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It was a silent and awkward atmosphere in the sterile infirmary. The squeaking of the cot’s springs served as the only ambient noise, as brown eyes stared into blue.
And considering the brown-eyed girl just had her life threatened by a man who really didn’t want to hear anything relating to his secret, who could blame either of them? Luckily, her savior came in the form of the blue-eyed woman. The same blue-eyed woman who mercilessly tore into her not a couple of hours prior. But the conviction in those blue eyes shined brightly, as she made it her duty to start anew and become friends with the other girl. To which the friendlier girl was quick to reciprocate.
Eden stammered, as she attempted to strike up a conversation with her. Arei’s high-pitched voice was quick to cut her off. But, unlike previous instances, in which sugary malice was slathered over her words like an unappealing lump of frosting, the bowler’s words here seemed tinged with a tragic feeling of regret.
“I know. And…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have ripped into you like that. You were not responsible for Min’s death. Or Xander’s for that matter…”
On the last statement, Arei’s head hung down, as she blew the long blue bangs framing the left side of her face out of her eyes. Even from her body language alone, Eden could easily tell that she misses both Min and Xander, even long after their bodies have already hit the floor. As if she were mirroring the somber pose of the girl next to her, Eden hung her head down too.
“It’s okay, Arei. I-I can easily tell that you miss both of them. The baking…and the arm wrestling. While they both…er…didn’t end well-”
“Um. Understatement, much?”
“-they almost made us forget about this whole killing game situation. You’re not alone in missing Xander or Min. I’m sure we all do.”
Arei was quick to click her tongue in displeasure at that last statement.
“Not Teruko! That b*tch laughed after that execution! She’s been acting all batsh*t ever since the trial!”
The clockmaker couldn’t help but wince at Arei’s momentary relapsing into her initial personality. And the bowler’s face after her statement indicated that the shock and disappointment was mutual.
“Come on, Arei! Don’t say that! I can’t exactly speak for Teruko, but even I can tell just how close she is to both of them. I couldn’t really blame her for being on edge around us, after we all were quick to blame her for Xander’s murder.”
Arei’s shock on her face was quick to turn into frustration as she threw her hands up in the air, before slamming them back down onto the cot with enough force to cause the sound of the cot’s springs to fill the otherwise empty and awkward air.
“Ugh! You see?! This is what separates you from me! Even in a situation like this, you can still see the good in everyone! Even when the people around you treat you like sh*t! And here I am! Treating everybody around me like trash, just like my school days! Walking around, acting like this was going to net me any friends! How do you even manage to keep up this happy attitude?! How do you get to wake up and not feel like everyone around you is ready to just backstab you?!”
For a split-second, Eden’s observant eyes catched Arei’s eyes watering, before quickly drying up, as if the feelings Arei described were a constant in her life. The clockmaker’s heart squeezed in discomfort just imagining what sort of life could possibly lead to the mindset being laid out in front of her.
Arei was only snapped back into reality thanks to a firm yet warm pressure on one of her hands. Her eyes slowly climbed up from her own hand, to the gloved hand on top of hers, to the tanned arm connected to it, to the brown eyes framed by red glasses that sparkled with a heartfelt sense of determination. While taken aback, something about the look in Eden’s eyes prevented Arei from attempting to wrestle free of the clockmaker’s grasp.
“Listen, Arei! I know that, in this scenario, it’s very easy to distrust the people around you. To lash out and say or do stuff that hurts those people. But falling to these impulses wouldn’t do anybody any good. Which is why, even if it seems like the world is against you, you should always try and make the choice to be kind. And, one of these days, the kindness you hand out to the world will be returned to you before you know it.”
A scoff emerged from the bowler’s lips, as they twisted into a sardonic smile.
“Maybe you had those options, but someone like me never had that chance. In my world, choosing niceness got you nowhere but the rock bottom of the popularity scale.”
Eden tilts her head in confusion, as if wordlessly asking Arei how she could possibly think that. Without even thinking of breaking the handholding, Arei steeled herself and took a deep breath, ready to rip the bandage holding her worldview into place.
“Come to think of it, I never did tell you my secret, did I?”
The silent shaking of Eden’s head was the final impetus for said bandage to be completely ripped off.
“Well, the bottom line is, I framed my sisters for just about everything under the sun. Stealing, vandalism, you name it. And before you get on my case about it being so terrible, I had to do it. It was the only way I could stop their torment. Day in and day out, I get pushed around and beaten up by those two b*tches, while they do everything they can to let me know just how much of a useless weakling I am. Yes, my own flesh and blood dedicated practically their entire lives to making me miserable.”
“W-What?! Your own sisters treated you like that?! Arei, that’s t-”
“Torture? Couldn’t agree more. And if you thought dealing with their torment at home was bad enough, I couldn’t even escape their torture in school! They were queen bees! Top of the food chain! They’ve got the whole school underneath their command! And if anyone dares to speak out against my sisters, well, both them and their braindead cronies will torment them without any mercy. And yes, that included me. Cafeteria food getting thrown into my face, getting shoved down the stairs, getting my books and backpack stolen and vandalized and…what’s easily the worst of all…t-telling me to k-kill myself…several times, in fact.”
The further Arei went down that mental train track, the more tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. But, the tightening grip on the bowler’s hand and the sobbing sounds emanating from the girl next to her indicated that she was getting beaten to the punch.
“What? Why are you the one crying?”
Eden futilely attempted to wipe her tears and clear up her speech, but hiccups and sobs continued to spill out of her mouth.
