 PM: Yes, could we get to the point again? Project Kevin?
Pancake Panic (Patty) - 8:30 PM: Oh right, your fake gods thingie! What do we gotta do for that?
Pancake Panic (Patty) - 8:31 PM: John, I can see you typing down there, stop it!
Pancake Panic (Patty) - 8:31 PM: Everyone stop typing! Wait for Alex to post!
Alex Gigas - 8:34 PM: Thank you for your help in quitting the chat down, Patty, that was helpful of you. Anyways, so, for this project, we'll be inventing a fake pantheon to prank Kevin. I want everyone in the server, minus Kevin, including the ones who are still away at college (when they get back, anyways), to think of a concept for a Pokemon. The sky's the limit, just make it neat, and do try to avoid overlap! Leah, being an artist, generously decided to draw them for you. OK?
Hally-Oop - 8:35 PM: NO DON'T START TYPING AGAIN I JUST GOT CAUGHT UP ON MESSAGES
Danny 3 - 8:35 PM: Hally!
wee (Caleb) - 8:35 PM: Hally, where were you?
Hally-Oop - 8:35 PM: HOME!
THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS! (Vivian) - 8:36 PM: another all caps user?
Candy Land (Jane) - 8:36 PM: she says in lowercase
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:37 PM: Wow you all are constantly off topic….. Hi Leah, was I right about the white bread?
Hally-Oop - 8:37 PM: No it was pasta…
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:37 PM: Lame lol. Anyways, yeah. I'm gonna draw all of you a weird creature thing for 'Lexi here. So like. Hit me.
Alex Gigas - 8:38 PM: …that's a lot of people typing.
Hally-Oop - 8:38 PM: I'll just DM you I'm not competing with all of that…
Cherry Bomb (Leah) - 8:39 PM: Bring it on lol.
Gina in a Bottle - 8:39 PM: Good luck, bye!
…
…
…
…it could see her back.
…
…
…
…
…did she notice?
…
…
…
…
…hm?
Oh, shoot, are we back?
Oh, I'm late then! Oh, shoot, uh….. Hiya! Again! Welcome back! Sorry about that, I thought that whole "chat log" thing would take a tad bit more time, y'know?
Alright, so, where were we again? Are we at, y'know, the thingie yet? …no? Oh, OK… Should we do a 'lil recap? Let's do a 'lil recap, because honestly I don't remember where we were in the story.
OK, OK, so. Edwardsville, you know about that place, right? The itty bitty not-a-city in Minnesota? Good, good, I didn't forget to post chapter one then, and so you ought to know about Miss Gigas? And her whole study group, and her prank on Kevin the yet-to-be-seen? And Miss Schaffen, the artist? And I presume you know about the crack in the fabric of—
Wait, wait, lemme take a look at this script… no, no you do not.
Well, no time like the present, ey? Let's get down to business. Not to defeat the Huns, though, that's for Disney. And Disney is kinda sketchy to be fair. That is why I pirate their content!
…and that is not the point!
…this is a mess. This is… OK. OK goodness.
Let's take a step back, shall we? I think I need that. It's time to just be calm, calm down. Deep breaths… calmness… whatever that guided meditation I never use says I ought to do… but how would I know that, I never use it…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…there was a crack on her phone.
…
…there was not one before.
…
…take a look there, Miss Gigas.
…
…can you see that it is not on the screen at all?
…
…
…OK, I'm back! Took a five second nap, followed by deciding I hate naps. But it's alright, while I was getting another cup of coffee, I remembered where we were when we left off! So I'm gonna try to focus this time, alright?
Alright, let me set the scene again. It's midday, in mid-May, and in one of those cookie-cutter suburban looking streets, an unassuming white house sat, overlooking one of the most generic views your imagination could conjure. If you live in a subdivision like the one in Edwardsville, you ought to know what I'm referring to. Just a road, with some cars parked on it. Nothing of true significance could be seen from there, apart from the rare child outside on such a sunny Saturday. But most children were out and about in a location less… what's a nice way to put this… less bland than these streets. OK, actually, that still wasn't very nice, but it's accurate and I'm continuing.
Looking in the house, the house known as 525 Crown Road, music could be heard from the flatscreen, with a young looking girl hanging upside-down from the couch, watching it with eyes simultaneously glazed over and open wider than ever. She mouthed the words to the musical number blaring from the speakers as Julie Andrews and seven children crossed the screen. By now, the girl ought to have known the words by heart. After all, this was the third time in that week alone she had watched that film.
"Do, a deer, a female deer, Re, a drop of golden sun…"
As Do, Re, Mi continued to play, the girl continued to lightly hum alongside it as a woman walked through the doorway to her right, the jingling of keys alerting the girl to the woman's presence. The humming stopped, and the girl leaned back up on the couch to look at her. The woman, however, just glanced back at the screen. She snorted.
"The Sound of Music again, Mary? Don't you think you've memorized it by now?"
Julie Andrews and the children were done singing by now, but the girl, Mary, as you now know her, still reached for the remote on the armrest to pause it. Of course, she let the woman hit her final note first, only waiting until just after she confirmed the song was over to stop her movie.
Then and only then did Mary glance back at the woman, granting her a sheepish smile in response.
"I don't have it all down yet…" she said, voice quiet and laughing slightly, "But I'm gonna have it all down soon, for the show!"
The woman shrugged, a bit of a playful smirk on her face. She went to sit down on the couch next to Mary, motioning her to scooch over as she set her keys down on the counter. The girl obliged, only to find the woman ruffling her hair the moment she did.
"H— mom, stop!" she shouted, and while she tried to sound mean, it was clear from the smile forcing its way onto her lips that she wasn't angry.
Eventually, Mary managed to pull herself away, falling back onto the armrest. "How am I gonna go out in public if I look like a rat's nest?"
A short laugh came from the woman as she leaned back on the couch, a half-lidded stare aimed at her daughter.
"Oh, gimme a break kiddo," her mother told her, "You were just gonna sit around all day watching this movie over and over, right?"
"No need to call me out like that…"
Mary shrank back, but her mother just gave her another pat on the head before standing up. It did not help her case.
"Now, I know you're excited about the summer musical, Mary," she went on to her, walking back towards the counter, "but auditions aren't for a while now, and you can't just sit around watching this all day. You'll get a headache."
