3/20/54

ALEXANDER GALDUR

“Aaaand that’s another point for me.” Deimos gloated while cracking his neck. It’s been twenty matches after the first, and so far, Deimos had thirteen points, the blonde-haired girl had four, and the muscular woman had three. As a current ranker, Deimos had a clear advantage over everyone else, but that meant everyone else saw him as the main target now… Well, everyone except the blonde-haired girl.

She’s just the most spiteful, angry, and petty person out there, my reasoning being she’s made it her mission to inflict as much pain on me as possible. I haven’t even gotten the chance to throw out any more punches because as soon as the match starts, a pain like no other would hit me, and I’d be on the ground not long after.

Finally, after the ass-kick-athon, Trainer Masako yelled, “Alright, that’s it! Training is over; get to the changing rooms and leave!”

I heard the happy shouting and talking of others. Even though they’ve been at this for a while longer than I had, it seemed it was just as excruciatingly awful each time. Doesn’t bode well for me, but not much can be done. Mulling over my future suffering, I limped my way over to the changing room.

I walked into the room with Deimos while it was still in its bustle. Guys in the middle of changing from their sweat-soaked shirts were everywhere, and we joined them. I took all the equipment off and started changing, but I sadly got a glimpse at my body in the mirror. It appeared I wasn’t the only one who was unsettled by my appearance being the room suddenly became a lot quieter.

By all means, I wasn’t the worst looking person. I would have been relatively good-looking if it didn’t look like my skin and muscle was wrapped too tightly around my bones. My stomach was concave and my ribs were clearly visible under my skin. My arms, while strong enough to see some muscle on them, still looked closer to thin and rotting branches than anything close to being considered sturdy. This could actually be said for the entirety of my body.

The stares honestly felt quite uncomfortable. I’m supposed to just be some street rat, so being watched means my options are limited. I feel restrained.

I feel trapped.

My breaths started increasing in number and speed.

I feel trapped.

They’re all too close, I need to get away.

I feel trapped.

They’re all watching, they all know what I am.

Let me out of my cage!

Before I can completely lose my cool, I manage to slip my dirty clothes on and rush out of the room. The judgmental stares from all those around me only quickens my pace. My shoes are only half on, and they slap against my feet and then the ground methodically, signaling my presence to all those who may be listening. I hear a yell behind me. Have they found out who I am? Do I need to run? Do I need to run faster?

The person who called out caught up to me with ease; it was Deimos. They too seem to have gotten dressed in a hurry, probably to run after me. I slowed down, right before another stray and irrational idea entered my head. Is he here after me? Has he decided that I’m a threat? I need to run faster.

I pick up the pace. I run. I sprint. I barrel down the hall, but I’m caught by the collar. Deimos gripped me by the collar of my shirt. I’m trapped.

I’m trapped in my cage.

The darkness bubbles. It ripples and shakes, but I’m shaken from my distraught stupor by Deimos’s shaking of me.

“Hey! Are you alright? What happened?” Deimos yelled at me as the previous fog from my mind dissipated.

The mist dispersed while the negatively spiraling train of thought I had derailed. I blinked once and shook my head vigorously, “S-sorry, I… I don’t know why I acted like that. I’m sorry.”

“Are you okay though?” He asked, worried and cautious.

“Yeah, I think… Yeah, I’m fine.”

Deimos let out an exasperated sigh, “Alright, that’s good. You seemed… manic. At least, that’s how I’d describe it… Maybe we should get you back to the dorm.”

“Yeah, I think that’d be best.” I agreed until my mind hopped back on the dangerous idea that Deimos was just luring me to somewhere he could control better. This time however, I banished the thought to the deepest recesses of my mind, but it still managed to claw at my consciousness.

Deimos stepped away and took a moment to look me up and down. He scanned every inch of my body while I uncomfortably fidgeted. Why was he looking at me? The answer to my question came quickly through Deimos’s speech, “You… Are those your only clothes?”

I looked down at myself puzzled, and then, the realization struck like a freight train. I looked awful. A raggedy old t-shirt two sizes too small with ripped up shorts to match. Both articles of clothing had holes in them. A similar theme carried over to my shoes. Too small, on the verge of falling apart; the perfect image for a street rat. The only good clothing I had was my cloak. I got it fairly recently, so it didn’t have much time to fall apart.

