Chapter Text
“Hey.”
Pomni looked up at the figure beside her.
“Oh, hey. Sorry I didn’t notice you.” She scooted to the side to create space on the ledge.
The frog girl sat next to her with her feet apart.
She held out her hand, “Ribbit.”
Pomni hesitantly took hold of her hand, “Pomni.” She looked at the girl closely, “You new around here?”
“Yep, just transferred. Though I have to admit, it’s much more cozier around this area.” She paused, “The city is just too much all at once.”
“Oh! You’re from the city?” She asked quite curiously, “What’s it like?”
“Oh nothing much! This place is way better.” She took out a few candies from her pocket, “Plus, everything’s way cheaper here. Care for a lollie?” She said, holding out a candy towards Pomni.
She unhesitatingly took it which resulted a laugh from Ribbit. Pomni felt somewhat embarrassed but was quickly shut down by Ribbit.
“No, I’m sorry! It’s just that city girls are always so hesitant to take anything and this is just a change of scenery, I guess.”
“Well, I guess you’ve got a lot learn.”
“Right about that.”
“Well, how was school like in the city?”
“Well for starters we had a uniform.”
Pomni giggled at that.
“I’m just imagining you in a uniform.”
Ribbit rolled her eyes playfully.
“Please. I accessorized my uniform so much, they had to make rules just for me. I’m a tough cookie.”
Pomni looked her up and down, though there was no bite to it, “I can see that.”
Ribbit nudged her shoulder.
“Oh shut up.”
Pomni rubbed her chin in thought, “Well, here’s one. Why’d you transfer here?”
Ribbit crossed her legs, “Oh, you know the usual, my father’s work. Plus my cousin lives here. Kaufmo. Have you heard of him?”
“Oh, Kaufmo! Yeah we know each other. Not much but well enough.”
“Really? I’m quite surprised. He’s always um, how do I put it. Scared around women? Not quite sure how to phrase it.”
“You could say that. Jax tells me a bunch of his moments.”
“Jax huh. I’ve heard that name before.”
“Well, him and Kaufmo are like best buddies.” She leaned in closer, “Like really close. Sometimes their almost inseparable. Like glue basically."
Ribbit leaned in closer, “You don’t think they’re…you know,” she made a gesture with her hand.
Pomni paused for a moment before letting out a wholehearted laugh,
“Oh I sure hope not, Jax is my boyfriend.”
“Oh, shit! Sorry about that.”
“Nah, you’re good. It’s actually quite funny to think about.” She replied, wiping of a tear forming in her eye as a result of laughing.
“Well, where’s your boyfriend? I wanna introduce myself as your new self proclaimed friend!” Her energy and enthusiasm was something Pomni hadn’t experienced in a long time.
“He left for Oxbridge recently. So unfortunately you can’t meet him in person.”
“Oxbridge?! Damn, how smart is he?”
“Extremely.” She replied back, almost dreamily.
“Well fret not! I shall be your new annoyance in place of your smart boyfriend!” She struck a pose.
“I think I’d like that.”
“Well, you didn’t have much of a choice, I’d annoy you anyway.”
Pomni shook her head slowly, “What have I gotten myself into?”
“You don’t wanna know!” She stood up from the ledge and dragged Pomni along down the path with her, “Now, you have to show me a tour around the school.”
“So entitled, I kinda don’t want to do it.” She remarked, jokingly.
“Too bad.”
“A lot happened after you left, Jax.”
Jax sighed into his phone,
“I’m not asking you to repeat what I already know, just tell me the main thing that happened.”
Kaufmo hesitated for a moment, “It’s not my story to tell, you should ask Pomni.”
“You think I haven’t tried? Every time I bring something remotely close to our school days she just freezes up.” He kept his tone low and cool.
“Just… just ask her about Ribbit.”
“Like your cousin Ribbit?"
“Yes. Just ask her about it. But don’t be too firm, it’s probably still a sensitive topic for her.”
“Sensitive? Well whatever, sure I'll ask her." He paused, "Thanks Kauffy, I appreciate it."
"Glad to help dude." He replied sincerely before letting out a small snicker, "I expect to be invited to your wedding." He added snarkly.
Jax felt his smirk through the screen as he rolled his eyes in annoyance, "You haven't changed a bit." He declared.
"Good to hear." He replied back, "Now go get your girl."
"She's not my… you know what sure."
"Remember to invite me!" Kaufmo's voice echoed through as he cut the call.
He let out a huff of air as he made up his mind for what the heck he was gonna do now.
They eventually found a nice quiet spot to sit, as Gangle finished sipping her coffee. Pomni stared off into the distance, still stressed and puzzled from the days events but noticeably a lot calmer.
"I don't mean to be intruding," Gangle started, "but how exactly did you end up in the hospital?"
"It's quite a long story," She huffed out, "and I don't know if I'm capable of explaining it cause…well even after all these years…its still pretty raw and hard to think about."
Gangle gave her a soft supportive smile as she continued sipping her drink in silence.
The cold air brushed through them as they shivered at the contact.
"Zooble sent me a message." Gangle flipped her screen towards Pomni, "Aw, their asking me out on a date."
"You should go." Pomni commented without a second thought.
Gangle looked at her hesitantly, "Would you be okay?"
She nodded unhesitantly, "I feel a lot better now." She admitted, "Plus, I could use alone time."
Gangle smiled brightly as she gave her a short hug before excitedly runnng off to get ready for her date.
Pomni let out a quiet chuckle as she relaxed onto the bench she was sitting on.
She should probably talk to him. He's equally as confused as she is, if anything maybe even more. He's been left in the dark about a lot of crucial details, though she doesn't know how she would tell him everything.
Could she tell him what happened?
What even happened?
Ribbit.
Yeah, her.
