Archive of Our Own

Deel 7
The scene depicts a magnificent palace in the neoclassical style, with flags of
orange, white, and blue waving everywhere alongside colorful confetti. Slowly
but surely, MYMY Schoppenboer goes up the noble stairs of her palace in an
equally pompous dress.
The Queen of Japsterdam - she grins smugly, her eyes sparkling.
The rustling of her dress was only drowned out by the trumpets, worthy of Her
Majesty. She strolls along the decorated railing toward one of the palace's side
wings. Not only does the sun shine beautifully through the high-rising windows,
but also upon the proud VOC fleet, the Stroopwafel mountains of the
surrounding Japsterdam, and the Scholocaust camps at the edge of the city.
"Heh, I really made it," she exclaimed proudly.
Everything MYMY had ever wished for laid right before her:
Japsterdam, the absolute rule over the Untermenschen, and Captain Koek.
"Here I am. I did it."
Pride coursed through every fiber of her being. As she followed the long side
wing, beautifully painted portraits of herself artistically decorated the wall – all
drawn in classical styles. She passed by her room, above which her faithful
companion, her weapon, was hanging.
"I always knew these reusable bullets would lead me to victory one day.
Take that, Miss Persijn!"
What would be on the agenda today? What decisions would she have to make,
and how would she secure victory for Japsterdam?
Life as a queen was not easy—quite the opposite. Much responsibility and many
duties called her. But after all, she had worked her entire life for this moment
and had only waited for it. She was ready, and nothing would stop her—...
Yet suddenly, something strange was at the periphery of her vision. Her gaze
slowly but surely drifted from her left to the right. She had just passed her own
room, so next came...
MAYA's room.
She felt uneasy, but without much thought, she grabbed for the handle of the
red door. MYMY rarely thought much about her actions unless they were the
ones she had spent days planning beforehand. Otherwise, she acted before she
could overthink. Yet the slow opening of the door filled her with impressions
and emotions - thoughts that were hard to sort or grasp.
Confusion, a little bit of fear, but also...
A feeling of oppressiveness.
If moments ago a festive atmosphere had filled the space, the scenery now
shifted to daily life, so much so that it felt almost suffocating. MYMY stood at
the door, bathed in the yellowish light from the hallway, while she looked into
the dark room where MAYA sat alone in front of her gray, lonely PC, with only
the dim light of the screen lighting up the place.
"Hey, MAYA."
"Aagh!! Oh- h-hey, M-MYMY."
Quickly, she closed all the tabs still open on her PC. She spun around in several
panicked turns on her chair.
"Umm... W-What’s up?", MAYA asked in her panic.
"Dinner is ready. Are you coming?"
"Oh, uh, yeah, I... I'll be there soon. Just go ahead and start eating, I'll be r-right
there."
"Whatever you say," MYMY answered as she slowly closed the door, catching
one last glimpse of the dimming light in MAYA’s room as she sat there alone
once again. She normally didn’t care what MAYA was up to. She always thought
something along the lines of "whatever" when it came to her sister. But today?
It weighed heavily on her chest. A feeling she hadn’t experienced in a long time.
The scene shifts to the dining room, where COCO, SOEI, and RAVI were already
seated. Hot Pannenkoeken sat on the table—the family was waiting for MYMY
to return so they could eat together. MYMY wasn’t in a hurry since
Pannenkoeken weren't Stroopwafels – the one and only worthy meal.
Soon enough, she seated herself and they alltogether began eating.
"What did MAYA say?", SOEI asked with little hope, as the family was already
used to MAYA’s absence at the dinner table.
"She 'will be right there. We should start eating.', she said.
She’s not coming. Well, bon appétit," MYMY concluded before digging into her
dinner.
"Oh, too bad. Mom, I’ll bring it to her ---“
Before COCO could finish her sentence, their mom interrupted her:
"I’ll do it. Just stay seated."
She had soon already disappeared, and the creaking of the stairs was to be
heard. Now, only COCO, MYMY, and RAVI remained.
"Tell me, girls," RAVI, who had just returned from work, began, "What’s on the
plan for school tomorrow?"
"Oh, glad you asked! Tomorrow the rugby club has practice for the tournament
in a week. We’re going to a sports field for it! MYMY, what club do you have
tomorrow?"
The table's attention slowly turned to our orange megalomaniac, who, after a
brief glance to both sides, smirked and took on a proud position:
"Tomorrow I have...“ - the thrill of announcement rose and rose...
„...the Pirate Club!"
"..." RAVI just looked confused and disbelieving, while COCO casually asked:
"Ah, with Kiki, right? Is anyone else coming?"
"So far, it's just the two of us in the Pirate Club. Sometimes AXEL, BERT, and
CATO stop by, but they’ve already called off for tomorrow. How could they!?",
she exclaimed as she bit into her Pannenkoeken.
"And what do you do in... the Pirate Club?", RAVI asked, his enthusiasm lacking
not just due to his fatigue, yet trying his best to show interest in his daughters'
club activities.
"One of us usually comes up with an idea to discuss, or we play a game.
Meanwhile, I spy on the competition. Sometimes we work out a plan to become
Class Representatives, or in other words...
TO GAIN SUPREME REIGN OVER THE SERVING UNTERMENSCHE—"
"Wow, Class Representative! How cool is that!", COCO said hastily, interupting
MYMY.
The last time MYMY pulled this stunt, she got hit with a bottle, so she had to be
cut off for her own safety.
Meanwhile, RAVI just smiled amused; maybe he couldn't follow their
conversation as of now, but he understood that they got along, and that is all
that mattered to him.
"Oh, that reminds me, MYMY, could you do me a favor?"
"What would that be?"
"Tomorrow morning I need to go to the gym before class, and since the gym,
the classroom, and lockers are all across the building, I don’t want to be even
later for class than I would be anyway. And we got the same English class
tomorrow. Would you be so kind as to grab my English books from my locker
and take them to my seat?"
"Ugh, if I must... What’s the locker code?"
"You already know it, it’s MAYA’s birthday!"
„Oh, uhhhh. Umm....“
MYMY had no clue when MAYA’s birthday was. That much was clear from her
expression.
While the conversation at the dinner table continued and the voices slowly
faded away, the scene cuts to MAYA’s door, where SOEI knocked a few times.
"MAYA, it’s me. Dinner's here!", she called from the other side.
"O-Oh, y-yeah, c-come in," MAYA responded, quickly closing the tabs of her
decadent oriental films.
The door opened, and SOEI stepped in.
"Hey, MAYA. How are you?"
"Uhm... Yeah, I'm good." She took the food and thanked her.
"How was school today?"
Hmm, let's think about it... She slept, hid under her hoodie, spent the breaks in
the bathroom, and heard strange giggling whenever she walked past a group of
people. Surely they were laughing about her.
"I-It w-was okay. Yep..."
"Say—" but she was interrupted by a call from downstairs—"Mooom! Come
here!"
"Coming right away!", she called back and made her way to the door, out of the
dark room.
MAYA hoped to return to her PC, but SOEI had a few last words for her:
"Tell me, can I maybe do something nice for you? Would you like something for
dinner tomorrow? Or anything else?"
"L-Let me think..."
MAYA couldn't understand why her mother was suddenly asking her something
like this. She wasn't necessarily 'bothering' her, but she'd rather be alone – so
she thought. Didn't she have better things to do than stand at the door of a
messy room, waiting for the answer of her disappointing child?
So uncomfortable... What could she wish for? If she asked for a PC game, it
would probably be considered a waste.
A friend? Well, she already had her blobfish, so no. If she wished for another
friend, it would feel like betraying her trusty plush toy. One of MAYA's biggest
wishes was to not be someone's lowest priority for once, so she didn't want to
inflict this certain fear on her blobfish either.
The third option... No, she couldn't wish for that. That was too embarrassing to
say out loud.
"K-K-Kruidnoten?..."
"Are you sure? Don’t you want anything else? Go ahead, don't worry."
"N-Nope. That’s all."
SOEI was a little disappointed with the answer, but still forced on a smile and
looked at her daughter, whom she loved so much.
"Alright, I'll gladly do that. Love you," she said as a farewell before making her
way back downstairs.
"Y-Yeah, l-l-love you t-too," she murmured to herself, looking down in
embarrassment. These words were supposed to be a lie, they weren't supposed
to mean anything to her—and yet she could barely speak them without hesitant
lips, without her cheeks growing warm and red. She did have love left for her
mother, yet she firmly believed it was one-sided.
In an attempt to close the imaginary gap between her and SOEI, MAYA slowly
lifted her tired face, gathered all her courage, and was ready to present her
mother with a long-unseen, even if only a slight smile, when...
CLACK!
Her mother closed the door—and now, the only thing left was herself and the
eternal darkness. She was back to zero, in her isolation, lonely as always.
Disappointed, she slowly turned around and devoted herself once again to her
PC, where she was lonely but at least couldn't disappoint anyone anymore.
"It's better if I'm alone..." she told herself...

Deel 8
Silence. Pure silence in MAYA's room.
She was somewhat awake yet still in a state of sleep.
Even though she lived in a busy household, everything was so silent at this
certain moment that felt like an eternity. It... was magic.
She didn't feel horrible. It was 'okay'.
MAYA took a deep breath, letting all her worries just exist, nothing more,
nothing less. She thought about how stupid school was. If she were on her own,
she would surely find something that would turn her life around. But no,
everything always had to revolve around school. Going out. Socializing.
Slowly, the thoughts began to gnaw at her.
How do you even make friends? You had to be born with some kind of knack,
some kind of talent, or at least a great interest in something. Otherwise, there
would be nothing to talk about. Either way, MAYA would even then not be able
to hold a proper conversation.
She was just closed off every possible path due to the way she was.
She was, after all, MAYA.
It already hurt to be uncomfortable, boring, or anything like that.
But being MAYA—that was somehow the worst thing for her.
At least her blobfish was right next to her. Her eternal friend.
He was unappealing, just like her.
He never said anything, just like her.
But most importantly: He would never judge her. MAYA could never mess things
up with him by simply being herself. The blobfish could never hate her.
He was just there—nothing more. And that somehow comforted her.
She held him tightly in her arms and cuddled with him. At least... at least she
could spend these few minutes not in absolute loneliness---
"MAYA! Good morning!"
"Wah! W-What?!", MAYA awoke, feeling as if she were experiencing some kind
of sleep paralysis.
MAYA was, like in so many things, absolutely terrible at hearing her alarm clock
ring and getting up. As punishment, she had to go through it the hard way.
"Hurry up, school is starting soon!", COCO shook MAYA awake with a little too
much enthusiasm. She wasn't exactly the best at being gentle.
COCO's enthusiasm disgusted her so much right now.
"Oh, look at me, I'm COCO, and I'm already so happy and full of energy in the
morning! Look at me, how fast I can get up and already bloom with joy!"
These sentences ran through MAYA’s head. She spoke every single word without
actually making a sound, but her weird expressions were visible to the outside
as she mouthed the words.
COCO just looked at her sister in confusion as she made strange expressions.
'Must've been the night,' she thought to herself and shrugged it off.
She got up and made her way outside: "We're waiting for you downstairs.
MYMY should be done in the bathroom any moment now!"
Right. The bathroom. Ugh, how she hated the bathroom. Others went in and
came out beautifully made up and styled, with bright eyes and neatly done hair.
MAYA, on the other hand, still had her deep black, dark eye circles and her
messy hair, which she put into a bun so her lack of hair care wouldn't be too
obvious to others.
Her internal conflict continued as she trudged sleepily towards the bathroom.
She got dressed beforehand—her red hoodie, a classic—and made her way.
The hallway light blinded her at first.
Dragging herself along the wall, she reached the bathroom door just as MYMY
stepped out, running her fingers through her hair. There they stood, facing each
other. MYMY and MAYA. MAYA didn't care much for her sister. She was always
so mean to her and called her autistic. Plus, she always had to involuntarily be
part of MYMY's 'grandiose', spontaneous theater performances.
Well, she had significantly helped her with her history presentation though...
It was just hard for MAYA to like anyone at all, first and foremost herself.
She normally expected a dumb comment.
"You smell like a Belgian!"
"Were you keelhauled this night or what happened to you?"
Perhaps a weird face
.
But despite all expectations, MYMY just looked at her neutrally, walked past her,
and said over her shoulder:
"Don't take too long, the stroopwafels are getting cold."
What kind of MYMY was this? This had never happened before. She had the
chance to say something insulting, but she just let it go?
Whatever, she really had to hurry so she wouldn’t get in trouble. She went
through her usual, albeit short, bathroom routine, while the morning
conversation was already starting in the dining room.
"Good morning O good morning my dears!"
Guess who said that. Go ahead, guess.
Reveal in 3...
2...
1...
It was RAVI.
Yes, RAVI’s manner was like night and day. If he was tired, usually after work or
late at night, he was quiet, spoke only when necessary, and was extremely
passive. But if he had a good night’s sleep or even had a day off, then oh boy...
he was one of the most cheerful people you could imagine.
Motivated, playful, goofy.
It kinda reminds one of someone else...
"Good morning, Papa! Did you sleep well? What’s on the plan today, and when
are you coming back home?"
If MAYA was there right now, she would lose it.
Two extroverts under one roof unreasonably early in the morning.
„THEY'RE NOT EVEN BIOLOGICALLY RELATED!!!“, she'd probably think to herself.
"Ah yeah, the usual, COCO, the usual! I gotta see, y'know, work is so
unpredictable at times, I really can't tell, haha! Anyways, after school you've got
rugby practice, right? I’m really looking forward to it!"
"Absolutely! You know, we've developed this new strategy, and, and...--"
The conversation continued with occasional giggles and laughter until RAVI had
to finally leave for work. He and COCO hugged.
In the meanwhile, MYMY sat at the table watching everything from afar, tired
and in disbelief. She needed the energy of a good breakfast before she could
pull off anything—like, say, the Dutch world domination. SOEI sat down next to
MYMY with her hot cup of coffee - morning coffee was a must.
A single glance between those two confirmed they had the exact same thought:
Too tired to partake in this early circus.
Still, SOEI was visibly amused.
"And you, honey? Big plans for today?" SOEI began asking.
"Mhm. Not much, Mama," she bit into her stroopwafel, "Club with KIKI and then
back home quickly. I have something big planned..."
But instead of wanting to know more about her big plan, to which MYMY would
have told her about a dream that prophesied her way to becoming Class
Representative, SOEI asked something else instead:
"Ah, KIKI, haven't heard about her in a while. How's it going for her?"
"Pretty good, I think. She doesn’t have scurvy, at least."
"Haha, very funny. Doesn’t she want to come visit us sometime? I know she has
been your friend for a long time, but I never had the chance to meet her. You
seem to get along so well."
"You're confusing something very badly right there," she replied, even stopping
her stroopwafel for it.
"We're not friends. We're more like... business partners."
"Aha?" SOEI raised an eyebrow.
„We might spend a lot of time together, but in reality, we only share the same
goals. Other than that, we have nothing really in common. A bit like the Axi-"
Suddenly, out of nowhere, COCO hopped onto the chair across from MAYA,
leaned towards the two, and inquired.
"Good morning, MAYA. Good morning, Mama. What are you talking about?"
"Good morning, sweetheart. MYMY was just telling me about one of her
friends, KIKI."
"How many times do I have to say it? She is not my friend!" MYMY clarified.
"Ohh, KIKI! You did a history presentation with her once, didn’t you? About the
VOC and piracy!"
"It ended in an argument in front of the whole class..."
"Huh, that wasn’t part of your presentation?" COCO asked in confusion.
"She’s just a lost Dutch girl. There, I said it..."
"Aren’t we all Dutch?"
"Ugh!" MYMY sighed, letting her head drop in frustration. "Forget it."
"Alright! Hoi, Mama, by the way," COCO began, "What was that about the
weekend again? You and Dad are leaving?"
MYMY quickly lifted her head, surprised. "Huh, what?"
"Right, so far, we’ve only told COCO about it. Your father and I will be gone from
Saturday morning until Sunday evening. He has a business meeting in Drenthe,
and since your grandparents also live in the area, we thought we’d visit them as
well. And since the traveling would take quite some time and you’re already
16… we figured you’d enjoy having the house to yourselves rather than coming
along."
"Having the house to ourselves, really?" MYMY asked, the hope in her eyes
visibly growing.
"Well, only if you want to. You can come with us if you prefer," SOEI replied.
MYMY was already coming up with all sorts of plans for what she could do with
an adult-free house. She could invite her friends over—maybe even have a
sleepover!
COCO, on the other hand, was still uncertain.
"Are you sure? I mean, don’t you think our grandparents will miss us?
I don't know..."
As a matter of fact, she was really fascinated by the idea of having the house all
to themselves. She could already picture herself performing a concert with
CLEO, YFKE, and ZOEY—finally a change from the school setting.
But as always, family came first for her, which made her hesitate.
"Well, they were here for Christmas and were planning to visit us soon. That
shouldn’t be a problem."
Bit by bit, MYMY realized that their mother was very much in favor of them
spending the weekend alone—and that was exactly her intention. Having the
house to themselves, that wasn’t something that happened every day. Just as
SOEI had wished for it when she was younger, she now wanted her daughters to
have that experience. And, of course, she looked forward to a quiet weekend
with RAVI... but that was just a side benefit!
"COCO!" MYMY whispered into her ear. "Just think about what we could do! We
invite our friends, you put on a concert, it’ll be a real party...
We'll name it... Soygezellig party!"
The hype got to COCO:
“That'd be amazing! What's that Soygezellig supposed to mean though?“
„Let's just say... it was revealed to me in a dream!“ wink wink
Slowly but surely, COCO was swayed over. All the pictures in her mind, her
mom's reassurance and MYMY's hype got to her.
"Weeell... I guess staying home wouldn’t hurt..."
"Don’t worry," SOEI reassured her, "It’ll be fine. But it’s about time to head out,
don’t you think? Work is calling, and you have to get to school. Where’s MAYA,
by the way?"
"Oh," the two sisters were surprised. Right, where was she?
"I’ll go check on her!" COCO volunteered, quickly getting up and heading
upstairs.
Back to MAYA: She was hiding behind the wall by the staircase.
Yep, she had been done with the bathroom for a while now. When she
overheard the breakfast conversation, she simply wanted to avoid being pulled
into it, so she just listened instead.
She had heard everything and needed a moment to process it:
"Hmm... Mom and Dad out of the house...
That means we can do whatever we want..."
At first, this thought brought a smile to her face. Spending the whole day
undisturbed in bed, on her PC, on her phone—with two fewer people disrupting
her peaceful solitude.
