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Six days before prom...
Lucy wakes up and does her chores for the day.
She cleans herself to be presentable. She does her usual prayers and eats what she is served. She goes to her remedial classes and does any assignment they give her. At the end of the day she goes to talk to Jawbone.
“So, is everything going well?” He asks her as they finish their meetings.
“Yes.” She says succintly. No one has any trouble with her... well except maybe the other Rat Grinders but she is not gonna go look for them and they do the same.
“Anything you may want to do now?”
“No.” She has her itinerary for the next month done already. She has been dead for almost a year and all the chores or works she had been doing were put on hold. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Good day.”
“Wait Lucy-” Jawbone tries to talk to her but she is already out of his office before he can tell her to come back.
Since is almost the end of the school year there are only the last remnants of the student body in the school proper. There are some posters signaling how prom will be in a week’s time, about some meetings from several clubs she does not care about or about some gnomish festvity-BOOOOM!!!
A class room door explodes besides her and a student covered in soot made a crater shaped like him on the lockers opposite to the door.
“Hi...” She approached the student. “Do you need help... with everything?”
A puff of smoke came from Gorgug’s voice. His voice was raspy and course. “Nope... I’m not hurt... Though I think the world is upside down and turned around? Have you always been red?”
“Yep, that’s a concussion. C’mere, we are going to the nurse.” And she draged him there with all her might.
“Why do I smell... smell jello?”
“At least it’s not toast.”
Five days before prom...
Rubina’s temple was always a place where Lucy felt welcome. She was the one that was in charge of maintaining it but for obvious reasons she couldn’t so now she is spending her weekend reparing it. Her parents had done what they could but only her knew how to properly keep the place tidy. Another thing she has to thank them for.
There is a knock on the chapel door and Lucy goes to open it.
“Hi.” Gorgug is there with a basket on his hands. “Your parents told me I could find you here.”
“Uh... yes. Do you need anything?”
“Oh, no! My parents wanted me to get you this.” He handed her the basket. There were a lot of homemade sweets in there. “They wanted me to thank you for getting me help yesterday... so here!”
The basket looked smaller on his arms. It was genuily too many sweets.
“They shouldn’t have-”
“They can be a lot I know but they mean well.”
“No, I mean they actually shouldn’t have. This is too much.” Lucy looked at the basket on her hands. “Thanks anyway. I’ll see that these get eaten.”
“Hey Lucy wa-” She closed the door on Gorgug’s face.
Four days before prom...
Lucy and her parents were busy in their local Warforgemart. They were gonna have a stand in next week’s gnome holiday so each one of them was getting a full cart of ingredients. Her parents had left her after a small hug and told her she could get something for herself of she wanted.
She has been staring at the shelf for almost five minutes. Anything she could’ve wanted she found a reason to not take it. If it wasn’t because she could do them back home or just that she doesn’t really need to buy it. Maybe she should just go to the check out and...
“FIG NO!” She heard screeching of wheels and turned to look at a barreling shop trolley with a thiefling riding it. Thankfully it stoped before it could crash into her. Gorgug was catching his breath behind Fig as he was the one to stop the trolley.
“Hi?”
“OH MY GOD I’M SO SORRY I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE AND IALMOST CRASHED INTO YOU! I’M SO SORRY AGAIN I JUST WANTED TO RIDE ON THE TROLLEY-” Fig went on and on about how sorry she was about almost crashing into Lucy. It went for so long that her parents got to see them still in the snack aisle.
“My parents are gonna have a stand in a few days. Maybe you should...” Gorgug thought before finishing his words. “Wait, no. You are not gonna want to see any of the thing they are gonna be selling.” He shivered.
Lucy did a small smile. “Maybe. Mine are gonna have one as well.”
“Maybe we’ll see each other there.”
“Maybe... have a nice day.”
Three days before prom...
Lucy liked to walk. It calmed her and helped her clearing her mind.
The day was warm but around the woods it was breezy enough for her to wear her well worn sweater. People all around her were having a good time. Couples were buying things for each other, families were spending time together and the children enjoyed the almost summer day.
Such a sight should bring a smile to her face. It should, but still she found herself with a blanck expression.
