Chapter Text
Cafeterias. A place where kids are bullied, horrible food is served, kids throw up while you sit on disgusting lunch tables...or at least what I know from American movies.
This one looks surprisingly clean.
“Where’s the food?” I inquired
“It's literally to our left, blind bitch” Scarlett snapped back.
“Still can't be nice to me for once, can ya? I should have savored those moments of sacred Scarlett.”
“Hmph. It was a passing moment of weakness” she huffed.
“Yeah, so this is a moment of weakness too, huh?” I squeezed her hand that she completely forgot was holding mine.
“It was not!” she pulled her hand out of mine, red in the face. “How dare you?! Do you have no shame?”
“Yeah yeah, let's get some food” I said, walking towards where I hid the cake I stole in the morning. It was as beautiful as a cake could be in these trying times of zombies.
Grabbing a few spoons, I walked back towards Scarlett, who was waiting near the door.
“What's that?” she asked as I approached her.
“Cake and spoons. What about you?”
“We didn't have cake here. Where’d you get that?”
“I brought it this morning from a Walmart I was staying at before I was saved and taken here.”
“Oh. Are you going to eat all of that by yourself?”
“Want some?”
“No, cake makes you fat”
“We’re in a zombie apocalypse, fuck your diet and indulge in the chocolate”
“Well... I guess I'll have a slice”
We walked out of the cafeteria and I led her onto the emergency exit staircase to not have as many blind spots. The cool wind grazed our faces as we sat on the green steel staircase. I stabbed the cake with my spoon and scooped out a bite of cake.
"Couldn't you cut it into slices?" Scarlett looked at me in slight disgust as she sat herself down next to me.
"Probably. But this is more fun and hey now I didn't have to search for plates" I said scooping another mouthful of the delicious gooey goodness of the cake.
"Your parents never said shit?" She said, taking a tiny scoop of the cake.
"Dad was always like 'how will you share the cake if you eat it all with a spoon, that's unhygienic etc. etc.' But honestly, look where that led him.
"Where?"
"To his death. The zombies were attracted by the ultra hygienic house he maintained and hey now he's something super unhygienic."
"How are you sure he's dead?"
"When the outbreak happened, I was out and hiding at a restaurant. I called home and all I could hear out of the phone was garbled zombie sounds and my dad's screams"
"I'm so sorry"
"No don't be. He was an abusive jerk and I hated him anyway. But like hearing him scream for help felt weirdly good. But at the same time helpless cause god I hated him because he hurt me, and he was never a father to me. But did he deserve to die?"
I leaned back on the steps looking at the night sky glittering with stars. The stars getting more watery and god I'm tearing up. I cover my eyes with my arm, letting my elbow rest over my face, cause god, if there was one person I didn't want seeing me cry today, it was Scarlett.
"No, I get that. My mum was somewhat similar." She leaned back next to me.
"Really?"
"Yeah, she forced me into pageants, beauty contests, singing recitals, ballet or anything that would make me look like her princess and elevate her status. It was a life she never g growing up poor. But she was living through me. Even 2nd place was too less for her. Every time I didn't win, did something she didn't like, she would twist my fingers, threatening to pull them off."
She put out her hand towards the sky. "And when she got cancer and was on her deathbed, I thought now since she's dying, she'd be nicer. But she cursed and yelled at me that it was my fault because I didn't win as many times as I could, that I wasn't putting even a fraction of the efforts she was putting in. And I hate that I wished shed die faster."
"...my reason to hate him seems stupider now." I chuckled softly.
"What was it?"
"He tried to beat the gay out of me with a bible."
"What?" She giggled" wait seriously? That's old, so messed up. How old were you?"
"5. But I get it from his perspective. A bi child ruining his perfect cishet household image was the scariest thing that could happen. He tried everything from conversion camps to an actual exorcism. But hey look, I'm still bisexual and falling for women dad"
We laughed quietly and ate cake. Until she broke the silence by saying" you sometimes know when I look at my hands it still hurts from the memories. It feels like I am only loved for my looks that my mother created. Ya get that?"
I pulled her hand in mine and kissed her knuckles, "I'm so sorry that happened to you. But you are loved for more than your looks, more than I can express or know"
Her eyes welled up with tears, and I turned to let her rest her chin on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her wile her tears soaked up my shoulder. We stayed like that for quite a while until Scarlett said "I think I needed to hear that"
"I'm glad I was the person to tell you that. Are you okay now?"
"Yeah…what time is it?"
"Uh nearly 2:30am"
"We should head back"
So we did, hand in hand through the halls quietly
"hey, can this stay a secret? I've never talked about my mother to anyone." She whispered to me.
"Yeah absolutely. You have my word."
"Uh yeah, well this is me."
"Oh. Right."
"Should I still be mean to you tomorrow" she said with a slight smirk.
"Yeah, please. It turns me on. Goodnight"
"Goodnight"She closed her door as I walked back to my room, fist bumping the air.