In response, Mary nodded, although with a weak groan attached to the sentiment. She was really enjoying that movie up until now…
Her mother, however, pressed on.
"It's a nice day, hon!" she proclaimed, picking her keys back up, "Go get some fresh air! It'll rain tomorrow, so you best get it while you still can."
The girl sighed. Her mom was probably right about that… after all, she was right about most things. A sentiment she never expected to have, but that's just how her mother operated. The woman was just never wrong…
She stood up from the couch, but immediately she felt dizzy, clutching her head as vertigo overtook her. Her mom sighed, however, shaking her head in not-so-much disbelief, then took out a bottle of pills that she threw over to Mary.
"Looks like you've got the headache part covered already, eh, kiddo?"
But Mary was instead focused on untwisting the cap, pouring out two and swallowing them dry, as per usual.
Her mom took the hint once Mary tossed the pills back to her, catching it one-handed and putting it back in her purse. A bit of silence remained between them as, reluctantly, Mary switched off the TV.
…
…
…it was too quiet there.
…it wasn't ever quiet in the Gigas household.
"...hey," Mary asked, rubbing her temples a bit. (That's what she got for hanging upside-down, she reckoned.)
"Yeah kiddo?"
"Do you know where Zeke went? Or Unique?"
The woman chuckled to herself, picking her keys back up from the counter. "You really were that engrossed in your movie again, weren't you?"
Mary only groaned in response. Why did these pills take so long to activate?
Walking towards the door, located right behind the couch, Mary's mother flipped the lock open and took a passing glance back at her daughter again. "Zeke's out at another one of his soccer games kiddo, and Uni went to watch with your father."
"Unique is interested in Zeke's soccer games?"
Her mother shrugged. "The girl's interested in a lot of things. Varies on the day, I guess, but I'm just glad she's getting out of the house."
Mary sat over at the counter, blinking wearily. "O…K… and, you?"
"I'm off to the flower show, kiddo."
For some odd reason, that of all things is what captured Mary's attention, causing her to leap off the counter seat and towards the door.
"I thought that wasn't for another month!" she shouted, running up to her mother, "It's mid-May, why would they do it now?"
There was a short chuckle, and she removed her hand from the door handle, as if to continue the discussion.
"Beats me, hon," she told her, "I don't make the rules, I just show up. I've got some good blossoms this year, though!"
"I've seen!" said Mary, "The garden's right outside my window, and I've been looking at them all springtime long! You're bringing that pretty pink one, right?"
"It's like you read my mind, hon…"
The woman opened the front door of the house, revealing their small driveway, and in their small driveway sat a small white pick-up truck, loaded to the brim with assortments aplenty of flowers. Daisies, daffodils, lilacs, roses… oh, how the woman loved her roses. Every year, Mary watched as the rose bush grew prosperous, and how her mother made the nicest bouquets of them just for the show, their blossoms as red as love personified…
And yet, her mother's prized roses were not the highlight of the assortment, not this year. In the middle of the truck's bed, nestled gently in a pot between yellow rows of daffodils and the roses, sat a six-petaled blossom, pink on the outside, and white on the inside. It was so simplistic, and yet… so, so…
Without thinking, Mary had wandered up to the truck bed, staring at it. She had never seen a bloom like this one before! Now, unlike her mother, Mary wasn't a botanist, much less a florist, so she didn't expect to know it by name. But oh, how lovely it was!
Under her breath, she muttered as she gently touched the blossom. How fragile it was… "What are you?"
"Dunno, hon."
…huh?
Half flabbergasted, half confuzzled (a word Mary swore she came up with, which she did not), she came back to the ground after leaning into the truck bed, turning to look at her mother with a quirked brow.
"You… don't know?" Mary repeated, and her mother nodded with a shrug. Mary shrugged back, but in exasperation more than anything.
"That's like, your whole job! You're a florist, how don't you know a flower?!"
That managed to get a dry laugh out of her mother, and she went to the left of the truck bed, looking at the pink blossom.
"Yeah, what a fraud I am…" she said. There was a bit of dirt on the blossom, she noticed, and she ever so gently brushed it off. "In my defense, though, kiddo, no one else seems to know either."
Mary took a step back "No one?"
"Not even Ryan. And he knows everything…"
She stared back at the flower. It was so… pretty looking… but it didn't seem to look particularly rare. No one knew what it was, no one at all? That was preposterous!
She now stood to the right of the truck, opposite her mother but staring at the same blossom. She cocked her head.
"So, if no one knows what this is…" she began, "where did it come from?"
"Technically," her mother said, "I got it from Ryan."
She leaned back on the side of the truck, half glancing at the blossom, "His flower farm's got everything, y'know? But he didn't plant this one, he just sort of… found it."
"He… found it?" Mary squinted. There was a touch of skepticism in her voice.
"Oh, yeah!" her mother continued on, "Just lying there, in the dirt with the other ones. He thought it was some sort of invasive plant, but most of the ones that were there kept dying, so he got curious. Eventually when I came over to get some daisies, he showed it to me, and asked if I would be up for the challenge."
She took a step back. "And I was! Ain't it a beaut? I think it is!"
Her mother wasn't wrong, odd as the tale was. Certainly, there was no way to deny that the stunning bloom stole any glance of the (very few) passerbys. Ribbons and first placements would come to them aplenty just with any given look at the blossom…
But…
She just kept looking at it…
…
…
…
…why did it feel so…
…strange, to her?
In the upstairs of the house, in a white and well-illuminated room sparsely covered with anything, our good friend Alexandria Cecilia Gigas sat on a desk with earbuds in, typing away at a computer. Yeah, we haven't checked in on her personally in a while, how has she been?
"...my family, huh, Leah?"
A voice, through her earbuds, came through from the call she was on as Alex continued clacking away.
"Yeah, 'Lexi," the voice, Leah, of course, sounded through, "I've got a few rough drafts down for the rest of the gang. Gina and her siblings've got one—"
"Remind me what we're calling them?"
"The Creation Trio, y'know, Time, Space, Antimatter?"
Although Leah couldn't see her, Alex still frowned, pausing for a second on her keyboard and leaning back in her chair.
"You sure that's the sort of stuff a South American culture would have as their deities? Not star beasts and whatnot?"
"Beats me, 'Lexi."