"Hey."
Pomni turned to face the voice that had called out for her.
Ribbit nervously scratched at her neck, "Are you um, free, after school?"
Pomni nodded her head, "Yeah. Is everything okay?"
"Oh yeah! Totally! I just…um wanna hang out. You know?"
"Mind if I come straight away to your house then?"
"Oh yeah! No problem."
What if she didn't agree?
"Pomni…"
Her voice was uncertain.
She paused the movie as she turned to look at the frog.
"There's something I want to tell you."
"I think I'm… no I am… I. I like girls."
She was pretty shocked to say the least. Ribbit was the last person she expected to be…well lesbian. But it did kinda make sense.
"Anyone in particular?" She asked rather nonchalantly.
"W-well yeah but y-your like okay with that?"
Pomni shrugged, "Honestly, it doesn't matter to me whether you like girls or not. I like you for who you are, not your sexuality."
Maybe she should'nt have said that.
"Now tell me! Who's the lucky girl?"
Ribbit flushed, "Well, you obviously know Salina."
Pomni gasped, covering her mouth in response to silence her giggles.
"You two are perfect for each other! Like seriously."
She should'nt have agreed.
"We should make a plan!" Pomni offered.
"What would we even call it?" She asked, "Mission: Help me get a girlfriend?"
Pomni snorted in response, "Not a bad idea."
"Oh lord."
What should she have done differently? What could she have done differently?
She stood on her toes as she aligned the frog's bow.
"There, perfect." She added as she took a step back to look at her.
"I'm scared." Ribbit admitted as she took ahold of one of Pomni's hands.
"It's only natural to be scared." She reassured, "We've spent like half a year planning this. It's a very big moment. But you'll do amazing." She paused, "Just remember to be yourself."
Ribbit took a deep gulp of air, making frantic gestures to calm herself down.
"Your right. It'll go amazing."
"Atta girl." She patted her back, "Now go get your girl." She added as a figure walked nearby.
"Okay I'm actually doing this," she muttered under her breath as she began walking towards the girl, "Hey Salina! Fancy seeing you here."
That's when everything went bad…didn't it?
It started off small,
Forgotten hangouts and unanswered texts.
Then…
It happend so fast.
Suddenly, she wouldn't even look at her anymore. Like she was glued to her new friends and girlfriend.
She tried to figure out what she did, desperate to find an answer. But she couldn't find anything. Her friends at choir avoided speaking to her, and Ribbit…well she wasn't even an option anymore.
Her daily routine was walking around the school courtyard alone, hoping nobody saw her.
She focused entirely on her studies, afterwards. As she excelled through most of her subjects. Ribbit only seemed to get worse. She was popular now? Everyone seemed to be interested in the new girl now, a year after she'd joined. Pomni sat silently through everything, just waiting until she could get home and call him again.
The calls felt like a getaway from hell, his bright spirits always brought her demeanor up. As he explained his weird stories from medical school and all it's drama. They'd make her laugh without control, frequently wondering how so much could happen in so little time.
"It's quite hard to survive here." He told her once, "Everybody's judgemental and cares way too much about how much money your parents own."
"I figured." She replied back easily.
"Well anything new back there?"
She wanted to tell him. She was desperate to tell someone about her struggles but it wasn't a big deal. There are so many bigger and harder struggles that people had to face and here she was fussing over losing a friend. Plus, she couldn't worry him, not when his finals where nearby.
"Not particularly." She replied back finally, "It's still lonely without you though."
"Just a few more years." He promised, "Then, I'm all yours."
She clutched her phone to her chest, as she lay flat on her bed, "I should probably sleep now. There's a huge bio test tomorrow."
"So eager to leave me, huh?" He added with fake offense.
"Yes, of course. Very eager."
"Whatever, dork." He chuckled, "Love you. And you better not fail that test!"
"Get lost!" She retorted, while chuckling quietly, "Love you too. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, idiot."
The empty silence filled the room. Muffled sounds of music could be heard from the bottom floor. She let her phone drop besides her as she carelessly stared at her ceiling.
She should've stayed in her room.
She wasn't usually curious about whatever was happening outside her room. Normally, the rest of her house was filled with random drunk people just vibing to music or doing…other activities.
But the music was rather quiet this time. She wondered why.
"Just a quick glance and go." She told herself.
Stupid.
As she had guessed, it wasn't as loud and lively as the previous events held at her house. She search for her mother but as she had expected, she was no where to be seen. She could hear some muffled chanting and despite her doubts, she eventually followed it.
Why?
She travelled all the way to the guest bathroom as hesitantly opened the door. The whole room smelled profusely of alcohol, which was something she'd gotten use to by now.
At first she was somewhat glad, she saw her mother. But she didn't seem to care or notice her presence. She opened the door wider and immediately regretted it.
She was there. Despite being way too young. The cheering was led by Salina who looked way too happy about the fact that she was chugging bottles of alcohol.
Pomni left after that. She didn't want to speak to her…or anyone really.
What if she confronted her?
She quietened more over the course of the following months. Ribbit and Salina…well they seemed to be getting worse daily. At first it was just rumors. Some gossip she'd heard about them fighting. She brushed it off as the usual fake gossip until well until they had like a huge fight in the corridor.
She couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was loud. She turned around and headed back to her class.
Maybe she should've stayed?
They eventually broke up. Everyone had expected it. Salina went and cheated on her with a man. Of course she did.
Ribbit was um… not thrilled.
At first she was angry. But Pomni didn't know who she was angry at.
Salina?
That other guy?
Or herself?
Then she just stopped. She was just kinda existing.
You should have talked to her.
It was a calming walk. A route she'd normally take. It was a nice breather. Just a nice walk along the park and through the bridge.
A nice walk.
That's all it was.
A really nice walk…