8: SOPHOPHOBIA
//
7:44 P.M. // 9 - 4 - 2023 // Arc
Starring Avil Daniase
Featuring Gwen Olynn
//
How did I end up like this?
“Big bruther! Hehehe,” little Jess whacked me on the head twice with the maraca. The clackling noise was endless and all about combined with the giggles and screams and chaos. It smelled horrible inside the daycare.
Laying on the floor, I stared up at the very soft light of the ceiling above that suddenly intensified thirty-folds as another child climbed onto my head.
“Aghh! Get of—mmmpphh!” A sock was stuck into my mouth making me gag.
“Light!” The kid on me screeched into my ear. “Shiny, shiny light!” The kid directly shined the flashlight into my eyes.
“Bro, stooop!” I groaned, sitting up and dropping two children still latched to my upper body. One of them, fuming mad because his big doll had begun rebelling, kicked me in the back.
“Owww! Hey, what was that for, you?!” I angrily turned around.
“I, Liam, your master,” he began in his pippy voice, “demand that you lay back down!”
How did I, Avil Daniase, the one who could perform an exorcism on demons with swear words alone, end up as a tired, haggard, lifeless doll for little children to kick around like a soccer ball?
“Yeah, lay back down. Now!” Another kid yelled at me.
One of them growled like an angry puppy. “Do it, nowwwww!!”
Glancing across the room, I raised my hand in the air, a sign of SOS. The daycare worker caught my eye and waved back with a smile. She seemed to be in a similar situation except with kids crying for milk. Jess whacked me again with her maracas.
“Gooo! Everyone, do it!” She screamed in her banshee rage.
“AHHHHHHHHH!!!” The whole of the daycare erupted as five little kids jumped on top of me, pinning me down and sitting on my face and harassing me.
Seriously, how did I end up here? My watch vibrated with a notification, noiseless against the war cries and attacks against my helpless self.
As the children pummeled me, I couldn’t help but wonder how I was going to survive for the next 15 minutes.
…
“You look terrible,” Gwen pointed out very obviously. I could barely make out her voice over the children yelling on top of me.
“Yeah.” I tried to open my mouth as little as possible, afraid of the sock in Liam’s hand. It was like a martian saucer, the ‘here comes the airplane’ ready to fly into my mouth. “Help.”
“Ah-ah-ahh, what’s the magic word?” She smiled. I could see a sneer in her eyes; she loved what she was seeing. I was furious now, but still I weighed the risks of cussing.
Verdict. Don’t.
“Please.”
Gwen snickered. “Louder.”
I was at her mercy.
“Please.”
“Hmm?”
My eyes were almost teary now.
“Gwen, plea—MMMPPPPHH!!” I spit out the sock that Liam shoved into my face and coughed obnoxiously. “Alright, you brats, play time is over with me!” I had had enough. “You guys go play somewhere else while the adults talk. GO. NOW.”
That should sufficiently scare—
—OOOMPH
Jess punched me in the stomach, and I felt a churn.
“No! No, no, no!” The little gremlin tantrumed. “We tell you when to move, you stay here! Queen Jess orders you to stay!”
“Yeah, who said you could move?” Liam yelled commandingly at me. No, they weren’t scared. But I was beginning to get scared of them.
“I did,” Gwen put in loudly, turning heads, “so by my command, I, clearly the strongest of you all, command everyone to step aside!”
Was she roleplaying with them?
“Hmm? Who are you?” One of the kids asked, confused at the sudden intrusion.
Liam, still above me and tending to his sock, squinched his face. “You can’t make me! You’re not my boss!” Something crunched really loudly. He stopped, and Jess gasped.
And then he made this face, like some sort of primordial fear had been awakened inside of him. Exhaustedly, I lifted my head to see what was going on, and then suppressed a laugh of relief.
Gwen had snapped apart two playing blocks beneath her shoes. In her hands were the tattered pieces of cloth.
“The maraca is next,” she looked at her feet, and then glared at Liam. “And then, you’re next.”
The kids understandably began to scream, this time in pure and desperate fear.
“Monster! She’s a monster!” Jess hollered, crying on the floor.
Gwen blinked. “O-oh, uh, I didn’t mean for this too—”
“Alright, alright everybody, calm down!” A very large woman came walking in from another room, followed by a hoard of toddlers. The second she stepped foot into the room all of the crying kids swarmed towards her like cubs to a mother.