Alex sighed, "Leah, I told you, if we make this too unrealistic, Kevin will just see right past it all!"
"Hey, who's drawing these creatures, me or you?"
"I know, I know…" Alex muttered, huffing slightly, "I just… want to make this convincing."
There was a slight pause in the conversation, Leah's light humming heard faintly through the earbuds as, presumably, she kept on drawing. Eventually, after a short while, Leah spoke up again, inquisitive.
"Why Guyana, anyways?"
Alex leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table and holding one of her earbuds, as if to listen in, "Pardon?"
"I mean," Leah continued, "You could have selected any location to base your fake pantheon on, so why there, specifically?"
"Oh," Alex said. She shifted her position slightly on the chair, sitting criss-crossed on it.
"That's just because, well, it was Dr. Hazel's class Kevin screwed up in," she explained, staring up at the ceiling in thought, "Dr. Hazel did a whole research trip to Guyana with Professor Kellers a few years back. I figured it would be easy to say he found this culture there, since he went down there and all."
From the other end of the line, Leah whistled, although the sound didn't carry over well. "Oh, cool, that's neat."
Alex stared forward again. "Just neat, you say?"
"I don't know enough about Guyana to be enthusiastic about it."
"That's fair…"
…
…
…they get off-topic faster than I do, don't they?
Never even finished their thought…
…OK, well, they will, but the pause in-between them realizing that is just comically long, so I thought I'd do us all a favor and skip past that real quick. Cool beans? Cool beans!
"So…" Alex eventually said, "Who all do you have again?"
Leah cleared her throat, and after a short while (much shorter than the last while we got), she spoke up again, "Looks like we've got… the Creation Trio… Mew, which is me…"
"You made yourself a Pokemon?" Alex interrupted. Which was unlike her, really. Leah is an exception to her own rules, I suppose; that's just how friends are.
"Yeah, she's a cat!"
"Just a cat?"
"Just a cat, yeah. A pink floating one. Just a cat."
Alex, at this point, halfway closed the lid on her computer, squinting despite the fact that Leah couldn't see her. "I mean, OK…"
Leah continued onwards, "Anyways, I've made one for everyone in your little Anthropology chat. Got a ghost for monthey—"
"You mean March?"
"Yeah, them, shut up, that König family… I messaged 'em, managed to make a fun 'lil trio out of them."
"Wait…" Alex muttered, then leaned forward, "Georgie and Kea are still in the chat?"
"I mean, yeah. Surprised me too that they hadn't left it yet given that the rest of your buddies act like fools."
"Huh…" Alex said. To be honest, she never expected those two to stay along after the semester ended. They were just there to study, and never interacted with the rest of them besides that…and they were along with this, too?
…did she even know them all that well?
…what did she know about them, anyways?
…
…
…
…she barely realized that she had zoned out as Leah spieled on.
"...so yeah, anyways, I made their kid, Mavis, I think his name was? I made him a Pokemon too. They said he liked swimming, so I made him a swimmer type thing. And they might have another one, so I made one based on that one. Cool beans!"
It was at that moment that Alex inhaled, albeit quietly, as she came back to focus.
Now was not the time for that…
In an attempted recovery, not that Leah noticed there was anything to recover from, Alex tried asking another question. "Wait, does that make it a quartet then, if there is another for the potential kid?"
"Oh? Uh… no." Leah admitted, "The kid isn't part of the trio. I just made an extra Pokemon because, well, Georgie and Kea had this whole 'land and sea' thing going on and I went 'OK, gotta add sky…'"
"So the third… isn't based on anybody?"
"Yeah," Leah said. A yawn came before she spoke next. "I hope that's alright with you, 'Lexi. I also made this wishing star thing, which I think was neat."
"So you do have a star beast thing?"
"Well, no, that one's cute. If you're looking for space beast stuff, that's gonna be with Artemis and her family when I'm done with 'em."
"You're doing her whole family?"
"She had a cool concept!" Leah shouted, albeit in no way aggressively. I don't think there is a single instance I can think of where she was ever aggressive… "How can I refuse that?"
"Well, yeah, that's neat I'd say," Alex agreed, "You said you were gonna do my whole family too, so it's not too odd."
"Oh, right, about them, er, we can go over the rest I've got later…"
"You sure?" Alex wondered, putting her feet back down on the floor, "You seemed pretty excited to share…"
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it!" she responded, "Anyways, I was wondering what exactly Sharon might like—"
"Don't call my mom by her first name…"
Leah pressed on, nonchalantly, "Oh, relax, I'm just messin' with ya. Anyways, she's a florist, huh? What about, like, a flower 'mon? That runs on flower power?"
Alex scoffed, playfully, before resting her hand on her fist, "Leah, she's not a hippie…"
"Don't go twisting my words like that, 'Lexi…"
"Oh, relax, I'm just messin' with ya."
An exhale of amusement from Leah came from the earbuds, and without seeing it, Alex could tell she was shaking her head.
"Oh, 'Lexi, you know how to push my buttons, don'tcha?"
She shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a specialist."
"Yeah, yeah…" Leah cleared her throat again, and, unexpectedly, Alex heard a ping from her computer. Opening it up again, there was a little notification from her chat app.
"I actually got a little rough draft of what I thought your mom's 'mon could look like last night," Leah explained, and Alex opened up the chat app as she continued on.
A private message with Leah was displayed on her screen, with nothing more than one image file, containing a nice sketch of a small creature. Alex scrutinized it, zooming in as Leah went on over the phone.
"It's like this, uh," she said, "this hedgehog thing? Made of grass?
Alex looked it over. It certainly was.
Leah, as she had been, went on. "And it's got this cool flower thing on it that turns her into like, another form. Have not decided on what that looks like yet, fyi, but I'll work on it."
Alex zoomed in more.
"That flower's actually interesting, I'd say. I know I ought to have had an irl basis for it, but I mostly went for, uh, contrast? I wanted a pop of color there, y'know?"
…
"To be honest, sometimes I just make stuff up. Heh, I mean, that's what art's about sometimes, y'know? Wait, I need to stop saying 'y'know…'"
…Alex wasn't listening anymore.
"So like, a lot of the design is green, so I went with pink? Although it's still white in the middle, like the… uh, like the creature's underbelly."
Alex couldn't hear her anymore.