“I-It’s just s-so sad…n-no-no one should have to l-live like t-t-this…you deserve better…”
Rolling her eyes, although not without a tinge of regret for making Eden cry a second time, Arei took note of the tissue box across from her. After passing them to the sobbing girl next to her, the bowler took note of just how many tissues the other girl pulled out in order to stop the flow of her numerous large globs of tears. In her empathy-induced fit of grief, Eden was close to practically gutting the tissue box of all the tissues contained in it with one fell swoop.
“C’mon, Eden. Wipe your tears. You look like a hot mess! Anyways, you don’t need to be crying your little head off for me. I’ve already come to terms with the sh*tty life I’ve lived and the sh*tty person I’ve been. But…my situation has…changed now. I’m now around people that are kinder and more mature…like you…and now, I know that this world was nicer than I thought it would be…that’s what David told me.”
On the last statement, Arei grimaced, remembering what she originally was planning to discuss with David, before Eden and Teruko oh-so rudely interrupted them. After making sure that Eden successfully dug herself out of her trench of gut-wrenching sorrow, the bowler steeled her guts and prepared herself to open another door that she would otherwise keep hidden.
“Can I…tell you something else, Eden?”
After shoving aside the pile of used tissues, Eden put on her best smile. Although it was still noticeably subpar, compared to her normal smiles.
“Of course, Arei! We’re friends now!”
In one, out one. In one, out one.
“I know what David’s secret is.”
“Oh, right! Teruko and I did hear you talking with David. Was his secret the one you received?”
“No…Whit was the one who had his secret…I just happened to peek over Whit’s shoulder…for curiosity’s sake, you know me. It said, and I quote, “You exist to manipulate others. Everyone else exists to be taken advantage of.”.”
In an instant, the rapidly-warming atmosphere of the infirmary dissipated. One could hear a pin drop in the ensuing silence. Eden’s eyes darted to just about every object in the infirmary. The pile of tissues, the cabinets, even the clock on the wall, she tries to focus on something, anything, apart from the secret she witnessed spilling out of her protector’s mouth.
“I-Is that t-”
“Yep, read straight off the slip of paper. And, yes, I was just about as shocked as you. The old me would’ve thought nothing of it. Just a little bit of blackmail material to hold over Mister Inspirational Speaker’s head. But ever since he told me I could change, that things are going to get better from here on out, I’ve just been…scared.”
Arei stuttered and hesitated over the last word, as if not accustomed to speaking those sorts of emotions out loud.
“After he said all of that, I was just…confused by all this. At first, I believed this secret-revealing plan of his would work. That there would be no more murders. But, because of this plan, everybody started fighting with each other, and you even had your life threatened by Arturo. And I couldn’t help but think, what if that was David’s plan? To cause more murders to happen? Did that heart-to-heart mean nothing?! Am I nothing but a pawn to him?! Or could he even be a remorseless killer just like-”
In an instant, the squeezing feeling on top of Arei’s hand returned, as the mistiness in her eyes faded and focused on the determined face of the girl in front of her.
“Arei, please listen to me. I probably cannot speak for David’s, um, current objections. But I do know that living in this constant fear isn’t going to do anybody any good, you least of all! This is exactly what MonoTV wants! And you know that robot, he’s probably trying to rephrase these secrets to make us all look bad! Like, maybe that manipulation was just a one-time thing, and he’s gotten better about it! Or maybe this secret was just meant to make David and his career look bad! Whatever it is, I think it would be best for David to be given the benefit of the doubt.”
Deep down, Arei knew that Eden was just scrambling for anything to prove that David isn’t a potential threat. But at this point, Arei decided to shove those negative feelings to the side, and appreciate this display of optimism for once, however naive it may seem. And even if it was towards someone in as much of a current grey area as David.
And then, the bowler flashed a genuine smile, nothing like her previous cruel sneers or grins of feigned innocence. Eden couldn’t help but get a warm feeling in both her chest and her face from seeing her words visibly get through to the bowler. Especially after getting so harshly rebuked not a couple of hours prior.
“You know, Eden. I would’ve loved to have someone like you back in the day. Someone that offered me friendship and kind words and kind actions in my sh*thole of a school. Someone who would look my way and help me out, when my sisters tormented me. Someone who can show me the goodness of the world, and remind me that some people actually deserve a chance, instead of just being pushed away. Someone who was…a friend to me. Maybe I would have been an actually nice person, someone who had actual real friends, instead of the b*tch that I am, who only has minions and enemies. I…really wish I had you in my life sooner.”
When Arei focused her eyes back on Eden, a very noticeable blush was spread across the clockmaker’s flustered face, as she shily twiddled her gloved fingers.
“What?”
“I-It’s just…what you said sounded kinda…romantic?”
And now it was Arei’s turn for the heat to rush to her face.
“A-Alright! That’s enough mushy sh*t for one day! C’mon, Eden! You w-wanted to do that stupid clockmaking activity, right? Well, let’s go!”
Just as quickly as the blush appeared on her face, Arei stood up and power-walked her way out of the infirmary, while not letting go of Eden’s hand. The clockmaker momentarily stumbled, as she tried to match her steps with the rapidly-moving and very flustered bowler. As much as Eden wishes to kick herself for ruining a tender moment with her romantic feelings, she couldn’t help but smile at the girl in front of her.
Eden was never a big fan of the color blue, for she always found it depressing and melancholy, especially if it completely smothers traces of any other color.
But after everything that has transpired, she can easily make one exception.