... hey, uhm, I'm- sorry for putting all of that on you, Mr. California.
Had some time to think to myself throughout that whole... thing... and I'm just... yeah.
I guess I should tell you that things are- kind of working out so far.
It's been like... a couple of hours after Hippo Dad and I got called to the principal's office and had that whole talk with the principal, and... and... yeah. Hippo Dad just... he just needed to cry for, like, some time, before he wiped his eyes clean and just got back to working on his accounting things. Back to being his usual hippo dad self.
I couldn't really bring myself to say anything to him after, because- addressing it might cause him to be, like, upset again, and he looked like he was ready to move on... so we sat in silence after. Every so often, I just- occasionally looked at his screen to see what he was doing. A bit of boring accounting nonsense for like... y'know, like, ten minutes.
A little over ten minutes before the principal called the two of us back in.
We walked past Makeup Weasel's parents. Was a good sign when I just watched two grown adults glare at me violently. Part of me wonders why both of them showed up, instead of like- one of them going with their daughter or whatever, but-
Oh! Okay, I- I completely forgot to tell you this, by the way. The seriousness of the situation made me completely forget to tell you this.
So, it got briefly brought up that Makeup Weasel's first name is Brittany, right? Principal called her Brittany and I never really acknowledged it because I'm still gonna keep calling her Makeup Weasel when talking to you.
But guess what her last name is?
Weasel.
That's right, Weasel. Brittany Weasel. Her- her name is Brittany Weasel.
Like... like, when the EFD season hit, every single person kept their name. All the replacements made sure they knew the name of the person they were replacing, so like... there was a girl named Brittany Weasel, unironically, even before the whole end of the world, before she and her family became literal weasels.
I- I later looked it up online if it was a real last name, and yeah- straight up, it was. Existed for like, at least a hundred years, all the way back in 1880 to 1920. There are like, "eight thousand" records for it and everything. The men were mostly farmers too, with some percentage of meat cutters and miscellaneous laborers, while all of the women were listed as maids.
That's- that's kinda crazy to hear. Especially since I knew some actual weasel people back on the farm, and- and none of them had the last name Weasel, making Makeup Weasel and her entire family the central weasels of the world. Like- I- I'm still not over this. I'll get distracted every so often, but I just- her last name was Weasel, man, that's- hahahahahahaha! Oh my gosh! And SHE was the one bullying me and Gumi!
Hahaha. Ha...
...
Ah, anyway, so like, Hippo Dad and I walked past the Weasels and entered the principal's office again. Another detail I just completely glossed over, our principal is a walrus.
The gold name tag on his desk said: Principal Marc Goodman. I kinda glossed over him because, like... y'know, I was in major trouble and couldn't bother to focus on other people right now, but uh... he's like, a large, hulking walrus in a suit and tie, had these two large gold tusks sticking out from his mouth, and he's like... completely shaved. No walrus fur. Probably the most human looking adult I've seen in this school so far.
Though, there is one big thing I completely and totally neglected to tell you, he has a scar over his left eye. Like a massive one, looked like he got into a knife fight and lived to tell the tale.
No, that eye scar has been there the whole time since I've seen him, he did not just get into a knife fight with Makeup Weasel's parents, dude got it from something else. Probably some mysterious past or something.
So, let's get this out of the way. While Hippo Dad and I were out of the room, what exactly did happen between him and the Weasels?
Well, from what he told us, he apparently thought they were absolutely insane for suggesting I brought in enough drugs and/or chemical substances to hospitalize their daughter. They're going to let the police officer investigate what happened exactly to cause the injury, anything on school grounds that- for lack of a better term, can cause what happened to Makeup Weasel's hand.
Though, I don't think they'll be able to find anything. The principal himself said it was such a bizarre occurrence that doesn't have a single explanation, and it was probably some big accident that happened.
So, Mrs. Weasel snapped. Yelled at him in complete and total uproar.
Even when not knowing WHY it happened... it doesn't change the fact that Makeup Weasel did basically get her hand screwed up after talking with me. Literally the only person they know that could have possibly had anything to do with the skin on the girl's hand burning and dissolving off, so like... yeah, of course I'm still in trouble.
