23rd July

Good morning to everyone out there!

What a wonderful day today is.

So today's a Saturday, huh? What do I even do on Saturdays anyways? Well, I was awoken by the buzzing sound from my phone. I did what any average zombie would do and reached over to drag the phone to my face. I squinted at the screen and pressed the green button to receive the call.

"Hello?" I asked, my voice much deeper than usual.

"---?" I heard a somewhat familiar voice.

"That's me," I confirmed, slowly sitting up on my bed and scratching my head. "Uh… who is that?"

Damn my throat feels parched.

"Where have you been? Why haven't you replied to any of my texts?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose as I let out a yawn. "I'm sorry, I just woke up… Who is this again?"

"Ms Granger, from the orphanage."

"Ms Granger?" I raised an eyebrow. "What brings you to calling me this early?"

"You haven't been reading my texts, have you?" She sounded very disappointed in me.

"Not at all," I confirmed.

Ms Granger let out a very audible sigh. She then told me in a calm manner, "Today is the funeral ceremony of Chloe's parents. As you know, Chloe hasn't been feeling too well recently, and we thought it was best if you could come along to help calm her down."

"Oh…"

Oh…

That's indeed a pickle.

"I haven't spoken to Chloe in so long," I stated. "What if she goes absolutely bonkers when she realised I lied to her?"

There was some silence.

"Hello? Am I losing signal?"

Ms Granger simply told me, "Are you able to attend the funeral?"

I thought about it.

"I'm gonna have to convince my Mom real quick though," I replied. "I'm still technically a child, after all."

"Call me and keep me updated, okay?"

"'Kay."

I checked the time on my phone and it is, in fact, quite early. Three in the morning. She must have been desperate after finding out I don't read texts. I hopped out of my bed and knocked on the door of my parent's room. After waiting a total of three seconds, I decided to give myself permission to enter.

It was dark, and my parents were sleeping on a king-sized bed. I snuck up on my Mom and tapped her shoulder gently before squatting down beside her. She jerked awake, her eyes wide. When she noticed me doing the peace sign with a smile on my face, she calmed down slightly.

"Do you need something?" My Mom asked.

"I was thinking of going to a funeral," I stated.

There was a pause.

"A what?"

"A funeral," I elaborated. "You remember when I told you about helping out a kid? Yeah, that kid's parents aren't exactly alive anymore, so I was thinking of attending their funeral with the girl."

"You're not related to them though?" My Mom tried to see the reasoning behind my thoughts.

"The kid's young, I'm supposed to be an emotional support or something," I explained. "Besides, it's not like I had anything planned today."

My Mom sat up on her bed and rubbed her eyes. She let out a long yawn before asking, "I'm alright if you want to go, but you have to be back before your appointment with Doctor Lisa, okay?"

"No promises."

She smacked my head lightly before asking, "Do you need me to drive you there? What time is it?"

"Funny thing about that," I laughed lightly. "Three in the morning."

Before she could give an appropriate reaction, I put my hands on her shoulders and pushed her back into the bed. I told her, "It's fine, I can make it there on my own. I promise to be a respectful and responsible adult."

"You gave me permission, right?" I added on.

"Yeah, you can go," My Mom gave up.

"Very cool."

I left the room. When closing the room, I waved to her, whispering just loud enough for her to hear, "Goodnight~"

I went back into my room, the light to my room already turned on. I rubbed my eyes, my vision was still blurry. While waiting for Ms Granger to pick up her phone, I put my glasses on and hopped onto my bed. When she finally picked up, I told her, "Hey, — here. Yeah, I'll be able to make it."

"Could you come over as quickly as possible?"

"I mean, how rushed should I be?" I inquired.

"Just get here."

"Dress code?"

"Something dark will do."

I showered, brushed my teeth and did all of my usual routines before finally deciding what to wear for my exceptional day out. I got a black shirt and long black pants. The pants had a nice design on them with all the swirling embroidery, so that was cool. I even grabbed the cap I had lying around.

I stared at myself in the mirror, wondering if I should put contacts on.

Hm…

You know what? I think the glasses are fine today.

I packed a couple of stuff in a backpack and I was off to Kaster's. Okay, so I got a little bit of a problem…

So you know how I need to take the bus to Kaster's? Also how buses don't operate at this time of the night? Morning? Time.

I sat at the bus stop. Should have brought a jacket. It's rather chilly.

"That sucks," I whispered calmly to myself.

I noticed the familiar and somehow nostalgic sight of green light in the distance. I stood up and got closer to the side of the road, extending my right arm. The taxi slowed to a stop. The driver lowered the window and commented, "Surprised to see people up at this time of the night."

