Chapter Text
Second of June. The day was sunny, it was difficult to find places where the sun's rays would not hit. The atmosphere at school these past days has been wonderful, and therefore it is clear why. And so the last lessons passed with the last blossoming of a leaf on the tree. The end of the symbolic, half-hour melody of the school anthem slowly swept through the quiet corridors of the empty and seemingly silent school. High school students participating in a music group, dressed in colorful green uniforms, finally breathe a sigh of relief, as if after a hard day.
— Well played, you’re free - the teacher said loudly as he exhaled, lowering his baton.
— Tired? - a cheerful and girlish voice whispered from the back rows. Having quickly packed his things, the teacher wished them a good holiday and, waving goodbye, silently left.
— Yeah, another voice with a pleasant hoarseness answered, swallowing nervously. The bell rang and there was no trace of the students. The booming sound of the iron locker room door opening with all its might rang throughout the room; the last one to leave the room was clearly furious. However, she was not the last, or even before the last, to go out towards summer rest. The red-haired girl slowly approached the exit and suddenly hesitated. A moment later, she decided to turn around with full determination to blurt out something sharply, but soon she was caught in a stupor when she saw next to her a familiar face which she definitely did not expect to see in front of her now.
— Robin?
— Vicky, - Robin said with an awkward smile, looking slightly to the side. Slightly hesitating, she continued.
— I wanted to say-
Robin looked into her eyes and her determination in her soul suddenly disappeared. Looking at her eyes, it was as if a small fragment of terrible memories had been shot into her. In response, she simply crumpled up her almost outward thought and threw it somewhere into the distance, into oblivion. This was due to the fact that Robin had already been rejected once, which was certainly very difficult to cope with, especially for her. Her spirit was greatly shaken by this, so much so that she at times showed symptoms of mild depression, such as depressed mood, loss of self-esteem, poor concentration and fatigue. She believed that she needed to cope with this with friends. She was very lucky with her friends, even if she acquired them while fighting for humanity, fighting strange unearthly creatures.
— Have a nice weekend, see you - Robin said rather quietly, and without waiting for an answer she quickly walked out. Vicky stood in the doorway and seemed to be expecting something more.
— Y-you too! - she shouted after her into the void. It was as if Buckley had not been here if not for the tattered thick notebook that had fallen from her backpack. Vicky’s thoughts could be read from her face; she was upset with herself. The question is “What stops me from talking to her normally? After all, this is a normal thing to do." Unfortunately, she believes she has no excuse for this. Her failure that just happened irritated her until her gaze fell on the floor, on the notebook. Her heart suddenly quickened and she turned after the departed Robin in the hope that she would return to pick it up. Not seeing anyone, she guiltily picked it up and left the room. It was light outside, especially the yellow-orange color of the tall tulip trees standing on the sides of the stone path. The colorful look involuntarily made Vicky’s eyes squint and her hair shine. After waiting on the street, completely convinced that the owner of the notebook would indeed not come for her, she headed towards her house.
— She still hasn’t come? - said the guard closing the doors to the school.
— No, I’ll give it to her myself later. Thanks Liam! - Vicky waved goodbye. She really knows a lot of people from school, and not just from there. If there is anyone, it’s her - an extrovert who knows half the city where there are friends at almost every turn, which she was generally very grateful for. But that wasn’t enough, she wanted something closer than friends, something many times stronger. It couldn't be said that she had the most loyal, never-betraying friends, and that she was completely comfortable in friend groups. Most of the time she spent with them, she felt herself curling up more and more into a skein of loneliness. Over time, she noticed how much she cared about the opinion of society, but unfortunately she could not do anything about it because she was afraid. She was afraid of condemnation and the loss of her entire social circle, where everyone was similar to each other. Shortly before meeting Robin Buckley herself, she pretended not to hear all the rumors about her while walking through the corridors of a crowded high school, she was interested in her personality as people see it from the outside. She didn't know if she was interested in them, or in their partial absence.
— Buckley? Yes, it’s better not to mess with her, who knows.
— Really, who knows?
— Who knows who?
— Isn’t it the one who follows Thompson around and everywhere?
— She’s looking hot though, I would-
“What if they think about me that way too?” - thought Vicky, almost running into the restroom, just not to listen to this vulgarity. Approaching the dusty mirror, checking to see if her makeup had smudged, she heard the quiet rustle of clenched legs. Turning there, she saw a burgundy red backpack peeking around the corner. As soon as she wanted to ask if this girl or whoever was okay, the door swung open so hard that it hit the adjacent wall until the plaster fell.
— So there you are, - said Mary, another Vicky’s “friend.”
— We never go into this restroom. Let's get out of here, out of harm's way - With these words, she took Vicky's arm. She could only glance briefly at this maroon miracle that was disappearing around the corner of the booth.
***
— Steve, I screwed everything up again. - Robin said loudly as she entered the “family video,” her shared place of work with her faithful friend Steve. Taking a break from opening the boxes, he sat up tiredly.
— What did she do? - He already understood who she was talking about.
— No! - her answer was clearly heard. - The problem is what I did. I...I wished her a good weekend instead of suggesting to go for a walk or something like that. How do you make friends anyway? How did I even become friends with Nance? Oh right, we were collecting information about a mentally ill killer, damn it...
Steve looked at her with raised eyebrows, resting his hands on the table.
— It hurts, I can’t, I just can’t. This feeling that I can’t, just settles in me like mold and grows inside me, not just with what speed, but with what force. It's just, it's so-
— Depressing? - Steve added.
— Yes, exactly - suddenly a cassette tape fell from a nearby rack, which she accidentally touched with her elbow while actively gesturing.
— I should write this down in my diary - Buckley began rummaging through her backpack.