The winter is cold and people are here to be warm together. The summer is hot so we should work to gove shade to others...
Lucy rubbed at her face as a small headache came over her. She could feel her chest start to shake faster from her heart and had to take some calming breaths.
“Are you ok?” Of course he would be here. Lucy thought.
“Hi... Sorry I think I won’t be that nice of a company so maybe you should just go.”
“I’ll go if you want me to go.” Gorgug answered her back. Lucy couldn’t bring herself to tell him anything so he stayed beside her. Once again she looked at everyone and tried to feel happy for them.
The winter is cold and the summer is hot. Scorching heatwaves and droughts. Frozen fields with no water... Do something... do something... do some-
“Do you wanna go get something to eat?” Gorgug asked her.
“I didn’t bring any money.”
“I’ll invite you.”
“I can’t ask you-”
“I insist. Please?”
He got them some nice cups of coffee. Her’s was iced. It was nice.
Two days before prom...
“Did you really die on your first day?” Lucy asked him when they were alone in the Cleric classroom. She had some essays to finish and he had nothing to do but to screw some screws on some weird thing on his hands.
“Yeah, I didn’t like it.” Gorgug said absentmindedly-
“Professor Yolanda rold it was your heaven. How was it?”
“Honestly? Terrible. The trees were made of metal and there was a river of blood. I was angry all the time! I’m glad I’m turning to Cassandrism. Her afterlife seems nice.”
“It was.” Lucy remembers the time she spent there. A never ending forest with only a small fire to light the night. The sky was clear to see the stars and the insects made their noises with freedom. Still it was only her there and she couldn’t shake the feeling of missing something.
The first thing she thought when she knew she wouldn’t accept Ankarna’s offer was her parents. What would happen to them and if the temple to Ruvina would still function.
“How is Rubina’s afterlife?” The boy in front of her asked her. He was looking at her pointedly since her breathing was starting to quicken.
“It’s...” Homey, simple, quaint. No pain and no hunger, but the cold remains to make sure, whenever someone calls for you, the people know to share heat. A place where she does nothing while the ones alive continue to live with the cold and the heat and the drought and the tundra. “Warm. It’s warm.”
One day before prom...
“There is something to say about people that always put others before themselves.” Jawbone had told her slowly that afternoon. “People too altruistic.”
Lucy just sat there listening to him. It was the least she could do since she has not been hearing him out with his advice.
“Are you excited for something this week? This summer? Anything?”
“...no.” She shook her head.
“Is there anything you want? Anything? Anyone? Anything you wish to do?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“But you have the temple plans for the summer.”
“They are needed. I have to... no one else will.”
“Jawbone told me I can’t move through life without wanting anything.” She said while laid on the bloodrush field. Gorgug was laying beside her listening. “To have no desire other than what I think I should do. He said is not healthy.”
Gorgug remained silent knowing she was not finished talking.
“It isn’t even becuase I died. I’ve felt like this ever since I... I can’t remember a time I didn’t feel like this. I just can’t be happy if there’s someone to help. I don’t want anything if people don’t have it. What is wrong with me?”
“I don’t think there is anything wrong with you.” It was something clear to him even if it wasn’t the most obvious. “I think you just care too much.”
The day of prom was not boring to anyone who actually did attend. That was not the case for Fig, Gorgug and Lucy.
Fig wanted to celebrate her eventual vagrancy with fireworks and food so obviously Gorgug had to celebrate with her. Ayda had teleported in and with her she brought several drinks before sharing spit with her girlfriend.
Lucy was nursing a soda can beside him as they sat on the roof of the Hangvan. It was a warm night but there was a nice breeze.
“Could I try something?” She asked him.
“Su-sure.” Her hand was cold on he’s. Maybe it was because of the drink or maybe because she was a frost genasi but still it gave him a small shiver. Lucy looked at their hands like one would look at a small bug walking on paper. “So?”
“It’s nice I think.”
“Do you like it?”
“We’ll have to see.” She put her head on his shoulders.
The night was warm but there was a breeze. She didn’t wear her sweater that night. The breeze was cold but it would be fine because she had someone to warm her a bit.