"Anyways, so I'm not sure what to call this thing…"
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…hello again, Miss Gigas.
…
…
…
…
…do you see the crack getting wider?
…
…
…
…
…will you remember that you saw it this time?
…
…"so anyways, yeah, that's what I've got so far. Thoughts?"
…no, it seems.
"Oh! Uh… yeah!" Alex stammered.
(What just happened?)
"Well?"
"...I love it!" she managed to say. She felt… lightheaded. Why was that? She…
…uh…
…she didn't know why, actually. Odd.
Regardless, Leah continued on, as if nothing was wrong,
"Yeah, neat, huh?" she told her, "I wonder who I've got left to do, actually… I still need, like, the rest of the people in the Kitchen who I haven't done… your family… Artemis and her own… hm… and y'know what?"
"What?"
"Why don't you get that Hazel guy in on this?"
…
…yeah, why not?
"That's…" Alex began, "that's a great idea, actually!"
"The only kind I have."
"Wrong," Alex corrected, but continued on before Leah could protest, "Anyways, uh… I think he's actually in his office today."
"...it's Saturday."
"...I think he's actually in his office on Monday." Alex said, and Leah chuffed again.
"Yeah, of course…" she said, "Anyways, ask him what he wants as his 'mon, and in the meantime, while I work on these ones, you, uh… do, whatever it is that, you… do…"
Alex rolled her eyes, shutting her laptop. Perhaps she ought to do something else with her day, after all. Wasn't it the flower show tomorrow too? Maybe her mom was busy with that, so she probably ought to go and help…
"Great sign off, Leah," Alex remarked, standing up from her chair. She got her phone out from her pocket, ready to hang up, "Real specific."
"I don't know what it is you do," Leah said, amusement laced in her words.
Alex shook her head, and went for the hang up button, one last "goodbye" on her lips. But Leah spoke one last time.
"I mean, you don't either, I guess, since you don't have, like, a major or anything…"
Alex froze dead in her tracks, finger hovering over the button.
…
…
…
…OK, stop it with the excessive ellipses.
Anyways, this is where I'm gonna pause for a sec.
Now, humor and amusement has an aim, of course, and sometimes, it strikes true. Sometimes, it falls flat, and no one likes your terrible joke.
Sometimes, we get our tragedy and comedy masks mixed up, and miss the mark quite terribly so.
The long silence lingered on between them, nothing more than a silent phone line connecting the two. Who could even tell if it was on without any noise transferring from one phone to another?
…
…
…I SAID NO MORE ELLIPSES!
"...uh, yeah," Leah eventually managed to say, although the caution weaved into her words were lacking any hint of subtlety, "is that… that still a sore spot, 'Lexi?"
"Don't ask me that."
"...right on, friendo."
…
…
…
…oh for the love of goodness why—
Alex managed to gather her bearings, clearing her throat and brushing off her green t-shirt of any dust that might have accumulated in those long, long pauses. She then directed her attention back to the phone.
"Uh… anyways, Leah… thank you again, for all of your help on Project Kevin…"
"No sweat, 'Lexi."
"I, er, I gotta go. It's the flower show tomorrow, and my mom'll be out all week I think, so…"
"I won't hold you anymore, don't worry."
"...see ya 'round."
She pressed the red circle on her phone prior to any sort of response Leah could have made, before putting it back in her pocket.
.
She breathed in.
.
She breathed out.
.
In.
.
Out.
.
.
.
She elected to ignore the slightly ajar drawer, and the paper sticking out of it.
…
"Hey, mom!"
Down the stairs Alex went, strolling right up to the door, swinging in the wind. Why was it doing that? Was her mother—
Her foot caught on the floor, thinking that there was one extra step, and Alex came falling forward as her mother and— was that Mary?— took their gaze off of something to look back at her.
(That was odd, she never fell. Why was she falling? Alex was always put-together…)
(...no she wasn't.)
(When would she admit that to herself?)
(...)
(...)
(What was that flower she saw in the back of her mother's truck?)
It caught her eye as she tripped, and right before her face slammed down onto the doorframe, the twinkle of the pink petals enraptured her gaze.
…
…
…
…
…. . .-.. .-.. - -..- / .- .-. -.-. . ..- ... .-.-.-
…
…
…
…
A fall like that should never have knocked her out cold.
And yet, it did all the same.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Come in!"
Dr. Gentian Hazel did not receive many visitors.
That was OK! The fact was a fact. He didn't need many visitors, anyways. The winter semester had come to a close, and the summer semester had not yet started, and at a community college, he never expected any of his students to ask him questions on anthropology.
…alright, it made him a little disappointed that there was no one interested at all in his work. From time to time, the thoughts got to him, a bit of sadness and melancholy. But not every day could be a good day, could it?
…
…hm.
Maybe he ought to teach somewhere else, that wasn't his hometown, where he could contribute to the field more actively. Perhaps… Nevada, so he could be with his wife when she was away on her projects…
…no, that was nonsense!
Edwardsville was a fine place to teach, with many bright young students! He ought to stay here to help more students from smaller locations get interested in the field!
But once again, good days like that were sparse. When did students ever take his class with any more interest than a semester or two?
He had just been short of good days, with good students…
But thankfully, today was a good day for the man.
"Do come in!" he proclaimed to whomever stood behind the oak door. There was a few seconds of waiting, and eventually, after waiting for it to open for a few seconds more, he rose from his chair to open it himself. But only just then, as he went to pull it open, did it open.
A smile came to his face.
"Ah, hello there Alex Gigas!" he said, voice jovial as the woman in question waved at him from the hall. A star student she was, always engaged, never bored. And she came to see him in-between semesters, how wonderful! Was she interested in his field of study?
However, as he took a closer look at the woman, his voice dropped quite fast, as did his smile.
"Miss Gigas, your head—"
"Oh, don't worry about it, Professor!" Alex sputtered out, waving her hands in front of her as if to brush it off, like it was a small deal. The large bandage wrapped around her forehead, however, betrayed her.
He looked as if he was about to respond, but Alex, quick to draw, went first.
"My dad's a foreman!" she said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, "He's out of town a lot for it, but he knows a thing or two about concussions! I fell down the stairs a while back, but, uh, yeah he says I'll be fine if I just take it easy!"
Sure, Alex. Sure.
