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“Let it die in peace.”
“Let. It. Die.”
The sound of Bea’s car sputtered and coughed along the road.
Mae and Bea were on their way home from their little adventure at the Fort Lucenne mall, where the both of them had shoplifted, made a mess at the food court with the fish fountain and returned stolen merchandise.
Nope, it was all the hyper and energetic cat’s doings. Bea was totally out of this. Well, aside from the shoplifting part, that is. Back there she was debating with her mind on whether she should really do it.
Of course, Mae of all people was the one who convinced her to do it. Mae can be persuasive as heck, which is good in a way, maybe?
Mae was a little bummed out when Bea refused to let her drive home. It’s not like she’s drunk or anything.
Geez, you hadn’t got your driver’s license yet. Just because you’re sober doesn’t mean you’re eligible to drive, that’s not how driving works, Mae.
Besides, who’s to say you can handle a vehicle when you can’t even focus on college. Ugh, stupid effing brain, I swear something’s definitely wrong with you.
She then slumped in her seat on the passenger side and took a glance at the time.
Wow can’t believe it’s late already. Hope dad’s not worried sick.
A loud sputter of Bea’s car snapped Mae out of her train of thought, and she frowned.
God, if this piece of a crap car breaks down in the middle of nowhere this late at night, I am definitely not gonna push it all the way back home.
Geez Mae, way to go on being the friend Bea needs right now. Hold that thought. Friend? Bea still hates me, right? Or… does she not anymore?
Bea was certainly a tough one; Mae could never tell what the gator was thinking in that mind of hers.
Well, Bea did apologize for what she had said the night before, which Mae didn’t get a single word of it, or did she? She was drunk as heck last night, so she couldn’t really tell.
The only thing she could tell was that Bea was furious and she couldn’t remember why. Her hangover this morning didn’t really help much at all. Maybe she should ask Gregg more about what happened.
Mae could vaguely recall Bea mentioning something regarding college and a thought popped in her mind: Wasn’t Bea supposed to be at college around this time?
Bea had always brought up her dreams of going to college and settling down somewhere other than Possum Springs when they were little. The heck was she still doing here? Something must’ve gone wrong and Mae didn’t know what.
Was it because of her mom? Mae thought. No, that wouldn’t have made any sense. Bea could still attend college after her mom died right?
If there’s something that Mae knew about herself, is that her tolerance for alcohol is shitty low, which will pretty much cause her to say dumb shit. And last night was no exception.
Mae panicked slightly; her eyes widened. Oh god, did I say something stupid to her? I hope not.
She calmed for a bit and resumed her blank stare at noting in particular. The silence was really uncomfortable for her. She took a slow glance at Bea and noticed that Bea’s snout was facing her directly, though not making any eye contact.
Is this how alligators drive? Huh, weird, but cool!
Bea was able to sense Mae looking at her. She took a deep sigh, eyes still locked on the road ahead.
“What?” she snarked.
Mae continued to stare at her ‘friend’? Geez, way to go at believing in yourself, Mae. They did talk when they were at the mall, why was it hard to initiate a conversation with Bea now?
You can do this Mae, you’re always a smooth talker, you’re a smoothie. Anything would be fine, really. She opened her mouth to speak.
“You really sure you’ve never shoplifted before in your life?”
She mentally facepalmed herself. Goddamnit Mae, anything but that! We’ve talked about this at the mall already! Stupid, stupid Mae! Maybe that’s part of a reason you didn’t make any friends at college!
“Seriously Mae, haven’t we talked about this already?” she scoffed, “Do I look like someone who finds shoplifting fun?”
“Weeellllll, you can’t deny that you had a great time!” Mae tried to flash her best smile at Bea, which made her look more like she was in pain.
That wasn’t completely true, but she’s not wrong either. “Apart from the shoplifting and greasy mall food that is. Yeah, I guess it was pretty okay.”
They drove in silence again after that. Every attempt of a conversation with Bea seemed to always die out so quickly.
Geez, Beatrice is zero fun. Can’t blame her though, she hadn’t open up to me completely, not… not after what I did…
Well this scene was awfully familiar, except that Bea didn’t turn on the radio. That’s a good sign, right?
Maybe Beatrice still want to talk? Though that didn’t seem to be the case. Minutes had passed, and the silence was still going strong and Mae frowned.
