19: THE GUNSHOT
//
4:15 // 10 - 24 - 2023 // Arc - Starbucks
Starring Serene Goldwin
Featuring Fanny, ??? and Melinda
//
I felt terrible.
The proud Starbucks logo invited me in, and when I pushed through the door I was immediately hit with a sense of nostalgia and dread. Looking around, the small tables were almost all filled with students, most of them in groups hard at work on the project. The baristas behind the counter bustled back and forth, someone called out an order, and the most prominent smell of coffee delighted my nose.
Finally I spotted Fanny over to the left, her handbag reserving my seat.
“Hey, Fanny.”
There were rings of darkness under her eyes, and she hardly acknowledged me as I removed her handbag and sat down in its place, the seat opposite to her. She reached out to take her stuff, and after placing it down relocked her fingers around her frothy cup of mocha ice blend on the table.
I didn’t pay much more attention to her as I double tapped the watch screen and enlarged it, pushing it out, and a holographic keyboard appeared in front of me. Now I fitted in with the other students doing just that. The sunlight came in at an angle from the windows, enveloping my arm and lower body in its warmth while the cool indoor air circulated around me.
I glanced up at her, she tilted the cup into her mouth slightly and sluggishly. “Fanny, I’ve invited you and Jun to a groupchat and also to the slides. You got a photo, right?”
She placed the cup back down and nodded, then also enlarged her watch screen. I noticed her fingernails were painted pink. “Hey, about what happened…”
The table shook as I stood up abruptly, and she flinched. I said lowly, “Sorry, I need a moment.”
Fanny glumly watched me walking over to the line.
A minute, and then two.
The barista smiled lifelessly at me, “Hello, what can I—”
“Chocolate cookie crumble,” I interrupted her, “venti sized. With points. Serene. That’s it.”
She frowned at me for a microsecond and then returned back to normal, punching in the order into the tablet.
“A venti chocolate cookie crumble for Serene, that’ll be 1 point.”
I lifted my watch near the tablet, and it beeped pleasantly.
Before she could say anything, I walked back to the table where Fanny was still watching me from.
She started shyly, “Can we please talk about what happened yesterday? I’m still so confused…” Her voice faded as she recognized my glare, and her head drooped slightly. “I’m sorry if I said something wrong. But still…”
Fanny seemed to take my silence for acceptance. “That… Serene, the one that claimed to be the 55th version of you, said that it was 2035. That’s only 12 years into the future, and the world is in chaos… but we know what’s going to happen! We can prevent this! We can—”
“Fanny.” I glared at her from the side of my eye, still not completely focused on her but rather waiting for my drink to come out.
She stopped talking immediately.
I returned my eyes to her, and pursed my lips. “This isn’t something you should go around telling people about. Do you know how much worse things will get if this happens?”
“… but if we tell them, then we can stop—”
“And at what cost?” I growled. “You think people are just going to take your word for it? No! They’re going to laugh at you, and then they are going to die.”
Her face was more fiercely bold than shocked, “So? If we have you and Jun spread the word, then they’ll listen! I know it! I know I would,” she added, and then cupped her hand around her mouth, a pitiful look sprang onto her face. “I’m so sorry about that, Serene. Oh my god, I’m sorry, I really am. That was insensitive of me.”
I shook my head, not entirely sure what she was apologizing for, and all of a sudden I wasn’t angry anymore. I had used all of my Guides when I was interrogating the 55th Serene. “No, forget about it.”
Fanny paused for a moment, and then continued, though now a more careful look in her eyes. “Well, we have to do something, right? She told us so much, we definitely can figure something out.”
Slowly, I nodded my head in agreement. “I’ve written down everything I can remember.” Actually, I could have probably listed them all out right there. There was no way I was going to forget the screams of the battlefield mingling with the smell of the impoverished and the sight of the dead woman laying on the chair. Me.
I said lightly, “Do you know who Gwen is?”
“No,” she shook her head, “no, I don’t think so. Do you?”
“No.”
“How about Avil?”
I nodded my head. “Boyfriend’s brother.”
“She said something about growing, right?” Fanny mused, “And also, something about Gwen and him…”
I cut in. “She isn’t the right one for him, but I don’t think they know each other. For all we know, they met on the battlefield.”
From the counter one of the baristas called out loudly, “Order for Serene! Serene?”
“I’ll be right back,” I stood to fetch my drink, but Fanny didn’t move. Her fingers were making their way towards her hair, curling the hair around in small circles.
A refreshing sip of cold chocolate left me satisfied, and I continued talking. “I don’t think we have any lead on Nolan, that guy in 4th place I think, nor the Ato’s, both of them. Well… maybe…”
I pondered for a second. Yesterday, I had in fact met up with the girl Ato, Reyenal. And didn’t she tell me… something about alternate realities?