Gentian stared for a few moments at the bandage, but ultimately decided just to… go along with it.
"...well, I suppose that's none of my business, then," he responded, and then he cleared his throat.
"Regardless," he stepped into his office, Alex following behind him, "what brings you into my neck of the woods today, friend?"
The door creaked as Alex pulled it shut behind her, Gentian taking a seat at his desk. He hadn't noticed it prior, but Alex carried with her a small little bag, and as she sat down in front of him, she procured a small booklet from it, grinning as she held it up beside her face.
He squinted at it, putting on his reading glasses from the desk and leaning in to look at the cover page's text.
Pokemon
…?
While staring at it, he scrutinized the bright yellow and blue logo. "Poke-e-man?"
"Poke-e-mon, but yes!"
Gentian leaned away, removing his reading glasses and cocking his head in curiosity. "...what is this 'Pokemon?'"
Alex cleared her throat, setting the booklet down on her lap as she continued to smile.
"So, you know your online class?"
Oh, so it was a long story, then? He did love a good long story. Which is good, because I'm quite sure no one who didn't love long stories would be here right now, given that we're a novella of words into this at only chapter two and we haven't even got to the first catastrophe yet.
Long stories… do not make them short!
…oh, sorry, anyways—-
"It's not my preferred method of teaching, Miss Gigas, but I know of it, of course." said Gentian. Alex nodded along.
"So, anyways, I've got this friend named Kevin." she continued, smiling big and talking with a motor mouth, "he's great, I love him, he's got a pet mouse named Chu, but that's not the point— so, he hates leaving the house, yeah?"
Dr. Hazel hummed in agreement. "I'm following…"
Crossing her legs on the chair, she leaned into the desk a bit. "He says it's because of the COVID thingie a while back, but he was like this all the time prior to it, so, take that as you will. He had all of the excuses to skip class under his belt…"
"Ah, is this Kevin a slacker, then?"
She shook her head profusely… then slowed down to think, before nodding profusely instead.
"I don't know what happened!" she shrugged, throwing her arms in the air, "Despite everything, he was an all A's student! But now that Kevin is in college, he's doing terribly!"
Alex put her elbows on the desk, staring directly at the man. It was weirdly intense.
"He got a C- in Anthropology 151!"
…
…yeah, he was a bit weirded out by how close she was in proximity to him. After seeing that on his face, she sheepishly backed off into her chair.
(She never used to act this way.)
(She was being so… what was the word for it, neurotic? Why was she becoming so… undone?)
(...maybe it was the concussion.)
(Yeah, it had to be. She probably shouldn't have come out here today, that's all.)
(Those white spots in her vision were only growing, anyways. She ought to lie down…)
(...)
(...were those white spots?)
"Miss Gigas," Dr. Hazel interrupted, bringing her attention back to the forefront.
(She had been so distracted as of late…)
"While I do understand your friend's plight, Miss Gigas…" he said. There was a bit of caution thrown in there, too, that Alex briefly managed to find before he continued on, "What exactly does this have to do with, er, this Pokemon doohickey?"
"...oh, yes!" she said, picking up the booklet again and grinning as if nothing had happened at all. She gave the booklet a small pat before setting it down on the desk, prompting Gentian to take it. He put on his reading glasses once more.
"So, Kevin, my friend," she explained, watching as Gentian opened the booklet up, going over the pages, "he refused my offer to be part of my Anthropology 151 study group, which I find rather rude!"
He glanced up from the book, nodding at her as she went on.
Such odd designs… What were these creatures?
"He could have received a better grade if he had accepted my help, so this is all on him."
As he listened, Gentian continued to read through the booklet, looking over all of the so-called "Pokemon'' in it. The designs of the creatures were quite… fascinating, as were the snippets written on the side with the history and stories of them. Each one was so intricate… a blue dragon of time, a red land monster, a mysterious green fairy that was… also time-based… a… pink cat? Just a pink cat, that was said to be the ancestor to all of the others. Or, wait, wasn't the strange white llama supposed to be the first one? What was the relationship there?
It was a fake pantheon, it seemed. A few contradictions, and it didn't seem particularly reminiscent of any given culture, but it still was rather charming and cute, and he put a smile on his face. It was the type of thing his son would like. He ought to tell him about it when he went home that evening… And, well, he never pegged Alex for being the artistic kind, but he supposed life was full of surprises.
As his thoughts chugged along like so, Alex went on. "So, I thought I'd try to, uh, what's the word? Prank him?"
That caught his attention. Glancing up again, Gentian quirked a brow. "Come again, friend?"
She chuckled nervously, "I know, I know, I'm not the pranking type, but I thought it could be a fun project!"
He held up the booklet to her, pointing at it with skepticism. "You're pranking him with these Pokemon creatures?"
She nodded once. "Yeah!"
…he squinted.
"I'm… not following."
"Uh, OK then…" Alex said, voice dipping and rising again in an explanatory tone, "So, you went to Guyana, right?"
"I did, yes," Gentian nodded, not quite sure where this was going, but going along with it all the same, "it was a whole decade ago, before I had my second child. Quite a time!"
"So, since Kevin paid no attention, I thought…" Alex drawled on, rolling her hands, "that I'd, y'know, trick him into saying that you found these on your Guyana trip!"
The man cocked his head. He had reached the final page of the booklet, setting it down on the desk.
This was, uh, awkward…
Gentian wanted to be nice and all, but… what exactly could you say to someone about this? It was the oddest thing he had heard all day, all week— MONTH even. First student to come into his office since the semester ended…
"These…" he chuckled nervously, emphasis on the 'nervous' part, "I'm sorry, friend, but these… look nothing like Guyanian art."
"I know…" Alex muttered, "but that's part of the fun, eh?"
He blinked.
…
…?
…he pinched his brow.
He liked Alexandria, he really did, she was a stellar student, but… he did not expect this from her. She frowned in response to this.
"You're going…" he said, cautiously, "to gaslight him?"
At a loss for words, she found her voice cutting itself off, and while it looked as if she was going to speak, she did not, instead looking up to the ceiling in deep thought.
Was that what that was?
…she shrugged, a crooked and awkward half-smile on her face.
"I mean…" Alex said, voice just oozing with trepidation, "it's… it's a lot more harmless than it sounds!"
The man let out a long, long and winded sigh, drumming his fingers on the desk.