"We can do whatever we want..."
But the second time, instead of excitement, pure horror set in.
"That means... MYMY and COCO can do whatever they want! Oh no, oh no!"
Visions filled MAYA’s eyes: MYMY marching through the house waving a Dutch
flag and singing patriotic songs. Meanwhile, COCO’s band, Running In The 60s,
blasting at full volume—shaking the house to its core, just like last time!
"Oooh no," she thought in panic.
"Ooooh no!" echoed in her head.
Memories of this forcefully 'unique', loud music, and of that stupid VOC song of
MYMY which plagued her even further as it got stuck in her head – it all came
up and gave her a reason to panic.
"OOOOH NO---"
"Hey MAYA! There you are!"
"Ack! Ah, oh, e-ehm, h-hey C-COCO..."
"Hoi, are you ready? We need to get going soon!"
"Y-Yep..."
"Wonderful! Let’s go—oh wait, what about your breakfast?"
"Eehm... Not hungry... hehe..."
A bit puzzled, COCO looked at MAYA and scratched her head, but she could only
shrug and head out. Not long after the sisters followed.
They said goodbye to SOEI, grabbed their bikes, and set off.
It was already April. The weather came and went in a capricious manner, but
overall, the days were getting warmer and longer.
Spring was just around the corner!
During their short bike ride to school, MAYA rode quite a bit behind COCO and
MYMY, who were once again caught up in one of their many conversations.
"Empty words, only to talk at all. I don't need it." MAYA thought to herself.
She much preferred enjoying the cool breeze, listening to the rustling leaves,
and to sunbathe in the first rays of sunshine. She didn’t need conversation like
those two chatterboxes up front. She wasn’t dependent on something so trivial
—she told herself, full of envy.
If only she were on her lonely little island. It wasn’t the perfect place, but far
better than here, than school, or than home...
There would be no annoying sisters, no classes, no Running In The 60s... Just her
and the waves. The sound of the ocean and the wind...
And...
Cling Cling!
… And...
Cling Cling!!
… AND---
CLING CLING CLING!!!
„What the heck?“
Annoyed, MAYA was yanked back to reality.
Who dared to wake her from her daydream? What was it?
She looked upfront and expected COCO or MYMY to play around or something.
But her gaze forward was only met with a glance to the side from COCO and
MYMY:
“Oh, hey girls!” COCO said enthusiastically, while MYMY only participated
quietly.
“Heyyy!” a unified voice responded. Who was that? MAYA’s eyes followed
COCO’s, and soon enough, her initial assumption was confirmed:
“Cleo, Yfke, Zoey, good morning! Nice seeing you here!”
“For real! We tried a different route today. So this is where we end up,” CLEO
said as she glanced sideways at ZOEY.
“Mhm,” ZOEY grunted, much more focused on the music in her AirPods and on
riding her bike. She was a rather quiet girl, so no one really expected much
more of a response from her.
In a way, ZOEY was similar to MAYA... But she wasn’t MAYA. And that was
already a big difference.
“This afternoon, music club? We need more practice, more playing!” CLEO
asked enthusiastically. She was the driving force behind Running In The 60s, so
to speak. While she had founded the band together with YFKE, without CLEO, it
wouldn’t have continued. She was also the one who had arduously recruited
ZOEY and easily convinced COCO. They were already friends anyway, but CLEO,
as the social engine, had brought their friend group even closer together.
ZOEY nodded silently, while YFKE, sitting on the same bike as CLEO, responded
after a slight delay with a simple, “Yup.”
“Today’s going to be difficult...”, COCO had to confess.
“What!?” CLEO was immediately dismayed. For her, music was everything, but
she needed her friends to make her dream come true.
„C'mon, pleeeaase?“
“Well, we’re training for the upcoming tournament and are going to the sports
field for extra practice... I don’t think I've got time, sorry.”
“How frustrating...”, however now, CLEO understood. She was even able to
relate to COCO. She was a firm believer in following what brings you joy, to
follow your passion. That’s why she didn’t want to interfere with COCO’s hobby.
Not just her, her entire class – no, you know what? Basically, the entire school
could easily imagine COCO becoming a real athlete someday. So, she ended her
complaints there and started engaging in small talk with COCO instead.
COCO, CLEO, and YFKE rode at the very front, closely followed by MYMY.
Keeping a clear distance behind them, MAYA pedaled along on her bike.
“Those girls and their stupid conversations... Hopefully, COCO won’t mention
anything about the weekend.”
“By the way, girls, I might have the house to myself this weekend. How about we
meet up at my place and do something?”
And instantly, CLEO, who set ablaze with excitement, exclaimed:
“A house party? At your place? Absolutely!”
“Yeah, something like that! We could even practice and play at my place if you
bring your instruments. You’re also welcome to stay the night over!”
As COCO fully committed to the hype, CLEO’s excitement skyrocketed:
“OMG! I’ve always wanted to do this! A real house party, like a mini-concert! I’m
in! What about the rest of you?”
"Hehe... Sounds nice," YFKE responded slowly.
"Yeah, I'm in," ZOEY added.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," thought MAYA, whose world
shattered into a million pieces.
It was over. The fate of the weekend was sealed—it was going to be absolute
hell for MAYA. There was nothing she could do.
While the girls' talk went on, MAYA's world just continued to collapse. She was
more or less on standby mode, while internally, the catastrophe was unfolding.
So much so that she only now noticed someone was very close beside her.
It was ZOEY, who had apparently been so lost in her own thoughts that she had
fallen back to MAYA's pace.
Before she knew it, MAYA and ZOEY were side by side.
"Oh no," MAYA's thoughts spiraled. There was someone. And so close. It... It
would barely take a few moments, and...
Suddenly, they made eye contact.
"W-What now? D-Do I nod at her? S-Should I try waving?! N-No, s-should I just
say h-hello? B-But we barely know each other! But she’s a f-friend of COCO... DD-Don't I need t-to at least do t-that?"
Panic broke out. She sweated heavily. The only comparable thing was the shock
of suddenly being called in class by the teacher.
"Oh God. Ooooh G-God. I have to do s-something! T-This is so awkward! QQuick, de-escalate... I-I'll simply s-say 'Hello' as n-normally as possible! Come on,
M-Maya! Y-You can do it! For your own sake, g-get yourself out of this quickly!"
MAYA gathered all her courage and took a deep breath. Despite her trembling
lips and reddening face, she had to do it—at least this, she could manage!
"H-H-H-Hello..." MAYA whispered, so softly that it was barely audible.
She mumbled it so much that, in addition to the low volume, it was almost
incomprehensible. Firstly, her voice cracked, and secondly, it got even quieter as
she spoke, making her greeting practically unrecognizable.
Nonetheless, ZOEY seemed to have noticed something—she focused even more
on MAYA's face as if she had picked up on something.
"I-It came out w-weird, b-but it came out!" MAYA thought to herself, almost
feeling proud.
Yet, when it came to ZOEY’s reaction...
She simply rode away.
Now it was back to MAYA and the clattering of her bike.
"WHAAAAT!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!? WHAT A BITCH!"
MAYA was caught between shock, sadness and especially anger. How could that
mole be so rude!? She had put all her courage into this, and she got straight-up
ignored!? Goddamn it!
Meanwhile, ZOEY slowly but surely caught up with the others again, without a
hint of reaction to MAYA’s failed attempt at greeting her.
Soon, she was next to CLEO and YFKE again, casually listening to her music.
"Heeey", YFKE called out to her, blinking in her pronounced way, one eye after
the other.
No reaction.
"Heeey," she tried again.
Still no reaction.
"Heeeey", YFKE attempted a little louder while giving a small wave.
A little louder meant just barely above her usual tone—she couldn't bother to
be loud, annoyed, or anything else. She was high as usual, so even when trying
to catch someone's attention, she did it in her ever-so-relaxed nature.
"Huh," ZOEY muttered as she pulled an AirPod out of her ear.
"Sorry, I was completely zoned out," she informed her.
"Same," YFKE grinned.
A brief moment of awkward silence.
ZOEY tried again:
"What’s up?"
"What are you reading in class today?"
"Hm... I don’t know. ROOS saw me reading and struck up a conversation. She
said she'll be bringing me one of her favorites."
"Ah, cool. So..." She blinked in her iconic way before returning to reality.
"You reading it?"
"Probably. Yeah."
"Cool."
How was she already that stoned this early in the morning?
Well, we'll probably never know.
And just like that, they arrived at school, parked their bikes, and headed into the
building.

Deel 9
“So y'all, I gotta head to the gym. I’ll catch up with you! See you in a bit!”,
COCO waved goodbye to her friends and sisters as she left for the meeting.
“See you in a bit!”, the girls called back in unison – expect for MAYA of course,
who already shook and shivered due to the sheer amount of people around her
right now. Her anxiety couldn't bear being in a group of people, especially if said
group consisted of COCO's friends. Familiar faces, yet still distant and cold ones.
“Oh, and don’t forget my locker, MYMY!”, COCO added, already halfway down
the hallway.
“Yeah, yeah, got it...”, MYMY replied with a slightly annoyed look.
She wanted to roll her eyes but figured it wouldn’t help at this point anyway.
The scene shows the group walking down the hallway, lined up in a loose
formation. CLEO, YFKE, and ZOEY were caught up in their usual conversation,
while MAYA just stared gloomily at the school floor. Suddenly, MYMY sped past
her in a rather quick walking pace, though no one paid much attention to it.
Shortly after, everyone except MYMY entered the class.
Everyone was engaged in lively conversations—everyone except MAYA, who sat
alone at her desk and thought to herself:
“Ugh, I hate this class… So many voices coming from everywhere, always
someone waving around with something, and fearing I might hear my name
thrown around…” She was on edge, tensing up by the second.
After a few nervous glances left and right, she buried her face in her arms.
“What day was it again today…? Thursday, right? Hopefully, I’ll at least get some
peace after school tomorrow and on Sunday… COCO’s friends were really
excited about that idea, which can only mean trouble… Oh man…"
She dared to take a small peek ahead. And only then she really noticed -
“Huh? Where is she? Where's MYMY?”
Cut to COCO’s locker. It stood out from the rest, covered in all sorts of stickers,
yet still well-kept and tidy.
Slowly, an unmistakable shadow appeared on the locker: It was MYMY.
“Alright, time to grab the books. This was what she needed me for? Whatever...”
She entered the PIN - MAYA’s birthday, which she had luckily asked COCO about
yesterday after dinner - and opened the locker.
Everything inside was neatly arranged, just as decorated as the outside.
She grabbed the English books and was about to close the locker, when
suddenly, two pictures caught her attention.
The first one was pinned to the back of the locker.
It showed COCO, probably around five or six years old, standing in front of her
house in South Africa, together with her parents.
Her father was a tall, broad-shouldered man, while her mother looked heavily
pregnant. Just like in every family photo, COCO had that same, bright, joyful
smile - some things never changed, huh?
MYMY was well aware that this was a sensitive, deeply personal and vulnerable
topic, so she quickly turned her gaze to the inside of the locker door.
That’s where she saw the second picture:
One of COCO, MAYA, and herself at a playground when they were all around
seven, perhaps eight years old.
MYMY sat on a swing, back when her hair was still black and when she didn’t
wear her blue contacts. Behind her, COCO, looking as happy as ever, was
pushing the swing. And right next to them was MAYA, fully engaged in the
moment, beaming with a big, lively smile.
“How long has it been since MAYA smiled like that…?”, the thought struck her
instantly.
In her mind, she could already see the contrary - MAYA, alone on her computer,
just like in that picture she had seen yesterday. And with it, that same heavy,
suffocating feeling returned.
"That smile… she lost it a long time ago."
Just the three of them, laughing, playing, having fun.
Time really did fly by, didn’t it?
She spent only a few seconds lost in thought before shaking her head, snapping
herself back to reality and to her earlier task - the books.
With one last concerned glance into the locker, she closed it slowly, once again
plunging it into lonely darkness.
For a short while, the scene remains in the somber locker, focussed onto the
memory of the three sisters, while the sound of MYMY’s footsteps slowly faded
away into the distance.
Back to her, she headed back to class.
Her expression said it all – she felt conflicted. And not just because of MAYA, but
also because of herself. That feeling of 'pity', or whatever it was, gnawed at her.
She exhaled heavily, lowering her head. A weight pressed against her chest as
she hesitantly muttered:
“Maybe… Maybe I should try being a little bit nicer to MAYA...”
She didn’t like saying those words out loud, but she did it. She really did it.
“Ugh, whatever”, she thought.
Maybe that feeling she just had was rather a feeling of… guilt?
Not long after, she returned to the classroom with the books in her arms.
She immediately spotted her friends, CATO and BERT, giving them a small,
friendly nod. Making her way to her seat, she placed the books down next to
her, where COCO normally sat.
Just then, a familiar voice called out behind her, and she turned to respond.
“Good morning, MYMY! Everything's going well?”
It was KIKI - MYMY’s 'business partner'.
“Hey KIKI! Sure, I'm fine, what about you?”, she asked in return.
“Same here. Did you remember to bring the mini-boats?"
“As surely as there are spices on the Moluccas!
So, I take it you want a rematch?”
“Of course I do! Last time, you only won by straight-up cheating!”
“Hey, hey, hey! I… wouldn’t call it 'cheating'. It was more like… a defensive…
preventive measure?”
“Come on, MYMY, that’s not how it works! Don’t you think so too, MAYA?”
“Agh!”, MAYA jolted up, startled that she was suddenly being addressed.
“Ehm… I-I g-guess?”
MYMY didn’t take that lightly.
“Oh really, you’re seriously asking for the opinion of a deserted---”, she then
abruptly stopped. Instantly.
She had almost dropped the B-word (Belgian), but for this split second, she
froze - remembering what she had just seen, felt, and thought back at the
locker. Feeling now awkward, she looked to the side, scratching the back of her
head while searching for new words to say.
“I mean… she doesn’t even know what we’re talking about, so how could she
judge it…?”
“Cheating is cheating!”, KIKI shot back.
“Oh, please. You pirates do nothing but cheat all the time!
Besides, it’s only cheating if you get caught!”
“But - ugh, never mind. We’ll see soon enough…”
KIKI gave up; after all, this wasn’t the first time she had fought with that
stubborn, orange-haired nut. A sigh later, she turned back to MYMY, but this
time with a completely different expression.
“Well, different topic: You're never gonna believe what I bought yesterday!”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Just look and see for yourself…”, KIKI grinned mischievously, bowing down to
her backpack. Slowly, she unzipped it while MYMY watched in anticipation -
until she finally pulled out a blunderbuss (made of plastic).
“Holy Stille Willem! A real blunderbuss---“
“PSSSSSST! Keep it quiet! We might get arrested!”, KIKI hushed her immediately.
“Ah, right, sorry! But WOW! Where did you even get it?”
“Tche, I got it from my secret pirate hideout, y'know?”, she declared with pride,
before MYMY and her started doing what seemed to be a handshake after a
short but proud chuckle.
MAYA had been caught up in the middle of MYMY and KIKI’s conflicts as well as
frolickings more times than she could possibly count—whether she wanted to
or not. As always, many questions popped up in her head:
What boats?
What cheating?
And what’s with these toy guns?
A-Also I’m not a Belg--
“Goedenmorgen, class”, said the lifeless teacher in a worn-out manner as he
entered the room, interrupting KIKI, MAYA, and MYMY.
“Shit. We'll talk later, okay?”, said MYMY as she made her way back to her seat,
to which KIKI nodded in agreement.
And just like that, today’s lesson began - just as dull as ever.
As expected, COCO arrived a few minutes late after class had already started,
excused herself to the teacher, and thanked MYMY for picking up her books.
For MAYA, this meant spending the next few hours sleeping, daydreaming, and
feeling lonely in the middle of the crowd.
Class life wasn’t easy for MAYA. The constant noise and chatter unsettled her,
she was terrified of drawing attention, and with each passing minute, she sank
deeper into that dreaded, spirale-like pit of isolation.
In her entire life, there had only been two people she had ever truly clicked
with, people with whom things had just worked with: Epke and Anke.
She had met Epke on the bus, and Anke behind a tree during lunch break.
She had embarrassed herself in both encounters, each in her own unique way:
With Epke, it had been her odd remarks.
With Anke, she had been so nervous and overwhelmed that she had nearly
fainted.
But despite it all, she had finally found people like herself,
people she could relate to.
Maybe they could understand her.
Maybe they actually couldn’t.
But regardless, a small spark of hope had ignited within her.
A teeny-tiny, fragile spark.
Yet, it was there.
A massive change of pace for MAYA.
“Just sleep”, she thought to herself, her vision growing hazier, her body heavier.
“No one can hurt me when I’m asleep… just... simply… sleep…"
And sleep in, she did.
The hours dragged on, the clock spun in endless circles.
A timelapse shows the class growing more and more tired - faces melting into
boredom, more and more students succumbing to sleep.
As the lessons neared their end, the camera focused on MYMY.
She stretched, excitedly glancing at the clock.
Her gaze shifted to KIKI - soon, they would head off to club activities together.
But then, slowly, her eyes also wandered to her sister, MAYA.
What would she do after class?
Nothing, right?
On normal Thursdays, she would go home with MYMY and COCO after club
activities. MAYA definitely never joined a club nor participated in anything.
After some thought, MYMY had a vague idea of where her sister would likely
retreat to.
And she hated that thought.
It weighed her down.
Yet, deep within her subconscious - quiet, almost imperceptible - an idea was
brewing.
Something to change that.
Still watching her sister with a concerned expression, MYMY barely noticed
when the school bell rang and the class hurriedly packed up to leave.
“Hey, MYMY! Ready to go?”
KIKI was already standing at her desk, smiling genuinely.
MYMY hadn’t even noticed her.
She really had been zoned out.
“Uhm… Sure”, she replied, quickly packing her things and getting up.
MYMY and KIKI were shortly engaged in their conversation while walking out
when MYMY suddenly frowned halfway through and let out a troubled sigh.
„What's wrong? Something's been off with you since earlier. Everything okay?“
„Hmmm... You know, KIKI... Would you mind if I invited someone today?“
„Nah, not really. It'd be a nice change, I think.“
„Okay, then... wait a sec here.“
„Alrighty”, KIKI replied before MYMY went the other way.
The classroom was already empty - no one was sitting at their desks anymore,
everyone had either gathered by the door or was already somewhere else.
Everyone except for one person.
One person who was afraid of being invited yet suffered precisely because of its
absence: MAYA.