“Oh. I remembered something.” Fanny’s focus pulled back down to Earth, and her eyes brightened as I kept going on. “I think we have something.”
I could sense the bubbling excitement in her. “Really? Really? Who is it?!”
I filled her in quickly, how she had invited Cedrance and I to a bakery and had told us that there was a possibility of alternate universes out there.
With mixed emotions, Fanny decided promptly that she was going to be positive. “Serene, you have to call her up! You have to, you’ve found something!”
“But no, we’re not on the best of terms. Also, we have more names to get to… namely Jun.”
Fanny hesitated to speak. A bit of sweat traced down the side of her neck.
“Did you know his name is Junseo?” I went on obliviously. “I know he’s Korean, but I never thought that Jun was just his nickname.”
I wondered why, though. “And what was that point about how he had to follow something so about his mom? That sounds important, and it even connects to ‘him’, whoever she was talking about…”
“Actually,” she said nervously, “I just visited him.” My face darkened, but before I said anything, she said, “Well—he’s doing okay, just to let you know! But… yeah, his real name is Junseo. Junseo Park.”
We were silent for a second.
“You did hear what the 55th told you, right?”
“…”
“Please keep it limited.”
“…”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be too mad at you for that,” I tried to break the ice. “Did you ask him about his mom?”
Fanny didn’t respond for a second. Then, started started, and then stopped like a broken toy, and then restarted again as if she was figuring out what to say. “Yeah, sorry. Umm… according to him, his mom was really suffocating. She always called him Junseo, so he hates that name. He told me that.”
I felt like Fanny was holding something back. “Anything else?”
“… she wanted him to become a K-Pop Idol.”
I was taken aback for a second, and then returned my face back to neutrality. I did always slightly notice his accent, though not that thick, and he had a face, voice, and body to suit. Even his pink hair was idol-quality. It made total sense in my frazzled brain.
“And his goal—”
“Kill Red and Blue.”
“Do you have any idea at all?”
“No, I don’t. You?”
“No.”
Another period of awkward silence, the gaps filled in with the ambience of Starbucks, people walking in and out, the sound of small chatter all about.
Randomly, I began to think of what had happened in the cave. When we were fighting the goblins, it looked like Fanny and Jun carried almost the same kind of weapon, and they also seemed to have similar fighting stances.
So… what was that all about?
“Serene, we should start on the project.” Fanny took initiative, though a little weakly. “We can worry about this later.”
I nodded my approval, but then became serious again. “Whatever happened there stays there, do you get that?”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Fanny nodded and then made a squealing noise as an elbow smooshed onto her head, the rest of the arm falling over her head.
“Hey, get your hand off me!” Fanny bursted out, but was quickly hushed by another hand wrapping around to her face and muffling her.
It didn’t even take me a millisecond to recognize the bastard over Fanny, the muscular and hairy arm connected to the muscular and hairy body, a gym fit and more scary muscles. Moving up to her face there was a scar on her chin, a strong jawline, up to her eyes that scowled in shallow hatred, and of course, the spectacularly obvious short maroon hair beyond tangled and inconsistently jagged in the way it hung from her head. She was Melinda’s minion. That meant that Melinda…
“Long time no see, *****,” the spiteful hissyrat came from behind the large girl. A serpentine smile crept onto her oversaturated face, loaded with layers and layers of makeup. “It doesn’t look like you’re any different. Still here, huh?”
Melinda was the reason why I didn’t like this place. It was here where my drink had been spiked, and it was from here that I ended up in those bathrooms. It was from here that I had been brought to the most pain and humiliation I had ever had the displeasure of experiencing in my life.
“Did that leave you with good memories? Did you come back for more?” Melinda sneered at me over her nose, wearing that same green hoodie that brought back all of the wrong memories.
My anger showed. “You can go **** off and die.”
“Make me,” the bully shot back, a smug look. “Not like you or your dad can do anything to me, the daughter to the DEVO Enterprise.”
“You’re nothing special,” I rolled my eye, my face scrunched up in disgust. Fanny tried to push the big girl off of her, but to no avail. “You’re just one of your dad’s little spawns with the many lucky ladies I’ve heard he beds. What are you, the tenth?”
“Get off! Get off!” Fanny’s cries were muffled by the hand over her mouth, and a few people started to look our way.
“Don’t cause a commotion, honey,” Melinda growled at me, and Fanny quieted down, her eyes welling up with tears. “And be careful about what you say around me. I’m Awakened now. I know that you’re not.”
For a moment, I was shocked. Melinda, Awakened? Before me? What the hell was I supposed to say now? I didn’t have any Guides left!
“No, I frankly don’t believe you.” I tried, but my voice came out quieter than expected. Of course I didn’t believe what I said.
“So that’s what you think,” the big girl finally said. Up until now, I didn’t even know she could talk. “Well, then, challenge her to a duel. You can see for yourself my master’s power.”
