An eerie silence tensed up in the hallway.

Florence slapped herself on the cheeks. She stared at the pink-dye-haired gal in a wheelchair with a blanket covering her lap. Next to Florence, Yuze leaned onto Florence. At the same time, Aisling smiled with a spark, smacking Florence’s back.

A trail of droplets splashed on the floor, with Stella squeezing the soaked packaging boxes.

Sam meowed, leaping off from Florence’s shoulder. He wheeled in the air and through a doorway, landing on the pink-dye-haired gal’s lap.

“Mai.” Stella hid her face behind the soggy packaging boxes. “I… I’m so sorry.”

Mai brushed her pink-dyed hair aside as her finger convulsed. “Whatever, it is ruined anyway. Just… get in. Like, literally none of you should be here right now.”

“What about the payment?” Florence asked. “Or are you going to put a bullet in all our heads?”

Aisling kicked Florence on her bottom.

Florence yelped, jumping up. She covered the spot where she got hit.

“I guess you don’t have your phone with you, Mai,” Aisling said.

Mai nodded. She shoved Sam under the blanket. “I’ll deal with it in just a few minutes. By the way, it would be nice if you visited my house. Because all of you look like you swam in the ocean for way too long. And I really don’t want to deal with those androids roaming around.”

“This is because we did,” Florence said. “Pardon me, how did you know?”

Mai pulled a lever on the armrest, driving her wheelchair towards the phone on a round dining table. Florence, Aisling, Yuze, and Stella followed, stepping through the doorway and entering a glass room.

A caramelized brown sugar and zesty citrus scent wafted from an oven on the other side of the glass room. A line of utensils lined up on the glass panel, reflecting under the light. A black-haired lady in an apron over flower-patterned pajamas was washing her hands in the sink. She sidestepped to her left, gripping the handle, opening a door with a glass window. She reached in without an oven mitt, grabbing a baking tray of orange drop cookies. Then, without flinching, she placed it on the stove with a clang next to a closed door.

Florence jerked her head back. “How is she… wait, what?”

Mai stretched her hands out and snatched the phone off a round dining table. But the phone slipped, clattering on the floor. Her fingers convulsed as she extended her arm to the phone. She groaned with her chest rising and falling.

Stella took the phone to the floor, returning it to Mai.

“Thanks,” Mai said. “So… like, how have you been?”

Stella tossed the soggy packaging boxes onto the round dining table. She fidgeted with her skirt, avoiding eye contact with Mai.

“Cookies,” Aisling said. The floor creaked beneath her. She reached for the orange drop cookies. “Could I’ve one?”

“Of course not,” the black-haired lady said. She looked over her shoulder with a plastic smile and slapped Aisling’s hand. “I mean, you ruined our pizza.”

Mai tapped the screen of her phone. “This just feels like a literal scam,” she said. “Anyway, I’ve just paid for it.”

Aisling’s phone rang in the pocket of her ripped jeans. She picked it up and tapped on the screen.

“Aisling, did you receive it?” Florence asked.

“Yup.” Aisling stuck her phone into the pocket of her ripped jeans. “Also, Mai, this is not a scam. We must do more than two things we shouldn’t do here.”

“That makes it more like a scam,” Mai said. She leaned back on her wheelchair.

Aisling pushed her palm onto her face. She dropped to the floor with a thud. Her stomach growled.

Yuze drooled. “Cookie.”

“You can’t have it,” the black-haired lady said.

“Pretty please,” Aisling said. She crawled, clutching onto the black-haired lady’s flower-patterned apron. “Please.”

The black-haired lady rolled her eyes. “Fine. But you can only have one each.”

Yuze wiped her eyes without tearing up. “Thank you.”

“At least we could kinda survive for three days.” Aisling spread herself across the floor, rolling to her back. “That’s if we’re able to survive this long.”

“Fine, you can have all of it,” the black-haired lady said.

Yuze smirked as she kept wiping her eyes without crying.