The cloak was actually my favorite part of my outfit. Black cloth which didn’t reveal the form beneath. The hood drooped nicely for me to get a good view, but it nicely obscured my face from sight. This isn’t even mentioning the pockets. There were an incredible amount, and they were all quite deep. It allowed me to hide away secret weapons or recently stolen goods. At the moment, I had two switchblades, a bottle of water, an old and rusted set of lockpicks, a set of lightweight gloves, some mouthwash, toothpaste, floss, and a black face mask.

Deimos’s nose twitched a little, “You need a shower… And some deodorant. Actually, could you show me your teeth?”

I obliged and pulled my lips up. Unlike his beautiful white teeth that could have been in a toothpaste commercial, my teeth were definitely in bad condition. They could be worse however, I made sure to always clean my teeth to the best of my ability, so my gums hadn’t receded nor had my teeth had any aches in the past. I knew the importance of hygiene, and while I couldn’t afford the luxuries of others, I also knew my lack of funds wouldn’t allow any medical problems.

Deimos sighed once more and looked at me in a mix of pity, sympathy, and disgust, “Yeah, I’m going to need to set you up with somebody to help… that. Let’s hold off on the dorm for now, and instead, I’m gonna need to bring you to some places. Don’t worry, I’ll cover the costs.”

“Where do you wanna take me?” I questioned, suspicious. Like hell people are this nice. What would he get out of helping me? A charge of treason and possibly the death sentence? Bullshit. There has to be some ulterior motive here. Pity can only take you so far.

“First? Getting some new damn clothes. Afterwards, you’ll be getting some new shoes. Then, we’re going to get your hair sorted out. That thing looks like some sort of braid from hell. I’ll also get you some things for self-hygiene; I’m afraid I’ll catch something from just looking at you. I’ll also see about getting you a visit to the dentist. I’ll hold off on a doctor; they’ll ask a lot of questions which I doubt you want answered. Come on, we have places to go.”

He walked off before stopping about five meters from where he started, and he urged me to follow along once more. Reluctantly, because I had no excuse to get out of it, I went with him. I knew it was bad, but it couldn’t be that bad, right? I mean, looking at him, he looks like he’s quite well off; not everyone can be doing as well as he can… Then again, looking at the people around me, they all look to be in similar if not better conditions. Was I really that bad?

I couldn’t help but be self conscious of myself as I walked behind Deimos. Here I was, a ragged, unhygienic, poorly clothed, malnourished street rat right behind this 6’3”, fancily clothed, strong, smart, and hardy ranker of the DME. I don’t know if it was reality or just my anxious mind, but I could have sworn other people noticed our strange and mismatched duo. Maybe it was just me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t.

Eventually, we once more arrived at his car, and once again, we hopped in. He drove us to the city. This time music accompanied us on the ride to the city. We drove down streets and roads, and eventually, we stopped in the parking garage of a mall. Before we got out, Deimos tossed me a thing of deodorant, “I haven’t used that one yet, so you can have it.”

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“Thanks” I replied sheepishly, pulling my arms into my cloak to apply the deodorant. The concentrated smell of the beach somehow radiated from the stick, and soon enough, I too smelled like the salt-filled air and different organic and inorganic parts of the coast. I’m assuming this is probably not completely accurate, but I couldn’t say as I’ve never been to the beach before.

My pale skin looked like it should’ve signified that, but I was only this way because of my magic. I actually had quite the resistance to sunlight; a sort of affinity if you would.

We walked into the mall, getting some suspicious glances from passerby and security, but the added presence of Deimos seemingly warded security from coming to us. We made our way through the mall, and we ended up at a store called “Verdant Canopy.” It had a big sign with leaves of different shades of green around big, bolded, letters in a serif font. The store had various outfits, many of which weren’t green. I guess having only green clothing would limit your potential consumers.

Deimos walked in first and I followed after, absorbing the sight of the clothes. This place didn’t look like some sort of high end place, and all the clothing here was at great prices. Then again, for someone like me, these below market price articles were still far out of my budget, and just being here made me feel out of place. Out of habit, I started to sneak around, but I was quickly snapped out of it by Deimos.