I forced myself to laugh, and I could see that we were drawing a crowd around us. People outside the shop were watching through the windows, even from the other side of the street students were trying to peer in to see what was going on.
“Hah! As if! I still remember how I kicked your ***** the last time we fought, and now you want Melinda to fight me alone? Good joke!”
No, my pride was on the line. “Let’s do it.”
Too many people were watching.
Melinda laughed at me, and I lost all semblance of hope.
“Good thing I scheduled a reservation in advance. I’ll see you at 1:30 tomorrow at the Square, I hope?”
She planned this from the start.
Too many people were watching.
//
1:39 P.M. // 10 - 25 - 2023 // Club Streets
Starring Avil Daniase
Featuring Gwen Olynn, Serene Goldwin and Melinda Yeh
//
My laughing was interrupted when a flier hit me in the face.
“Woah, Avil,” Gwen burst into a fit of giggling. “You’ve been so unlucky today! First you got smooshed by a kid, and now you got slapped by paper.”
The Club Street around the Square, the arena, was less empty than normal, with people walking around and buzzing with an enthusiasm that I didn’t really catch. It was our open class, our free time to do whatever we wanted as I had recently just dropped my second Hobby of Nursing. It just wasn’t for me. And as for Gwen, she had only chosen one Hobby during the initial selection phase.
“What the heck?” I annoyedly swatted the flier off of my face, the wind blew harder again, the rattling and shuttering noise of paper as I held it out in front of me. “What is…!”
I scanned through it out of curiosity, though as grumbling as I was.
“Travel Club interest meeting on Saturday, anyone can join…” I read loudly as Gwen peeked over my shoulder, shielding her face from the sun, “even for just the upcoming trip? So does that mean that we don’t have to commit?”
“Are you interested?” She asked, and then read out, “20 point fee, full weekend off… that’s so cheap! And vote on where to go… no way, you literally just told me…”
We gaped at each other.
I nodded, a flurry of thoughts pouring out of my head, and an excitement came over me like nothing before, and a sudden sense of motivation was taking over. “Yeah, I did just tell you. That guy in Ward 104, José, and his wish to tell his family a corny phrase. Yeah. Someone heard my prayers.”
Gwen was still in awe. “Isn’t this like… a really convenient thing that just happened to hit you in the face?”
“Realistically,” I said thoughtfully, “how are we going to convince people to vote for what I want?”
“Maine, right?”
“Yeah. Who would want to go to Maine of all places?”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “You do.”
I coughed in defense, “It’s for José!”
“Hah. Sure.”
“I’m serious!”
She frowned suddenly. “Do you hear that?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s probably people training again,” I entertained her question, not knowing what she was talking about. “Or maybe people are fawning over the handsome and popular guys again. Or girls.”
She shook her head, slowing down a little in her pace which I confusedly matched. “No, no. It’s like… yelling. Cheering, actually. Yeah, no, something is definitely happening.” Gwen began to walk a little faster towards the Club Streets exit around the round bend, but then took a sharp left where a few people were going towards as well.
I raised my voice, “Wait, Gwen, why are we in the Square?” By now I could definitely hear what she was talking about. Cheering. So loud, in fact, that my words were almost hard to hear. Someone pushed past me and rushed in the direction we were going. I could hear his stomps ascending into the crowd.
“To see why there’s so many people here during school,” she replied, and as we passed through the lobby towards the stairs to the audience seats, I snuck a couple of glances towards the cameras hung at the front for the indoor spectators. There were so many people in the stands, all of them watching the center stage. What was once a flat stage where the beginning ceremony was hosted all that time ago had transformed into a grassy outlet of flowers, trees, and bushes. However, there was a sort of inauspicious shimmery grey light that coated every surface that didn’t seem right to me.
But, this was how the Square was intended to be used: as an arena. There was on one to be seen from the overtop view of the green stage. However, before I could identify the rattling of a bush in the corner of the screen, Gwen violently grabbed my hand and pulled me towards her, making me stumble into her. She didn’t stop, though, and kept running up the now elevated steps completely unfazed as I felt my face flushing in a sudden burst of the heat of sunlight, peeking out from the shade into the crowd of bodies. Everything became louder.
There were so many people, so so many people. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, some photographers and journalists in the far back and near the front and top seats for the best cinematography angles probably for school clubs. It was loud, and yet for a crowd that big it was at the same time awfully silent. It was as if everyone was holding their breaths.
Over the top, on the huge box overhead the stage read two names on the huge screens that projected the live footage of a flower field below which I could barely identify beneath all of the trees.
[Serene Goldwin vs. Melinda Yeh]
Above the box was a floating crystalline orb that I had never seen before, and I guessed it was some sort of Artifact.