This is hopeless.
The thing that Mae Borowski hated the most when hanging out with her friends was none other than awkward silences. The least she could do right now was to kick herself out of this moving car; not too late to throw herself into traffic instead.
Bea on the other hand, was never fazed by awkward silences. In fact, she loved it. She always find socializing tiring, especially with someone like Mae.
It’s not that Mae was a bad person to socialize with. She was undoubtedly trying her ass off most of the time, but she’s just so dense. Yes, she did listen to some of Bea’s problems, but she just wouldn’t understand.
And as for Jackie, well Jackie was different, she could understand her problems and give proper advice.
Bea soon realized Mae had forgotten something. She didn’t want to remind Mae about it. She’d have to spend more money if she did.
She took a quick and short glance towards the cat and was met with the feline’s round and wide amber eyes, looking at her intensely. Geez, how long had she been staring at me like that?
“Hey, Bea?” Her voice was audible with a hint of excitement.
God, no. Please don’t tell me she remembers. Bea let out a deep, long sigh and asked, “What do you want?”
“Are we still getting ice cream?” she asked expectantly, legs bouncing around her seat.
Crap.
Bea had hoped that Mae had forgotten about it. Bea thought about it for a moment. If it weren’t for Mae trying her best to cheer Bea up, she wouldn’t even consider it.
“Yeah, sure. Why not.” Bea responded.
Mae’s eyes lit up upon hearing that. She didn’t expect Bea to take her offer seriously. “Really?”
“Nothing wrong in fulfilling God’s order, is there?” Bea teased.
“Well, if that’s the case, I’m sure God Stevenson will appreciate much,” Mae snickered in return.
“Oh, of course she will, it’s not like she’s the one paying anyway,” Bea snorted.
“Hey!”
~~~
“Seriously Mae? You’ve inhaled it before I got a look, again.” Bea deadpanned.
Bea had just returned to the booth with her ice cream in hand only to find out that Mae had already finished hers.
That’s a one-way ticket to get a brain freeze alright.
“Geez, my brain effing hurts…” Mae gripped on both sides of her head and started to rub her temples. That ice cream hit her right on the spot.
Well, good to know I was right.
“It really sucks that we don’t have our own ice cream place back in Possum Springs. Ya know, since the flood took out our only mini golf place.”
“Mhm.”
“And earlier today I found out that Pastabilities is gone!” Mae whined. She paused for a moment and frowned. “Crap, I just made myself sad.”
Oh really? Gotta order pizza from out by the highway from now on then, tragic.
Speaking of sad, a sad Mae was not what Bea get to see very often. Bea always pegged Mae as an easygoing and carefree person. Aside from last night that is.
For one, she’d successfully made a fool out of herself in front of everyone, her ex-boyfriend specifically. Mae got herself horribly drunk and Bea couldn’t completely blame it on the feline. Who’d have the guts to try to talk to their ex after a disastrous prom night and to only puke right in front of them after.
Bea wouldn’t even bear to look at the guy that she’d bang with during 11th grade in the face. She cursed to herself and immediately shoved that thought in the back of her mind.
Bea thought more about last night and recalled those harsh words she’d lashed out at Mae that made her cry her eyes out. Maybe she was too hard on Mae, and she would be lying if she wasn’t glad that Mae never got a single word of it.
Or had she been lying just to make Bea feel better? That would’ve made Bea feel even worse about it.
As much as Bea hated to admit it, she missed the old days when she hung out with Mae as kids, the day they’d caught Boxy the turtle, the day when Mrs. Crangler taught them how to square dance. Those were real good times for Bea.
Until this day she still didn’t know why Mae ditched her in the first place. She hated her for that, she still do, a little? She wasn’t even sure of that herself.
Mae’s return from college was a shock to Bea, and her feelings towards it was complicated. A part of her hated Mae for coming home, and another part of her was glad that she’s back. Gregg and Angus would be leaving soon, and she’ll be left to rot alone in Possum Springs.
It’s good to have company at least.
Bea also had zero clue on why Mae gave up the only thing she can’t have. Mae would just dodge the question whenever Bea asked, twice to be exact.
“Bea. Hellooooo, Bea?” Mae waved her hand in front of Bea but earned no response from the gator.