I couldn’t hear the specifics but clearly the ringleaders of my five bullies were complaining to the woman, and I almost flinched when she turned her head my way, still on the floor. And then she glanced at Gwen, who smiled and bowed her head slightly and politely. I could see that Gwen’s neck had suddenly become moist with sweat and her skin had become pale, both a momentary observation.
The large woman nodded her head, her eyes clearly thanking us, and then scanned the rest of the room more at all the Arc students who had come along with me, identifiable by the blue lanyards hanging around our necks. “Volunteers, you are dismissed tonight. That’s what I came over to say. Thank you so much, everybody, and see you tomorrow!”
One by one the students began walking out the door, prying off children, each with bags under their eyes. I was no different.
Finally outside the daycare, I didn’t even spare it a second glance. That place was hell. The sun had fallen now, yet the mall was lit with the noise of people having a good time. It was like this everyday. I noticed that the small group around me had stopped moving, but I, not tall enough to see over their shoulders and heads, couldn’t make out why.
Gwen tapped my shoulder after noticing my struggle. “Program officials.”
I nodded my head. “Thanks.”
“No prob.”
“Alright, Sewing group and Family group, you guys know the drill now. If you only chose one, you’re free to go home now.” One man said loudly, enough to be heard over the bustle of the night market. Or, well, mall. “For those with a second hobby, we’ll give you 15 minutes of break time.”
“Arc students, dismissed!” He yelled, and everyone scattered off.
Gwen dragged me over to the benches near the middle of the street with clammy palms and helped me to sit down, almost shaking as much as me. The flow of people around us was impressive given the current time.
“Avil, why did you choose Family?” Gwen asked me. Why was she so pale? I shook my head, not even knowing the answer myself. When I was overtaken, Avil simply exited out of the test and immediately chose it. Of all the options!
“No, not enough points,” I said tiredly, shrugging my shoulders. After the whole fiasco of Cedrance v. Goldilocks, I trusted Avil to make the right decisions. Now my trust, my faith, was almost completely gone.
“What?”
“Hmm? I dunno,” I answered her. “Just felt like it.”
She sarcastically coughed, “Just, ‘felt like it?’ That’s a load of bull. You, Avil, signed up for Family and Nursing. Are you crazy?” Gwen definitely wasn’t wrong to believe that.
“Well, childcare volunteering is just for this week, I think. And nursing isn’t even that bad…”
“Liar. I heard from another person that the Nursing kids are being therapists right now. You, of all people, listening to the problems of another person. Ha!” She laughed a short one-note. “No, you might actually be insane right now.”
Was I being too out-of-character? This wasn’t even my choice! It was the safest option, too! Anyone in my shoes would have done the same thing.
Guide.
Answer.
========================
Option 1) “Gwen, let’s just go get something to eat. We’re wasting our break time.”
Option 2) “Hey, I’d rather not talk right now. Those kids hurt my jaw. A lot.”
Option 3) “I think I was just… preparing… for the future.”
========================
No. Hell no.
I had forgotten that Avil was totally head over heels for this sorry girl.
But maybe I was a little annoyed.
“Hop off me, you chose sewing. Sewing!” I let out the same short mock of a laugh. “You think I’m weird? Gwen, I’ve never ever seen you sew. Never!” I yelled. “That’s actually insane!”
Immediately I shut up.
That was a full-on impulsive in-the-moment lie.
I had never seen it, but still I don’t know if Avil had ever seen her sew.
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But completely unfazed, she yelled back, annoyed. “I honestly think I have better chances at it than you have at being a nanny.”
“Hah, rich coming from the girl who never leaves bed.” Then I pinched my eyebrows and sucked in a breath. “Sorry, I’m just tired from—”
I completely expected an outburst from her. Anger. Betrayal. Sadness.
But instead confusion clouded her face. She was quiet for a moment.
And then.
“I can’t tell who…”
…
“What?”
“Never mind. I’m going to get boba before the store closes. Stay here.”
What?
“W-wait,” I stuttered, now very scared.
Did she know?
Did she know that I wasn’t Avil?
//
7:04 P.M. // 8 - 29 - 2023 // Arc - Club Streets
Starring Dean Harvest
Featuring Parker, Melinda Yeh, Serene Goldwin, Lyanne Bakshi, and ???
//
I was a bit uncomfortable now. A hooded guy had been following me for a while now as we walked towards the Club Center, wordlessly and inconspicuously looking at the ground, but nonetheless still following me. Even in the whole crowd of moving bodies, he stuck just behind me, never further, never closer.
Maybe he didn’t have a friend here…?
“H-hey—” I stopped my sentence dead in its tracks. Why did I say anything at all? I didn’t need to, and I don’t know how to follow that up!
