The truth is, I find myself just another face in the crowd, yearning for her attention. Jealousy bubbles up when I see her laughing with someone else, and I can’t help but feel a pang of frustration at the boys who get to partner with her in class. Even the simplest moments, like a brief conversation, send me into a euphoric leap of joy, as if I’ve just won a small victory.
It was during one of those daydreams that I spotted her from afar.
She strolled leisurely, clutching her pink school bag with a delicate grip that reminded me of a princess. My footsteps must have startled her, as she swiftly turned to look my way.
In that fleeting instant, I was captivated all over again. Time seemed to freeze as I took in her presence. Her hair, soft and silky, swayed gently with her movement, while her enchanting pink eyes sparkled with warmth. Even from a distance, I could see the softness of her lips, and the school uniform she wore accentuated her graceful figure.
In that brief moment of connection, the world around me lit up with a vibrant glow.
I stared at her so much I even noticed she was wearing her favorite pink bowtie.
Hmph. +10 points for me.
Suddenly a strong breeze came upon us. It wasn’t strong enough to blow you away or anything, but it was strong enough to make you guard your eyes from any debris.
…And unfortunately, it was strong enough to blow a nearby bottle under your right foot, causing you to trip and fall face first.
Sigh. Such a cruel thing life is.
I made a loud *Thud sound when I dropped, and though I couldn’t see her, I could tell she was awkwardly looking at me from above. And dammit all to hell, I didn’t even fall in a cool way. I think I even made a strange *EEK sound when I did.
Yep… -10 points for me.
“Umm… Are you okay Akuma?”
(Please just let me die right now.)
“Y-Yep. Juuust fine.” I answered, scrambling to my feet and brushing off my uniform, trying to regain some kind of dignity.
“Y’know…” she went as she let out a small giggle.
“Hm?”
“You made this weird sound when you fell, it was hard to hold in my laugh.”
I think a piece of me may have died and ascended to heaven.
Within that single span of a second, I felt all 6 emotions within me hold a council meeting. As if they were deciding the fate of the world with this gathering.
{Inside Akuma’s Mindspace}
Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Pride. Being my inner emotions and monologue, their appearance was the exact same as mine. They each sat together at a large table to discuss their next course of action.
Sadness hugged his head on the table, hiding away at the cruel injustice of the world.
Fear sat slouched, twiddled his thumbs, and nervously looked around as he waited for someone to start the discussion.
Disgust sat with his legs crossed on the table while slightly rocking his chair.
Anger was leaning to the table, resting his head on his left hand, and tapping the table with his right index finger repeatedly while wearing a face of pure rage.
Joy was sitting straight in his chair while wearing an awkward, lofty smile as he looked around, glancing at everyone’s nervousness.
Lastly was Pride. Being the embodiment of all my ego and arrogance, he sat as though he were a king on a throne with his eyes closed and wore a deep and ego-full smile.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
image [https://i.imgur.com/2h5bOYx.jpeg]
The first to say a word was joy. He asked the question that was weighing on everyone's mind.
“So, what exactly are we gonna do about Miss Sunshine?!”
“You people are making a grand deal of nothing! The best course of action is obviously spitting in her face.”
“HELL NO!!!” Joy and Anger screamed.
“It’s over. Our life is over. The only solution is to commit seppuku…”
“A-Aren’t you jumping the gun a bit there…?”
“Actually, I agree with him. Our best bet is probably to find a hole and die there.”
“Gah- I expect that from Fear, but you too Anger?”
“G-Guys…?”
Their gaze shifted to the emotion who shudderingly raised his hand to the level of his head.
“…C-Can't we just laugh with her to create a bonding moment?”
“An absolute negative” Anger denied, without a moment of hesitation.
(But I kind of like the idea…) the rest of them thought to themselves in a sad and crying tone.
No longer resting his head in his hand, Anger asked in a serious tone:
“Just look at that smile. What do you see?”
“The sun!”
“Something that will never be ours.”
“A-A big smile I guess…”
“Mine!”
“Absolute garbage.”
Following Disgust’s answer, they all looked at him as if they planned to murder him in his sleep. All except sadness who kept his head hugged to the table.
“The point is... Do you want that to be ours or some random nobody’s?”
“Let’s just run away and hope we die on the road or something.”
Ignoring sadness’ outlandish proposition, Angry continued as such:
“Then we should just say nothing and walk right past her. If we make it seem like a big deal, then we’re destined for certain failure!”
Completely shocked at the words that just left his lips, they sat there looking at him as if he were a one in a million genius. Within all their life they never heard anyone issue a more convincing or factual claim than the one they just heard.
“Remember to show zero expression as we do so” pride added.
“Seeing as there are no objections, we will use Angry’s proposition.”
{Back to the real world}
Wearing a face of absolutely no expression -as if it were my way of hiding my embarrassment- I took our warm moment and threw it into the dumpster. I walked past here as if it were any other Monday.
Naturally she was surprised by me doing so.
She had an antsy look to her -like she wanted to say something but just could get the words out.
“Akuma-”
Before we realized it, the sound of a truck-like exhaustion release filled our ears.
Our yellow uber arrived and it was more than happy to take us to hell.
It came to a full stop just in front of us and opened its double door -welcoming us in.
While an average person would see a simple yellow bus opening its doors to students, I saw a Cerberus lowering its back so it could escort you to the underworld.
I dropped a cold sweat as the aura alone vibrated my bones.
Having no real close friends on my bus, I chose to sit alone and in the back like I always do, since it felt more like home. Ever since entering high school I just can’t find myself sitting anywhere but the back. People who sit in the middle are alright, I guess. But people who sit in the front!?! They’re either on illegal substances or secret serial killers -maybe even both.
Alice chose to sit in the seat in front of me like she usually does.
Everything about my day so far has been that of a completely average person. Just any other ordinary life you’d find.
The only thing slightly strange was the excessive “Michael” and “Church” I saw while riding Cerberus. One example is how I saw “Micheal” all over a house we passed by. Or even when I saw “Church Monday” on a poster we drove by. Like who goes to church on a Monday? WHO?
But as I always say, different folks, different strokes.
Chalking up the Michael and Church sightings as nothing but a mixture of that dream messing with me and pure coincidence, I strolled on with my perfectly, ordinary day.
By the time I blinked, the day had almost vanished, and it was now ringing the last bell for dismissal. School was now dismissed and that meant it was time for the kids to head home. The day had been a success, but there were still plenty of things left undone before I could call this mission complete: The job's not finished until we make it to Friday.
Like a slave to the system, I repeated the same routine and headed to the same prison for the rest of the week.
This wasn't anything new. I mean I was in 11th grade, so this was just the norm and always had been. It was the same old typical life with the same old mundane events.
...Well, except one thing.
The sightings of “Michael” and “church” that I chalked up as coincidences went on for the whole week. How can a dream affect someone even four days after occurring? It’s an understatement to say it was driving. Me. MAD!
At this point, I give in. I just have to go to church.