“Do you know what size you are?” He questioned while scanning rows of long-sleeve shirts.

I shook my head as I pulled myself out of the small cubby I had ducked into, “No, sorry.”

“It’s fine; I expected as much.”

He took out three plain shirts, one black, one white, and one a light blue. They all varied in sizes with the white being the smallest and the black being the largest. He then picked me out a pair of sweatpants, jeans, and khakis. Finally, he got me three boxers and three pairs of socks. He sent me to the changing room where I tried on the outfits, told him what fit me, and then received adjusted clothing. I tried on a combo of each, and we ended up getting all of them. We also got another pair of gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt; these would be what I went to sleep in. They were comfy; I couldn’t complain.

I groaned, “This is already exhausting.”

“I know,” Deimos sighed, “but it wouldn’t set right with me to leave you in those. Though, the cloak can stay.”

I internally smiled at that statement. I liked the cloak, and it fitted me quite well. Deimos could see that, and as long as I managed to keep better care of it, this thing could last me for a long while.

We ended up at a Vans. I remembered from when I was younger that I actually wore Vans quite often. Even the shoes I have now ended up being Vans.

We looked over the wall of shoes and ended up getting a navy-colored shoe, low-top, white laced, size nine point five, sixty dollar pair of shoes. They were quite nice, and as soon as Deimos bought them, I swapped out my falling-apart pair for them. They fit quite nicely with a little room to spare.

With my new shoes on, we left for a salon in the mall. There, a sixty to seventy year old woman with beautiful, flowing gray hair and thin but stylish glasses caught sight of us.

“Deimos, is that you?” She greeted us kindly.

Deimos nodded, “Yes, hello Mrs. Bates. I’m here, so my friend can get their hair taken care of.”

She smiled warmly, “Of course, let me… see… them.”

As she caught sight of me, the warm smile on her face melted away into a hundred-yard stare of complete disgust and horror. She looked at my shoulder length, black hair while her mouth opened and closed.

“Oh my goodness, you poor thing, let’s get you taken care of.” She quickly distressed.

Suddenly, I was swept away by her, so she could clean my hair. I was taken to one of the sinks where they wash your hair, and I felt her vigorously work at my hair. She seemed shocked in horror, and by looking in the reflection of a glass vase, I could see why. The water and suds from the shampoo ran a blackish brown as months of grime and dirt poured out of my hair. I managed to clean my hair every now and again when I had spare water, but it was quite rare.

After possibly a half hour of struggling, she finally managed to clean out my hair, and another half hour and three brushes later, she managed to get my hair somewhat acceptable. After this hour of work, she finally asked me, “Okay sweetie, how would you like your hair?”

I timidly replied, “I’m, uh, not quite sure. Just something medium length, please.”

She nodded along knowingly and informed, “Okay! In that case, I’ll give you what I think would look best.”

I opened my mouth to reject her offer, but found the words caught in my throat. She was an expert, so she would most likely know best, right? Right, in that case, I’ll let it be.

I nodded in response, and she beamed a stunning smile at me and got to work. Quickly and expertly, she cut my shoulder-length hair into something much shorter. By the end of it, My hair was short enough that my bangs didn’t get in the way of my eyes. The back had also seen quite the work, but she had it slightly longer than the front. They were also longer than the front, drooping down below my ears. In the end, I was actually looking quite good now, the only thing showing my previous state being my sunken cheeks and the ragged clothes I still wore.

While Deimos handled the money, I couldn’t help but notice he was quite happy. Why would he be happy, that haircut couldn’t have been cheap. As we left the salon, I asked him, “Why did you seem happy when paying; wasn’t it expensive?”

He gave me a quizzical look before giving me a smirk, “Mrs. Bates loves styling and cutting hair, so she was happy to fix your rat’s nest. She even gave me a discount out of pity!”

“Oh, okay.” I replied promptly. We both seemed slightly happier at that. While others might have minded being pitied like that, I found being pitied helps quite a bit. Being pitied meant that people might give me money or food, or they might let me get away with taking some food. Pity is good.

