Right, so sorry about the delay. Illness and insomnia will do that to you. Personally I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, i enjoyed writing it but looking back, maybe I'd do some things differently. Tried some more liberal comma usage, and Mirage would be pleased to see some scene closure
Anyway, here we go. Act 2. (On a side note, I only just realized that the dictionary on here is correcting to American, so some of my words are American and some are English. I doubt it will affect the read too much but i'll attempt to fix it when the chance comes.)
ACT 2: Constants and Variables
Act 2 Chapter 1: Galaxies
Call back the cap-com, tick of the time bomb.
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My eyes open to the sight of a beige sea stretching out into infinity.
Oh wait. That’s the ceiling. Good start.
It’s fairly light right now. But my alarm isn’t ringing in my ear drums so it must still be earl-
The ringing of my alarm completely nullifies my deduction.
Complying with the commands of my electronic clock, I swing my artificial, silver shinning legs off the side of the bed. Only to realise I’m still in my Yukata from yesterday. Images of the festival flood through my mind like a power point on cocaine. The evil glares from Shizune, winning the rowing game with Hisao, his amazing dumb smile.
The fireworks.
Deciding to shower in the evening I slip out of my Yukata and into the school uniform. Taking perhaps a little too long with my skirt when it gets caught in the metal workings of my left prosthetic. The poster strung up on my wall tells me to, “Just hang in there.” and I do the final buttons on my blouse.
Slipping my shoes on, I head out the door to attend to my morning duty, waking up the sleepiest girl in Yamaku. Whose room happens to be just opposite mine.
I rap my knuckles on the door, twiddling my emergency key between the fingers of my other hand. The response comes in a barely audible groan from the other side. I lift the key to the door and push it into the lock with a turn. You know, in case she’s a zombie.
“Morning sleepy-butt, I’m coming in.”
“NO NO NO MOLLY OUT!” Suzu suddenly shouts, already in front of the door, making me jump inside my skin. Behind her a figure rolls in the bed, turning the bed sheet into a large, sleepy, caterpillar.
“Oh. My. God. You didn’t.” I whisper cupping my mouth with my hands.
“I didn’t.” She says.
“You did.”
“I didn’t.” She says her eyes open wide and her fists clenched so tightly her fingers turn purple.
She did. Holy shit.
I push past her enough to catch a glimpse of an overly large boy trying to stuff himself under the bed. He ultimately fails.
“You know Taro, I can see you.”
“No you can’t and no we didn’t.” Comes the reply, muffled by the now unholy bed.
“I’m disappointed in both of you, but it’s almost time for lessons. So I’ll let you both off for now.” I’d love to stay and find out the illustrious details, to berate them about safe sex. Though honestly it’s not a scene I’m familiar with so I’m probably not the best person for that job.
A sick thought comes across my mind about telling the nurse, but I suppress the notion.
For now that is. You got lucky punks.
I slowly close the door to Suzu’s room, maintaining eye contact with the sea-green sex machine and smiling deviously as her face lights up like a Chinese lantern. Oh, you’ll be filling me in later.
Not that I’m curious or anything.
As I walk down the hallway, the implications of my two best friends consummating their relationship begins to fully dawn on me. I mean, they’re not dating. They just, hook up, but it’s never gone this far. I can’t help but wonder what this will do to their friendship, and I guess to me. It’s felt like I was third wheeling them for a while now, and with Taro liking Suzu far more than the reverse I can’t help but feel like I’m watching a train crash. And then there’s the newest addition to our group. Hisao. I can’t help but smile as I think of him, his stupid hair and his dumb grin. Maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance that…
I stop outside the door to my classroom, my robot legs having driven me to my destination whist my thoughts were in subspace. The room is half empty on account of the festival aftermath, but a few faces still adorn the bleakness of the learning zone. One particularly tired looking, messy haired boy catches my attention, and gives me a tiny wave before burying his head in his arms. Taking a seat at my desk, I can feel the daggers being glared into back by Shizune and wrap my arms together to reduce myself to as small a size as physically possible.
