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"Aaaaaaaand there," Cleo said, tossing a tattered mattress out of her and Akila's bedroom door. Once it was taken care of, she slid the door closed and wiped her hands. "Now, that is an ordeal I never want to go through again."
"Wow, no kidding," Akila said, looking at the now completely empty closet they'd just cleaned out. It'd been a mess of old mattresses, paper clutter, clothes that Akila had forgotten she ever owned, and other things that were best left forgotten. "I can't believe we emptied the whole thing."
Cleo rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I stayed to clean the whole thing. Not to mention what was in it! How long were you just throwing things in there before I showed up in this time period?"
"Mmmmmm…" Akila's fingers went to her chin as she thought. "…yeah, my memory doesn't go back that far, so that's more of a Bri-Bri question. He's the one into quantum mechanics."
"Oy." Cleo rolled her eyes. "Well, at least it's done. And now that it is, Akila," Cleo said grandly gesturing towards it with a smile, "back in you go!"
Akila's face soured. Instantly. "I-I'm sorry, what?"
"Go back in," Cleo said, her smile not wavering. "I still totally love having my huge space out here, so it'd be awesome if you went back to living inside that tiny space in there. You get it, right?"
"You get it, wrong!" Akila exclaimed, hands on hips. "Excuse you, but I am never going back in the closet! It was horrible in there!" She started in on Cleo, finger pointed straight at her supposed friend. "I know you suckered me into doing a lot of terrible things the last couple of days because I have trouble refusing people, but guess what? The era of Akila the Sucker is over!"
Cleo stood her ground, her expression brightening… which only served to agitate Akila more. "What? You don't believe me, or something?"
With a contented exhale, Cleo put her hand on Akila's shoulder. "Thank you. I totally believe you, Akila—and what you said is exactly what I wanted to hear."
"W-wha-huh?" Akila babbled, blinking—a lot—and her head darting back and forth. "Very confused right now, no idea where to channel frustration—"
"Nah, you can keep it coming my way," Cleo said. "See, since I trust Brian… more or less, depending on the situation, I knew your streak of 'never saying no' to anything anyone asks was probably going to end, not long after he put his mind to it. So I figured, 'hey, may as well get as much out of it as I can, right?'"
With a long exhale, Cleo cast her gaze low.
"But… yeah. Then, the Scavengers almost got you. Cause Brian and I pressured you into doing something that was bad for you in a ton of ways. And then they almost got me, but…" Cleo stepped forward, taking Akila's hand in hers. "…you saved me anyway. Even if I didn't deserve it."
"Awwww, Cleo." Akila scoffed, looking aside as her cheeks tinted. "I-I mean, I wasn't gonna not do that. 'Deserving' doesn't enter into it. Not as a team. Right?'"
"Definitely a team," Cleo said. "Still, when my life was flashing before my eyes up there, my dad came into the picture, and I remembered something he always told me, about preparing to ascend to the crown." She shrugged. "I mean, I didn't really wanna ascend, but I'd listen anyway to humor him."
"Ooooh, this is legendary historical stuff!" Akila bounced. "What would he tell you?"
"Well…" Cleo said, "He'd always tell me, first rule of pharaohing: always delegate. Second rule of pharaohing: delegates are only as good as their motivation."
Akila nodded, still bouncing—but stopped when she felt Cleo squeeze her hands, and look into her eyes.
"And, third rule of pharaohing..." Cleo said, her voice now tender and reverent, "…know the difference between a delegate, and a friend." Cleo sighed, looking away. "Turns out, he knew what he was talking about. I miss him. A ton."
"Cleo…" Akila said, rubbing her thumbs along Cleo's hands.
"But, if I can't see him anymore," Cleo said, looking back up, "I can at least honor what he taught me. And not make dumb mistakes that almost cost my best friend her life, or her freedom. I'm sorry, Akila. Can you forgive me?"
For moments, all was silence as Akila processed Cleo's words.
Then Akila's eyes widened. Then her smile widened. Then her ears widened, just as she heard Akila take the biggest breath.
"…uh-oh," Cleo said, moments before she was tacklehugged to the ground, with no chance to brace herself.