“Bea!” Mae shouted.
“Please don’t fire me!” Bea blurted in response.
“I’m sorry, what?” Mae raised her brow in confusion. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.
Bea too was dumbfounded at what she’d just said to Mae. God, the stress at work had truly been driving her crazy. It’s not her fault that the world kept testing her limits.
Deep breaths Bea, deep breaths. Oh, who am I kidding, literally just build me a coffin and bury me anywhere else please, whatevergod. Or maybe I’d just have Mae do it for me when she stops by the store later this week.
Bea finally regained her composure and was met with Mae’s concerned gaze.
She’d never seen Mae this worried about her. She usually was worried about stuff like the end of the world, but people was definitely not in her list of worries.
Maybe she’d grown up a little bit? Whatever, she’s still a kid and will always stay that way.
“Uh… the hell was that all about?” Mae questioned inquisitively, waiting patiently for answers from the gator.
“Like you’d understand. It’s nothing, really. Don’t worry about it,” Bea snorted in response.
Wow look at Beatrice effing Santello, being both a bitch and a terrible liar. Mae… she’s just worried alright? She… she did try to make you laugh. M-Maybe she’s trying to make it up for what she’s done. Bea instantly intercept that thought with a new one.
No… hell no I’ll forgive her that easily. She still has plenty more chances to get the fuck out of Possum Springs. Unlike you… you’re just stuck here with zero chance of escape. Mae ditched you not once, but twice… sorta, and she’ll fucking do it again if she fucking wants to. A… a valedictorian that can’t go to college… PATHETIC. She practically threw away your wildest dream. You hate her, you hate her, you HATE her!
Why are you being such a inconsiderate jerk? You admit that you hate her but look at you now. Would you hang out with someone you hate? Treat them to dinner and ice cream, perhaps? She chose you… over Gregg, her… her best friend from high school… doesn’t mean anything whatsoever.
She did mention that college didn’t work out for her, so there must be a reason why she came back. Try to listen to her side of the story at the very least, give her some time for that, alright? Beatrice decided to just leave it that way. Was she making the right judgement? That’d have to wait.
“Alright, whatever you say.”
Mae crossed her arms. She was pretty sure that it wasn’t ‘nothing’. Typical of Bea to just shrug off her problems, probably something related to work.
She decided to let it slide and to not push further for information. She’d known better that Bea’s family as well as the Ol’ Pickaxe were both sensitive subjects to Bea when she got her ass kicked out of Bea’s car the night when they’d found the severed arm on the sidewalk.
Bea looked tired alright, Mae thought. The wrinkles on her face and bags under her eyes gave it all away. How long had she been looking like this? Mae felt sorry for her, but what could she possibly do to help? If only she hadn’t ditched her back in the day…
Why was Mae such a jerk? She’d been Bea’s only fri- best friend at elementary school, and Mae had dumped her after they had that big argument during 6th grade. Thinking it back made her cringed a little. No closure, no nothing, just… abandonment.
Mae still felt bad about all of it. She’d known about the passing of Bea’s mom during senior year, and yet she’d left Bea to grieve on her own. It’s no wonder Jackie hated her guts when Mae tried to talk to her. She didn’t even bother to acknowledge her presence last night.
Mae wanted to apologize so badly. She wanted to tell Bea how sorry she was for being an asshole. She reckoned now’s not the time for it, she’d just improved Bea’s mood at the mall. She’d made her laugh, which was somewhat an impossible task for Mae. She’d never seen Bea laugh or smile for years.
The two were met with silence once more. There’s not really much to talk about between the two. Neither of them wanted to bring up the others’ sensitive topic, with Bea’s lifestyle in Possum Springs and Mae’s experience at college.
Maybe it was a bad idea to come here after all, Bea thought. Why did she agree to do this in the first place? Ugh, stupid Mae and her childish antics. Bea wasn’t a big fan of ice cream anyway.
She had calmed down a little from her mental debate with herself. She caught a glimpse at Mae, whose gaze was focused entirely on the ground. Mae looked up and smiled at her sheepishly, twiddling around with her paws. Bea found it adorable in a way.
“Uh, are you gonna finish that?” Mae said, pointing a finger at Beatrice’s half melted ice cream. Unlike Bea, ice cream had been one of Mae’s all-time favorites besides tacos, pizzas and pancakes. Melted or not, ice cream always made Mae feel better.