The guy looked up at me and I flinched, very uncomfortable now.
Wait, where did I see his face before?
“Are you…?”
“Aren’t you the one that tripped into me earlier?” His eyes looked me up and down.
“…!”
He looked forward stoically. “Don’t worry about it, Dean.”
“I’m so sorry about that!” I burst out, drawing a few eyes. My face flushed. Though silently, I could still hear the noise of the hooded guy’s chuckle. Embarrassing.
“Really, don’t worry about it,” he smiled, and then moved up to my left side. He was a little shorter than me, but it wasn’t that noticeable until I was up close. As we followed the path and the flow of the crowd there wasn’t much but the silence of thoughts, though mine loud on my glowing face red in emotion.
The night offered nothing but cold air and darkness.
The path ahead was lit quite bright though, seeing how we were approaching the Center connected to the side of the Square stadium.
The guy offered me his left hand, a dull bronze ring on his finger. “The name’s Parker.”
I looked at his hand, and it took me a moment to realize that we were shaking hands.
“O-oh! Uhh,” I offered my right hand.
Parker blinked.
Wrong hand. My face was really pink now. “I wish I could remember my name. Sorry.”
We shook and I quickly pulled back. My palms were sweaty.
Dean. It was that weird word-editing again.
“I… like your ring,” I said nervously, but Parker seemed to be looking above my head.
Evidently he heard me, as he brought his gaze back down to me. “Wait, what did you say?”
I shook my head. “Never mind.”
Was my hair weird or something? A bird above my head? A glance upwards told me it was too dark for me to tell. Maybe it was my green hair.
“Huh? Okay.”
All of a sudden Parker seemed to be in a good mood.
The people at the front of the line were now being stopped just in front of the door to the Center by a burly man in bright pink. It was an odd sight to see. The officer said something and the kids at the front gave their hand. It was kind of weird how after receiving the hand, he took it, looked up, and then went back into the Center with the student following suit. Then another officer replaced him, then the next person.
Ahhh, this was going to take a while. Good thing I was near the front.
“Hey Parker, those guys have the same ring as…” I faltered, looking at where he used to be. “Parker?”
Where did he go?
I searched for him in the crowd but to no avail. It was hard to find a dark hoodie in a sea of camouflage that was the hair of students. Not wanting to be obnoxious again, I sighed shortly and dismissed him from my thoughts. Whatever, I'd probably see him again.
My watch buzzed, but I paid it no mind.
As I slowly approached the head of the line, I could make out a little of what they were saying.
“Hand.”
“And, why?” The student, a girl of brunette hair down to her waist and a particularly flashy appearance boldly stuck her hips out and assumed a very connotative stance. Her voice was posh, and high, and very, very annoying.
The officer sighed with a vacant expression. “Ma’am, please cooperate with me. This is just to assess your potential—”
“No, it’s just,” she sassily clicked her tongue, “really, really coordinated sexual harassment. I am not comfortable with this at all! Really? Taking my hand–like, ugh! I’m not some bride, and definitely not for the likes of you guys.”
Someone beside me muttered under their breath, “Overdramatic, much?”
“Yeah, that’s Melinda for you. Thinks the world is under her fingers ‘cause her daddy’s name sometimes appears on the papers.”
“Who was that again?”
“Uhh, I think it was–”
They turned their heads as the annoying girl raised her voice again. “You, whatever your name is, do you know who I am? If not, do you know who my father is? Joseph Yeh!”
I could feel the arrogance in the air when she harrumphed. It tasted thick, slimy, and overcooked.
“Girly, no one gives a damn about who your daddy is,” a girl from the crowd yelled out to my right suddenly, startling me a bit. “And no one knows who your corny *** is, so get the **** out if you don’t want to be here! Are you gonna call your daddy to pick you up, now, hmm?”
Another person behind me cracked up, and then began laughing really hard. The already untamed noise grew to a whole chorus, of insults and laughter being shot into the dumbstruck Melinda, purple in the face. My watch buzzed again, but now I was too entranced to pay it any notice.
“Serene!” Melinda screamed, though only the people at the front could hear her over the laughs, “Don’t butt in, and know your place—!”
“Which is, need I remind you, higher than yours,” she retorted loudly. “Idiot.”
“Y-you! Whore!” She turned around furiously to the now slightly smiling officer. “Just take my hand, whatever!”
He took her hand and looked up, and then gave her a smile, insulting, but ultimately unassuming smile.
The whole of the Club Streets was now flaring with the newest hot gossip.