…OK then.
He… he could trust her on that, he supposed. Alex was a good woman. She managed to band together a large portion of the class and helped all of them pass, so how bad could something she planned be, truly? And he saw the drawings, they were cute. She wouldn't go out of her way to do something overly malicious, he didn't think… So sure.
(He had hoped she was interested in his field, and that's why she came. But, well, perhaps another day someone will be…)
"Well, friend…" he spoke, eyes finally focused back on Alex, "I suppose, I can trust in that, then."
He watched as Alex deflated with relief, wiping a bead of sweat off her brow. But then, a question came to mind.
"Miss Gigas?"
She cleared her throat, sitting up straight once more. "Yes, Professor?"
"What exactly does your project have to do with me?"
"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed, and she grabbed the booklet off of the desk, holding it up.
"So, all of my friends get one, plus my family and such, etcetera…" she explained, setting the booklet down on her lap, "So, Leah, who made all of the drawings and such, asked if you wanted one, since your class gave me the idea!"
A brief chuckle came to his throat. That was… that was sweet of her. Very sweet.
"Well, alright then, Miss Gigas…" Gentian started, "I suppose… Yes, I'd like that."
She beamed at the remark, then took out a pencil from her bag, flipping to an empty page towards the back of the booklet as if to take notes.
…but it wasn't as if he had a concept for this at hand.
Hm…
He wouldn't do anything of Guyanian style. That would be… inappropriate, likely. And the artwork shown was nothing like it, so it wouldn't make any sense, anyways. So how about…
"An alien."
Alex glanced up from her notes, cocking her head. "Huh?"
"I think it could be fun!" the man laughed, "Or perhaps four! …at the same time!"
Blinking a few times to think of it, she allowed the idea to swirl in her head for a tad. Alien? She didn't peg him for the type… uh… and it wasn't convincing… and Artemis already had space covered…
…
…well, it wasn't her 'mon, she supposed. She'd go with it
She laughed with him, albeit a bit late, and a bit of a weird laugh, not that he noticed, jotting his exact words down onto the page. And I mean exact. "Or perhaps four at the same time." Yeah! That could work. Leah was gonna be really confused, but hey! It's what Dr. Hazel wants…
…she looked really weird about it then, didn't she? Her smile was all crooked again. She hoped that it didn't look awkward, or hurt his feelings…
…
"Is that all, friend?" his voice said, snapping her out of her daze. She had been… yeah, staring at the floor again.
(She was zoning out a lot as of late… did she need to see someone for that?)
(The white spots were getting brighter after all…)
"Uh… yeah! Yeah…" Alex spoke, after a while. She sincerely hoped her smile didn't look fake, because her head felt like it was swimming again. Did concussions do this? Was that what it was?
She got up, giving him a big thumbs up, then started for the door.
"I'll, uh, I'll send you an email of what Leah cooks up for you, 'K?" she grinned. The man didn't seem to notice the stiffness of it, thank goodness. She didn't want him to think she didn't like him, or was displeased.
"You have a good day now, Miss Gigas!" he called out.
Before she closed the door on him, she waved back. "You too!"
She gently clicked it shut.
…
…
…a white spot danced in her vision, lightly tapping against the pages of the booklet in her hand. She rubbed her eyes, but it was still there.
Maybe she ought to go to the doctor.
…
…
…no, not now, she decided.
Not then.
OK. I'll be the first to admit. That was awkward. Weird, not exactly the best look for her, take your pick. But hey, Alex is… Alex is going through it right now, OK? Leave her be…
What is she going through, you ask? How would I know? Madness? Probably madness…
Actually I do know, but… OK, so we ought to pivot from here, then…
…weeeeeeeeeeeell, we can't exactly do that… I prefer to do without that unpleasant vagueness, remember? And now is the time of the deepest confusion. More than ever, we must focus on Alexandria!
…but yeah, we all wanna take a break from her for now, right? Let's go to someone who we actually haven't seen in a while, OK?
…right before she gets a call… from Miss Gigas….
Yeah, sorry again, but well, uh… Alex is kinda important, y'know? We can't exactly just ignore the woman, now can we?
But we can for now! So, let's go over to that district of town, over there. You can't see it? Alright, here's your ladder, y'know, the one from the last chapter. No trampolines this time. Look out from your perch at the suburban nightmare over yonder, the ones least illuminated by the sun setting in the west, full of all of those subdivisions and such. Not at Alexandria's, however, look past even that.
Yes, readers.
Look at the rich people part of the subdivision.
Yes, now that we're over there, take a glance at the woman on the porch swing of the nice gray house, the house with the strange, decorative golden fence at the end of the road, practically touching the woods. The woman is rocking gently on the swing, feet curled up as she talks on the phone, voice a whisper that a gust of wind could drown out with ease. She's dressed in nothing but black, as is her custom, and with skin as pale as hers, and voice quiet as it was, it was easy to mistake her for being from a silent movie.
Don't worry, this isn't another new character you need to be aware of, we're done with those for now. You know who this is.
Say hi to Gina!
…you didn't know she was rich, huh?
Well, I guess that's a mini-plot twist for you then.
She glanced out to the west, to the old day wearing thin, painting the skies in reds and oranges… It was nice, pretty.
But Gina didn't pay that any mind, focusing instead on the voice on the other end of the line as she held her phone to her ear. Her brows were etched in worry, left hand clutching the swing in a tight grasp of agitation.
"So, you're certain she's alright, Mr. Gigas?"
The voice on the other end of the phone, in contrast to Gina herself, guffawed a carefree laugh, which Gina wasn't sure whether to be more or less concerned about.
"Oh, Gina, how many times have I said, you don't need to be so formal with me! Just call me Reginald!"
She sweatdropped, swinging her legs off the side of the swing, causing them to dangle as the swing jiggled back and forth a bit in response, "Well, alright Mr. Reginald, but… Alex? I mean, I know it's been two days since she knocked herself out, but… look, she's managing, right? The white spots in her vision are still gone?"
"Nothing to worry about over here, Gina," Reginald said, clearing his throat, "Alex is recovering nicely from her nasty fall, I've checked her. And she's told me the white spots… all gone."
Gina breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back in the swing. "Good, good… and, once again, sorry for being a bother…"
"Ha! Oh, no worries, Gina…" the man laughed, "If my wife had a fall like that, I'd be doing the same thing!"