We proceeded to leave the mall and reenter the car, thankfully bringing the day to an end. Deimos chuckled a bit at my look of relief, “Don’t be too happy yet; we still have one more place to stop by. We’re going to swing by Target, so I can get you a toothbrush, a comb, some shampoo, some soap, some toothpaste, and some floss.”

I groaned until I heard the last things on the list. I pulled out the floss and toothpaste and got Deimos’s attention, “Hey, I actually have toothpaste and floss.”

His head shot up before he looked at me in confusion, “Why do you have toothpaste and floss.”

“I wanted to be slightly hygienic.” I defended myself.

He just looked at me before sighing and turning the key in the ignition. The car drove out of the parking garage, and I noticed that evening had come. I checked the clock and came to the shocking conclusion that we were in there for five hours! It was 7:30 Pm right now, and we had left at 2:30. Wild. Unbelievable. I knew this was normal, but this was not my normal. It almost felt like… like I was just an average teenager again. It was… odd.

I felt tears start to well up behind my eyes, but I forced them down. The nostalgia, the normality, the emptiness, I felt it all hit me as I remembered better days before the crash. The tears continued to bubble behind the surface and a sniffle left me. Deimos heard it, he acknowledged me, but he chose to stay quiet and let me have my moment. By the time we got to Target, I had already sobered up from my sadness. I quietly followed along as Deimos took me along to get all the things he mentioned before.

We arrived back at the DME, and we made our way to the room. A bit of small talk passed between us, nothing important really; just something to keep the awkwardness at bay. We arrived at the dorm, took off our shoes, and Deimos made his way to the fridge. From there, he pulled out a plate of pizza. I salivated at the sight of the pizza which Deimos chuckled at, “It’s homemade. Well, everything but the cheese.”

“Really?” I questioned, shocked.

“Realy,” Deimos replied, “My parents wanted me to know how to cook. Just happens that pizza is surprisingly easy.”

My heart skipped a beat at the words parents, but I repressed the feeling and brought my attention back to the pizza at hand, “It looks really good.”

Deimos let out a singular expression of laughter, “It is. I’ll microwave it and get us some salad and drinks. How do you feel about milk for your drink and onions in your salad?”

“I’ll take the milk but pass on the onions. I ain’t a fan of them.” I answered.

“You don’t like onions? Sorry, but I love them.” Deimos announced.

I just shook my head at him. Onions? They’re just not good in my opinion, and I couldn’t really understand liking them. To each their own, I suppose.

The microwave, after a minute, let out a cheerful beep at which Deimos fumbled around with the two hot plates until they were on the dining room table. He then brought two bowls of salad with forks in them, one with onions, from the counter. Finally, he brought two glasses of milk after pouring them from a gallon from the fridge. I walked over to the meal and gluttonously gobbled the meal. I started with the salad wanting to save the best part for last. This also gave the pizza time to cool down which I know it needed after watching Deimos mess around with them.

I looked at the pizza after finishing my salad, and cautiously, I brought the still-steaming slice to my mouth. After blowing on it a few times, I bit down on it. I had to quickly release it when I felt the scorching sauce and cheese burn the top of my mouth. I blew on it a few more times before trying once more. This time, I endured the heat and used my tongue to arrange it in a way that wouldn’t make a blister in my mouth.

Even while the pizza was ravaging my mouth with heat, I still managed to enjoy it. The pizza had a nice acidity and spiciness from the sauce while the rich and creamy cheese balanced it. It was served on top of a crispy, crunchy crust which magically snapped with each bite. The milk was also quite nice. I was used to whole milk, but I could get used to this fat-free stuff. It was different, but in a good way. I still preferred whole milk however.

I finished the meal, and Deimos and I placed our dishes into the dishwasher. The rest of the day seemed to fly by. Deimos had called a dentist and set up an appointment on Thursday which was five days from now as it was Saturday. I showered with my new soap and shampoo and changed into my sweatpants and t-shirt. At the moment, I was watching The Umbrella Academy all the way until twelve. With a yawn, Deimos and I both decided it was time to head to bed.

With a lethargic “good night” from both of us, I brushed my teeth and flossed, and crawled below the comfy sheets. Right before I nodded off to sleep, I set the alarm I had failed to notice before to wake me up at 9:00 Am. Then, I nodded off to sleep, enjoying my newly gained luxury.