At the front of the line I obediently gave my hand, which the officer took. Was my hair really that weird?
“Follow me, Dean Harvest,” the man said with a deep voice after a moment.
“Okay.” Yeah. That was my name.
…
As the final people were seated down into an open spot, Lyanne spoke over the crowd from the stage, her voice projected loudly on a speaker and echoed all about the auditorium, the Club Center.
“Everyone can hear me, right? Please lower your voices, I’ll be giving you instructions now.”
After a few moments everyone settled down to whispers.
“This program will go through two phases. The first will focus on doing what you enjoy, so to say your hobby. Fun, right? The second one will be left a secret for now.”
People caught their breaths but otherwise it was relatively silent.
Hobbies?
My gears immediately turned.
Gaming.
Lyanne spoke in a rapid-fire manner.
“You will be choosing at least one hobby and at most two. Every weekday we’ll meet here at the Club Center every night at 7 and we’ll come here whenever there is an emergency. You’ll be kept updated in the Arc app. Now, please open the app, you should have the Awakening tab now so open that, and then enter the form to make your choice, or choices. You can take the provided recommendations test if you don’t know what to choose. Everyone has until 7:30 to choose, and then the form will automatically close. Get started now, you may go outside if you want some alone space.”
I preferred the warmth of the indoors so I didn’t move contrary to the others that got up and filed out the doors, past my legs. With a little grin on my face I tapped the watch, and the screen projected a bit too large so I hastily sized it down and toned down the blinding light setting. Others in the room seemed to be having the same issue, and I sighed contentedly knowing I wasn't the only one.
Opening the Arc app, my watch buzzed again as a notification banner fell, and I finally gave it notice.
Usually, well actually, never has my watch buzzed this many times. There wasn’t much to compare it to, it was still only my first few days here.
I had three unread messages from the same person. Opening the app, at the top was an unknown number. The opening line was vague, so I opened the chat.
[Hello, Dean, this is Parker who you just met earlier]
I raised my eyebrow. How did he find my number?
[I’ve seen you in the news before, and I want to let you know that I feel for you, man]
This made me blink, and then silently gasp. I… was in the news…? The Memories didn’t show me anything like that!
Was it something bad?
[Check your pockets. I left you something that you’ll find interesting and useful]
Still shocked, a shiver ran up my back as I reached into my pocket instinctively and felt a little card there. When did he put that there?
The questions… I didn’t know what to think anymore, so I glanced over the card.
——
Nightingale | -Agent Veronica Hark
_
T: ### - ### - ####
F: ### - ### - ####
——
Suddenly my head split in two and I keeled over in horrible pain with a quiet gasp. There was something thudding in my head, a dull and soundless noise, like a ringing in triplets, the rumbling of an explosion far away in my headspace.
[Feel free to contact the number on the card whenever you like]
Oh, it hurt, it hurt so much.
[[“WHO @%R Y0#?! GET $VT *# MY H£@>!!]]
Each ringing was a shockwave that spiked throughout me, back to my brain and then tearing it to shreds and doing it all over again. My heart rate spiked like I was an Olympian sprinter, each little sensation on my skin, my pores, everywhere in the world and yet just me, was thunder. The agony forced a noise out of my throat, but it sounded like no one could possibly have heard me.
[[No one heard. Not when th—##############]]
Visions filled my head and swamped me in their murky gray waters and mud. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see anything except [[the hand beckoned to be taken.
“$#~ h@v# a choice.”
It pointed behind to the school. Useless, worthless trash. Then to—########. Salvation. Vengeance.]]
I screamed and only heard myself in my head. What choice did I have?
[Synchronized]
A flood of information overwhelmed me and I tumbled forward in my seat to the ground in one quick moment.
“Hey, what’s up with you?” The girl behind him asked with a concerned look on her face.
“Oh, I’m just having a hard time choosing,” he waved her off, and she looked back to whatever she was doing. His facial muscles twitched.
Now, where was he?
He scrolled a little further down, Gambling, Gaming… there it was! His eyes widened, his knee jerked.
Confirm.
Something pounded in his head. His whole body shivered. He reached up to the corner of the screen to the X button, but then his arm suddenly froze. He couldn’t move it.
7:15 P.M.
7:17 P.M.
7:24 P.M.
7:28 P.M.
7:29 P.M.
He… I won the war.
I gasped loudly, the air of freedom rushing in, and hurriedly tapped back in and scrolled up.
Gaming!
Choose! Now, now, load, hurry up!!
Yes, confirm!
[This site has been automatically closed.]