"Awwww, Cleo!" Akila squealed, trapping the other girl in a sniffle-laden vice grip of an embrace. "Of course I forgive you! You are the bestest friend in the whole universe!"
"G-glad to have the title," Cleo choked. "Does it come with less of a pain factor, maybe?"
"Right, right, sorry," Akila said, sitting up and allowing Cleo to do the same. "Though, can I say, that was a really good speech you made just now? I could almost hear the soft, sad sitcom music playing behind you!"
Cleo blinked. "What's a 'sitcom'?"
"Oh, they're like our life, but way less funny." Akila stood up, dusting herself off. "I'd catch you up on them, but those were the first thing to go during the Blight. I'm not even sure I blame Octavian on that one."
"Huh." Cleo followed Akila's lead. "The more I hear about this Blight, the crazier it gets."
"Yes, well, I assure you," Khensu said as the door slid open without warning, "for all the damage the Blight has done, I could swear half of its evidence can be found in the hallway outside." He tilted his head towards Akila and Cleo. "What even did I just step through to get in here?"
"Oh! Cleo and I cleaned out our closet! Now no one will ever mistake it for a second bedroom." Akila cast a sidelong glance towards Cleo, who shrank back with a sheepish titter.
"…yes, closets generally aren't those. Well, I'm very glad to see you taking an interest in organization," Khensu said, "but, judging by the hallway, you're about a third done at best. All that refuse has to actually be properly disposed of."
"Oh, come on! This is the future!" Cleo wailed. "Don't you have, like, a pickup service or something?"
"Yes," Khensu said. "It's called, 'whoever's throwing it out, gets to pick it up themselves and put it in its place.'"
"But the disposals are all the way across campus!" Akila wailed.
"Indeed," Khensu said, hopping on his hover disc. "If you start now, you should be able to make it back by dinner." He clapped his paws together. "Chop, chop."
Cleo watched Khensu float out the bedroom and off to parts unknown. "I guess this is karma all over again."
"Don't worry. Some of us don't like seeing our friends suffering alone… by which I mean, I'm calling Brian." Akila grinned. "He's got karma to work off, too. Also, strong, stretchy arms. Like, really strong. And really stretchy."
Cleo giggled. "Good call. Hey, um, Akila?" she asked, as the only question she had left came to mind.
"Yeah?" Akila pulled up her tab. "What's up?"
"Before you call Brian… I never asked. How come you always had so much trouble saying 'no', up till today?"
Akila's chipper expression faded, quickly and decisively. In its place was what Cleo could only describe as an uneasy, fearful dismay—enough to make Cleo step back. "Hey, i-if it's, like… an uncomfortable thing? You don't have to tell me. Forget I asked."
"Yeah," Akila said, her voice far away. "Kind of is." Her smile returned, but it was small, completely unable to counter the sadness on her face, or in her voice. "Might talk about it one day. But… thanks for giving me time."
"Whoa, yeah, of course," Cleo said, stepping in and giving Akila a warm hug. "I'm here for you when you need me."
"Thanks," Akila said, hugging back and leaning in. "Sorry for the weird."
"Pfft, please." Cleo stepped back with a smile. "Of all the weird stuff I've seen in this future, a person who's got some stuff to deal with isn't one of them. Speaking from experience. Come on, let's get this trash done. I'll handle calling Brian."
As Cleo badgered Brian to come help with the trash, using words like "equal punishment" and "oil", Akila looked on into the distance, then closed her eyes.
As was so often the case when she did, another Vevosonian girl stared back at her. The girl waved, before turning, running… and fading away.
With a start and a gasp, Akila opened her eyes again. No sense in breaking down into tears when she had trash to carry. She hefted her bags.
"You okay?" Cleo said, looking back at Akila while she hefted a bag of her own. "Brian's on the way. Because I'm so persuasive."
Wordlessly, Akila nodded and smiled in reply.
Cleo did so in return, showing teeth and a winking wave, before turning back around and navigating towards the campus dumpsters and recycling bins.
And Akila almost dropped her bags right then and there.
Maybe the universe did believe in second chances.