A clearly hung-over Mutou stumbles into the room, muttering something about page 78 in our physics books, before flopping into his chair and closing his eyes.
Seeming to be one of the few people who’s actually awake enough to do some work, I pull out my physics text book and thumb through to page 78. Redshift? Oh common Mutou at least give me something new to learn. Just as I’m about to start the mundane, and frankly, easy questions on why Redshift proves the big bang, a hand taps on my shoulder, revealing a gentle smile and a really, really, annoying stand of hair.
“Morning,” Hisao says, tilting his head to Mutou and then back again. “I don’t really think he’d mind if we did this as a group, that is, if you don’t mind?”
I’m not quite sure if he thinks I need help with this or if he just wants to talk to me. Though I’m hoping it’s the latter. “Yeah, I don’t mind. Pull up a chair.”
The whole class audibly groan as Hisao drags his chair from his desk, creating a loud screech like nails on a blackboard. Shizune in particular gives a discerning look and begins to sign rapidly, the pink drilled Misha opens her mouth to interpret but promptly closes it and puts her head back on the desk.
“Could you have made any more noise?” I ask, a smirk creeping across my lips. He’s just so godamn goofy.
“I probably could, I’ll try again,” He replies as quick as a fox, despite being so obviously shattered. “On second thought, there’s seven or eight people here that look like they might try and kill me if I do.”
“Make that nine,” grinning pretty goofily myself, I slide the book with the questions across to him. “d’you understand this or do I have to teach you?” I try to incorporate a playful tone to my voice and wink at him.
“Well, It’s a little easy don’t you think?” He remarks, hurriedly scribbling his answer down onto our answer sheet. It’s similar to what I would have written but I would never have thought to include the bit about Ambulances. It’s a fairly clever analogy actually. Point one to Hisao.
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The rest of class passes with Hisao and me answering the questions in tandem, the brushing of our pens rivalling even that of Shizune. When lunch comes, Hisao looks like he’s about to pass out, and honestly I can’t imagine I look much better. The class had filled up during the morning lessons, but the intense battle between me and the Messy haired, Physics meister, distracted me from it. A particularly exhausted Suzu groans as we pass her desk and grabs my arm, looking up with bloodshot eyes.
“Okay, maybe we did, but don’t you say a word. There’s a bento box in it for you, get two.” The money she puts into my hand isn’t even enough for a bag of- actually no that would cost more, but before I can yank more money out of her, she’s face first on her desk, and honestly I don’t think it’s because of the narcolepsy.
Being a merciful friend, I leave her to rest, offering Hisao a shrug as we make our way into the eerily quiet hallway. It looks like the rest of Yamaku faired about as well as Suzu, normally the lunch hour would be bustling, students breaking the school hall speed limit driven by their hunger. But no. It’s just me, Hisao, a second year in a wheel chair, and the whole awkward silence thing. I swear, sometimes, you’d think me mute.
Awkward as it is, Hisao and I begin the silent march towards the cafeteria, leaving just enough space for it to be uncomfortable between us. I really hate these silences. I mean, sure it can be comfortable, but there’s a pretty big difference between reading a good book quiet, and held at gun-point quiet.
Luckily the awkwardness doesn’t last all that long as we end up in the relatively small mass of students shuffling for food. Giving Hisao my money and order, I take a seat at one of the many unoccupied tables. Debating whether or not I have time to thumb through my biology notes for the test tomorrow, I reach downward but before my hand even reaches the jaws of my bag I feel something really warm and…urm, Moist. I Grimace as I pluck it between my fingers and lift it to the table. Gross. Being that it’s a tissue and soaking with what I hope is water, the ink that had been scrawled across it has mostly run. Though I can make out Hisao’s name and the words
Top secret. Why was it left on my bag though?