To my surprise there was a sudden banging noise like gunfire, and then a gunshot from the video elicited a gasp from the audience. At first I couldn’t tell what was going on as Gwen hustled me to an empty seat, scooting past loads and loads of people.
Then a tree fell down with someone in it, a really pretty girl in the Arc attire who I recognized to be from Unawakened Homeroom 1, the one who had a gun. Her hair blew around in torrents and strands of partial-gold in the sun as she leaped to the side and grunted from the landing. Then wasting no time, she quickly raised her gun hand forward and straight with her other hand on her shoulder, her head tilted into her hand for the most accurate bullets and her legs positioned front to back, and fired two shots towards a couple of bushes. That was a dueling stance, I noticed.
A loud shattering noise followed by a reversed whistle noise from the bullets’ target, suddenly two bullets fired back in quick succession as the girl screamed in a frantic sort of pain, her concentration broken as the whole crowd gasped in realization.
She was hit.
“Serene!” Someone shrieked from a few rows in front, her voice high and her hair a striking orange. “Keep fighting!”
“You can do this!”
“Push through!”
The audience roared.
Clutching the wound at her shoulder, there was an audible noise like someone sucking in their breath through their teeth, and then a groan of pain.
The crowd gasped again as another person came into view from the bushes in an area that couldn’t be seen. She too wore the standard Arc fit, but looked considerably less generically pretty; still beautiful, but the one now almost now stumbling backwards making huffing noises of pain, Serene, seemed to radiate with beauty. It was like some sort of flowery anime effect.
I guessed that she was probably Melinda. Her face was contorted into a disdainful and disappointed look, as if she had almost bitten into a rotten apple, and by her side was a… a gun. She too had a bullet wound that adorned her cheek, below the ear, the bloodstain was still fresh.
The screen shifted to a view from Serene’s perspective, her hobbling away and crunching loudly on the leaves and grass as the ominous noise of Melinda’s pursuit followed in her wake. By now the entire crowd was on their toes. The camera turned back to get a look at Melinda, and Gwen beside me tapped my shoulder furiously.
“Look, look at her face!”
“What?” I yelled over the people around me.
“The wound!” Gwen hollered back, an astonished but almost anxious look on her face. Clearly, she was rooting for the underdog. I personally didn’t care what happened, but I followed her gaze anyways…
“It’s… smaller,” I said slowly. What… how?
“She’s Awakened!” Her voice lowered as the yells around us turned into murmurs, ones I couldn’t fully understand. I, like a few others, was still very confused. “Don’t you remember that stupid annoying girl with the green hoodie at the Awakening Program orientation day? The one that yelled at the security dude—yeah, that’s her!”
I thought for a moment back to that day, that horrible day where I lost all of my expectations on the Overtake Guide, and remembered exactly what she was talking about. Up on the screen, Serene raised her arm again to shoot, but then Melinda with more energy than her shot faster. Serene gasped in pain as the camera tilted down, and then the perspective changed again, now to a more side-view.
It looked so much more humiliating at this angle. Serene was on the ground, almost crying as Melinda haughtily walked up to her, knowing that she had won the fight.
Melinda brought the gun to Serene’s head, whose eyes exhaustedly looked up straight into the barrel.
The whole crowd was filled with whispers.
Scorn, “I knew it. Serene is ******* trash, and she doesn’t deserve to be here. All she has is her daddy’s money.”
Amusement, “Told you that Melinda would win. You know, Serene might have had a chance… if she was Awakened, but yeah, no way she stood a living chance in hell.”
Joy, “Did you see that? I knew that Serene was gonna lose, I knew it! She had it coming.”
Lust, “Hey, doesn’t she look so bad when she’s bleeding? What, dude? Just look! I know you like what you’re seeing.”
Desperation, “No Serene, NO!!” The orange haired girl was standing up and screaming again. I was slightly annoyed by her now. “You can’t lose, you can’t, you can’t! Think about your boyfriend! Think about Jun! Please, fight back!”
“How does it feel,” Melinda said softly, her voice ringing out over the arena, and everyone immediately shut up. “How does it feel to be on the bottom? Actually, I don’t think I need to know.”
No one said a word.
The camera changed its angle again, now in Melinda’s perspective.
Serene’s face scrunched in pain, and then she spit into the ground at Melinda’s feet. Then she stared straight into Melinda’s eyes. “Go screw yourself.”
An agonizing moment where nothing happened. I opened my mouth to lighten the mood, no way she would kill another person in broad daylight, but then everyone cried out as Melinda pulled the trigger, and my heart dropped.
—BKK BKK
Two gunshots.
But then everyone gasped again. She was gone, Serene disappeared.
The camera changed one last time.
Melinda’s face was in stupid shock as she felt the barrel at the back of her head, smoking at the point. Serene stood there, smiling proudly, and with such a scary look on her face that a few people wailed in the crowd.
“Got you.”
And then the crystal orb exploded into a green shower.