Chapter Text
Mafuyu had always lived a quiet life. And she was okay with that. She walked up the apartment’s bland gray stairs, each step was densely crowded with muddy footsteps that dragged the rain into the building. It doesn’t usually rain here,or at least not that much since it’s quite far from sea. But this time, when she walked up the stairs she noticed an assortment of boxes that were parked in front of the door of the recently dormant apartment of her (or what used to be her) neighbour. The clickty-clackity of high heels echoed through the silent hall as a girl with short, brown hair was moving the boxes into her new home.
“Excuse me?”
The girl had spoken.
“Why are you looking at me like that?
Mafuyu hadn’t even noticed she was staring at the girl. Or the fact that she had reached her doorstep by now. Nevertheless, Mafuyu did what her mother told her : just be nice, it’ll all be over if you just be nice.
“Oh! Was I? My apologies, I just really loved your shoes.”
Mafuyu’s voice strained at that last part. There weren’t a lot of things that Mafuyu ‘hated’ or ‘liked’ but she knew she hated lying. It’s not like the girl’s shoes (although tall) were particularly distasteful, it’s just that Mafuyu didn’t find it tasteful. The girl didn’t reply, all she did was scowl at Mafuyu.
Mafuyu hadn’t realised she was holding her breath when she finally entered her room. She dropped her school bag on the ground and headed straight to her synthesizer. Her mom was at work, it was perfect timing to try and compose something that was even remotely comparable to some of K’ s music. K… Mafuyu didn’t know much about them but she knew that their music was the type of thing she wanted to make. And the fact that Mafuyu knew what she wanted? That’s another thing she wants, to ‘want’. Ah…the world just seems to melt away the second she plugs her headphones in. Something warm swirled inside of Mafuyu. She hadn’t felt like for as long as she could remember.
…
The doorbell rang. Mafuyu quickly put her synthesizer away and cautiously marched to the door, a smile already pre-loaded on her face. A smile that was sharp and piercing, just like a bullet, and it was fired right at the girl behind the door.
“Hi, um, I know we got off on the wrong foot but I wanted to apologise for…Look, I’m not really that sorry but I’m just trying to keep it on the down-low for now, and it’d be awesome if you could just please not think I’m a bitch? You seem like a good person, I really don’t want us to hate each other,” the girl kept on talking, but Mafuyu didn’t care enough to listen, “I’m Ena.”
“I don’t really care.”
“What?”
“I’m not interested. You’re not at fault for being mad that I was staring at you. And you don’t know that I’m a good person,” Mafuyu replied bluntly. Ena clenches her fists, “Okay fine, if you’re not a good person, at least you’re a better person than me?”
“Why would I care even if I was?”
All Ena could reply with was a wry smile. Ena lights a cigarette as she leaves but suddenly Mafuyu felt a sharp pain that jolted through her body. She leaped across the lobby and grabbed Ena’s faux-leather sleeve. “Please…don’t do….that in the hall…” she’s suddenly out of breath. She feels sick.
“You have a fucking problem with cigarettes? I thought you ‘didn’t care’ about anything,” Ena snickers.
“Cigarette smell sticks to the carpet. I don’t want you to get caught.”
“Ah..,” Ena swears that her face wasn’t beginning to turn red, but that would make her a liar.