"Something came up," I shrugged.

"Where you headed?"

I pointed to the general direction of Kaster's. "Kaster's."

"The orphanage?" He raised an eyebrow. "Who would go to the orphanage at this time of the night?"

"Like I said, something came up," I repeated myself. "It's a rather personal matter."

"Aight, sure."

I got into the taxi and I was off. While driving, the taxi driver often tapped the steering wheel with his index finger. I asked him out of curiosity, "Do you always work this late at night?"

"Um… well," He started but was talking slowly due to his concentration on the road.

When we stopped at a red light, he continued, "Not really, but you know what they say. Work while your opponents are resting, am I right?"

"Oh, that saying," I nodded. "Basically it's how to die of exhaustion before your opponent."

There was some silence while I was staring out of the window.

"Is the place you're going to a happy occasion?" The driver asked me out of the blue.

"Why would you think that?" I returned a question of my own.

"Ever since you got in, you've had a smile on your face," He explained himself. "It's not really my place, but if you're that way so early in the day, I'm sure it's a happy occasion."

Wow, the streaking lights that we're passing by are so pretty~

Y'all ever been in a car and just stare at the lights that pass by? When I was finally able to get in a car for the first time, I was absolutely thrilled to watch the lights. Then there're the stars! Up in the sky, twinkling in the sky above. Am I a moth? Am I just attracted to bright things?

"I guess?" That was my only reply.

While staring at the road ahead, the driver started talking, "I drove someone the other day who was probably around your age. He was smiling and when I asked him why he was happy, he said he was expelled from school. You never know when someone's disguising themselves with a smile, you know?"

"I get what you mean!" I said loudly, slightly startling him.

I pointed at him. "You know, I've seen a bunch of people smile in awkward situations. Why do you think that is?"

"I'm not sure either," He shrugged.

"Hey, eyes on the road man," I reminded him.

He chuckled and we were already almost there. When he came to a stop, I paid him and got off. He said after me, "Enjoy your time. It's a happy occasion, right?"

"I guess?"

I shut the door and he was off. I walked up to Kaster's and the light of the entrance was already turned on. I hummed to myself when I walked in. Hm…

"Hello," I greeted Ms Granger.

She was near the entrance, dressed in a black dress. She seemed rather impatient as she scrolled through her phone. Ms Granger set her phone aside after I greeted her. She said to me, "How did you get here?"

"Taxi," I replied easily.

I paced around the place, commenting, "Calling me so early in the morning. Must be something more than just being a support animal for Chloe, right?"

"So you could tell," Ms Granger sighed.

"I couldn't," I laughed. "Just a hunch. I'm actually just kinda pissed that my sleep was interrupted."

"We haven't been able to convince Chloe into going to the funeral," Ms Granger explained. "She's gotten… violent. We were hoping that if you were here, you could convince her into going to the funeral."

Well…

Huh…

"It's better if she goes to the funeral," Ms Granger insisted.

"Oh, because her relatives might want to take her in or something, right?" I asked. "Yeah, I've had some experience."

I let out a sigh and stared at the ground. "I'll just talk to Chloe."

Ms Granger held my hands. I looked up.

"Thank you."

I laughed and patted Ms Granger's cheek. "You know, you're like the granny I never had?"

I got a small laugh out of her.

But still, hasn't it been so long since I last saw Chloe? I already forgot the last time I met up with her. School, innit?

"Is she awake yet?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

"Not yet," Ms Granger confirmed. "I was hoping you could wake her up for us. We really need to get going rather early."

Aight, so that's what I'm here for.

Ms Granger guided me over to Chloe's room. I took a dramatic deep breath before pushing the door open slightly. It was dark, and there was only one bed in sight. I always wondered why Chloe had a room all to herself while other kids had to share. Maybe it was because they were looking for her parents back then.

I crept up on her.

Meanwhile, in my mind, I was furiously trying to think of what I was going to say to her. I mean, it's not like we're all that close to begin with. I just happen to be the person who picked her up and guided her to the police station.

I gently shook her awake.

"Yo, Chloe," I whispered.

She nudged my hand aside. Her entire body shivered before I heard a sniffle. Chloe turned her body over to face me, locking eyes with me. It took her some time to register my face. Her eyes widened with surprise.

"Sis?" She asked, her voice deeper than usual.

I threw up the peace sign.

Chloe quickly sat up and lunged at me, hugging me tightly. She was quiet. This is kind of a weird situation for me… She's being too quiet.