Aisling jumped up and landed on her feet with a thud. “Really? Thank you so much,” she said. She grabbed the black-haired lady on her shoulders and shook her.

“I haven’t seen you before,” the black-haired lady said. She turned her head towards Florence. “Are you perhaps also Stella’s friend? And what’s your name?”

Stella yelped. Her hands covered her mouth. The floor creaked beneath her toes as she inched away from Florence.

Florence scratched the back of her head, rustling her unkempt hair. “Florence. I’m actually new here… not exactly with Stella.”

“Sorry for my rudeness,” the black-haired lady said. She paused with her mouth open, not speaking a word aloud.

“You can call my mother Haru,” Mai said.

“Pardon me, did you say that she is your mother?” Florence asked.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Aisling coughed. “Yup, that is her mom. Well… kinda.”

Stella blinked, rubbing her eyes. “Haru, I’ll… I mean, I’ll just check on you,” she said. “This will take a few minutes… I think.”

“Stella, I can check on Haru as well. That is if you want my help,” Florence said.

Stella dragged Haru to another glass room filled with the guitar and a drum set. The glass door slammed shut behind them. A porcelain jar wobbled, and a picture of Haru sat on a shelf above the drumset.

The crunch of orange drop cookies penetrated through the air.

“Stella, answer me,” Florence said. She stomped across the floor. But the glass door slammed shut in front of her. She knocked, pushing the handle.

Aisling breezed over, tapping on Florence’s shoulder. “Do you want a cookie?”

“Absolutely not,” Florence said.

Aisling stuffed an orange drop cookie into Florence’s mouth.

Florence chewed with a satisfying crunch. The zesty but sweet fragrance melted on her tongue. In one heartbeat, she swallowed the baked sweets.

“See, this is kinda good, right?” Aisling asked. “I’m sorry. I should have probably asked this first. Are you on a diet?”

“You are absolutely right. It is that sometimes… I do not know.” Florence coughed, hitting her chest. Then she pushed her forehead against the glass door. “And… no, I am absolutely not on a diet.”

“Well, that’s kinda nice to know.”

“Look, I do not know what is going on with Haru. But there seems to be some sort of health problem inflicted on her. And I could check or even help her if necessary.”

“Just let Stella handle it.”

“Pardon?”

On the opposite side of the glass door, Stella dragged Haru across the room. Then, Stella went behind the drum and laid Haru on the floor.

Yuze chomped the orange drop cookie, limping over to Florence’s side.

“Well, at least that is kinda one job done, I guess,” Aisling said.

“And all of you should take a shower,” Mai said. “Like I could smell you from over here.”

Florence sniffed herself. “I don’t smell anything.”

“One more,” Yuze said. She gnawed another orange drop cookie. “No more.”

Aisling looked over her shoulder. Her jaws dropped. “Yuze, you’ll get diabetes at this rate.”

Yuze shook her head.

“What do you mean?” Florence asked. She spun around. The cookies seemingly vanished into thin air, leaving a trail of crumples on top of the baking tray and stove.

Aisling furrowed her eyebrows, thinning her lips. She turned slowly towards Yuze.

Yuze licked her lips, turning away from Aisling.

“Yuze,” Aisling said. She sank her nails into Yuze’s shoulder. “I know what you did.”

“Nah.” Yuze avoided eye contact with everyone. “I didn’t.”

“Guys, please don’t do it here,” Mai said.

Aisling smiled, smacking Yuze on her spine. “Nope, why would I even do that? Wouldn’t you agree with it, Yuze?”

Yuze stumbled backward. The legs of the round dining table screeched across the floor, and she shook her head.

Aisling withdrew her dagger. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Yuze limped in circles around the dining table as Aisling chased behind her.

The glass door creaked. Stella emerged from the other glass room. “So, about Haru… I mean, Mai, I want to discuss something important to you.”

“What’s it?” Mai pushed the lever on the armrest forward, riding her wheelchair towards Stella. “Like we could talk about it inside.”