Now, MYMY stood in front of her desk. MAYA had pulled up her hood and
buried her face in it. Maybe she hadn’t noticed MYMY, or maybe she was
deliberately ignoring her.
For a few seconds, MYMY just stood there, then placed a hand on her hip and
began speaking.
„Hey MAYA.“
„Ack! U-Uhm, hey, MYMY.“
„Whatcha doing?“
„N-Nothing, w-why?“
„Well, uh, I wanted to ask you, uh... Ugh, this is hard...“
MYMY mumbled to herself, struggling to get the words out. MAYA just looked at
her with tired, sinking eyes, growing shakier by the second.
She was terrified of what was coming.
If it was from MYMY, it couldn’t possibly be good, she thought.
But today, MYMY had different plans:
„Will you join me and KIKI in... the Pirate Club?“, she finally managed to
stammer after a long while. She was going down a completely different track
than was to her liking, but there she was.
MYMY had actually invited MAYA to the Pirate Club.
„U-uh, e-ehm, m-m--.. A—eeh--“
Right there and then, MAYA.exe stopped working.
It took a few moments before she could sort herself again:
„M-MYMY is inviting me!? M-ME!? W-Wasn’t this more of a C-COCO thing?
W-What is going on here? What kind of extroverted c-conspiracy is this?
What do they want from me? Do they want to hurt me, t-take something from
me... What’s going on with this? H-How---“
And this internal monologue continued on just like that.
MAYA was not able to form a singular coherent sentence.
MYMY was also unable to extract more out of herself.
Similar to MAYA, something inside MYMY was breaking through – she felt
ashamed and simply looked away, awkwardly.
On one hand, she regretted the invitation, but on the other hand, that
suffocating feeling was finally gone.
'At least I chose the lesser evil', she had originally hoped.
But if MAYA’s strange behavior went on like this, she might have to rethink
whether or not this was such a good idea...
Fortunately, KIKI showed up and helped ease the tension a little:
„Oh, you’re inviting MAYA? That’s nice! We’ll show you all the fun things we do
in the Pirate Club. Come on, let’s go!“
Like every one of her classmates, MAYA didn’t really know her, but it was fair to
assume that MAYA and KIKI weren't on bad terms, not at all.
Due to their seating arrangement and the extravagant conversations between
the two fleet fanatics, it often happened that MAYA was caught in the middle of
their crossfire and, in a strange way, became part of the action – whether she
wanted to or not. And although these situations were extremely uncomfortable
for her, KIKI was always kind.
She smiled, defended her, and, above all, didn't talk her down.
Not because of her appearance,
Not because of her inability to communicate,
For absolutely nothing at all. The more MAYA thought about it, the more she
realized that KIKI was actually quite a nice person to... exist around.
At least the bare minimum of kindness she showed her, which for MAYA, was
already a blessing.
„Mmrgh... Mmmh... O-oo--...“, but even then, MAYA struggled to answer.
It was just an 'okay' she had to say. Not much commitment: Just an 'okay'.
She took a deep breath. Would she now finally be able to express herself? To
say what she always wanted to say? To finally grasp a rare chance of getting out
of her misery, of her lonely hardship?
On that day, fate was in her favor:
„O-O-Ok...“
„Alrighty! Let's go, c'mon!“, KIKI expressed joyfully. It was a huge relief for MAYA
that she responded so positively. She blushed because of the whole situation
and stood up with trembling knees.
KIKI turned around cheerfully and walked toward the door, slowly followed by a
shy MAYA. As they silently passed her, MYMY was still confused by everything –
by the situation, by MAYA, and finally by herself.
She truly was in a state of shock at that time.
It wasn’t until the other two were almost gone that she quickly turned around
and followed them, calling out for them to wait.
The now three-person group walked down the hallway toward the club room.
MYMY and KIKI were engaged in their usual conversation, and MAYA followed
them quietly and shyly. Amidst the group of classmates who were also in the
hallway at that moment, the three girls turned the corner at the end of the
corridor to the left.
However, the camera following from behind stopped, and instead focused on a
group of girls standing to the right of said corner, in front of a double door.
It was CLEO, YFKE and ZOEY, who were all gathered in a small circle and chatted:
„And then, you know, this weird guy came from the side and stood in front of
me. I kept playing, of course, and was happy that someone took the time to
listen to me and my music. But what did he do next?
He took a step closer, shook his arm, and suddenly a little bag of weed fell out of
his sleeve into my guitar bag!
I mean, what the heck was that? I've never seen something like that before!”
“Oh really? And what was your reaction?“, asked ZOEY, actually with a tiny bit of
curiosity.
„I was so shocked and flabbergasted that I just stopped playing and blankly
stared at him, but the guy just kept going, completely unfazed, and left it at
that!“
„What did you do with the bag though?“
„Guh, figures...“, she replied to YFKE's question.
As could easily be recognized, CLEO was just telling her friends about how she
had played and sung some songs downtown. On the one hand, she made a little
extra money on the side, and on the other hand, she simply enjoyed engaging in
music like that.
Of course, she couldn’t avoid encountering some idiots along the way.
„You guys should come along sometime. Go out on a sunny day and play a bit;
it’s really fun!“
„Then we can get three bags of weed. YFKE would like that, wouldn't ya?“
YFKE nodded.
„Geez, I get it, fine. Seems like I won't be sharing any of the money with you
guys then.“
„How much did you make?“
„Last time it was... about 20 euros?“
„Well, gotta give props to that. Good job, CLEO!“
„Thanks!“, she said finally, before turning towards the music room.
„Alright Ladies, Time to Rock!“, was the phrase she always said when opening
the doors to the music room. It was almost a tradition:
No rehearsal could begin without these few words.
Well, at least it felt that way, since CLEO would always open the doors and
always say these exact words with excitement and passion.
But as she threw her arms up in the air, then quickly placed her hands on the
door handles, and tried to swing the gates open…
Nothing happened.
„... Huh?“
„Maybe it was pull instead of push?“, ZOEY suggested, knowing fully well that it
didn’t really make sense – but there weren’t many other explanations.
„Okay, next attempt: Ladies, Time to Rock!“, she called out for the second time,
this time with more annoyance than passion in both her voice and movement.
Yet, the doors didn’t budge an inch.
„NOOOOO!!!“, CLEO cried out, fearing the worst.
„Well, seems like it’s locked. That means no rehearsal for us.“
„Wat een schande”, YFKE commented on the situation, slinging her backpack
over her shoulder at the same time as ZOEY and casually turning to the side,
when out of nowhere:
„Stop! Where are you going!?“, CLEO hastily exclaimed.
„Where? The mediatheek or home, what else?“, ZOEY halfheartedly answered
her question. She also found it unfortunate that the doors wouldn’t open, but
there was nothing they could do; so she didn’t want to dwell on it too much.
… Or was there actually something they could do after all?

Deel 10
The opening theme of Part 3 starts playing, and the camera similarly zooms in
on a door with a flyer on it. It is clearly pirate-themed – featuring a skull in the
center, with black and white colors only, and the heading "Piraten Club."
After a short while, we are introduced to the interior of the club.
Except for two tables and three chairs in the middle of the room, everything has
been pushed to the sides to make space for the three girls.
As the opening theme ends, we start hearing what their conversation is about:
„MYMY, hurry up! We've got something important to settle, so let's get going“,
KIKI exclaimed, sounding quite cheerful and excited.
„Duh, don't stress me! I'm already taking it out!“, MYMY replied,
not taking it lightly. Maybe she was still irritated from before – but rather, that
was just how MYMY was when it came to the Piraten Club: Competitive.
And 'competitive' was the right word when she suddenly pulled out five
miniature ships in one hand and five more in the other from her backpack.
„Now we're talking!“, said our to-be pirate as she unrolled a small, light blue
wooly mat onto the table. With practiced precision, MYMY then placed the ten
ships, evenly divided on both sides – five for herself, the rest for her pirate rival.
KIKI additionally pulled out small game pieces and distributed them fairly to
both of them.
'Wait a second, aren't those the playing pieces from Risk? Did she take them
from another game set?', MAYA noticed.
And what was going on with MYMY and KIKI? A mix of excitement and tension
lingered between them – a dynamic that MAYA couldn't quite understand.
She was already regretting her decision: She was being exposed to something
completely new, she could embarrass herself at any moment, she didn’t fit in.
While she appreciated the nice gesture from both of them… Well, no, she knew
she should appreciate it, but somehow, she still didn't feel comfortable. As if
they were including her out of pity. As if she was forcing herself upon them.
She was in the wrong place; she didn't belong in here. She hadn’t even
deserved the right to be here. She wanted to leave. Immediately.
So, she stammered hesitantly:
„A-A-Actually, I-I think I s-should---“
„Alright, MAYA, I guess it's time to introduce you to the game as well, no?“
Only now did KIKI turn around – before, she had likely been preparing
something for the game. It became obvious to MAYA that she hadn’t been
heard, but now it was impossible to say it again.
Reluctantly and against her will, she played along:
„Aaa-aah, I-I guess s-so?“
With that, she was officially in the action – and her anxieties made her even
more nervous.
„Soooo, today we're gonna play a game that MYMY and I made up. Don't worry,
the rules aren't too difficult, it'll be fun!“
MAYA wasn't sure what to make of KIKI's openness and kindness.
Despite sensing that KIKI's intentions and emotions were pure, she still felt
irrationally anxious. Calming down, as well as leaving, didn’t seem to be viable
options right now... What then? She was stuck.
„Uuuhmm... O-Ok... S-So, w-what's the g-game’s n-name?--“
While KIKI momentarily hesitated, MYMY simply chuckled:
„Our game’s gotta be the coolest around: It's called 'Nederlanders vs. Piraten!'
Pretty neat, right?“
…
MAYA, confused by this... 'exotic' name, watched as KIKI slumped forward in
discomfort. A bit disappointed, she looked up at MAYA and muttered:
„W-We’re still working on the name, yeah...“
Yet she quickly seemed to forget about it and instead took on an upright
posture as she proudly announced: „But the game itself is really fun! Come on!“
KIKI sat down on a chair and offered MAYA the one next to her.
'Shit. What now!?', she thought, panicked.
'If I sit down now, I’ll hardly be able to leave... Think, MAYA, think!
Come up with something, anything!'
As she hoped for a sufficient excuse, she finally got an idea:
„Y-Y-Yeah, b-b-but I t-think I'll have t-to go to t-the toilet f-first, h-h-haha!“
„Oh, don't worry, we'll wait for you then!“, KIKI assured her.
Fuck.
„Nevermind, I-I changed my m-mind...“, she quickly said, sitting down.
KIKI and MYMY only looked at each other in confusion, raising their eyebrows.
But since none of them knew what to say, they simply shrugged and returned to
the game setup.
However, MYMY then realized something they hadn't thought of before:
„KIKI, this game is only designed for two players... What do we do now?“
MAYA’s inner voice cheered with a long ‘Yeeessss!!’ - She could leave!
„Oh, that's nothing. MAYA and I will play her first round together so she can just
observe and learn at her own pace, I’d say. That okay with you, MAYA?“
„Y-Yeah, s-sure.“
Fuuuuuuuck.
She couldn’t leave.
„Alright then, let's stop beating around the bush and finally get started!“
And so, MAYA didn't get anywhere – except, of course, straight into the game's
action.
„Okay, as for the rules: Our playing field is strictly limited to these ships here.
Everything else around them is the sea and therefore off-limits. Each player has
five ships, with the one in the center being the flagship, while the others make
up the supporting fleet.
The goal is to either capture or sink the opponent's flagship.
I'll go ahead and start!“
KIKI took a moment to examine the playing field, letting her mind race...
„...Hmm... Interesting...“ - MAYA had absolutely no idea what she was analyzing.
„As you can see, MYMY has positioned her crew in the Aragonese Formation
(neither MAYA nor I know what that means), so... it would be smart if I used one
of my two moves to fire a barrage at MYMY’s flagship and the other to try and
capture her least-defended ship.
The flagship needs to be hit by five barrages, while the smaller ships require two
in order to sink - only one barrage per round is allowed. Aaaand if I move one of
my characters onto MYMY’s ship, that starts a... d-d-d-duel!“
„Heh, then show me what you’ve got, KIKI!", MYMY called out enthusiastically
before both opponents pulled out a dice. She continued:
„MAYA, as you'll see now, we roll against each other - whoever rolls the higher
number wins!"
„And I have a crossing penalty, meaning I have to roll higher than she does.
But this roll is gonna be it, I can feel it!“
„We’ll see!“
And so, they began furiously shaking their dices in their hands, hoping for a high
roll. Their expressions were tense, filled with determination - MYMY slightly
stuck her tongue out, while KIKI bit her lower lip. They were dead serious -
it was a matter of life and death (of a game piece)!
Meanwhile, MAYA had roughly understood the rules but could only think:
„This is literally just Risk... with extra steps...“
Finally, both dices were thrown at the same time. A close-up:
Both players, sweating, putting all their willpower into this one roll -
the tension could be cut with a knife!
The dices bounced and tumbled across the table, until, after what felt like an
eternity, they finally settled... aaand the results were:
MYMY rolled a 4,
KIKI rolled a 5.
„Yes ! ! Let's go, MAYA!“, she cheered, offering MAYA a high-five.
„B-B-But I-I didn't d-do anyth-thing?“
„Still, you're on my team! We won!“
Just like before, she looked at MAYA with pure joy, waiting for the high-five.
After a brief hesitation, MAYA gave in, slowly raising her hand and tapping KIKI’s,
though far less enthusiastically. MAYA was still processing everything, especially
since she really just wanted to leave...
But these two enthusiastic girls left her no room for that, as their roleplay-ish
dialogue continued:
„Well, Kapitein MYMY, the ship“ - she removed MYMY’s only figure from the
boat - „now belongs to the Pirate Confederation of Somalia!“
„I have to admit, well played, but... better watch yourself!“, the Dutch captain
called out while making a bold move - moving two of her pieces at the same
time, straight onto KIKI’s unsupported flank.
„Oh, I see, a one-for-one trade? To be expected...“ - KIKI was unimpressed.
„Now, MAYA, since this isn't a duel anymore, I get to roll two dices, thereby
increasing my chances of winning drastically! Maybe you should've joined my
team, the Team of the Homeland, the VOC!---“
„Blah blah, cut it out. So, if you roll higher than MYMY does with both dices
respectively, you defeat one of her pieces, and the game continues.
But if even one of her rolls is higher, we lose.
Alright, your turn now!“
She handed MAYA the dice. MAYA flinched violently at the sight of it and stared
at it in fear. KIKI could have never estimated the amount of pure chaos and fear
swelling up in MAYA.
„Y-Y-You r-really want m-me to do this? A-And w-what if I l-lose?“
„What’s the worst that could happen? You’re just rolling a dice and it's just a
game! No need to worry!“
„B-B-But... - “
In MAYA’s mind, a vivid, horrifying scenario played out: She would roll, fail
miserably, and lose the game piece. She could already see MYMY capturing the
ship and staring at them with a murderous look as they hide on the deck of the
flagship - only to be met with KIKI’s condescending gaze.
And all this while... she had already wanted to leave.
Slowly, she felt hot sweat running down her back, her heart pounding...
One last time, she gathered all her courage -
because for MAYA, the situation was becoming unbearable.
„I-I think n-now's the time for m-me to go, y-yep...!“, she stammered, hastily
grabbing her things.
It became clear that a lot of convincing, emotions and chaotic Netherlanders vs
Piraten Rounds were to take place – but for now, let’s shift our focus to another
group, facing their own struggles. Just outside the Piraten Club and around the
corner, CLEO, YFKE, and ZOEY stood in front of the locked music room – and
CLEO wasn’t eager to give up on the rehearsal quite yet.
„Well, y'know, this school building is really old... Surely the door's just a little
jammed. Give it a little push, and it'll fling open like it's nothing!“
„You sure about that? No offense, but doors don’t just jam overnight. It was
most likely locked, and even if you manage to force it open, that wouldn't come
without consequences...“, ZOEY tried to convince her.
„Well, you’re not wrong... Just let me try a bit, okay? I'll watch out.“
ZOEY just raised an eyebrow at her - not convinced in the slightest.
Meanwhile, CLEO was busy in the background, trying to push, shove, or even
kick the door open in various ways. ZOEY turned to YFKE and asked:
„Think this is gonna work?“
„Nope“, YFKE replied, her expression unchanged as ever.
She was almost always on cloud nine, yet she was still aware enough of what
was happening around her. She blinked once - one eye after the other -
before adding:
„But there's no way we're getting CLEO to leave before that music room is open,
that much is clear.“
„Yeah, I think so too. Any ideas on how we can help her? I get that she cares a
lot about our rehearsals, but this is just ruthless at this point.“
They both thought for a moment while the thumping noises continued in the
background.
„Oh, I have an idea“, YFKE said after a while. She pulled out her wallet and
slowly walked over to CLEO. After a quick „Hey CLEO“, our favorite rockstar
finally turned around and just then registered YFKE’s presence.
„Hey, what’s up?“
„Try this“, YFKE said, holding out her student ID, which she had just pulled from
her wallet.
'Yfke de Lang, born June 26th.'
„See the gap between the doors? Maybe you can use the card to slide the lock
to the side. Worth a shot.“
„That really might work, thanks!“, CLEO said in amazement. Without waiting,
she took the student ID from YFKE’s hand and got to work on executing her
master plan.
„Oookay, card goes in here... now to find the lock...“
„Lemme see“, YFKE joined in on the attempt, and the two took turns trying to
break into the music room. Whilst there seemed to be some sparks of hope, it
ended up resulting in nothing, sadly.
CLEO and YFKE did manage to create a bit of clattering noise, but the heavy
doors remained firmly shut. It didn’t take them long to realize their misfortune.
„Damn... The idea was brilliant, though. Thanks again.“
„No problem“, YFKE replied.
Back to zero, they regathered where ZOEY had been skeptically watching them
the entire time. She wanted to leave, but judging from the determination in
CLEO’s eyes, she could already tell that it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
And going home alone sucked.
All this time, ZOEY found herself somewhat quietly amused by something that
stood out here, even though see seemed indifferent to it all:
From an outsider's perspective, CLEO seemed serious, tough, and composed -
at least based on her aura and confident appearance.
But in reality, beneath the black clothing and dark eye makeup was an
impulsive, adventurous person.
Maybe it was just her way of keeping the group entertained - ZOEY nonetheless
appreciated it, although the two of them seemed quite opposite of each other if
you really thought about it. Sure, it could be annoying at times, but at the end
of the day, CLEO always did her best to bring a smile to everyone’s face.