"Haven't seen you in a while," I said, hugging her back.

"Where did you go?" Chloe asked, her voice breaking as she said that.

"School."

Chloe finally let go of me. The room was dark, and the only thing that was lighting up the room was the dim nightlight that hung above Chloe's bed. We sat down on her bed and started talking.

"How have you been?" I asked with a smile.

"School's been okay," Chloe replied, trying to force a smile of her own.

The lighting was too bad for me to make out the look in her eyes. But judging by her voice, she did seem rather… sad.

"Did you learn anything new?"

Chloe shook her head.

I leaned closer to her, whispering, "What about that guy you like? Anything new happen?"

Chloe leaned against me, just quietly staring in front of her. After some time, she softly replied, "Nothing."

"Oh."

I hesitated slightly but came around to wrapping my arm around her shoulder and hugging her closer to me. I said to her, "Really? Nothing happened at all?"

…

"Old lady said some mean things," Chloe muttered so softly that I could barely even hear her.

"What did she say?"

Chloe shivered in my arms. She hugged my waist and started squeezing tightly. She whispered, "She said mommy and daddy won't come back to me…"

She looked up at me. "That's not true, right?"

I patted her head, smiling as kindly as I possibly can. I let out a sigh before saying to her, "Chloe, you should know your parents love you."

"Then where are they?"

…

When I didn't reply for a minute or two, Chloe said to me, "Mommy and daddy are always fighting. They don't like me. I wanna be like big sis…"

She forced a smile. She was forcing a smile, but her eyes were screaming for help. She was quivering while hugging me. Chloe said in a shaky voice, "I wanna be happy… I want to be loved by people."

"I-" I started before stopping myself.

I took a shaky breath before holding Chloe close to me. I whispered to her, "I don't want to lie to you anymore."

"What the old lady said to you is true," I said to Chloe as gently as I could. "Your mommy and daddy aren't going to pick you up."

"Wh-"

"You won't be able to see them ever again," I continued, not daring to make eye contact with Chloe. "They're gone. Forever."

Chloe shoved me away from her. I landed with a thud on the ground, not expecting the sudden violence from her. It was pretty dark, and I couldn't see her face that well.

"Why would you say that?" Chloe screamed.

Ms Granger barged into the room and flipped the switch, lighting up the room. I took a closer look at the room, seeing the torn bedsheets and the ripped paper strewn across the ground. I just sat on the ground, staring at Chloe. She rubbed her eyes, tears flowing without stopping as she let out cries.

"You should leave," Ms Granger said to me.

I got onto my feet and tried to approach Chloe, saying, "Wait, I didn't mean t-"

When I extended a hand toward Chloe, Ms Granger smacked my hand aside. She looked me dead in the eyes and said firmly, "Just leave."

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," I tried apologising.

Ms Granger shook her head. "I'll settle this with my staff. You can go home now and go back to sleep."

I slowly stepped away from the crying Chloe and eventually did a sharp turn at the door. I pressed my back against the wall, the door just to my left. I slid against the wall and eventually sat down, staring at the ground. God, I don't want to imagine the expression on my face right now.

Before either ms Granger or Chloe could leave the room, I got on my feet and ran.

I ran by any staff in the orphanage and just bolted for the exit.

I ran out as fast as I could and eventually onto the night street. The moment I stepped onto the street, I heard a loud beep and jumped away, barely avoiding getting hit by a car. I continued running, my breath rapid and uneven.

Park… There's a park!

Yeah, I can rest and relax there!

Park…

Yeah!

I came to a stop in the middle of the park, breathing hard. I crouched down and clutched my chest, trying to get my breathing back to normal. My eyes were wide as I stared at the ground. Why are my eyes wet?

Footsteps.

Who's there?

"Um… are you alright?" I heard someone ask.

I looked up to see a relatively scruffy-looking man wearing a beanie. His hair was messy and quite long. He looked pretty unkept, with his red and black checkered shirt worn out and stained. He stood some distance away from me but had asked the question.

"I'm…" I paused to take several deep breaths. "Fine…"

"Were you out jogging?" He asked.

I took off the cap I was wearing and tried to get on my feet again. The guy maintained his distance as he told me, "Um… isn't it kind of dangerous for a girl your age to be out jogging at this time of the night?"

I walked towards a nearby bench.

He shifted out of my way as I walked by him. He continued, "There's been a gang going around recently, you should really be careful."

"I'll be fine," I insisted, sitting on the bench.

He scratched his head, staring in my direction.

"I apologise if this comes off as creepy, but I think we've met before," He commented.