The subject of the note arrives, juggling two binto boxes precariously on his left arm and a bowl of ramen in his right. Just as it looks like he’s going to drop my lunch, he steadies himself and takes a seat in front of me, sliding me the two bento boxes and looking quizzically at the wet tissue on the table.
“These aren't
both for me, Suzu has to eat too, apparently,” I say realizing how greedy I must look. “Though, um, I think this might be for you.”
With a raised eyebrow and nervous smile he reaches out and grabs the note, unfolding It in his hand and squinting hard as he tries to read whatever was written there, “something, something, feminist agenda, something led-lined, I uh. I have no idea what any of this means.”
“Do you know who wrote it?” I ask in his shared puzzlement.
“I do yeah. Though he’s signed it, ‘
Agent wormtooth’ oh and apparently the password is muffins, in case you’d like to know.”
“I doubt you were meant to tell me the password,” A snort of laughter escapes me as I almost choke on a mouthful of rice, “Is ‘agent wormtooth’ a friend then?”
“I wouldn't go as far to say a friend, but he’s been alright I suppose.”
That makes sense, I haven’t really seen him talk to any guys here, other than Taro that is. I’m not sure if I’m crossing a line since I really don’t know him that well. But I mean, I don’t exactly see what there is too lose.
“Do you still talk to any of your friends from your old school?” The cool smile that he had plastered on his lips vanishes to that distant look he had at the festival. Oh shit. Touchy subject. I feel the heat rise to my cheeks as I look down at the table and prepare to apologise.
“Not really, they sort of stopped visiting me whilst I was in hospital, even-“he cuts himself short and I look up, having not expected him to reply at all. Luckily he’s looking out the window instead of at me. As bad as I feel for bringing that up, and as painful as it sounded for him to relive it, I can’t help but feel a little curious. Well, a lot-a curious actually. He was in Hospital? For how long? “What about you?” His question catches me off guard, though it really shouldn't have. Fair’s fair.
“Well I've been here since first year, so have the other guys. I didn't really have many friends in middle school,” His eyes meet mine as he turns his head back to face me, still looking like he’s a million miles away, “I wasn't bullied, but you know, kids don’t like different either way.”
He nods, seemingly content with my answer and finishes up his lunch. A task which takes me not much longer then him. Despite the awkwardness of the walk here, and my dumb attempt at conversation, lunch hasn't been so bad.
“Tell me if I’m being too intrusive, but are your parents both Japanese?”
Lunch just got a whole lot worse.
“They… my
parents are, yeah.” He rubs the back of his neck, but says nothing. Expecting me to elaborate.
My parents.
“My parents…” I begin, feeling the anger seep into my words. I… I want to tell him. I do. It’s just, we’ve only known each other for what? Two weeks? I can’t. I, want too. I just can’t. Not yet. It makes me feel like shit honestly, I don’t even have that big a reason to be hurt, there’s kids here who have lost their parents but I just… It hurts. Hisao apparently picks up on my inner turmoil and a worried look blankets his face, like he’s said something wrong, I mean he has yeah, but it’s not his fault. God I hate this, it was going so well. Well it wasn’t going that well, better than this at least.
“Can we just leave it at they’re not together anymore?” It sucks to shut him out after he was just so honest with me but, I’m no bastille.
Though clearly confused, Hisao smiles gently in what I assume his best effort to make me feel better. It doesn’t.
“I’m sorry if I upset you,” he says after what feels like hours, “we should head back if you want to give Suzu enough time to eat.”
I swing my legs out of my seat, making a clink sound as they connect with the floor. Pushing myself up with my hands, I find my balance and grab my bag and binto box. Hisao watches me get up and opens his mouth, as though about to speak, but quickly turns away. A rather grim reminder that he still has to step around egg shells.
I’m sorry Hisao. Soon.
The walk back to class is no less awkward, only the distance between us feels more than just physical now. I want to make it up to him, and I don’t know how.