And that was a quality of her that had likely made them friends in the first place,
the same reason ZOEY fully believed in CLEO’s dream of becoming a musician.
„This girl was made for the stage“, ZOEY thought to herself.
That was why ZOEY loosened up just a bit, shifting her skeptical expression into
something more engaged, interested - even if the whole thing was a little bit
ridiculous. In the back of her mind, she also had an idea.
An idea that, admittedly, involved something a little nerve-wracking:
„Girls, look, we’re not getting far without a key... Aaaand you might not like this,
but I have an idea...“
„And that would be, ZOEY?“, CLEO asked in anticipation.
„How about we try getting in through legitimate means instead of literally
breaking in? That way, we don’t get into trouble and still achieve the same
goal...“
„That sounds promising - tell us more!“, CLEO asked again, touching her chin
while thinking.
The weight of her idea hit ZOEY just then.
Maybe she should’ve kept it to herself.
Maybe it required too much courage from the others.
But she was already going for her step, so she could only really complete it now.
She gathered herself and presented her plan:
„How about... now stay with me...“, she gulped, before finally revealing her
shocking proposal:
„How about we go to... Vera’s office... and ask her for the keys?“
As soon as she said it, CLEO’s jaw dropped - thankfully, YFKE was there to lift it
back up.
CLEO needed a moment to process it.
„V-V-Vera? Are you sure about that? Have you forgotten what she’s like in the
afternoons? She’s already grumpy during school hours.. but at this time of
day?“
Even YFKE seemed a little worried.
„She really doesn’t like being disturbed after school...“
„I don’t like it either - not at all, actually, the more I think about it - but what
other option do we have?“
Despite their uneasy expressions, the other two nodded - it was probably the
option that made the most sense.
Still, nobody wanted to go to Ms. Persijn’s office.
Nobody ever came back from there with good news.
Where exactly that rumor started, no one really knew, but one story tells that
VERA once hit someone on the head with a bottle after they showed up at her
office in the afternoon -
and surprisingly, it wasn’t even MYMY.
In the mornings, she was grumpy, depressed, and exhausted - so in comparison,
you were relatively safe.
But in the late afternoon, when students already lost their patience,
VERA became ten times worse.
It was the usual school gossip, but it was effective.
However, conquerors didn’t win battles by choosing the easiest one.
They won because of the courage in their hearts.
So CLEO, though hesitant and full of dread, took the first step down the hallway.
"Okay, I’ll go. If that’s what it takes, then I’ll do it."
But hope wasn’t lost - YFKE followed shortly after, and then ZOEY too.
They smirked at each other - one for all and all for one.
And so, together as three, our crusaders went down the hallway, ready to face
battle.
And as their battle was about to start, as the camera saw them going down the
hallway, it then shifted towards the nearby Piraten Club:
The battle there went on – the battle of angst and anxiety,
the battle of fear and unease,
the battle of social interactions and...
MAYA.
„Wait, MAYA, don’t go! What’s wrong?“, KIKI asked, deeply concerned.
Just a moment ago, she thought they were going to play together and were
getting along. And now, MAYA wanted to leave? Just like that?
"A-haha, i-it’s n-nothing, r-really. I just think I’ve spent enough time here
already, n-no?"
MAYA was growing more anxious and panicked by the second.
She knew this feeling. It never led to a good ending.
In the beginning, she was okay with it, but by now it all seemed to change for
the worse. She had overstayed her welcome, and her panic was rising rapidly.
Fuck.
All that while, KIKI hesitated.
She wanted to keep playing with MAYA, but in the end, if MAYA really wanted to
leave... Who was she to intervene---
„MAYA, wait!“
Both KIKI and MAYA turned around in surprise.
The last thing they expected was for MYMY to intervene.
Especially with that strange look—
Extremely serious, but serious as in... seriously worried.
„W-Will you please stay, MAYA?“
The tension in the room skyrocketed, too fast for even MAYA to comprehend.
The pressure was unbearable, the waves were crashing down.
For MYMY, one thing was clear:
She wouldn’t let it end like it had in the mediatheek.
Immediately, she was alarmed.
„MAYA, if something’s wrong, talk to us. Do you want to play something else
instead?“
„Yeah, exactly“, KIKI added, hoping to help.
„Tell us what’s up... You’re acting kind of...
Weird."
And just like that, it happened.
A trigger was pulled.
That word. Weird.
Weird...
It stuck in MAYA’s head.
Like a parasite she couldn’t get rid of, one that kept draining her energy until
she felt like nothing more than an empty, broken shell.
Her hard outside withered away, her soft insides long gone.
Weird.
Like a label, an identity stamped onto her, and this time was no different.
She was weird.
MAYA was weird.
A fact she had accepted and internalized long ago.
She has always known it.
And everything inside her only kept reinforcing this image.
The voices started echoing in her mind—reminding her, over and over again,
just how different she was.
„Oh, that’s... COCO’s sister, right?“
„Oh, her? Nobody really knows her, right?“
„She never talks to anyone...“
„She’s always hiding away, always alone.“
„Yeah, she’s just... weird.“
That word. That damn word.
She didn’t want to be weird -
But it was undeniable.
She was.
She was so god-fucking-damn weird.
Her behavior, her hobbies, her stupid animes, her looks...
Slowly, MAYA’s became short of breath.
She started hyperventilating.
Her eyes scurried around in panic, unable to focus on anything -
and right in front of KIKI and MYMY, she began trembling uncontrollably.
Her nerves were so overwhelmed that dizziness set in.
„Ooooh no...“
She made her way toward the door. Slowly.
Her mind had shut down, her stomach twisted into knots.
Her self-reflection kicked in -
She couldn’t even play a simple game.
She couldn’t get through a single day without embarrassing herself.
She couldn’t be a little less MAYA.
Less weird.
Her self-image lay shattered into a thousand pieces,
and every last shard reflected that same weird MAYA.
A single tear ran down her cheek.
„I-I'll leave now...“
„But MAYA, we were having fun, weren't we? ... What’s wrong, sis?“
„… As if you would care...“
In that moment, MYMY felt a deep fear rise within her.
A fear she had glimpsed yesterday – one that now drilled into her eyes.
A fear that revolved around MAYA.
„How did everything turn around so fast?“, she wondered.
„MAYA, there’s no need to leave. Y-You don’t have to play if you don’t want to,
but... I don’t want to see you alone anymore.“
Another trigger for MAYA.
Her face turned red with shame and anger.
„… Leave me alone“, she murmured, turning away. She was gonna leave...
„MAYA, wait!“
MYMY shot up from her chair at record speed and grabbed MAYA’s hand -
a sudden, bold move.
And BAM ! !
Only then did the chair crash onto the cold floor.
She had moved so fast to catch her.
And there they stood - KIKI, MYMY, and MAYA.
„L-Let me g-go, you fake Dutch!“
As always, whenever she felt pressured, MAYA lashed out with impulsive low
blows. The kind that would gnaw at her conscience afterwards -
But in moments of panic, she couldn’t stop herself from pushing everything
away as fast as possible, by any means necessary.
She tried to shake her sister off, but MYMY held on tight. Rigorously.
„MAYA, stay, please! C'mon!“
It was difficult for MYMY too -
MAYA’s words had hit her right where it hurt.
But she had seen this play out one too many times to not recognize that MAYA
was spiraling further and further down.
And her new resolution was clear:
I should be a little bit nicer to MAYA.
She wasn’t going to let go of that.
Slowly, she tightened her grip on MAYA’s arm—
pulling herself closer to her, closer to MAYA.
Just seconds ago, everything had seemed fine -
but now, suddenly, things were escalating.
Maybe she escalated at quickly as her unstable sister – how could she not?
An old MYMY might have just watched, not acted.
But now, it seemed like she had grown—matured.
And she fully understood the seriousness of the situation.
„W-What are you d-doing!? S-Stop it, l-let go!“
But MYMY didn’t stop.
Within seconds, countless thoughts and worries raced through her mind.
She had learned back then that words didn't do much when it came to MAYA.
Maybe, just maybe, something else would work this time...
„S-Stop it! I-I'm gonna push y-you! S-Stop, n-now!“
And yet, MYMY slowly moved further up her arm.
Maybe she was being stubborn in whatever she was trying to do -
Yet with a worried look, she continued, because it was the best she could do.
„MYMY, I don’t want this, s-so let go! T-Three, t-two, o-one -“
Zero.
MYMY hugged MAYA.
MAYA had raised her other arm slightly -
Not much, because no matter what, she could never truly hurt her sister.
Now, she was wrapped in MYMY’s embrace.
No running, no fighting, no nothing.
Just the warmth, the feeling of MYMY.
„M-M-MYMY, l-let g-g-go! N-Now! N-Now! Let -“
But before she could even finish the sentence, her voice broke into sobs -
bitter sobs -, and she collapsed into MYMY’s arms.
She cried.
She cried tears of built-up pain.
She wept and held onto her sister in return.
Amidst the crying, she tried to say something,
but the words wouldn’t come out.
„It’s okay, MAYA. Everything will be okay...“
MYMY, who was usually anything but sentimental, comforted her sister -
a sister who had been drowning in her emotions for far too long.
Slowly, a concerned KIKI stepped forward and gently rubbed MAYA’s back.
There they were -
from a simple game to a whirlwind of emotions.
„MAYA... I just want you...
… to find your smile again.“

Deel 10.5
The Rising Star on the stage of the sparking night sky.
Our favorite Goth, our favorite guitarist -
She who will conquer the charts of the future
And the hearts of today:
Weeeelcooomeee CLEEEEOOOOO ! ! !
Right next to her the Shy Rose.
With pointy spikes but with a fine feeling as light as a feather -
The bassist who many may not notice in her presence
But whom many will miss in her absence:
It'ssss ZOOOEEEEYYY ! ! !
Last but not least, the... high … and stoned...
On cloud nine flying... Daydreaming...
Through and through woozy...
Uhhh...
YFKEEEE ! ! !
Towering right in front of them stood the door to doom,
the door to misfortune and disaster,
the door to...
Miss Persijn’s office.
For a few seconds, they stood there in front of VERA’s office; with courage in
their hearts and seriousness in their gaze.
They took a deep breath before the first heroine spoke up.
What would she say? Words of encouragement? A cry of confidence?
Or instead...
„Maaan, I really don’t want to go into Miss Persijn’s office!
I’m getting really scared...“
A message of fear.
„Really? We walked all the way here just for you to chicken out now?
I thought you'd do anything to get into the music room?“
„I would, but god damn, it's creepy. You wish you didn't have to do this either,
wouldn't you?“
„You've got a point... So what then? Just standing around and growing roots isn't
a better plan either.“
„Urrrgh, I don’t know... It’s probably best if we all go in together, right?
What do you think, YFKE?“
YFKE simply nodded.
For her, fear seemed like such a distant emotion right now.
„Okay, we’ll go in quickly, all three of us, and then ask for the key to the music
room, alright?“, ZOEY summarized briefly.
„A plan it is. Are you ready, girls?“, CLEO asked her friends.
„Yup“, came the response from both.
„Alright, Ladies, Time to Rock!“, and with only a teeny-tiny bit of hesitation,
CLEO pressed the door handle and opened the gate to VERA’s office.
As soon as the door was halfway open, a strong, like really strong smell hit
them. They couldn’t quite put their finger on it... What could it be?
At the same time, they heard someone scurrying away, as if someone had
quickly ducked down or something, followed by a glass-like clinking sound.
Was it from the door or what?
Whatever it was, they entered the room to find VERA firmly staring at them
with an expression of displeasure and anger. Before the girls could even utter a
word, she slammed her fist on the table, causing a loud bang.
„Haven’t you girls been taught any respect? You are supposed to knock before
just barging into a room!“, she scolded the group.
„Ah, um, apologies!“, stuttered CLEO for the group’s sake.
„So... What is it that you are disturbing my work for?“
VERA was absolutely not pleased. She also absolutely wasn’t working, but that
was secondary for now - she was the one in charge, no one else.
Speaking of taking charge: None of the girls spoke at first.
Absolutely no one. CLEO looked at ZOEY expectantly, ZOEY glanced at the other
two with hopeful eyes, and YFKE just stared blankly into space.
'Oh shit', CLEO thought, realizing that in their oh-so-well-thought-out master
plan, they had completely forgotten that someone had to actually speak up for
the group.
Oh dear - now they were just standing there, awkwardly, and with every passing
second, the situation became more uncomfortable for them, and VERA grew
evermore impatient. A classic scenario - no one wanted to speak first.
Finally, as the singer of the band, CLEO took it upon herself to take
responsibility. She swallowed, cleared her throat, and finally dared to say
something:
„Sooo, we have our band, yeah?“
„Ah, yes, right. That... weird interpretation of Eurobeat music?
Running in the 60s or something like that?“
„Yes, exactly. Didn’t think you knew about our band!“
„I wish I didn’t. Anyway, what about it?“
After a short look of confusion, CLEO shook her head
and continued with her plea:
„We use the music room for our rehearsals, and it’s... locked.
Could you maybe lend us the keys so we can play?“
VERA just kept her stern expression.
Perchance she even thought about it for a second or two.
In fact, she was a big fan of music in general, played guitar in her (rare) free
time, and was once obsessed with music. Similar to CLEO, upon closer
inspection. Though this reminded her of an event from back in the day, one she
could remember as if it had happened just yesterday:
VERA, at 17 years old, was giving a presentation in her class.
A presentation about the various genres and subgenres of music, a kind of
beginner's guide to the entire subject.
No one took her seriously. To many, she was just the overly enthusiastic nerd
with a weird, overly ambitious dream of becoming a musician.
Even though the class seemed bored during the presentation, a few guys
approached her after class - they wanted to check out her music club.
A spark of excitement ignited in VERA back then:
'Finally, finally people who are interested in my music!
My dream of a band is coming true!'
But things were not as they seemed. Long story short:
When VERA arrived at the music room that afternoon, it was completely
vandalized. Devastated, leaving behind only a desolate memory:
Posters were torn off the walls, their scraps scattered in thousands of tiny
pieces all over the room.
Tables were overturned, chairs were gone, it was a complete mess.
For young VERA, it was one of those moments that left a scar on her heart.
A scar that might fade but would never disappear.
From that day on, she withdrew with her music, playing only for herself -
That was the beginning of the end.
And this memory shot straight into her mind as soon as the band and the music
room were mentioned. A wave of negative emotions and memories flooded her.
So she took a moment before she briefly and painlessly replied:
“Nope.”
To that, CLEO just stood in shock, utterly perplexed.
“… Huh? Why not?”
“If the room's locked, then it's locked for a reason.
Now leave my office. I have lots of work to do.”
“B-But!-”
“Out, immediately.”
“Please--”
“Get. Out!”, VERA only whispered harshly, scaring the girls out of her dungeon.
And so, the girls quickly left before any of the rumors turned out to be true.
With that, there they stood again - in front of VERA's office, back to zero.
Not a step further, embittered, defeated.
“That old hag VERA! What's her problem!?”
“Well, she just told you--”, ZOEY was about to reply in a factual manner.
But of course, there was no time for that, considering what CLEO was already
cooking next:
“Okay, then we just have to be more... assertive”, she slapped her fist onto her
open palm as an expression of confidence;
“Come closer. C'mon, I got an idea!”
Gathered in a circle, they huddled together, where CLEO initiated the
discussion:
“So, about my plan:
Have you ever heard of guerrilla warfare?”
…
“... What a string of words just came out of your mouth...?”
ZOEY and... presumably YFKE were absolutely baffled.
“Guerrilla? Seriously? What's that supposed to mean? We're in a school, not
Vietnam”, ZOEY pointed out, flabbergasted by what
they were currently talking about.
“That's not what I mean. Just think about it like this:
If we go in one by one, everyone can present their own arguments and convince
VERA to unlock the room. If we go in all three together, only one of us speaks at
a time - one-third of the manpower. At some point, she will either be convinced
or so annoyed that she'll finally hand us the keys.”
“Or we'll get our asses kicked.
One or the other. Well, a 50-50 chance is still better than 0%, I suppose.”
"Ha-ha, very funny of you, ZOEY.
Maybe try stinking less like sarcasm all the time.”
“Huh???”, but before she could complain or counter her in any way, CLEO got
up and prepared herself mentally.
Driven by determination, fueled with energy, and above all, a lot of enthusiasm,
she was ready.
“Alright, are you ready as well? I'll go first. But before that, everyone put your
hands in the middle and throw them up on three, okay?”
“Alright, if we must”, said ZOEY, who didn't want to show any excitement,
but still couldn't help but let a slight grin cross her lips.
The whole spectacle was so delightfully dumb, it was actually entertaining.
“YFKE, are you in?”, asked our shy bassist, addressing the third person in their
group.
“Yup, let's do this!”, YFKE replied optimistically.
Together, they chanted:
“One, two, three! Let's go!”
So CLEO dared to take on Attempt No. 1 to convince VERA.
Confidently, she stepped closer to the door and opened it:
“Heeey, Miss Persijn, it's me again--!”
But before CLEO could finish her sentence, VERA interrupted her once more,
while fumbling around under her desk again:
“For god’s sake, knock! Didn't I already shoo you away?”
“Possibly, yep. But I'm here again about the music room. So-”
“CLEO, stop it. I know you really want to practice, and I understand that, but the
room is locked for a reason. No student has access to any keys, so it must have
been a teacher or someone from the staff. And they must have had a reason for
locking up that particular room.
Now, if you'd excuse me, I'm really packed with work. So go on and leave.”
“Come on, this isn't fair. Everyone else gets to use their club room, only we
don't. What are we supposed to do?”
“The usual: Visit the mediatheek or go home. Simple as that.”
VERA didn't budge, and her patience ticked down second by second.
CLEO knew that now she had to win VERA over to save the day - or she'd be
kicked out any moment.
“You know, VERA, I have a great plan on how both of us can get what we want.”
“Aha”, she groaned, uninterested.
“What if we... arrange some type of deal?”
...
“And after that, she threw you out?”, asked ZOEY, as the scene suddenly shifted.
CLEO, now back outside the office with the others, just nodded guilty and
dejected.
“No surprise... Well then, time for me to give it a shot.”
“Good luck!”, called CLEO and YFKE after her as she stepped up, and, unlike
CLEO, actually knocked on the door.
A muffled “Ugh, come in” sounded from behind the wooden door, prompting
ZOEY to enter.