She sighed, and a light smile came to her face. "Well, I'm glad she's OK… and I trust that with her out for the count, and your wife at the flower show, that you're still doing alright with the triplets?"
"Gina, I've been a father for 22 years, I know how to take care of a few kiddos like them!"
"I know, I just…" she paused, searching for the right words in her head, "...just want to make sure everything is ship shape."
Reginald chuckled, "I'm a foreman, kid, not a sailor. I may have a few ship figures on my displays downstairs, but that doesn't mean I know how they work!"
"It's a figure of speech."
"Whatever you say."
"Alright then…"
She let out a sigh, a longer one, at least, and stood up from the bench, leaning on the railing as she kept her phone pressed to her ear. Well, that's that then. Nothing to worry about, like how there had been nothing to worry about the last three times she sent Reginald a call…
"Take care of Alex now," she said, staring to her left at the sunset. It was nice tonight, she supposed, real colorful… "and, uh, tell me if you've got any updates on her. If she gets worse."
"She can tell you yourself, she's on her way right now."
Gina, suddenly, snapped her head forward, squinting in confusion, "Pardon?"
Seemingly unaware of the concern in her voice, which was subtle as a peacock's feathers (which is to say, not at all), Reginald continued on, "Alex has been out and about all day! Went to see that professor she talks about all the time. I told her not to over-exert herself, and she hasn't, so she's been doing OK. Not to drive, but she never does anyways, so... Weird concussion she's had… knocked herself clean out, but right as rain already? Never seen anything like it. But I haven't seen any reasons to stop her. My girl never lies to me…"
While he went on with his talk, Gina slowly leaned away from the balcony, walking backwards until she plopped herself down in the swing, eyes open wide in concern.
She ought to trust him, right? He's dealt with concussions before, all the time…
Hm…
…no reason to worry, it was fine. Goodness, if she worried any harder, she'd be just like Alex. Wasn't she supposed to be the confident one in their relationship?
It was fine.
Breathing out, she steeled herself. Yeah, this was… OK. Nothing horrible. And she was coming here right now, so Gina could see that. It was fine!
"That is weird…" Gina muttered, before speaking up a bit, "So, uh, I should probably get the guest room fixed for her then, yeah?"
There was a grunt of approval from the man on the line.
"You do that, Gina," he said, "Besides, it's getting late, I oughta make the triplets something to eat…"
"Have a good night, Mr. Reginald."
"You too!"
The click of hanging up sounded, and Gina cringed inwardly, if only slightly. Any conversation she had with Alex's parents… it wasn't horrible, but it was never not awkward to her. So stilted, so off-putting…
Well. She didn't mind.
Besides, her girlfriend was coming over now. Unannounced, which was unusual for her, but Gina supposed Alex could be surprising if she wanted. She ought to prepare the guest room for her, like she said. Not that it was a guest room, at this point. Alex came over so many times she might as well paint the walls white and yellow for her.
So, she went inside.
Good instinct, too, as just over a few blocks away, strolling down the sidewalk, we're back with good 'ole Alexandria Cecelia Gigas! Yay!
And actually, she's calling Gina right now, as she walks, and ignores all of those white spots in her vision!
(She doesn't want to see them anymore.)
(They are beginning to… freak her out.)
(They don't look like… spots either. More like…)
(...cracks.)
(...no, if she just ignores them, they will go away.)
(They will.)
(She hoped.)
The line picked up, and Alex brought her phone up to her ear, as to drown out the noise of her overnight duffel bag rolling on the sidewalk.
"Hi Gina!" she spoke, cheerfully of course. Alex was never not happy to talk to her— plus she was going to surprise her this time, so that would be fun!
"I'm already prepping the guest room for you."
Alex stopped in her tracks, smile replaced with a small frown of confusion.
Then she sighed in defeat.
"Did you call my father again?" Alex groaned, walking forward once more. Well, she supposed surprises weren't her forte anyways…
"Look, Alex," Gina lectured, "If you don't pick up when you're injured, I'm going to call your parents. I don't care if you're twenty-two, you're gonna abide by that."
"Oh, spoilsport…" she said, albeit amused, looking up to the sky as she continued walking, "but, there is only room for one worrywart between us! If you worry and I worry, then…"
"...yeah, yeah, I know, we'll be a mess."
"Exactly!" Alex punctuated, "So you need to stop worrying so much, you see?"
"I suppose so…" Gina said, before sighing, "how far out are you?"
At that moment, she turned a corner. "I'm turning onto Turnback Boulevard right now!"
"Neato."
"Neato indeed!"
She continued down the stretch of sidewalk for a while more, staring up at the cloudy sky as Gina cleared her throat. What a pleasant evening…
When Gina did speak again, Alex snapped to attention, looking forward once more.
"So, uh…" Gina said, "Your room is done with."
"That's very sweet of you, Gina, thank you."
"Naturally. Is there anything in particular that you wanted to do tonight, while you're over here?"
Alex shrugged. "Dunno! I went to see Dr. Hazel this morning, about those Pokemon things. Maybe we could ask Leah what she's done thus far? Have a girl's night, since she's home?"
Gina hummed from the other end of the line. "Another quiet night, then?"
She chuckled in response. "I'm still concussed, Gina, I can't exactly go anywhere."
"Well, good, I didn't really want to go out anywhere anyways." Alex could just hear her playful smirk from her voice alone.
And that would be that, it would seem. Alex was close to Gina's house, and they would have a quiet evening together. Maybe. Or maybe it would be loud, with Leah around. It sounded like a good idea to Alex. One she certainly liked…
…
…
…
…it was then that Gina said something to her.
It was such an innocent question, that Alex didn't think twice about it until ice coated her veins as quickly as she could think it, stopping her in her tracks like nothing more than a sculpture. Gina meant no harm. Gina meant no ill-will. Gina didn't even know that Alex reacted negatively at all.
Gina didn't know, and Alex didn't want to tell her.
"Actually, uh, before we get into all of that, uh… did you get the letter back?"
…
Her heart pounded once.
…
And twice.
…
And a third time, not stopping, but ever so slightly more noticeable each time she heard it thump.
"...Alex?"
…!
"...oh! Uh… what letter?"