I almost forgot. Maybe I can make things up to him, even just a little.
“Um Hisao, it’s a Monday, and on most Monday’s me and Suzu meet with Taro in his room,” He looks up in that ‘why are you telling me this way’, “So we wanted to know if you’d come too? It’d save me third wheeling at least.”
For a minute it looks like he’s about to decline, as he turns his face away from me as we walk, but I’m saved an embarrassing no, when he smiles and looks down to me, which has the effect of emphasizing his height.
“I think I’d really like that.”
Hisao’s smile spreads to my lips, Goddamn if that boy’s not contagious.
We arrive at the classroom as if on cue, with a few minutes to spare before our next lesson. Suzu is, of course, asleep, and so I put the bento box gently into her bag. Taro sees me and does some strange sign language that would probably work better if his other arm worked, or maybe it’s an interpretative dance? Whatever it is, I wave back with a swish of my left hand, and it seems to be enough to quell whatever ritual he was performing and I take my seat, as does Hisao.
Having livened up marginally, Mutou busily scrawls a graph on the black board. I mean scrawls, it’s about as legible as... as…no, it couldn’t be, could it?
Wait, what if he’s agent wormtooth?
“Now who can tell me where the circumgyration is?” Mutou asks scratching his head and turning to face the class.
Ahh easy its-
“The twenty-fifth second?” Ahh damnit. Point thirteen to Hisao.
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Its early evening by the time we all assemble in Taro’s room, which honestly could do with a bit of personality, seeing how the only poster on the wall has been here for what looks like millennia . It being the boys dormitory, he and Hisao had time to change out of the Yamaku uniform, and whilst I’m used to the overused and under washed garb of Taro, Hisao’s argyle sweater and tight fitting trousers are a sight something dashing. Though honestly, nothing screams nerd more than a sweater.
Then again, my night wear has the moon cycle on it, so I guess I can’t talk.
“You know, if you two just want to check each other out then me and the fat ass can go someplace else.” Suzu teases, slapping Taro on the back as her apology for calling him a ‘fat ass’. I immediately feel my cheeks begin to heat up and look away quickly, unable to form a quick-witted reply.
“That’s just your excuse to go and feel each other up in the bushes,” Hisao retorts, somewhat late. But still. He’s learning. “Anyway, you’re the ones who spent all of our group task just playing footsie under the table.”
Suddenly animated, Taro lifts his un-paralysed arm into an accusing point, aimed straight at Suzu. “It’s the she-witch! She kept wrapping her legs around mine. I swear I had no part of it!”
“You say that, but I’m almost positive I saw you creeping your hand up Suzu’s skirt.” I add, jumping into the fray, darting my eyes and growling at the lustful duo.
“I never.”
“He never.”
Both Suzu and Taro glow red as they were almost literally, caught with their pants down. My initiate’s sly smile turns to a full on grin as he rocks his head back and forth in quite laughter.
Taro coughs in a deliberate action to change the subject and throws a playful fist into Hisao’s chest, causing a flash of… Of panic? He didn’t exactly hit him hard, but he looks taken aback by it more than anyone of us would. Before I can inquire about it, the moments gone and Taro is barrelling obscenities about some boy whose room is opposite to Hisao’s. Kenji, I think was his name. I’ve never met him. But from the sounds of things, I really don’t want too.
“He’s not all bad, well, I mean, he’s good with,” There’s a long pause as Hisao rubs the back of his head with his palm and rolls his eyes to look out the window. “Puppets.”
The stupidity of the situation sends the four of us reeling in laughter, not one of us forming a witty reply as would be ordinary. It’s nice to laugh. Seeing Hisao smiling so hard, that genuine smile, his festival smile. It’s almost enough to make me forget about what he said in the cafeteria, about the fear I saw in his eyes when he talked about his past. Almost enough to make me forget that we’re at a school for the disabled, that he’s here for a reason. That I am. And not just because of my stupid metal legs.
Almost.
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