"Have we?" I asked, not particularly paying attention.

I reached out to my face and pushed my cheeks up. I looked up at him, saying, "Sorry, my memory's pretty bad. Do you mind reminding me of when we met?"

"I think it was another park," He explained. "I've been hopping around the place. Surprised to see you here. I remember a girl with green hair talking to me, was that you?"

"I'm sure there are other girls with green hair," I said from the bench, still struggling with my breathing.

My chest kinda hurts.

I feel like shit.

"The more I think about it, the more sure I am that it's you," He told me. "I remember the words you said to me. It really helped me out of tough times."

"I've been trying to revive my career. Still working through the heartbreak, but I'm determined not to give up. I was thinking of getting into sales. I've always liked selling things to people."

He shrugged, a small smile on his face. "I guess I can call this a fresh start. If it really is you who talked to me before, I really have to thank you."

I stood up and staggered slightly, my legs feeling like jelly.

"But what are you doing out at this time?" He continued asking.

My smile must have faded, cause he shut up. I said to him through laboured breaths, "Please… shut the fuck up."

"Do you need help getting home?"

"I don't need help from some homeless hobo," I spat.

He stepped away from me slightly, his head lowered by a bit. "Right…"

I walked away from him. He must have just gone back to whatever he was doing, cause I could no longer hear him talking. It's weird, I can't really hear anything. I hear my breaths and my heart.

Noise…

It's too loud!

I smacked my head with my hand to try and shut my brain up to no avail.

When I looked up, there was a bunch of guys stumbling and shoving each other. They were in a group of about five of them. Their faces were red and they were laughing stupidly. They all had dumb expressions on their faces.

I turned to walk in a different direction, clutching my head.

They noticed me and started pointing at me. They whispered some stuff to each other before approaching me. Even if I wanted to run, I was in no condition to do so. I was surrounded easily by the five of them. One of them put a hand on my shoulder.

Fuck.

"Hey… whatcha doin' 'ere in da middle of…" He said, hiccuping halfway. "Night?"

It's noisy.

It really hurts.

"She must be a whore!" One guy yelped.

They reeked of alcohol.

My chest still hurts. Just go away.

They started giggling stupidly. Another guy reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife, pressing it against my cheek. I could feel the cold blade against my cheek as he ever so slightly pushed it against me.

"I really like it when *hic* my women scream," He giggled stupidly.

Before I could say anything, he was shoved aside. Someone grabbed my wrist and started pulling me along. I was being dragged along and my vision kind of tilted. I could just about make out the sight of someone with a beanie.

"Run!" He yelled at me.

The group didn't chase after us.

When we came to a stop, I felt even worse. I collapsed on the ground, breathing hard. I was breathing, but it felt like I wasn't. Where was the oxygen? Am I hyperventilating right now? It really hurts.

My gaze slowly turned to the guy who had helped me out. He had also collapsed onto the ground, clutching his torso. He stared at me, forcing a smile. "I… just really wanted to thank you."

His hand was red.

There was a cut along his torso, staining his shirt a dark shade of red. He laid on the ground, staring at the night sky. He was breathing hard, but for some reason, his expression did not seem panicked.

I snapped out of my shock.

I fumbled my phone in a hurry, accidentally dropping it before picking it back up to dial the emergency number.

Soon enough, the ambulance arrived and helped get him to safety. I was dragged along and my parents were rung up.

You could guess how concerned my Mom was.

You know what?

I think now's the perfect time for a joke, innit?

So there was a rock named Rocky. And he had a best pal Rockie. They were on a journey of self-discovery together, both Rocky and Rockie. One day, they met someone in need, another rock named Rockii. This other rock has been separated from its friend recently. That friend is named Wocky.

So they set out to find Wocky. Another rock tries to stop them, a rock called Rotie. Rocky and Rockie both helped Rockii to defeat Rotie who had information on Wocky. Turns out, Wocky was being held hostage by the infamous mafia gang called Rocksy.

Rocky, Rockie and Rockii go ahead to confront Rocksy.

Rocksy was run by a rock named Clocky, a smart rock. Clocky had made Rocksy with the intention of taking Wocky's family inheritance for himself. To do so, he holds Wocky hostage until Rockii, who had been entrusted with the legitimacy of the inheritance agreed to give it all to Clocky.

Clocky's right-hand man, Glocky, heard of the inheritance and how Clocky wanted to seize the inheritance for himself. Glocky brandished his Glock and glocked on Clocky's clock. By doing so, Glocky becomes the new leader of Rocksy.