“Huh, now she's sending you, I take it?”, VERA was, to be fair, somewhat
surprised.
One thing she had to give CLEO credit for: She never gave up on her goal.
“Yup. May I get the-- VERA, you're smoking? I didn't expect that from you.”
And indeed:
VERA had a cigarette in her mouth.
It wasn't lit yet, but it was there.
However, there was no smell of smoke in the room.
'Is this her first cigarette for today or what?', ZOEY wondered, but her confusion
was quickly resolved when VERA pulled out nothing but a comically large
lollipop from her mouth whose stick looked suspiciously similar to a cigarette.
But then, what was the ashtray for?
Ah, whatever.
“Apologies. Back to what I was saying: May I get the key to the music room?”
“Hm...”, VERA (maybe) thought for a sec,
“Let me think about it...”
“She said no”, ZOEY had to tell her friends when she was suddenly back outside.
“There was nothing I could do, I guess.”
“We cannot let it end like that... I'll go right back--”
And already full of eagerness, CLEO shot up and stepped into the room:
“Hello Miss Persijn--”
“OUT!”, VERA shouted immediately, being pissed off by CLEO's shenanigans.
Hastily, CLEO shut the door.
“AND KNOCK, FOR GOD'S SAKE!”, the screamed, which pushed CLEO further
away from the door.
In response, CLEO forcefully knocked on the door several times, as loudly as she
could, and peeked into the room with a disgruntled face: “Happy now, huh?--”,
but just as quickly as she had come, she pulled her head back again, as VERA
was holding a glass bottle, ready to throw it.
“So the rumors were true!”, CLEO delivered the message to the other two - not
the message they had hoped for, but nonetheless one that earned surprised
looks.
...
… So they just stood there.
...
… Silence.
...
“... Soooo, it's over?”, ZOEY asked after the moment of silence.
Thoughtful expressions formed on everyone’s faces, but… there was nothing left
to do, was there?
“...”, no sound from anyone.
CLEO wondered if she had been too impulsive, or if her “guerrilla warfare” had
really been such a good idea. Probably not, seeing the result.
The thought of truly not being able to enter the music room was slowly
solidifying into reality.
She couldn't go into VERA’s office again - certainly not.
So… yeah…
“It's over then”, CLEO had to admit in defeat.
Her flame was extinguished, her gaze down and disheartened.
“Then… I guess we’ll go home”, CLEO stated.
ZOEY grew melancholic, seeing the usual goofball like this.
They had given it everything they could - though perhaps not in the most
optimal way. Still, they tried their best.
However,
The stage lights had vanished.
The show was over.
“Mhm, I guess..." ZOEY gathered her things as well.
With this, CLEO and ZOEY had made peace with it. Time to go home.
Yet YFKE, who had been part of the whole endeavor, knit her brows at the sight
of the two's resignation.
She blinked both eyes at once, and from her dark eyelids, a sudden sharp,
focused gaze emerged out of nowhere.
Her expression hardened - she locked in.
Even experts wouldn't be able to explain this phenomenon, but it was as if YFKE
ignored the effects of whatever she was taking; her determination was stronger.
She walked in the opposite direction of CLEO and ZOEY, heading straight toward
the final boss, whom she would now face alone.
“YFKE, it's okay, we're just gonna leave. She won't change her mind.
We tried it all”, ZOEY tried to convince YFKE from attempting a futile effort.
“Yeah, ZOEY's right. C'mon, I'll ride the bike this time, you can sit on the
passenger seat. It's time to go home.”
However, despite their comments, she didn't listen.
She was full of resolve, determined to at least try and convince VERA.
She knocked on the door.
No answer.
“Sorry dat ik u stoor...”, she announced before she entered the office, followed
by the sight of VERA about to throw a glass bottle at her.
“Ummm...”
They exchanged looks before VERA put her bottle down.
It was a freshly opened bottle of wine. Alcohol to soothe her in the afternoon.
“... Don't you want to hide that from a student?”, YFKE asked, confused.
“Nah, it's you after all.
You've probably seen stronger stuff than that before, am I right?”
“Heh, sure did”, she had to admit.
So that was the sound of glass from before...
“So, YFKE, you're here to convince me as well? Spare yourself, you've heard my
answer plenty of times.”
Yet instead of backing down, YFKE stood her ground:
“Miss Persijn”, she began, “Give us the key, if you'd be so kind. Please.
We'll be right back.”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
Didn't just come from a startled VERA, but also from the very dumbfounded and
stunned CLEO and ZOEY, who were secretly peeking into this fiasco.
“... You can speak whole sentences?”, VERA was taken by surprise.
YFKE’s grades were usually very good - not astonishingly good, but good enough
to get through easily. However, her participation during classes was not just
extremely low, it was non-existent.
And while CLEO and ZOEY already knew this, they were taken aback by how
confident and clear YFKE was speaking.
She hadn't drifted off even once!
“It's not fair to keep us from entering our club room. At the very least, we
should be allowed to see what's going on in there, if we’re not being informed
already. We’re simply fulfilling our duty as students to participate in
extracurricular activities. Therefore, it’s completely unreasonable to keep us
from doing so. We’d need less than a minute - less time than we’ve already
spent here.”
...
Everyone’s jaw dropped at the sight of this.
'She's locked in!', everyone thought, independently from each other.
This was truly a one-in-a-million event, and our three ladies got to witness it.
“... You know what? Fine. You get what you want. I'll go look for them.”
And with that, VERA stood up, brushed past YFKE, CLEO, and ZOEY, and walked
down the hallway, setting off to retrieve the keys from the teachers' lounge.
Wow.
For real. Wow.
“Holy shit, YFKE! You actually did it!”, her two friends celebrated.
“You're amazing! Well done!”
“No problem. Happy to help”, YFKE humbly replied.
“You really gotta show that skill of yours to COCO one day, she's missing out on
so much right now!”, CLEO suggested, as the group was enjoying their victory.
They waited for a short while, and soon enough, VERA returned.
The hype grew the closer she came - finally, Running in the 60s!
However, as VERA returned, her expression was... empty.
She didn't say anything, didn't make a sound. That's awkward.
CLEO asked:
"What's wrong? Where's the key?"
VERA seemed to pity their misfortune, but without putting much emotion into
it, she quickly delivered the bitter truth:
“They're gone.”
“... What?”
“The keys. Not there. Nowhere to be found. Gone. Not available. Whatever.
I'm out again”, she added, pissed that she had interrupted her work for nothing.
And just as quickly as she came, she went back into her office and slammed the
door shut, followed by a loud bang.
CLEO stood frozen in time, not moving an inch.
ZOEY’s mouth started twitching.
And even YFKE looked bewildered.
…
"Fuck."
And with these words, they left the school building, demoralised.
Passing the lockers and the entrance door, they made their way to the side of
the school building, heading toward their bikes.
After some initial hesitation, they started gossiping again, collecting their
thoughts on the recent events:
“What a mess… But girls, thank you so much for your efforts.
I really appreciate it. You’re truly amazing friends”, CLEO said, expressing her
gratitude to YFKE and ZOEY.
“No problem, helping out friends is what we do, right, YFKE?”
YFKE nodded, then said:
“Remember, one for all and all for one, am I right?”
“Sure are! Aww man, what would I do without you?”
To which ZOEY replied:
“Probably still be trying to force that door open.”
… Pfft. Two of the three girls started chuckling.
While CLEO was speechless for a brief moment at first, she soon joined in their
laughter. She had a point, CLEO had to admit.
“Guess it's time to go home then…”
And just like that, the feeling of peace that comes when you know it won't be
long till the weekend started kicking in.
It was only Friday they now had to survive.
They began talking about COCO’s party this weekend - they had completely
forgotten about it due to their escapades from just moments ago.
First plans were made, and while they talked and hyped each other up,
CLEO’s gaze wandered.
First to the street,
Then to the school building,
Next to the open window of the music room on the first floor,
Before stopping at -
“Wait.”
Just as this word jumped into her thoughts, she also spoke it aloud,
loud enough for YFKE and ZOEY to hear.
“Hm? What’s up?”
“Look up there…”
And soon, all three of them began looking at the open window.
They stared at it, heads tilted backwards.
For a second, they remained like that before their eyes met again:
CLEO, with an excited, wide grin.
ZOEY, with raised, disbelieving brows.
And YFKE… well, looking exactly like she always did.
High.

Deel 11
At first, there was nothing.
Absolute darkness. Emptiness, as in space. The endless, yet the end.
A place so far away, so forgotten by the stars, that no ray of light,
not even a single one, dared visit this desolate, dreamless plain of nothingness.
And in the middle of it, in its center, there she was:
Maya.
So lost in the all-consuming gloom that her sobs didn’t even make a sound.
For whom would they be if no one could hear, nor listen to them?
As well as her tear-stained, red eyes, and runny nose - would they matter, even
exist, if they stayed forever hidden from the gaze of the universe?
These questions circled around in Maya's head, who had no choice but to let her
body float in zero gravity;
For she was too weak to make even the slightest move.
She was stuck.
Not the first time this had happened, but perhaps it was the most... brutal
panic attack she had lived through yet.
Only the thought of it made her wanna curl up and forget about her suffering,
her many hardships, her existence. Turn her back on this life and let it pass.
Maybe she didn’t see her path anymore. Maybe she had wished she wouldn't.
However, Life had other plans for Maya:
“Hey, MAYA... Here, it's for you. You can keep it”, tapped her a worried KIKI on
the shoulder, offering a pack of tissues.
MAYA nodded slightly and accepted KIKI's gesture, wiping her teary face and
blowing her reddish nose.
Meanwhile, KIKI turned around in a slow maneuver and trotted toward MYMY,
who was sitting at the table in the middle of the room.
From there, they both looked worriedly at MAYA, who now sat at one of the
tables that had been pushed aside, her back turned to them.
Her hair, though messy, hung down loosely - a rare sight for their eyes.
“Did she say anything?”, MYMY asked concerned, which was only met with a
shake of the head.
“Mhmm...”, she just sighed in frustration, resting her head on her hands,
“How did we get here?”
Her little pounding heart and the adrenaline rushing to her head didn’t allow
her to think straight.
She was trapped in a sort of fight-or-flight response, except that this was about
worrying for her sister rather than survival.
The hug remained especially in her mind. How she had embraced her
not-so-biological sister, so tightly like... she hadn’t in years.
She was so... thin. Under that oversized hoodie, she was so lean, so slender, so
raw-boned, it was almost alarming. And how she trembled...
She didn’t stay still for even a second.
Her body shook constantly. Was this what MAYA had to endure?
It was already unbearable for MYMY, but what must it have been like for her?
“You did really well, by the way, MYMY. I don’t know if I could have done the
same for... anyone”, KIKI tried to cheer up her friend.
“What do you mean?”, she asked, confused.
KIKI took a deep breath and continued:
“The way you reacted so quickly. At first, I thought you were slightly
overreacting, trying to make a dramatic roleplay out of it or something.
However, then things unfolded so rapidly and... How you calmed her down...
It was so... sisterly.”
And so, MYMY recalled it once more. She had wanted to push the memory of
what came after the hug away, forget it as quickly as possible -
Yet there it was again, that memory, those words.
A collection of truly significant words:
‘MAYA, you might feel lonely, but you are not alone.
You don’t have to talk to us, don’t even have to look at or acknowledge us.
But please, don’t leave us. Please, don’t go.
I want you by my side. Okay, sis?’
“...”, MYMY buried her flushed face in her arms:
“Ngh, that was so embarrassing ! !”
A quick shift in focus, and we’re back to MAYA.
After recovering from the initial shock, she slowly came back to herself.
This phase often hurt just as much as the start of the breakdown:
The spark that ignited the fire hurt just like the burning ashes that remained.
‘… Great. Now someone else has seen me at my most vulnerable...
I should’ve at least stayed hidden from MYMY, but now I couldn’t even hide it
from KIKI? What’s next, breaking down in front of the whole class?
In front of Mom and Dad? In front of... the entire family and C-COCO--’
Suddenly, a thought as quick as lightning rushed through her mind:
‘… COCO has probably seen me like this before...
Maybe not directly, but... COCO knows I’m not okay.
Mom and Dad maybe don’t, but COCO does.
Yet Miss Princess thinks everything will be magically fine if I just socialize and all
that crap...’
At that instant, she glanced behind her, shyly.
She saw how MYMY and KIKI, though hesitant, continued their game.
Netherlanders vs. Piraten was it, right?
‘… Why are they doing that? Why... why aren’t they trying to talk to me?’
Following that observation, MYMY’s words echoed in her mind once more:
‘MAYA, you might feel lonely, but you are not alone.’
‘...’
‘You don’t have to talk to us, don’t even have to look at or acknowledge us.’
‘… Maybe...’
‘But please, don’t leave us. Please, don’t go.’
‘… Could it be..?’
‘I want you by my side. Okay, sis?’
‘Maybe... MYMY gets me?’
Her expression stiffened into a more serious one. Underneath her tear-stained
eyes, she thought sharply:
‘Does MYMY understand that I... struggle with being around other people?
But how? She doesn’t know empathy... or does she?
I want to be alone, yeah... but always just in my messy, dark room, with my old
PC and my lifeless, cold plushie...’
She turned back and gazed sideways, lost in thought.
“... I don’t want to be lonely...”
By instinct or pure luck, MYMY had actually hit the sweet spot.
She had done something very important very right:
She stayed near MAYA without getting too close. Like with a cat.
At any time, MAYA could have joined them, but at this distance, she felt safe.
She didn’t have to be in the action, nor be too far from it:
MAYA had found a safe-space - neither too close nor too far.
Further on her thoughts drifted and went.
She was still warm, her joints felt as if she had run a marathon a short moment
ago, and the sweat was still noticeable - yet the tears on her cheeks began to
dry. And the only thing they left behind was a tiny trace of salt - no more pain.
‘… But KIKI', was the only thorn left in her side. She frowned, embarrassed.
‘… What must she think of me... how pathetic, how... how...’
But before she could spiral deeper, she felt this different warmth again.
Not the heat of her panic - but the one she had felt on her back, when KIKI had
kindly patted her.
‘What was that for? W-Was she making fun of me?
D-Do people d-do that? O-Or maybe...’
Despite the storm of thoughts, the impression of KIKI’s pure, genuine kindness,
of her honesty, didn’t leave her mind.
‘D-Did she r-really c-care about me--
No, that's impossible. Not a chance. Nuh-uh.’
She shut herself off again, as she always did. At least, she considered the idea.
Meanwhile, the other two girls continued their game.
KIKI was far in the lead: She still had four ships left, MYMY only two.
“MYMY?”, she asked, now also concerned about her best friend.
“... Is everything okay with you?”
No answer. How odd.
Only MYMY’s troubled, absent stare at the game board remained.
"MYMY!", she raised her voice slightly, trying to pull her out of her trance.
"ACK!--" - with success.
"W-What? I-I'm here! My turn? Hmm, lemme think..."
"MYMY, don't fool yourself. Are you okay?”
"… Am I okay, you ask? ... I don't know... Not really...”, she sunk into herself.
"Do you want to do something else?"
"No, it's fine... So, what should I do next instead... Do I conquer this ship?"
"MYMY, it's still my turn."
Yep. She was somewhere completely else. Understandable, to be fair.
Of course, KIKI wasn’t stupid, but MYMY was still acting differently than usual.
Sure, MAYA’s insult of 'Fake Dutch' gnawed at her integrity, but our pirate could
clearly set her sights on the fact that this whole spectacle had stirred up much
more than just that - even though MYMY usually seemed so indifferent, so
'whatever' when it came to these emotional matters.
A wind filled the sails: The wind of change.
Comparing the two MYMY's she knew was becoming increasingly difficult.
Not that it bothered her. Maybe that was just how things were.
"… Maybe we really are growing up..."
"Hm? What did you say?"
"Ah, nothing, just a fleeting thought. You should watch your flank instead, ha!"
"Oh, c'mon!"
And so, the game Netherlanders vs. Piraten came to an end in the following
minutes - an absolute victory for KIKI, thus the Somalian Pirates.
Beyond that, time went on as always: MYMY and KIKI talked about everything
and nothing, debated how they could become class representatives, and
bickered as usual.
In the meanwhile, MAYA remained silently seated, barely daring to sneak a few
shy glances at the other two - and the moment one of them potentially seemed
like they might glance back, she snapped her head away at lightning speed.
And so, a few minutes passed. The gloomy clouds started to break apart, the
mood slowly recovered. Sunlight increasingly shone into the room, painting it
with warmth and color. Further and further, until the end finally arrived:
“DRRRIIIINNNGGG!!!“ - the school bell rang; the period was over.
„Ah, end of the seventh period“, KIKI mentioned, „Let's go home, no?“
The students were usually free to decide whether their club activities lasted for
one or two hours - and since the Piraten Club was a semi-legitimate, for
inexplicable reasons unsupervised club, KIKI and MYMY could determine their
own schedule as they pleased. Since the outlook for today wasn’t exactly great,
it seemed best to leave early.
„Yup, let's do that. Leaving early today is fine by me“, MYMY stretched out with
effort before packing up her things - most importantly, her miniature ships - and
heading out with KIKI.
A few steps behind, MAYA trailed after them - uneasy about joining in directly:
'W-What if I freak out again? A-And KIKI… What must she think of me now…
I’m so pathetic… What a l-loser… S-Soon, the whole class will know, and they’ll
have even more stuff to g-gossip about…'
She was in dismay, to say the least. Staring shamefully at the ground on her way
to the door, she failed to notice that the other two were actually waiting for her.
MYMY had already walked ahead a bit, but KIKI waited by the doorframe for
one very specific reason:
„Hey, MAYA?“, she reached out, making MAYA flinch and immediately look up.
'O-Oh shit! OK! O-OK! P-Play it c-c-cool, M-M-MAYA!'
„Ah, uhm, y-yeah, K-K-KIKI?“
But instead of speaking right away, KIKI simply handed her a tiny, slim piece of
paper: A phone number, marked with a tiny pirate skull.
„W-W-What’s t-this?“, MAYA asked, completely at a loss as to what this could
possibly mean.
„It’s my number. I hope you don’t mind, but… if you could text me later tonight
or sometime, just to let me know you're feeling better, I’d really appreciate that.
Would that be okay with you?“
… What.
'K-K-KIKI wants to exchange HER number w-with ME!? W-W-What? H-H-How?
S-S-She’s s-s-s-supposed to h-hate me!'
In a sort of panic, her eyes darted around, desperately searching for anything to
ground herself - too much chaos was erupting in her head.