Stella fidgeted her skirt. Her face paled. She inhaled and exhaled, but in the end, she nodded.

“Nice,” Mai said.

“How is Haru doing?” Florence asked. “It seems like there are some health-related issues with her.”

Stella blinked, rubbing her eyes. “Well… I mean, that wouldn’t be necessary.”

Mai and Stella entered the glass room, leaving Florence behind.

The glass door slammed shut.

Florence wheeled around. In front of her, Aisling, with her dagger out, still chased Yuze around the dining table.

Yuze jubilated, flailing her arms.

“Aisling, could you please put that dagger away?” Florence clasped her hands together. “The last thing we need is Yuze to be dead.”

“She ate all of my cookies,” Aisling said. “And don’t worry, I’m not going to kill her.”

“That is exactly why I am telling you to put it away.”

“Look, it’s just gonna be quick and painless.”

Nevertheless, Aisling still pursued Yuze in circles around the dining table.

Florence slammed her palm on her face, rubbing the side of her forehead. Her heart raced. Then, from behind, someone settled their hand on her shoulder. A metallic chill spread through the dress and her skin. She wheeled around.

Haru stood at the doorway with her arm extended towards Florence.

“I… did not hear you coming out of there just now,” Florence said. “I beg my pardon. I should have asked you this first. How are you feeling right now? Are there no headaches or any other problems?”

Haru tilted her body to the side with a muffled squeak between her joints. “Thank you. But you don’t have to worry.”

“How are you certain about this? I think you should rest a bit more.”

“No, I’m… fine. I just want to confirm if you brought any NPC here.”

“Absolutely… not. Why would I do such a thing?”

Haru shoved Florence aside. Her heavy footsteps creaked the floor as she stepped between Aisling and Yuze.

Stella curled into a ball in the other glass room, sitting beside Mai.

Florence trudged through the doorway. She scraped the tip of her finger against the guitar with Stella’s name carved on it caked in dust. She dropped to her bottom next to Stella.

Stella yelped, cupping her mouth and sliding away from Florence.

“Honestly, I do not know why I told Haru that I did not bring an NPC in here,” Florence said. She glanced at Sam, who had hidden under the blanket on Mai’s lap. “Even though there is literally one in here.”

Mai leaned against the backrest of her wheelchair, stretching her arms upwards. “It’s good that you didn’t tell her,” she said.

“Why?”

“Maybe it’s just your gut feeling.”

“Absolutely not… Well, I guess. Maybe.”

“Out of curiosity, do you know what’s happening outside?”

“Absolutely no idea. All I know is that there is a lockdown.”

“Maybe it is because people are fighting over toilet paper… again.”

“Pardon?”

Stella overlapped her arms, making a cross sign, sliding between Florence and Mai.

“Was it that bad?” Florence chuckled. “Stella, you do actually remind me of someone. Well… at least when she is not drunk.”

Stella lowered her hands. Her cheeks turned red like Florence’s sister’s whenever she did anything embarrassing or drank too much.

“Stella, have you given some thought about it?” Mai stared at the musical instruments coated in dust. “About starting all over again?”

Stella pinched her chin between her knees. Her arms wrapped around her legs.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” Mai said.

Stella nodded, rubbing her eyes.

Florence pushed herself up to her feet. Her dress rustled. She yawned. Her eyelids drooped heavier. “Pardon me, may I go to your bathroom, Mai?”

“You don’t have to ask. Like you can go whenever you want,” Mai said. “By the way, the bathroom is behind a closed door next to the stove.”

The floor creaked beneath Florence. Her trudging footsteps passed through the doorway. She went around Haru, putting herself between Aisling and Yuze.

Florence wrapped her fingers around the handle, opening the door with a creak. She pushed herself in, leaning over the sink. The lever flicked upwards. The water flowed out of the faucet, swirling down the drain. She closed her eyes, splashing herself on the face. The droplets flowed towards her cheeks.

She opened her eyes again. But the mirror reflected Martine standing behind Florence.