However, I'm... not in as MUCH trouble as I would have been. Sure, Mrs. Weasel pushed heavily to give me a strict punishment, but the principal ultimately decided to only suspend me for one day, and then I'm back in class. All I ultimately did was hold a girl's wrist and hand against her will, so it's not grounds to be expelled for violence. So- it's mostly just one day of cooldown time after the heat that happened.
Pretty lenient of him and all, given the fact both Makeup Weasel and I have even rougher punishments ahead of us.
Makeup Weasel has the more severe one- her hand is literally messed up. I don't know what doctors she has available, but- without my healing in particular, her hand's in for a long recovery. Maybe she comes back with a wrap of bandages over her hand, or maybe even a cast- or she spends days trying to naturally fix her hand with ice and junk. Whatever the case, I think she's not going to be bothering the Kusuris anymore...
... or she could come up with some other way to weasel in another bullying scheme. She does have, like, four years with us if she stays at this school. She could do worse to us than one single day's worth of bullying. More incentive to, after what I supposedly did, so... yeah.
So anyway, my punishment. Word will spread - or, rather, it has spread - that I got suspended for hurting Makeup Weasel and... yeah, that's not going to be fun to deal with. There's going to be one entire day for people to hear about it, an entire day to hate me and be scared of me and stuff. They already hate me to begin with, really... Makeup Weasel sowed the seeds of these creatures hating me and Gumi.
Now our little incident's going to make me the violent sister, the troubled one that people should stay away from. I'll be put in the outcast seat again, with the people around me being too uncomfortable and uneasy with me around.
At worst, "the Kusuri Sisters" are in the hot seat for this disciplinary action. At best, to be honest, "Cherri Kusuri" is the troubled one to be cautious of.
Both extremes are pretty bad for me, but- no matter what, I know I'm going to be the one who has to watch her back around everyone. I'm the Kusuri that has to be careful about getting in trouble, the Kusuri that's now walking on eggshells everywhere she walks on that school.
Why do I know for certain?
Well, before I explain... I should give you some good news: I learned that Gumi's fourth class went really great!
Gumi herself was elated over it, happy and excited and all. Apparently the class takes place in a large stage theater, and they had a really- really good ice breaker session to begin the year with. Conversation starters and all. What I missed out on was a fun little game the class did of two truths, one lie. A starting exercise, framed like an "acting exercise" where a student goes up on stage, makes up whatever they wanted, and- got some honorary points depending on how hard it was to discern the truth and lie.
You get more points if more people incorrectly guess your lie, and you get more points if you correctly guess other people's lies. There was a whole system and everything, and the teacher kept track of everything. There was enough time for everyone to go twice, Gumi included.
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Gumi waited until much later to tell me, privately, that our drama teacher was a floating packet of fancy notebook paper with a long brown wig stapled to the corner of the pages, constantly floating above a walking stone pillar at all times.
She got really nervous on stage when it was her turn to play, especially since I wasn't there, but she had the teacher's help throughout the whole thing. The teacher was really nice, caring and encouraging to her, and she helped her open up when she was on that stage. Because of this teacher, Gumi felt comfortable enough to speak in front of everyone, and managed to get her two attempts at the ice breaker out.
The first time she was on that stage, she told the class that she's a country girl, she loved cupcakes and candy, and she once saw a cool crocodile with sunglasses high fiving a seagull at the zoo.
Second time: her favorite types of movies are romantic comedies, she knows how to draw coffee latte art of a cat, and she once saw a cool crocodile with sunglasses high fiving a pigeon at the zoo.
Needless to say, Gumi didn't earn any points for her part... but she had a lot of fun during it, and got quite some substantial points for her lie guessing.
That's not all, however. She earned something else from that class, something that she very- very much liked, very much enjoyed.
Or- rather, someone.
So, when Gumi was walking out of the school to meet up with me and Hippo Dad, I first noticed a lamb girl in a thick and fluffy beige sweater walking alongside Gumi. She had cute earmuffs over her ears, a thick and fluffy coat of white wool over her head, and had a pair of rectangle-shaped glasses over her face.
More importantly, though, I saw the two of them chatting about something, and I just- I was surprised by that sight, thinking: oh! Gumi made a new friend!
... then I was promptly approached swiftly by a Siamese cat girl, one that had been walking right behind them, dressed in a refined sleeveless white sweater and black jeans. Her eyes locked onto me almost immediately and she ran swiftly past those two. The approaching anthropomorphic Siamese cat girl dashed over to me and stood right in front of me with a... bold smile, on her face.