All that while, MYMY was just standing further down the hallway, waiting
expectantly for the two. KIKI’s expression remained as before - neutral.
What felt like thousands, no, millions of thoughts crashing in MAYA’s brain,
ended up translating into nothing but a stammered mess on the outside:
„W-W-W-W-W-W-W-W-Wha--... a-a-but--..!?“
She had never really exchanged numbers with anyone before, let alone a
classmate - the only contacts saved in her phone were her parents and,
inevitably, her sisters. This was an entirely new experience.
„… You don’t have to do it right away. It'd be… for my own relief, y'know?
But if you don’t feel comfortable with it, that’s okay too -“
„D-D-Don’t worry! I-I’ll do i-it. L-L-Later, a-alright?“
KIKI had been worried about making things awkward or pushing MAYA too
much. After everything that had happened earlier, she just wanted to make sure
MAYA was okay - plus, she already had both MYMY and COCO’s numbers, so it
only made sense for her not to leave out the third sister of the Schoppenboers.
And so, what was once a neutral expression, which hid away a little of
insecurity, turned into a satisfied, relieved smile:
„Sure! Thanks!“
With that, the day was done. The three girls stepped out of the Piraten Club and
started heading down the hallway toward the exit--
„Hoi MAYA! Hoi MYMY! Hoi KIKI!“
…
That cheerful, way too enthusiastic voice...
Those loud, stomping footsteps...
That cinnamon-like aura of pure joy... How disgusting it was...
… It was COCO.
'Fuck', MAYA thought.
„What a surprise to see you three together! How are you all?“, COCO called out
cheerfully, approaching the group from down the hallway.
MYMY and KIKI greeted her back - but MAYA froze on the spot, stiff as a board,
her hair jumping back into her usual bun. KIKI, seeing this from the side,
widened her eyes and stared in disbelief. But there was no time for that:
„Hey COCO, everything’s going well, we... spent the time together in the Piraten
Club, played games and all, y’know? How about you? Back already?“
A slight nervousness crept into MYMY’s voice - she was eager to steer the
conversation away from their club activities and… the incident from before.
Thankfully, COCO took the bait:
„Oh, how wonderful that must have been! Yeah, our training session was
short-lived, our coach had to go somewhere to do something, the usual stuff ‘n
all. Since me and my friends split up earlier, I thought I’d join the girlies again,
you know, right behind you in that room!“, she pointed behind the group, at the
door to the music room.
„Ah right, Running in the 60s! Haven’t heard them before, actually“, KIKI
remarked curiously.
„You’re right! Normally, they’d blast the whole school with their… ‘music’.
Yet today was quiet. Maybe they left early?“
„Oh really? Can’t imagine that… Maybe they were waiting for me? But… Huh?“
COCO tried to open the door - but it wouldn’t budge.
„What the…“, she rattled the handle harder. No luck.
„Locked?“, MYMY suggested, but COCO’s eyes, growing increasingly furious,
were fixated on something entirely else. Her grip tightened:
„Why. Won’t. It. Grrr! OPEN!“ - and with a forceful yank, she tore the door open
despite it technically being locked. The impact was so strong, the girls could feel
a gust of air brushing against them as their hair gently swayed in response.
Before anyone could say anything, something metallic clattered and bounced a
few times on the floor - the second most surprising thing next to the sight
unfolding in the music room:
CLEO, YFKE, and ZOEY, caught in the act of trying to climb into the room through
the open window. They had some jumping ropes with them, which they were
using as climbing ropes - most likely 'borrowed' from the gym.
“Oh, h-hey, COCO! Well? How’s it going…?“, CLEO tried to ease up and lighten
the mood.
…
Everyone just stared at them. The three girls at the window, equally stunned,
quickly glanced around in panic before their gazes slowly drifted toward the side
of the room. There, lying on the floor, were a few tools.
Apparently, an air conditioner was being installed…
Oh.
For a few seconds, silence.
Absolute silence.
...
„So that’s why the room was locked“, commented ZOEY as CLEO just stood
there, eye twitching, on the verge of losing it. Oh well.
At least they were inside now, right?
The scene cuts away. After a short black-out, we see everyone in different shots,
recording what has happened after the incident: They gathered inside the room,
then left the school building together and waved goodbye to each other. The
Schoppenboer sisters cycled back home, with MYMY actually trying to strike up
a conversation with MAYA instead of COCO like usual.
Finally, the sisters arrived home. Some time passed, they had dinner, and at the
end of the day, MAYA was about to enter her room again.
„Finally, peace and quiet in my own four walls… I really need this right now“,
she murmured to herself as she opened the door to her room.
Silence returned - MAYA finally felt safe again.
She stepped inside and immediately tossed her backpack to the side - but
before she could throw herself onto the bed, her eyes landed on her desk.
„... What’s that behind my screen?“, she wondered, noticing a silhouette that
wasn’t just a mess of cables.
„Only one way to find out…“, and so, she approached the unknown object and
pulled it out from its shadowy hiding spot:
A pack of Kruidnoten - with an attached sticky note:
'Bought a few more, they’re in the kitchen cupboard. Love you, Mom'
…
Silently, she read the note, her eyes widening as she looked up.
MAYA pressed the Kruidnoten with the note attached against her chest, her
cheeks flushing slightly - and without saying a word, she lay down on her bed.
She remained like that, holding the Kruidnoten close, staring wordlessly at the
ceiling. She kicked her legs a little - a sign of joy.
„... Thank you, Mom“, she whispered, and traces of a smile actually formed on
MAYA’s lips. Not quite, but it was a start!
She rolled a few times, from left to right, then right to left,
and again from left to--
„BEEEEP!“
„Huh? My phone?“, she reached into her pocket.
Her excitement vanished in an instant when she saw it was just some random,
automated notification from a website she had signed up for once.
Then, she suddenly remembered: „KIKI, right!“
From her other pocket, she pulled out the note she had carefully kept there -
the one with KIKI’s phone number.
Her heart started beating a little faster, but without much hesitation, she
opened WhatsApp and added the number. Click click click…
She hovered over the confirmation button, excitement bubbling inside her.
'Is this really a good idea? Wouldn't I just be bothering KIKI?
What would she even gain from me texting her now?'
MAYA’s low self-esteem should have stopped her.
Yet this time, something inside her was stronger than that:
„This is my number. … if you could text me later tonight … I’d really appreciate
that.“
… There was no denying it - KIKI had explicitly asked her to.
If she backed out now, she’d be lying to both herself and KIKI.
And considering she was safe in her room, safe behind her phone screen…
Click!
She added KIKI. She looked at her newly acquired contact:
“What do we have here... Name's KIKI, obviously... Status is... some Sea Shanty,
I assume... something about Bones in the Ocean... That's cool, I guess...
Her profile pic?
…
Really? Her holding a freshly fished bass? Wasn't this something old guys do on
dating apps or what? Pffft--”, she chuckled for a bit, shaking and bending
forward to repress her laughter as best as she could.
“Hah, whatever, looks good. Now, to text her...“
Perhaps she took a while to fully formulate her text, scrapping several drafts
and rethinking what to say.
In the end, she managed to write something short, yet beautifully simple:
'hi kiki, its me, maya. im good. hbu? thank you for today. see you tmrw'
Maybe she had said too much, maybe too little.
But since the text was for KIKI, she somehow didn’t feel as paranoid and
nervous as she normally would. This time, it was relatively easy to hit the 'Send'
button and place the phone beside her. Instead of questioning this newfound
calmness, she simply enjoyed it.
Yet just as she was about to go back to staring at the ceiling, it rang again:
„BEEEEP!“
„Huh? Did KIKI already reply? No way...“
MAYA's curious eyes longed for her phone once more. With a swift motion, she
grabbed it with perfect precision and lit up the glowing screen amidst the usual
darkness of her room. It wasn’t a random notification, and it wasn’t KIKI either...
It was MYMY?
„What does MYMY want from me?“
Seeing that name made her feel uneasy. So much had happened between
them... She was afraid of seeing MYMY in a completely different light.
Why was she afraid? She didn’t know.
It was actually... a good thing. For once in her life, she had gotten along with
MYMY in a way she never had before.
It was rather the general fear of change passing through her...
„Soo... what does it say?“, she started reading the text she had just received:
'hey, come over real quick, we gotta talk'
„… What could it possibly be? I-Is she mad at me or something?
Sure sounds like that...“
„BEEEEP!“, another text.
'i know you read my text. just come over already'
„… At least something that didn’t change“, she realized before hesitantly getting
up and heading toward MYMY’s room.
She knocked, and a „Come in“ invited her inside.
„H-Hey, M-MYMY... You... wanted to talk to me?“
„Yeah yeah, let’s just get it over with quickly. So...“
MAYA feared the worst.
Whatever MYMY was about to throw at her could completely shatter the tiny
bit of courage she had built up today - a courage as fragile as glass.
Luckily, instead, there wasn’t much for MAYA to worry about:
„MAYA, about what happened today: We’ll both pretend like nothing ever
happened, capish? I don’t want you talking about it with Mom, with Dad, and
especially not with our goofball COCO, you get me?“
What might have sounded like harsh terms to others was exactly what MAYA
agreed with:
„Y-Yeah, definitely. Not a word to a single soul“, she assured MYMY while
fidgeting around with her fingers.
„Promised?“
„Huh, what?“
„Pro-mised. Like a Dutch homage, y’know, when you promise to acknowledge a
treaty, like an alliance!“
„I definitely am not a history aficionado like you. Yet I’m 100% sure that this isn’t
a real thing...“
„It is, duh! Whatever, you promise?“
„Alright, alright, I promise, sure.“
MYMY reached out her hand.
'Hm? Does she really want to seal this with a handshake?', but her confused
look was only met with a serious one from MYMY.
'...Whatever, let’s just get this over with…', and she shook her hand.
„Good, good, that was all I wanted from you.
With that, you’re dismissed, MAYA.“
„Whatever“, she groaned as she was once again shooed away by her sister.
„Actually... One last thing“ - MAYA had already half-closed the door when MYMY
wanted to add something. Barely, she peeked back into MYMY’s room with a
puzzled expression, ready to hear her last and final message:
„So... Uhm... I-If there is... s-something again... Tell me, o-okay?“
…
MAYA had rarely seen her sister so shy and flustered. Was this still the same
MYMY she knew? The sister that was supposed to replace her?
And now she was offering her help?
Something must have glitched in the Matrix, but...
She could live with that, to be honest.
MAYA was anything but eager to tell MYMY about everything weighing on her
chest, and... really seek her help. But every now and then, or just to have
someone trustworthy - supposedly trustworthy - nearby...
This could work despite her anxiety. MYMY had proven to have changed... Yeah..
Most probably for the better...
That sounded... okay-ish to MAYA:
„… I'll think about it, okay?“, MAYA’s lips curled up ever so slightly.
In a way, this was a reconciliation with MYMY. She never would’ve seen that
coming. MYMY nodded at her with a... let’s say, reluctant smile - one meant to
cover up embarrassment and a whole lot more discomfort.
Maybe... Maybe it was time for her to smile, too.
As a sign of gratitude or... or just because.
So MAYA tried to show her a small smile from the little opening of the door,
but...
„… MAYA, w-why are you looking at me like that? A-Are you trying to smile?
We... should probably work on that--“
And BAM! MAYA slammed the door shut.
So MYMY was still just as cheeky as ever.
'Some things never change, huh.'
And with that, MAYA returned to the safety of her room and flopped onto her
bed once more. Normally, she should be doing homework right now, but she
wanted to keep this quiet moment for herself a little longer.
A moment of peace and solace after such an intense day -
A very long day for MAYA.
Despite all the action, despite all the drama of today...
MAYA… didn’t feel bad. Somehow, the day had taken a turn for the better.
Somehow, she felt fulfilled. As if she had accomplished something.
She calmed down, she relaxed - letting the day end as naturally as it came.
And with this feeling - that today hadn’t been a waste, that despite its many ups
and downs, this day was still a 'good' day,
She couldn’t help but smile truthfully.
Not a forced smile for MYMY, not for anyone, not for whatever.
Only for herself:
A Genuine, Simple Smile.

When the Days Got Brighter in Amsterdam, Day 2, Deel 12
Nighttime in Amsterdam. The Schoppenboer family's house was shown -
covered in darkness, illuminated only by the softly glowing streetlights.
A xylophone played in light tones as the camera gradually zoomed in on the
house. There, we enter MAYA's room.
Even in this messy place, which was usually in a constant state of utter chaos,
peace had now settled in as well.
MAYA was asleep, holding her blobfish plushie in her arms.
She frowned a bit - vivid dreams followed her into the night.
This night, luckily, it wasn’t a nightmare chasing her:
She was on her beloved dream island. The only place of isolation she could rely
on. The xylophone was slowly but surely drowned out by the rushing waves.
From night, it shifted to day, from the Netherlands to the tropical island.
She was fully immersed in her dream as she felt the sand beneath her feet and
rested in the shade of the large, green palm leaves.
As complete silence set in, MAYA stood up. She walked towards the shore,
towards the lukewarm seawater surrounding her. There was nothing to be seen
on the horizon - but instead of looking into the empty distance, her gaze was
rather fixed on the water under her.
She knelt down and looked at her reflection in the shimmering sea:
Her tired face, her flushed cheeks, and her loose hair reflected back in her eyes.
After a few seconds of quietness, she let out a heavy sigh and began to speak:
“Okay, MAYA. Just one more day. Tomorrow's the weekend.
Finally some peace, finally some--", but her thoughts were interrupted.
She paused before correcting herself:
“Right... The party... Ugh...”, she sighed.
"Nevermind..."
Her expression remained troubled. As so often, something weighed heavily on
her chest. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it:
Maybe it was a fear of today and tomorrow, maybe it was a fear of the future...
Maybe, even in her beloved isolation, she felt alone.
Alone, and worst of all, lonely – two very separate things.
Her reflection was distorted by the gentle, salty waves.
"Hmm... When... will this feeling finally go away?"
She looked up, still kneeling - watching the clouds drift across the blue sky.
"... Well...", she became pensive. Her curved lips lifted slightly. It wasn’t a smile
or even a grin, but it was better than her previous expression, which had been
marked by heaviness and distress:
"M-Maybe things with MYMY will work out...", she thought, gazing at the
hopeful sight of the clouds.
"... Hopefully, that wasn’t just a one-time thing..."
Even though she had spent her whole life without MYMY, even though MAYA
thought Pippi Longstockings didn’t care about her, and even though she had
resigned herself to live a life without her...
… Maybe, for once, things in MAYA's life would turn for the better.
She didn’t know how to maintain this good relationship with MYMY, or if she
even possibly could - but she was determined to give it her best shot.
Her gaze slowly returned to the ocean. Feeling a little bit more uplifted, she was
about to focus back on her reflection when suddenly, she heard a strange noise.
"Swooosh...", it sounded from the distance. As if something was moving in the
water - no, on the water. And it was coming straight toward her, toward her
island.
"Swoooosh...", again. Something was keeping its course directly:
MAYA had never experienced anything like this before. She got goosebumps,
her hair sprang back into a bun - she stood up and tried to get a better look at
whatever was threatening her supposed safe space.
"Ooooh no...", she muttered as she spotted a silhouette in the distance.
She started to sweat. Sweat bullets of pure angst.
"Oooooh no...", the situation escalated as the shadow grew larger and larger.
"Oooooh n--", but suddenly, MAYA calmed down. Her panic shifted into
confusion as the first thing to emerge from the fog of war was a massive,
hoisted...
… pirate flag.
"... What? What's that..."
She had never seen anything like this before - rooted to the spot, she simply
stood there as a gigantic pirate ship rose from the Seven World Oceans, heading
straight for Dream Island. With widened eyes and her jaw dropped, she
watched as the pirate ship stretched further across the horizon, towering over
her, until suddenly:
"Laaaaand! We've hit laaaaand!"
A female voice announced the discovery of the island as the ship came to a halt.
Soon after, something splashed into the water - the anchor had been lowered!
Amidst this sequence of events, another element was added: a gangplank was
laid down, touching the island! A connection, a kind of staircase now united the
deck and the untouched shore of MAYA’s island.
MAYA did not find any of this funny in the slightest. She was about to explode
with immense rage, full of fury, ready to scream back, to shoo the ship away:
'This is my dream, get out of here! My island, my rights!!',
or something like that.
But short-lived was her anger when she heard footsteps on the wood and saw a
person climbing down. Flabbergasted, MAYA's rage turned into confusion, her
expression shifting into pure disbelief as the following unfolded:
"K-K-KIKI!? W-What are y-you doing h-here!?"
"Ahoy, MAYA! I could ask you the same thing: What are you doing here?"
There she was: KIKI, in all her glory. Right in front of her. In her dream.
Cheerful, with a bright smile.
"T-T-This is my d-dream island! W-Why are y-you here?"
"Hmm, can't really say... Wait, let me check my map."
And so, KIKI reached into her 'pirate pouch' and pulled out a rolled-up, old
treasure map. While MAYA was still trying to process everything in complete
bewilderment, KIKI bundled all her concentration onto the piece of paper.
After a moment of thinking, she concluded:
"Hm, I must have taken a wrong turn at the School Archipelago...
I was actually headed for Japsterisland, for MYMY...
Well, I'll have to map this out right away. Always nice to discover something
new, don’t ye think?"
MAYA understood nothing. Was she part... of a bigger universe or something?
School Archipelago? Japsterisland? What kind of words were these?
She raised her finger, about to say something, but before she could even get a
single word in, KIKI was already moving on, determined:
"Ah, damn... I have to leave right away, there's an important meeting coming up
that I shan't miss!!"
MAYA's arm fell limp as KIKI, still focused on her map, announced her departure.
She tried to speak up once again, but didn’t get the chance:
“You know”, KIKI began, whispering to MAYA, "MYMY and I need to prepare for
the upcoming election for school representatives. Our fleet still needs some
final touches, ye see?"
MAYA sunk back, looking at KIKI with unsure eyes. She tried once more to say
something - but KIKI was already marching determinedly back toward the ship.
She strode up the gangplank and looked back at MAYA:
"Bye bye, MAYA! I’m sure we’ll meet again soon! See you then!"
KIKI waved at her as she climbed up the gangplank. Now, finally, MAYA had a
chance to speak:
"B-B-But why... umm... t-this is my dream, w-why are you here? A-And..."
The next question was maybe a little embarrassing, but since she felt like she
had actually... sort of... 'clicked' with KIKI, she had to ask - just because!
"W-Will y-you ever c-c-come back?"