Was Mae serious about- Whatever, this is Mae Borowski we’re talking about and Bea’s too tired to give a shit about anything else at the moment.
“Sure. Knock yourself out.” Bea replied nonchalantly.
~~~
Mae looked out the window and was greeted by the sight of autumn trees and streetlights that whizzed past the car. Autumn was her favorite season and she loved autumn trees. They were so beautiful that they’d always make her feel like crying.
The particular sight reminded Mae of a dream she had. The dream she had when she was in the bus on the way home, or maybe she saw it out the window, she wasn’t completely sure about that.
The trip from Durkillesburg took a couple hours, and Mae swore that she was half asleep the whole journey. Last leaf on a tree, finally blown off. It was kind of sad, Mae never knew what it meant.
Mae’s dreams were always weird and ridiculous. She had a dream where she gathered around a bonfire with her friends last Longest Night, then the one on the bus. And the dream she had last night was beyond horrible. It felt like she was living in it.
She recalled herself gripping a bat tightly in her arms, roaming around the college town of Durkillesburg. She ran through abstract parts of the town, vandalized cars, streetlights, trashcans, and was soon met with the town’s neon sign. She ran towards it, bashed it and instinctively spelled out the word ‘killer’, and during her encounter with the crappy statue, she heard… voices… voices of people chanting ‘killer’ that got louder and louder with every passing second. Her vision blurred, and all she could picture was a bunch of shapes of all sizes. It made her angry, very angry, and the only thing her body told her was to beat the crap out of the statue the way she beat up poor Andy Cullen, that was all she could remember.
Mae had chosen the wrong time to think about this. It made her head throb and she was feeling a little woozy. She held her urge to puke. She couldn’t afford to puke in Bea’s car again, her mom would- No. Bad Mae, Bea’s mom was long gone and the last thing she needs is you reminding her about it.
Mae tightly gripped on both sides of her head and let out a groan of pain, which successfully caught the attention of the gator next to her.
“Hey, you doing alright there?” Bea questioned with a slightly concerned look.
For the first time Bea actually cared about her well-being since she came back, Mae thought. Maybe she should get paid for it. She did try to offer her some gum earlier, though Bea accepts cash only for payment and well, Mae Borowski never believed in money and didn’t choose to born in this society, so there’s that.
“I- I’m fine,” Mae answered. “Just a little headache that’s all. Nothing to worry about. Probably tired.”
“There’s some headache meds in the glove compartment, you can take half if you really need it,” Bea said.
“Only half?”
“Mae, I don’t mean to be rude but… you’re tiny.”
“Gee, thanks Beatrice,” Mae joked, “but seriously, I’m fine.”
“If you say so…”
It’s just a dream Mae, nothing to worry about.
She didn’t want to worry Bea too much. The poor gator already had too much to worry about, such as work. Seems to Mae that Bea’s tired about life in general.
Come to think of it, Mae hadn’t seen Mr. Santello anywhere in The Pickaxe ever since she came back. Weird, she used to see him every day when she was younger, standing at Bea’s place.
She wondered if Creek still works there? She didn’t really like him that much. He always acted weird around her and Bea when they’re playing at the back. Her train of thought was interrupted when Bea broke the silence.
“Hey, Mae?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know that Gr-” Bea hesitated, “Actually, never mind. Forget I said that.”
Should she be spilling Gregg and Angus’ plan for Bright Harbor to Mae? Probably not. How would Mae even react to this? Bea figured Gregg should be the one to break it to the cat. When the couple first announced it to her, she didn’t take it that well herself.
Of course, she didn’t express her disappointment in front of the couple. She was more than happy for them, a little jealous of course, that they were finally able to escape this hellhole of a town. Every one of her friends seemed to get that chance except her. Beatrice Santello was destined to stuck at Possum Springs for the rest of her life it seems.
“Is it something important?” Mae asked.
“No,” Bea spat bitterly, realizing her mistake, “Just… drop it.” This was not a conversation Bea’s looking forward to.
“You should tell me if it’s something important, because-”
“I said DROP IT!” Bea snapped.
Mae flinched instantly at Bea’s sudden outburst, and slowly sunk further into her seat.