Gina laughed slightly "The letter from the University of Minnesota! It's our last ECC semester, after all. I got a letter in the mail a while back, and I was hoping to open them together, y'know? I know it's already a high chance, so I think we got in!"
Her ears were ringing.
…
Another time it beat.
…
She kept on walking forward, head looking low.
…
The paper stuck out slightly, from her drawers.
…
The red M glared at her, menacingly.
…
The words laughed at Alex from across the room.
…
Why not her?
She had done everything right.
Why not her?
She did the extracurriculars, and the service hours, and had the grades.
Why not her?
"Alex?"
GASP
"Oh, sorry!" the woman said, giggling a bit, breathing a bit raggedly, "Yeah, sorry, I, uh, I didn't get mine yet!"
"Really?" Gina questioned, but she hummed all the same, shrugging it off, "You'll probably get it soon, I suppose."
"I suppose!"
She stopped walking, turning ninety degrees.
"I'm here, so, uh… we'll talk inside!"
"Door's unlocked."
"Gotcha!"
CLICK!
…
…
…
…
…she lowered the phone, shakily, into her pocket.
Alex received her letter weeks ago.
…
…
…
(A white spot danced across her eyes, on the elaborate gold fence in front of her.)
"Not now…" Alex muttered. She rubbed her eyes.
(It remained.)
She huffed, hastily dragging her overnight bag along, but it bumped badly against a crack in the sidewalk, causing a booklet to fall out onto the concrete.
Pokemon
Alex groaned inwardly, and outwardly, letting go of the overnight bag and crouching down to grab it.
(The white spot stayed, but more came, and now they congregated on the pages in her hand. They glowed, even. Brighter and brighter.)
She blinked, gritting her teeth, but nothing could remove it. It just stayed, it remained on the book in her palms, until a gust of wind came out of the blue, blowing the booklet out of her hands and sending it into the gold fence with a small "cling!"
(It followed the booklet.)
"Shoot!" she muttered, and she went to grab it again, rushing over to the fence.
But her foot caught on…
On…
On…
(It remained.
And remained.
And remained.
And fell from under her feet.
THE WHITE CRACK RIPPED OPEN BEFORE HER
…
…now, here's what I meant, when I said I could never avoid the unpleasant vagueness.
Because not even I, the narrator of this tale, can fully explain to you what happened next.
…
She fell, fell forwards, onto the grass.
But then the grass…
Shattered
like glass.
Her screams, did anybody hear her now?
Who heard her falling?
Where was she?
What was this?
The void of blinding white awaited her as shards of the very earth tumbled into it, falling for a distance she couldn't see. In vain, she reached out, towards anything— the fence, more grass, the sidewalk— but it was just out of reach as she went tumbling below…
The setting sun illuminated the sky, but it slowly fell out of her view as she went further and further…
...
…
…
…where was she now?
Had she stopped?
Was she dreaming? Where was she…
…the booklet, it was floating now. Not falling, but around her, it floated. The pages remained suspended, but eventually, it floated to the first one in the set.
Arceus.
What was she feeling? What could she be feeling? Alex didn't know. In here, her eyes were open wide, but she hung suspended, with not a thought shown in them. Her heart beat ever faster, her mind went ever slower…
…
…hello, Miss Gigas.
…
…we have been waiting for the chance to properly say hello.
…
…you have summoned us. Created us, even.
…the booklet hung limply in the air.
…it was only a matter of time before someone did, after all.
It lazily rested in the sky, wherever it was.
Alex's heart beat one time. Her eyes stared at the book. It beat another.
…so I suppose this was bound to occur.
A thought, only one, managed to push through from behind her meaningless gaze.
…who…?
…thank you.
And she screamed again.
Her back, it was in agony, in pain, in in in in in in in in in in—
The world above was… it was there. Once again, the faint color of the sky approached her. The gate approached her. Gina's house…
Gina…
Where was…
IN IN IN IN—
The world was a dot in the sky.
The dot grew larger, into a circle, and eventually, it came down, encasing her with the world once more. It was like she was encased in a globe, and the void was only getting smaller… smaller…
Where was it going?
Into her.
And it did.
Into her skin, through her, the whiteness sank, deep and deep and into every fiber of her. Impaling her, suspending her in the sky as the convexity of it brightened underneath her dark skin until she was glowing the brightest white, the white of the sun, of the stars of the sky, shining like a nuclear bomb about to go off. And the light only increased… and increased… and ever grew…
She was sent sailing, thrown into the gold gate.
And the glow reached its very peak.
And Alex glowed the brightest she ever did, yet even so, no one could see as the very world was rewritten before them.
…
…
…
…it died down.
…
Her head was swimming.
…
…
…she felt… wrong.
…what…
…what was…
…
…groggily, as her head swam, her thoughts and emotions moving like molasses, in a dreamlike trance, she tried to move, but she found, suddenly, could not. Something was wrapped very snuggly around her torso, keeping her there like an oversized shackle.
With a push, however, it broke its hold on her, and she tumbled unnaturally into the lawn. Everything felt… off, about how she moved, but she could not place her finger on it. And whatever was wrapped on her torso, however, she could still feel. She must have broke it off of something.
She glanced behind her, vision clearing from its fuzziness, to see whatever it was that bound her.
She was greeted with the gold gate, bent and shattered, with a piece missing, snapped clean off.
W… what?
She… did that?
The gate was… entrapping her?
In her confusion, she felt the strange pressure on her torso tighten, practically merging with her. It was an uncomfortable sensation, and in her slight panic, she tried to swivel around to see what exactly was on her.
But she was not prepared for the sight that she witnessed.
That's not me that's not me that's not me that's not me that's not—
Her eyes widened, her heart quickened, and her mind, sluggish and slow, finally was catching up, thoughts being created and cast to the wind over and over a million times every instant, creating a cacophony in her mind that only grew as the seconds went by. But one thought hit true more than the rest.
What she saw when she glanced at herself was not herself.
She was not herself, anymore.
She was something else.
And the booklet, discarded on the grass a few feet away, lay open to the first page, displaying a face and figure now identical to her own.
That of her own creation.
Arceus.
"Do, a deer, a female deer,
Re, a drop of golden sun,
Mi, a name I call myself,
Fa, a longer way to run…"
"Do, Re, Mi" — The Sound of Music
I finally got to write about the weird scene. Now prepare for more.