KIKI turned around at MAYA’s words, her blunderbuss and cutlass clinking
against her belt. With reassurance, she gifted her a smile:
"I’ll definitely find my way back! Got it on the map now! We’ll see each other
soon, promise! Send me a message in a bottle if anything comes up, or come
visit me; my island is just a few nautical miles south!! Bye!", and just like that,
she was gone.
MAYA had not become any wiser from this interaction, but the thought that she
didn’t have to be alone and that somewhere in this cosmos, there was still
someone out there - it cheered her up a little.
She pushed her confusion to the back of her mind and instead waved after her
pirate... classmate. The ship set sail and disappeared just as quickly as it had
arrived--
Before it was completely out of sight, KIKI looked back from the deck, full of joy,
and waved at MAYA one last time before vanishing into the fog of war.
… Once again, she was alone. But not lonely.
She returned to the shade of her tropical palm tree.
She made herself comfortable, closed her eyes, drifted into the calm, and...
… she smiled.
… She lay warmly snuggled in her bed. A soft, tickling breeze swept over MAYA’s
body, leading her into complete relaxation. Nonetheless, she couldn’t fall back
asleep - once she was awake, there was no going back.
She squeezed her eyes shut, but kept glancing back at her phone repeatedly -
the first thing she did was to check up on KIKI: No reply yet. Maybe later.
She looked at her screen to see when it was time she would have to get up.
At least this time, she would wake up on her own and wouldn’t have to endure
COCO’s morning torment. That was one small advantage of waking up early.
"... 6 am... Still too early, huh?"
She considered getting up and spending the early morning downstairs. Not
because of the people, but just for a change from her monotonous room.
"... Maybe no one’s up yet... So early... Not even Mom or Dad should be
awake...", the thought of a peaceful morning became more and more tempting.
The more she thought about it, the less she felt like just lying in bed.
From an idea came curiosity, came will, came action:
MAYA got up, put on her iconic red hoodie, a cozy pair of pants, quickly brushed
her teeth in her short bathroom routine, and made her way to the stairs leading
down to the kitchen and living room.
If there was one point where her entire plan could fail, it was these stairs:
They were infamous for creaking. And insanely loudly.
It had already become somewhat of a family inside joke: The Slopensboer Stairs.
No one, absolutely no one, could go up or down these stairs without revealing
their location to the entire house.
Most of the time, it wasn’t a problem and was really just a joke, but when
MAYA’s sister MYMY once asked her why her bed was creaking at night - when
in reality, it was just the stairs that specific night (trust) - MAYA couldn’t help but
feel uneasy about them.
Only in the context of sneaking around, of course. But that was exactly the
context she found herself in now.
'Oh nee...', she thought, completely justified.
She still remembered the time she had stood in front of these stairs, considering
throwing herself down. All just to avoid having to go to COCO’s birthday party...
She would rather endure pain than be around so many people, especially her...
'That was a difficult time...'
Back then, MAYA had a diary. Well, that makes it sound like it was ages ago,
when really, it had only been one or two months; but it felt like an eternity -
and just as long had it been since she last wrote in it.
For the time she had it, it was nice n' all, but maybe she had to accept that it
was just like her imaginary friends Epke and Anke...
This was no replacement for friendship and no escape from her self-dug pit.
In the end, her lack of will had won...
…
"... Well, by now, I wouldn’t need to throw myself down the stairs...
Now, I have KIKI and MYMY--"
And before she could even finish the sentence, she put her hands over her
mouth in embarrassment.
'W-What was that!?' she asked herself, startled by her own words.
'... I wouldn’t actually...?', or would she?
… Had she seriously started seeing KIKI and MYMY as... as...
as some sort of... friends...?
…!
She started turning red at the thought that she actually had such feelings inside
her:
'I-I should be m-miserable, b-because I’m M-MAYA! I-I would n-never d-deserve
them!', and in this sudden attack of shame and embarrassment, red as a
tomato, she rapidly made her way downstairs -
In her panic, MAYA wasn’t just incredibly fast but also astonishing in every other
possible way: Despite her rush, not a single one of her steps made a sound, she
held onto the railing silently, and she made it to the bottom safely--
the loudest thing about this whole operation was her embarrassed, quiet
squeak at the impossible thought! It only gave her hope, i-it was wrong, i-it!!---
"Oh, good morning, MAYA---"
"HUH!?!?"
… Shocked, MAYA landed back in reality, her body frozen in a strange pose as
her shy gaze slowly, in slow motion, drifted upward toward the dining table.
She was not alone, because sitting at the table was someone:
It was SOEI.
"Good morning, sweetheart. Everything alright, my love? You’re so red--"
"Y-Y-Y-Yeah, e-e-everything’s f-f-fine!!", MAYA said, trembling, being completely
exposed.
MAYA lied as naturally as she breathed.
Absolute chaos reigned in her head. I would love to describe her thoughts to
you, but they would simply look like this:
'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!'
So it was better to focus on SOEI, who could already tell that her beloved
daughter was having some of her thoughts again. Yet she had something
prepared that would surely help:
"Pssst, MAYA, come here!". her mother whispered.
MAYA froze instantly, but hesitantly, very, very slowly, stepped toward her
mother. It took a few seconds and many embarrassed, guilty glances from MAYA
before she was exactly where her mother wanted her to be.
“Look at what I have here!”, SOEI exclaimed as she opened a kitchen cupboard.
At first, it only contained some plates and other dishes - a perfectly normal
cupboard.
While SOEI continued rummaging through it, MAYA shyly asked to understand
what her mother was doing:
"Umm... Mom, w-what exactly are you doing? A-Are you looking for something
in particu--"
And just as MAYA spoke, SOEI finally pulled out what she had been searching for.
She held a crinkling plastic package in her hand, proudly presenting it to her
daughter.
"No way... Don’t tell me..."
“Oh, I am”, they exchanged astonished looks, their shared excitement and joy
rising by the second:
An unopened package of Stroopwafels.
Untouched and not yet claimed by MYMY.
The beloved treat that MAYA adored but rarely got to eat because the little
gremlin always devoured them first...
"Come on, let’s eat some quickly before MYMY sees us!", SOEI suggested.
… It was... beautiful.
The next minute, the sleepy mother and daughter spent their time opening the
Stroopwafel package, warming them up in the toaster, sitting down at the table,
and enjoying the explosion of flavors - cinnamon-infused waffle and hot, flowing
caramel. Their cheeks practically melted in delight, and for a while, no words
were needed to communicate - they simply enjoyed the moment as it was.
'A rare stroopwafel moment!', MAYA thought, squeezing her eyes shut in joy
and holding her hand against her melting cheek.
'And…', she thought as she opened her eyes and looked toward her mother,
who was sharing the moment with her:
'A rare mother-daughter moment…'
That thought made her a little sentimental. Maybe it was just the tiredness, but
her smile weakened slightly.
Had it really been that long since she last had a moment like this with her
mother? She wasn’t angry about it - maybe she was angry about other things,
but not this - primarily, she was just…
Sad about it. Sad that the two of them had grown so distant.
She could be mad that her mother was doing her best to replace her, but the
fact that her mother even wanted to… That had to be because of MAYA.
At its core, it was because MAYA wasn’t enough for her… That had to be it…
And the fact that MAYA wasn’t enough…
Was depressing...
…
Suddenly, even the Stroopwafels lost their taste.
Biting into this delicious treat no longer felt the same…
…
'Time to go,' she thought.
MAYA placed her half-eaten stroopwafel on her plate and adjusted her oversized
hoodie, preparing to stand up. Whether she would retreat to her room or just
go to school early, she didn’t care for at that moment -
Sitting at this table, across from her mother, she felt as distant from her as
always.
A gap she wanted to bridge, but one that was simply too large…
But was leaving really a solution? She questioned it herself:
'… At least I’m sitting at a table with her for once… Not like that happens often…'
What MAYA, lost in her self-pity, failed to notice was that SOEI had been
watching her the entire time - her little, beautiful, sweet daughter.
She had seen both MAYA’s joy and her sudden shift in mood.
And somehow, yeah sooomehooow, she could roughly guess what it was about.
'Not like it’s not partly my fault', she thought as she rested her head on her
hand and kept her gaze on MAYA. She thought hard about the right words to
say, but when she got the feeling that MAYA was about to leave, she quickly
intervened - motherly instincts kicking in:
"Hey honey, did you find the kruidnoten?"
"Huh? Umm, y-yeah? I-I did…", MAYA responded shyly to her mother as she sat
back down out.
"Aaaaaaand the note?", she asked curiously.
"T-T-That t-too… Y-Yeah… T-Thanks…" - while MAYA stammered this answer
with a blushing face, she didn’t even notice that SOEI had stood up and actually
moved around the table to sit right next to her.
The gap wasn’t really that big after all - at least, it didn’t have to be; and that
was exactly what SOEI wanted to prove to her:
"How are you? Is everything going well at school?"
That’s how SOEI started the small talk. What might seem ordinary to many was
something special for the Schoppenboers:
In the mornings, both COCO and MYMY took up all the attention - COCO with all
her many activities and MYMY with her absurd ideas and plans for world
domination.
In the evenings, it was the same: COCO would share everything that had
happened at school that day, and MYMY demanded full concentration during
her, unfortunately, more-than-occasional lectures about the Netherlands.
And with two children who had so much to say, there was little time left to
squeeze out anything from the third.
Not to mention: SOEI worked part-time, handled most of the housework, and
still had a husband she needed to love besides her children.
She had often wished she could split herself in two.
Unfortunately, she also knew that was just a fantasy, so she had to make the
best of what she had.
Through many questions, a lot of interest, and plenty of reassurances, she
managed to have a conversation with MAYA.
Most questions were only answered with a simple “Yeah”, “Everything’s fine”,
and other standard phrases, but she was grateful for every word exchanged
with MAYA.
There was, however, one topic where she managed to get out just a little more
of her:
"By the way, MAYA, how's it looking with the weekend party? I’ve already heard
a little about COCO's and MYMY’s plans.
MYMY kept calling it a Gezellig Party, Zellig Party… or something like that.
Are you excited?"
"Oh, right, the party this weekend…", she mumbled to herself, awkwardly
reaching up to scratch the back of her head.
'Oh, the party… Should I tell Mom that I really, really don’t want to go?
That I’m kinda… scared of it?
But then she’d just worry about me… Or maybe she wouldn’t, so it wouldn’t
matter anyway…
…'
MAYA didn’t actually know much about the party besides the way her feelings
had been tormenting her ever since she found out about it.
She didn’t know who was coming, what they would be doing, how she would
manage to eat that day…
Would she have to fast again? Ugh… Not again! She had just gotten out of that…
MAYA really never got a break…
A short while turned into two short whiles, then three - by now, even the birds
had started chirping to welcome the morning.
Bright rays of sunlight streamed through the kitchen window -
So bright was the world outside, but MAYA’s was so dark.
And to endure this darkness as best as possible, she thought, she couldn’t let
anyone get dragged into it.
“Y-Yeah… I-I’m looking forward to it.”
“Really?”, SOEI asked quickly after waiting for what was too long to be 'alright'.
Interest turned into curiosity, which turned into concern. With worried eyes,
SOEI looked at her and leaned forward.
“MAYA… If something is weighing on your chest, just tell me. I'm here for you.”
Things could change completely for MAYA from one moment to the other - and
SOEI knew that. That’s why she didn’t pretend otherwise and asked directly.
MAYA might never have wanted to tell her how often she felt unwell as in sad,
but SOEI clearly knew.
Once again: a mother’s instinct. No further questions needed.
And because of that, MAYA couldn’t help but be honest:
“… I-I’m n-not thaaat excited…”
She didn’t feel forced to say those words - no pressure had pushed them out of
her. Instead, it was simply an atmosphere where lying would have been a waste.
If her mother was asking like this, looking at her with that kind of sympathy,
then she couldn’t bring herself to lie.
But this was where she drew the line: She wouldn’t say more, and that was set
in stone! She turned to the side so that her black hair blocked the eye contact.
Now, the gap between her and SOEI seemed bigger again, or maybe it was just
fear making it seem that way.
Either way: She felt awful about it.
“MAYA, sweetheart…”, SOEI reached out to her, but MAYA responded with a
slight flinch.
“Mhm…”, SOEI sighed - she had thought about this countless times, talked
about it with friends, even looked for advice online; but in the end, she was just
one person, someone who didn’t know the best way to handle this situation.
Her expression became more and more burdened.
“MAYA, sweetheart… Maybe you’ll end up having a lot of fun. You never know,
right? You know, back in my school days, we also had a party, and I really didn’t
want to go. RAVI asked me to, and eventually, I gave in - and I didn’t regret it!
Often times, things are scarier in our heads than they actually are.
And theoretically, you can always go back to your room if it becomes too much.
I’m sure COCO and MYMY would understand.”
“…”
No response from MAYA. SOEI kept trying:
“Should I maybe talk to COCO so she can keep an extra eye on you?”
“…”
MAYA withdrew even further.
In her inner monologue, she wondered:
‘… Should I tell Mom about MYMY? But she told me… that I shouldn’t say
anything… Probably better that way…’
“…” - and so, nothing came out on the outside either.
SOEI’s concern grew and grew.
‘… Then there’s only one option left, isn’t there?’
And so, SOEI prepared to reveal her last offer.
Her biggest wish was for MAYA to face her fears and overcome them, but
maybe… maybe she had pushed her too much.
Forced her too much to be strong and to become stronger.
Maybe… she should have protected her little girl more:
“MAYA… Y’know, if you really don’t want to go to the party… then I won’t force
you. We’ll arrange something - you can come with us, okay?”
‘…’
‘Oh…’
‘That…’
‘Changes a lot...’
The offer… was on the table: With just one snap of her fingers, MAYA could turn
the fate of her weekend around by 180 degrees.
No annoying sisters, no loud music, no chaos in the house, no loneliness in the
middle of a crowd--
No sharp line making it even clearer where the world began and where MAYA’s
pit trapped her.
A vivid scene played in her mind, making it crystal clear.
On one side - MAYA.
And on the other side - everyone else.
…
Was it better to soothe the loneliness or to do something about it?

Extra Deel: Coco's Rugby Club
A scenic view of a wide, green field. A sports field. The birds chirp melodically,
until suddenly, a group of people in rugby gear bursts onto the field from behind
the camera, running at full speed - colliding and tearing up the grass with their
powerful strides.
A different camera angle:
We see that among six players in blue uniforms, three players in orange are
breaking through - charging straight toward the opposing team’s in-goal area.
May I present to you: The Big Three.
The most well-known, most popular girls of the school rugby team.
One of them carries the rugby ball - unshakable, determined, and incredibly fast.
With short, brown-blonde braided hair, amber-colored eyes, and a passionate
grin, she dashes forward: Weeelcooomeee ILEA!!
However, things were getting tight for our brave ILEA:
The blue opponents closed in from both sides, leaving her no space to breathe.
She couldn’t push forward like this and glanced to the side - luckily, a trusted
teammate was already waiting there. With the precision of an eagle, she passed
the ball.
She leaped into the air and caught it:
Silken hair, nearly as white as snow, flowed behind her - in between, streaks of
blue, as cold as the northern Arctic.
She might have been built more fragile than the others, but there was no doubt
that behind her sharp eyes hid an unparalleled strenght in the form of her
swiftness - here comes SARA!!
Graceful and smooth, she masterfully weaved through the defenders of the
opposing team - but even she was powerless when an impenetrable wall of blue
players suddenly blocked her path.
There was only one thing left to do
„COCO!!“, she called out, throwing the ball diagonally behind her, right where
the last player of the trio had a clear shot at the goal.
Trying to describe this natural talent would be futile - no words could ever do
justice to her sheer strength, her excellence.
The ball soared high into the air, perfectly aligned for her teammate.
COCO wound up for the final kick - aaaaaannnd...!!
TWEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!
Cut to a wooden bench in front of the changing rooms.
SARA and ILEA were sitting outside in the sun, pulling off their heavy gear.
COCO, still suited in full armor, came out of the small building, holding her
yellow pendant in her right hand - retrieving it had been her top priority.
She joined her friends, and the talk began:
„Unn', COCO? Great job out there! That kick was sensational, really!“
„Gotta agree with ILEA, that was spot on. Too bad Coach Mrs Dumont blew the
whistle right at that moment. 'I have to go take care of something', yeah, sure.
I bet Mr Alijoos texted her again, and they had to meet behind the gym.“
"Ooooh, do you think another student will discover one of them pressing the
other against the wall, just like in those flattering romance novels?"
„Oooooooohhhh ! !“, the two girls squealed in delight at this scandalous
thought. Whether it was rumor or truth, we leave for everyone to decide for
themselves ;) .
COCO, however, completely satisfied with herself and the world, ignored their
accusatory gossip and reassured her teammates:
„Whistle or not, it doesn’t matter. That kick would have gotten us some good
points - besides, we had lots of fun! That's all that matters!“
„Oh, COCO“, SARA added, „As innocent as ever. But you’re definitely right!
By the way, that was an amazing pass, ILEA!“
„Right back at you - great catch! And what COCO made out of it, well, I don’t
think we even could say anything more“, the two nodded at each other -
That kick was in a league of its own.
„ILEA, SARA, without you, that wouldn't have been possible! You’re the best
teammates I could ever ask for!“
All three smiled at each other - in this trio, everyone was on the same
wavelength, and they got along perfectly.
The sound of the conversation faded as the camera slowly panned out.
COCO took a sip of her drink, SARA wiped the sweat off her face with a towel,
and ILEA got up and headed into the locker room.
The camera briefly zoomed in on the clear, cloudless blue sky, before shifting to
a sidewalk, where the three girls, now fully changed and refreshed, were
walking back toward school.
„Tell me, whatcha' doing later?“, COCO asked them both, striking up a
conversation.
“Hmm, I think I'll just grab my bike and head home, I don't have any more club
activities today. You're in the music club, right?”, replied SARA as the first of the
two.
“Yup, I am! Want to visit sometime?”
“Ah, I'd rather not”, ILEA quickly declined the invitation. COCO gave her a
puzzled look: “Why not? You seem really against it.”
“Nothing personal, COCO, don’t worry. Just... that one girl from the band, the
one who always wears black 'n all...”
“The Goth?”, SARA added, to which ILEA nodded.
“You mean CLEO? She's our band's singer and guitarist - she's really talented!”
“I don’t doubt that at all, but... well, how do I put this...”