Shit.
It didn’t take long for Bea to realize that she was the one at fault and not Mae. It wasn’t Mae’s fault that her mother died, it wasn’t Mae’s fault that she’s not able to attend college, and it’s not Mae’s fault that she’s stuck in that goddamn town.
You should apologize to her, before-
“I’m sorry Bea… for being pushy,” Mae murmured, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
Drat. That made Bea feel even more guilty about it. Mae… Mae was just curious about something she brought up, and she snapped at her just like that. Did she deserve it though?
“You’re not being pushy, Mae,” Bea reassured, “It’s just you being curious. There’s a difference.”
“B-But… I must’ve said something that made you mad, Bea. I-”
“Look, it’s not your fault alright? It’s… it’s just me being a bitch, very typical of me,” Bea cut her off. She let out an audible sigh after a prolonged silence, “I’m surprised you chose to hang out with me tonight after all that, even when I’m being distant and unapproachable.”
Bea was pretty sure that Mae would hang out with Gregg after band practice, and was astonished when she came up to her instead after a little chat with the fox.
“Beatrice, let me lay this out. First, you’re anything but a bitch. It’s just who you are, and bitch is not the word for it.” Mae paused for a moment, carefully choosing the right words to not piss Bea off again. “Second, the reason I hang out with you is… is because I feel that I need to patch some things up? With you? If that makes sense? And finally, you being distant and unapproachable is understandable. Maybe it’s the karma I deserve for what I did back in 7th grade and I don’t want to go into that.”
7th grade.
Bea couldn’t really remember what exactly happened back then, or why. Her and Mae just stopped talking and acknowledging each other after that big fight they had.
What was it about anyway? It didn’t really help that Bea couldn’t recall anything after 8 freaking years old.
As much as she wanted answers from the feline next to her, she reckoned that now’s not the time for that. The cat looked pretty worn out herself.
On the bright side, at least she’s sorry about it. Was she really? Ugh, whatever. All Bea wanted was to get home and hit the sack right away.
“That sounds ok… by me.”
~~~
Several minutes of driving later the familiar town sign of Possum Springs came into view. Soon came in the view of the graveyard, the cramped roadworks that were specifically for the fall, followed by the Borowski household.
It wasn’t difficult to differentiate Mae’s house from the others; they still had the Longest Night star decoration hanging at the front.
Bea pulled up her car by the curb, shifted the gear to neutral and pulled up the handbrake.
She looked at the passenger side to find Mae scribbling in her notebook and noticed that Mae had brought it with her wherever she went: the diner, the pickaxe, …the party.
“Aaaaand… all done!” Mae closed her notebook with a thud. She turned her head to regard the gator next to her.
“Soooooooo…” she muttered.
“So?” Bea questioned, quirking a brow.
“Guess I’ll see you tomorrow, at The Pickaxe?”
“Yep. That’s my life right there.” Bea deadpanned.
“S-sorry you gotta spend money on me.”
“Don’t mention it, seriously.”
Mae smiled at Bea, unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door handle before-
“Hey, Mae?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for hanging out with me… and cheering me up. I appreciate it.” Bea’s mouth slightly twitched upward, a rare sight for Mae even if it’s just for a few seconds. When was the last time she’d seen Bea smile? “I- I’ve never laughed that hard for a long, long time,” Bea continued, “and I really had a wonderful time tonight, not gonna lie.”
“See? I’m good to have around,” Mae said.
“Maybe. We’ll have to see about that,”
“Heh. Maebea,”
“For the love of God, please don’t make me regret what I said.” Bea groaned
“Oh, you’ll love my puns someday Beatrice. There’s plenty more where that came from!” Mae chirped.
“Ok now, time for you to go. I’ve got work tomorrow.”
“Oh, uh, see ya then!” Mae got out of the car, slammed the door shut and trotted her way to her house performing her signature hop, skip, and jump. It was cute someway, Bea thought.
Mae turned around and waved at Bea, in which Bea held up her hand in return before Mae entered the house.
Not much about Mae had changed since a couple years back but a part of Bea begged to differ that statement about the cat. She would have to wait and see after a few days, or weeks probably.
Guess I’ll have to accept Mae for who she is.
Bea sighed, taking one final glance of the house before pulling out, and drove back towards her apartment.