Since Glocky saw no use in Wocky, he used his Glock to kill Wocky, who woke up to a Glock to his co-

Not knowing that Wocky had already died, Rocky, Rockie and Rockii all made their way over to the Rocksy headquarters to face the boss for Wocky's freedom.

Glocky's Glock was no match for the combined force of Rocky and Rockie. After Glocky had been defeated, Rockii backstabs Rocky because Wocky was already dead. Rocky managed to barely cling to life. Rockie finishes off Rockii, thus nobody could ever excess the inheritance.

Rocky passes away, leaving Rockie to take over as the new leader of Rocksy.

Lala.

Home.

How sweet home is, right?

"I can't believe it!" My Mom exclaimed the moment she reached home.

It was still rather early in the day, she hadn't gone off to work just yet. She had driven to pick me up in the car. Fable poked his head out of his room, looking at the situation with a mix of concern and curiosity. Dad was nearby trying to calm my Mom down to no avail.

"Every time!" My Mom continued, speaking rather loudly. "Every time you promise me that nothing would happen, this kind of shit happens!"

"I'm sure it's not her fault," Dad tried to calm her down.

"What's going on?" Fable asked.

My Mom shot a look in Fable's direction. He nodded understandingly and decided to retreat back into his room. My Mom stood in front of me, scolding, "You said you were going to attend a funeral, not get involved with creeps! Do you know how worried it makes me whenever you leave the house now? What have you been doing?"

My head was lowered.

"Lift your head," My Mom said to me.

When I didn't do so, she let out a sigh, saying to me, "Recently you've been different. I didn't question you. I let you dye your hair, I let you get coloured contacts. I've given you a lot of leeways. But ever since then, you've been getting hurt! I want to know what the problem is."

I stepped forward and hugged my Mom tightly.

She stood there, rather confused.

I tried to make my voice sound as normal as possible. "I… I don't know."

My Mom hugged me back, patting the back of my head which was still hurt from back then. She whispered to me, "I'll be off to work. Under no circumstances are you allowed out of the house, do you understand?"

I nodded silently.

Dad was silent.

My Mom let go of me, but I was still hugging her. She asked in a low voice, "Is there something on your mind?"

I nodded once again.

"What is it?" Her voice was tender and she was concerned for me.

"I really messed up," I whispered back.

She patted my back.

I eventually let go when she had to go to work. I just remained in my bedroom, curled up on my bed and staring off to the side.

"---, Fable's in charge of getting lunch," Dad said from outside my room.

Soon enough, I heard the door being unlocked and opened before it was closed. Not long after, my phone made a 'ding' sound.

I reached out and stared at the lock screen to read the message. It was from Catherine, who sent the text 'Yo, where were you?'

I tossed my phone aside.

Another message.

From Catherine again. 'Are you sick or something?'

I turned away from my phone. Another message. When I checked, it was from someone else.

'Just woke up' Sent by Otto.

'Guess we're dating now?' Also from Otto.

'If there's anything you wanna talk about, you can talk to me' From Catherine.

'Not sure if you're awake, just text me when you can' From Otto.

What's up with these people?

My glasses were on the tabletop to my left and my vision was blurry, I laid on my bed and stared to the side. Before I knew it, I ended up falling asleep.

I woke up when I heard someone knocking on my door. Fable's voice came through, "Oi, what do you want for lunch? I'm getting delivery."

"Anything's fine," I replied before sitting up on my bed.

"I'll just get some Burger King then."

Silence.

I looked to the left. "My, you seem rather down."

I looked to the right. "Man shut the fuck up."

Sighing, I collapsed onto my bed once again. I stared at the ceiling for a couple of minutes before looking at my phone again. I sent a text to Catherine 'Could we chat tomorrow?'

I then sent a text to Otto, 'Sorry, it's been a long day'

Not long after, Otto replied with a text of his own. 'Isn't it still morning?'

'It's complicated' I sent back.

'You wanna talk to me about it?'

If you don't mind your own fucking business-

'I'm gonna have to check my schedule first'

'Update me'

Maybe I won't.

The conversation went on for a bit. Eventually, Catherine replied to my text. 'Sure, you wanna hang out at the park again?'

No.

'How about I just call you tomorrow?' I texted her.

'That's fine too'

'I'll update you'

The day went by normally. I was just left in my room, having just eaten a Burger King Burger. I just…

I'm…

It's- M-

I really done fucked up this time.

I'm just gonna… get this day over with. I'm gonna need a fresh start. Please… just… leave me alone for now.

I'll update you… or not.