The words just wouldn’t come out the way ILEA wanted, as she mumbled under
her breath. Luckily, she had her best friend SARA by her side,
who spoke up for her:
“She’s kind of intimidating, is that what you mean?”
“Yep”, ILEA confirmed, slightly embarrassed for being somewhat mean.
COCO found this weird: „CLEO? Intimidating? There must be some kind of
misunderstanding! She’s so nice and always works so hard for us. I can maybe
introduce you two to her - you really don’t need to worry!“
„She always seems so cold, so tough from the outside... but you probably know
better. You could befriend anyone.“
„Oh, come on“, our flattered COCO tried to wave it off, but it was undeniable:
She was a social butterfly. In a way, it was part of COCO's life philosophy - to
meet as many people, experience as many sides of life, and enjoy them all.
Seize the day, Carpe diem - the world-famous motto truly was seized by COCO.
And that fit perfectly with what ILEA was about to say, because there was
something she and SARA hadn't told COCO yet:
„By the way, COCO, big news! The two of us talked with Mrs Dumont when
she... wasn't busy with Mr. Alijoos for once“ - she stopped and giggled briefly
before continuing - „and she offered us a chance to join a scholarship program!“
Astonishing news for COCO - she couldn't believe what she just heard:
„Wait, really?!“ - it got her by surprise. That really came out of thin air!
„Yeah!! She told us that P.E. teachers can offer this program to a few students
they think are qualified for it - and she chose us!! Can you believe it?!“
COCO immediately asked in amazement:
„Did she give any more info? That's... That's incredible! Oh my!!“
She couldn't repress her excitement - she was literally jumping up and down!
SARA chimed in as well: „It is! And you know what's the best part? We'll be
going abroad! We'll be traveling all across Europe and even be visiting the
States! Can it get any better?“
SARA and ILEA squealed with pure joy, holding hands and jumping up and down
like little kids - they were overflowing with excitement!
But for COCO... it was the opposite. Her wide eyes, her bright, beaming smile
slowly fell after what SARA just said. The chorus of three excited girls suddenly
became one short. She tried her best to cover it up, not wanting to ruin the
moment for her friends:
„Oh, haha, yeah, that's... cool!“
„Isn't it the coolest thing to ever happen in our lives?“, ILEA asked, absolutely
burning with excitement and passion.
„Yeah, yeah, it is. I'll... definitely think about it!“
Stop. In slow motion, SARA and ILEA turned their heads toward her. You could
hear a pin drop. For a moment, the loudest thing around them was the wind -
and today wasn't even a windy day. ILEA stared at COCO.
„Y-You'll... think about it?“, ILEA asked.
„Yeah, I will! Nothing's wrong with that, is it?“, COCO replied, still trying to cover
up.
SARA stepped in: „That's, like... how do I put it... What's there to think about?“
„A lot!“, COCO stood her ground. „Y'know, what about family and all? Do you
really think you're ready to just leave like that?“
„COCO, we get you“, SARA tried to soothe her, „but this is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity! The gates to success! Declining that offer... Are you sure?“
COCO grew silent. She probably understood how important this opportunity
was, yet something else weighed her down. And it wasn’t just being insecure
about such large deals. There was something more important to her which she
couldn't just ignore, which held her back.
Luckily, SARA picked up on it:
„Well, it is a big decision. C’mon, ILEA, let’s not pressure COCO any further. No
use in that, right?“
„Mhm, well, I guess, sure. But at least think about it, alright? You’re an icon, a
star - the whole school knows you and your performance ever since STAN wrote
that article about you. It spread like wildfire!“
As their conversation carried on, they eventually reached the school building.
„Will do, will do. Alright, girls, I’m heading upstairs from here! See ya!“
„See ya!“
„Byeeee!“
SARA and ILEA waved goodbye as they took a different path and headed home.
And with that, COCO was now alone in the school hallway. After school hours, it
was always so... eerily quiet. Well, maybe not exactly eerie, but it was a unique
atmosphere. The occasional muffled conversations from those still inside the
classrooms showed that there were some people, but barely a soul in the halls.
It was quiet enough that the loudest thing in those corridors was COCO's own
thoughts - worried thoughts, as a change of pace.
As usual, she radiated a seemingly optimistic energy, but deep inside, she was
still lost in thought:
„A scholarship, abroad, huh? That’s cool...“
She wasn’t disinterested, yet...
„... But what about Mom? And Dad? MYMY? And especially...
What about MAYA? Who will look out for her when I’m not there?“
Now, her conflicted emotions were starting to show on her face.
„... I think I'll stay... I don’t wanna leave my family... not again...“, she murmured,
reaching for her yellow pendant, gripping it tightly and holding it close to her
heart.
„I don’t wanna...“ - yet before she could dwell on it any longer, she spotted
MAYA, MYMY, and KIKI down the hallway.
Immediately, she wiped away the concern from her face and put on her usual,
happy-go-lucky self. Her mood did a complete 180° the moment she saw her
shy sister socializing. „How wonderful! Let's look into that!“, she thought.
There may have been something weighing on her heart, but her family gave her
the wings she needed to carry it. No use being worried - Seize The Day!

Extra: Cleo's & Yfke's Ride Home
It had been a few minutes since CLEO and YFKE had said goodbye to COCO,
MYMY, MAYA, and KIKI. Together with ZOEY, the three of them set off -
YFKE sitting in the back seat of CLEO’s bike.
Somehow, it had become a habit that one would give the other a ride. However,
out of concern that YFKE (for understandable reasons) might not drive safely,
CLEO played the driver more and more often. By now, she was chauffeuring her
tall friend everywhere.
At one point on their way home, they reached a canal bridge -
the Sarrembrug.
„Well, this is my stop“, ZOEY broke the silence that had lingered before.
After all the adventures and hardships of the day, enough had happened -
instead of chitchatting, they enjoyed the quiet sounds of the wind rustling
through the fresh leaves. Especially today, all of Amsterdam could feel that
spring had arrived.
„Alright, take care, and see ya tomorrow! Bon voyage!“, CLEO called out.
„Get home safe! See you tomorrow!“, YFKE added.
Zoey smiled through her black-checkered scarf and nodded:
„Yup, bye. See you tomorrow.“
She turned sideways and crossed the bridge. In the middle, she turned back to
her friends, who waited there for a moment, and waved at them - CLEO and
YFKE did the same.
For a moment, the two remained there, taking in the moment:
The fresh, cool air from the water, the faint smell of the canal, and the glittering
sun covering everything in reflecting, bright rays.
CLEO turned back to her friend:
„Shall we go?“, she asked, to which YFKE nodded. And off they went.
They rode along a path - through a kind of park, with large, green meadows and
many trees whose leafy tops spread wide.
In the background, the laughter of small children sounded - finally, it was time
for them to play outside. One could almost envy them.
Just like their carefree moment, a time completely free from any pressure or
obligations, CLEO longed for that too. But not alone:
„Hey, YFKE, shall we go back to the tree?“, she smiled at her passenger. She was
used to talking to YFKE while riding, so she had mastered the art of keeping her
lane without looking.
„Sure thing!“, came the reply.
And so, it was decided: Instead of turning at the next street, they continued
straight ahead. The path they took was marked by a long avenue of trees.
For a while, CLEO pedaled, then suddenly stopped - they had arrived.
The tree. Due to a bump in the ground, it stood higher than the others.
And from there, the view was the most beautiful: A sight of bright, tall, glittering
buildings, while in front of them, the canal stretched wider than at any other
point, with another canal joining from the side.
Of all the spots in this park, this was probably the most beautiful one.
They got off their bike, parked, and locked it securely before heading to the
tree. This was the spot where the two friends liked to sit after stressful days to
shut off and chill. Originally, YFKE had discovered this place. She had shown it to
CLEO one evening when they had spontaneously decided to take a nighttime
walk through the park. That was when she introduced this place.
Often, YFKE would spend time there alone after finishing her homework. Just
sitting there, maybe lighting a joint, and letting the impressions wash over her.
For YFKE, nothing was more important than enjoying the moment. She lived in
the here and now. If a difficult exam was coming up tomorrow, her top priority
was not to ruin the day before it. This place by the water, close to nature, and
with the help of some herbs, allowed her to forget any worries.
Fear, sorrow, nervousness, anger, sadness - they all seemed like such distant
emotions. As if she could wave at them, and only at the other end of the shore
would they wave back. It was beautiful.
So, there they were, talking about everything that weighed on their minds.
CLEO started:
„Are you excited for the party? I’m really curious: An entire house without any
parents, just for us - pretty wild, right?“
YFKE could only agree: „For real, it’s going to be a great night. Maybe we can
finally rehearse again, haha!“
„Haha, yeah, hopefully. That stupid cow VERA took so much convincing before
she gave in. How did you even do that?“
„What do you mean?“
„Well, you just blurted out something like that all of a sudden! Neither ZOEY nor
I could change her mind, but you made it seem so… effortless! So easy!“
„Mhm, I don’t know myself, maybe. Intuition or something. Or whatever else is
hidden within me. Who knows“, her gaze remained fixed on the horizon.
For a second, it was silent, until she added:
„Hopefully, it’ll work next time too, if the room happens to be locked. Then we’ll
try right away and hope the key's available. Maybe then we’ll have enough time
to rehearse.“
CLEO, hugging her knees with her arms, looked at her:
„Yeah, sure! You’ll handle it for us then, YFKE. Thanks a lot!“
„No problem.“
And again, it was quiet. Just a beautiful view on a beautiful day with a beautiful
sunset. No more words needed, to be honest.
YFKE was just about to close her eyes when she heard something moving up
and down: It was CLEO’s leg - she seemed restless.
„Everything okay, CLEO?“
„Hm? Me? Yeah, all good.“
„Your leg is shaking.“
„Oh really?“, she looked past her knees in surprise, and sure enough - her foot
and lower leg were shaking restlessly.
„Is something wrong?“, YFKE asked, puzzled, with a hint of concern.
„Hmmm yeah, actually, I guess so“, CLEO admitted, this time more hesitantly.
„CLEO, you know, whatever falls under the tree stays at the tree. I'll probably
forget it after the next joint anyway. So, just spill it.“
'Well, she got a point...', CLEO took a deep breath in and out.
Hesitantly, she started, staring ahead into nothingness:
„Promise me you won't laugh or anything, okay?“
„Promise. Like a Dutch Homage.“
„What?“
„Nothing“, YFKE just grinned at her own dumb joke. Whatever.
„Anyway... So, I think the shaking… It's probably because of fear, I don't know.“
CLEO was very unsure of her words - she turned every sentence over twice in
her mind. She started fidgeting around with her fingers in embarrassment.
As CLEO struggled to put her worry into words, YFKE became more and more
aware that she needed to pay close attention. This seemed serious.
„Oh yeah? And what is it? What are you afraid of?“
Even though CLEO always appeared so cold, so tough on the outside, her core
seemed a little softer than that. What she usually tried to hide with eyeliner and
little black crosses under her eyes, she could let out freely and without having
to worry around her friend:
„... T-The end of the band...“
„The end of the band? For Running in the 60s? Why?“
„I don't know... Today the room was locked aaaaand... for Running in the 60s,
time ran out...“ - she briefly grinned at her own wordplay before continuing -
„What if that happens more often?“
A breeze blew through Amsterdam - right through the hair of the two.
„Once the air conditioner is installed, the clubroom will be open again for a long
time, I think“, YFKE replied calmly. She didn't seem worried at all, in stark
contrast to CLEO:
„Yeah, that’s true, but what if we all start having less time and, for even more
reasons, rehearsals just stop happening? We're getting more exams, more
responsibilities... And eventually, school will be over, too.“
„But that’s still a while away, isn't it?“, YFKE asked.
Slowly, she came down from cloud nine, back to earth, back to reality.
She realized there was no time left for dreaming.
She couldn't magically make the effects of her stuff disappear, but she could still
try her best at focussing and concentrating. For her friend.
„Maybe, kind of... Ugh...“, she curled up a little. The sun kept setting, the day
grew darker.
„Yet two years ago, y'know, when we started the band, I never worried about
time. Just playing and enjoying the rehearsals. I was in the flow of music and...
could fully enjoy the moment. Like you. But when I think about how, no matter
what we try, we might not be able to rehearse anymore, then... I don’t know...“
The tone of her voice made it clear that her concern was real. YFKE grew
increasingly worried. She no longer stared into the distance - her gaze focused
onto CLEO.
„But in the end, we still got in, didn't we?“
„Yeah, but it was already so late... And we had to leave before a teacher caught
us. I know that by next week, everything will be fine again, but I just can't shake
this thought. Even though I know better, it won't go away. That’s why I didn’t say
anything at first - what else is there to say?“
„Hmm, I feel you.“
„Really? You understand?“
„Nope, not understand, but feel.“
„Huh?“
… Maybe YFKE wasn’t quite all there, or maybe she knew more than we did.
Regardless, she continued:
„I think I get the feeling. That something is missing. That the next step could be
the wrong one. It pulls you back in your chest, so you don’t want to do anything,
out of fear that it might be a mistake. Or something like that. I don’t know.
At the end of the day, I’m just a weed-smoking teenager--“
„No, no, that... describes it pretty well. Yeah, yeah... I see what you're thinking.
Or... what you're 'feeling.'“
She turned her head to the side shyly. YFKE only smirked like her usual self.
'That goofball...', CLEO thought, before the conversation fell silent again for a
few seconds. CLEO had to smirk a little too - after all, YFKE could always make
her smile. But something else was weighing on her chest by now.
This time, though, it wasn’t something that had been eating her up from the
inside, but instead, something she wanted to say, something to let out.
Words that needed to take shape, to find a voice, instead of tightening around
her heart. 'Is now a good moment?', she wondered.
She looked to the side.
She just saw YFKE gazing into the distance again, without a care in the world.
The girl who had somehow managed to be completely detached from this
world. Well, a lot of drugs were involved - but there was something special
about her. How she had internalized and truly lived this mentality.
And... CLEO never had to worry about what YFKE thought of her.
With her own style, her black clothes, her eyeliner and everything, she really
split people into two groups:
Those who found her scary and cold, and those who thought she was cool or
rebellious because of it.
And then there was YFKE. For YFKE, CLEO was just there.
Not good, not bad. CLEO was CLEO, just like a joint was a joint, and a moment
was a moment. It probably didn’t make sense, but not being perceived as an
identity for once… That was nice.
Besides, she couldn't forget one thing: The hair-dyeing idea was YFKE’s.
Yep, really. Two or three years ago, YFKE came up with the idea that the two of
them should dye their hair. This whole thing actually started with YFKE.
Probably because, even back then, she just lived in the moment and didn’t
worry.
… How admirable.
„... You know, YFKE, I think I have a rough idea where this comes from…“
YFKE was all ears while still enjoying the sunset.
She was fully present for CLEO, completely in the moment.
„... You know, when I was a kid, my family and I moved from Curaçao to the
Netherlands… We left a lot of family behind, and I had to leave a part of myself
there too. I mean, Curaçao and the Netherlands? That’s halfway across the
world. I had to change. Part of me wanted to, but a certain part…
That part stayed in Willemstad.
And even though it sounds cheesy, music has always been something that
connected me to myself. Even as a kid, I played the guitar; I even played on the
streets - just because I enjoyed it. Music… really flows through every fiber of my
being, it connects me, I become one with it…
And just the thought of losing time for music, like today…
It feels like having to leave another part of myself behind.
Like something is slipping away. Like sand inbetween my fingers.
What if one day we start studying or working? Then I won’t just have lost
something in Willemstad, but also here, in Amsterdam…
That… I don’t want that... I don’t want that… I…“
She fell silent. For a moment, she paused, unsure how to put it into words.
Maybe words weren’t even necessary anymore.
Maybe it was pointless anyway--
„That won’t happen, CLEO“, YFKE interrupted her minute of silence.
„... But how?“, CLEO asked, now looking at YFKE with expectant, hopeful eyes.
„I’ll make sure of it“, YFKE said, giving her a confident smile.
Less serious than when she had spoken with VERA…
That look practically said ‘Everything will be okay.’
… CLEO had to ask again…
„… How?“
„It just will. If it’s a part of you, then it’s simply impossible for you to lose it.
An essential part of you. And… friends help each other, right?
So I’ll make sure it stays that way. That you stay CLEO and don’t lose yourself.
I’ll make sure of it.“
… CLEO was stunned.
It was one of those moments again, where YFKE said something so profound
that it was almost too much for CLEO to process. She heard the words, they
were in her head - but truly understanding them would take a while.
„… So…“, she bit her lip.
Somehow… these words wouldn’t come easily:
„… So… Everything will be okay…?“
… At these words, YFKE looked down for a moment. She thought, glanced
around, then finally turned fully toward CLEO, having found the right words:
„Yeah. Everything will be okay“, she told her with complete certainty.
YFKE had thousands of other things she could have said. Thousands of thoughts,
thousands of reassurances, and so much more swirled in her mind, in her
conscience - but these simple words were enough, she thought.
Simple, but beautiful.
CLEO seemed to think the same: After hearing those words, the worry on her
face was wiped away. She smiled at YFKE with a quiet, personal gratitude in her
expression.
The two turned their gaze back to the sun, shimmering more beautifully on the
water than ever.
‘If we're such good friends, what could possibly go wrong?’ was the thought
they shared.
With that thought… CLEO really had nothing to worry about.
Similarly to how the days got brighter in Amsterdam, she felt like everything
would turn out okay, too.
Living in the moment and enjoying the moment…
After a while, CLEO turned to YFKE again, who was still enjoying the beautiful
view. Their eyes met, and CLEO gave a small nod behind her - a signal that it was
time to go. YFKE nodded back.
The two got up, dusted themselves off, and made their way to their bike.
CLEO, as usual, sat in the front, YFKE in the back.
‘Time to get both of us home', CLEO thought, feeling a weight lifted off her
chest - she felt unbelievably relieved.
She unlocked the bike, grabbed the handlebars, looked straight ahead, saw two
people passing by, and--
„GAY!“
„... HUH!? What--!?“, what the hell indeed?
CLEO quickly shot an angry glare behind her - only to be met with two snotty,
mean grins from two bratty little kids.
But before it was even worth shouting something back or flipping them off, the
kids had already turned a corner and disappeared--
„Those little shits!“
Her face burning red with rage, she gave the bike’s lock bar a hard kick, sending
it flying, and took off without hesitation. She muttered curses under her breath,
staring straight ahead--
Meanwhile, YFKE seemed lost in her usual trance again. She didn’t react at all.
…
Luckily, the red sunset covered up how red CLEO’s face had really gotten.