"... hello, hello, darling! You must be the Cherri I've heard so much about!" exclaimed the Siamese cat girl, bowing a little formally with a fancy designer black scarf dangling over her shoulder. She has a faint French accent behind her voice, which- came from the fact she moved here from France. "My name is Soleil. Quite the pleasure to meet you!"
I remember being completely confused about who this girl was, and... well, I wasn't in the best headspace to figure it out right away, so I just kinda answered like: "... Cherri, nice to meetcha too, I guess?" with uncertainty behind my voice. Not the best introduction, and I didn't have much reason to be excited...
... until Gumi and the other girl approached, and the other girl proceeds to introduce herself.
"A... and... uhm... I'm... Elena..." quietly mumbles the lamb, her mouth covered by the sweater as she meekly speaks. Someone who acts shyer than Gumi, which is real interesting.
So, it's not just a someone. It's someones. Two new friends. I gave the- nicest smile I could to Elena, energizing myself up. It's actually really nice to know Gumi managed to make two friends on her own, and I was really happy for her.
"Aww, darling, I don't get a smile too?" comments Soleil, frowning and making pretend weeping noises... before immediately smiling excitedly and grinning at me. "I guess I need to work on my entrances. We'll workshop it some time, alright?"
"Sure, sure-" I respond to Soleil.
"Wonderful! Well, then. À toute à l'heure, mon Cherri~!" Soleil- flamboyantly exclaims, before walking off in a stylish strut, heading to the buses.
"... right- I-I-I'm going to be off as well... talk to you two s-some other time..." Elena sheepishly speaks up, before starting to follow Soleil to the buses.
We only spoke for like, twenty- thirty seconds, and uh... I think Soleil and Elena seem pretty nice. They seem like they're pretty good friends with Gumi so far, so- I guess I'm looking forward to actually being in a class with them after my suspension.
Though... I think I already have a hang of them and their entire deals, so I didn't have much to look forward to.
Plus, once we were in the car, Gumi told me (and Hippo Dad, who was listening and eavesdropping on our chat) a lot about the two anyway. Learned a lot about the two all because of Gumi's enthusiasm for making new friends.
And uh... yeah, this is why I think I'm the main negative focus of the school. Gumi met these two because of the whole Makeup Weasel incident.
Rumors are spreading like wildfire, kind of balancing between both of the extremes I mentioned. Some talk about the Kusuri Sisters, and some talk about Cherri Kusuri specifically... and these two girls are on Team "Cherri Kusuri" in this rumor divide.
It started with Gumi just quietly sitting in the corner, cleaning her face off in the bathroom before retreating to the class. Two minutes before class starts, as Gumi is just- sitting quietly to herself, Soleil just immediately walks up to her and tells her: "Hello, hello, darling," said the exact, same, way she greeted me, "you must be Cherri, right? I've heard quite a lot about you!"
Gumi was very, very confused about this and corrected her, to which Soleil responded by going: "Oh! My sincerest of apologies. You just seem like a Cherri, sweetie," then asked Gumi if she could sit with her anyway.
And from this information, I now know that I'm a "darling" and Gumi is actually a "sweetie" to this girl.
So, Soleil learned about us because she shares a class with Makeup Weasel in third period. The Siamese cat just overheard a ton of "rumors" being spread about the Kusuri sisters in general. Ultimately, she missed the entirety of the lunch period and didn't know which one of us was which, but apparently discerned what we looked like after hearing how Makeup Weasel described me in particular.
Apparently, according to Makeup Weasel, I'm a "copycat wannabe that dyed my hair pink just to copy her entire aesthetic", as if she owned the color pink at this school. Makeup Weasel planned to brand me a complete and utter fraud with no identity of my own.
Soleil told Gumi that she was spared from this specific rumor because "she's too much of an ugly pig to ever copy her", apparently...
... and, well, Soleil also admitted to Gumi that she absolutely loved engaging in gossip. Intrigued by all of that nonsense, the kitty cat was just excited to meet me, determined to meet the person who has somehow gained the ire of one of the biggest weasels she's ever met. So, Gumi offered to introduce her to me after school, and- well, they hung out for the entire class, really hitting it off as good friends, and uh... yeah, that's Soleil.
Now let's talk about how Elena knows Gumi.
Apparently, she was in the cafeteria when the whole thing with Makeup Weasel happened, sitting quietly with her brother. Seeing all of that, Elena just went to class and- behold, Gumi was there. She ended up in the same class as well, and saw Soleil and Gumi together in the corner, chatting.
She wanted to approach Gumi the entire time, but was way too nervous, timid, and- quite frankly, too scared to approach. Elena herself told Gumi that every time she wanted to walk over and say hi, she froze up and couldn't come any closer.
Ultimately, the only reason Elena could finally speak to Gumi was all because of the Siamese kitty cat. Gumi explained that Soleil noticed a prying set of eyes just staring at them the entire class, and dragged her along to meet the girl sitting in the middle row. The resident extrovert, Soleil, then did a ton of nudging for the two shy girls to chat on common ground, and uh... I guess I'm a little jealous at how good Soleil is at socializing.
Apparently, they spoke about family members - surprise surprise, Soleil knows how interesting the subject would be - and Gumi opened up about Hippo Dad and his accounting job in the city, and- well, they also talked about me. How I was pretty much her best friend throughout her entire life, how inseparable we were. How I looked out for her and she looked out for me and everything.
Seemed like it struck a chord with Elena, who related heavily with that. Gumi learned that Elena's parents are tailors that own their own shop in the city. Also, that Elena's big brother is a senior attending this school... and is the active, current president of the school's Drama Club. They were born and raised in this city and all.
So, after all that introductory small talk, the three are now new drama class pals. The three musketeers soon to be - and I'm quoting Gumi's account of Soleil's words on this - "the Card Suits". As in, like, hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds.
Gumi asked who was which, and Soleil's response: "We'll work out the kinks later, sweetie."
... so anyway, I'm pretty proud of Gumi. Excited for her, how her school day ended on a really good note. One that made her really hopeful and everything. Gumi had a lot to say about Elena and Soleil, since she pretty much thinks the world of them. Her first proper high school friends.
We even made it home before Gumi even finished her entire story. Hippo Dad got us back home while she was in the middle of talking about Elena, and we just kept talking about it privately while he went back to work.
"Hah- guess that means the lizard nerd's free game to befriend now, right?" I asked Gumi, directly mentioning the lizard nerd now that we were alone.
Gumi seemed to light up when I say this, now- smiling brightly that she gets to be the empathetic self she is. Now that we get to befriend him, she doesn't have to feel bad about having to reject his want of friendship.
... but, uhm. The way she responds is, uh, where the good note for me starts to fade.
"Oh, yeah! I should really reach out tomorrow, I don't know if we share any classes together, but uhm- yeah! We'll try to find and talk to him tomorrow!"
Gumi was so excited about her friends, that both Hippo Dad and I neglected to tell her about my suspension...
... and, uh, Gumi noticed my uneasiness at this, my uncertainty.
"... w... what? What is it...?"
... and... uhm... and then I had- I had to spoil Gumi's mood as I told Gumi about my suspension. How I needed to not be in school tomorrow after what happened.
"... w-wait, so I- I have to go to school without you tomorrow?"
It broke my heart to see her frown after all that smiling... "Yeah... sorry..."
"..."
... and that's a tomorrow problem to deal with.
For now, though, Gumi and I are settling in to our new house and all, even with all the cardboard boxes we have yet to unpack. Not much to really say or do for now.
As I'm pretty much just telling you the entirety of what happened today, Gumi retreated off to our room upstairs, starting to get all her stuff unpacked, while I just chill out in the living room and watch some TV. Nothing good is on yet, but- eh, gives me something to do.
I just... I guess I have a lot to think about tomorrow, a lot that will probably be on my mind. I have all the free time in the world, after all.
Meanwhile, Gumi's off to school again tomorrow. The plan's probably for Gumi to tell me whatever she has to do for tomorrow's classes, as we still pretty much have the exact same schedule, so like... yeah. That's gonna be a whole thing to deal with.
Ah, before I stop this lil' thinking experiment with you, might as well ask. How has your day been?
... ah, I can't hear you. But, hope your day's been... going better than mine. I wish you a ton of luck on whatever it is you're doing, and uhm... see you tomorrow, I guess?
Buhbyeeeeee.