Cherri again... uhm, so... where do I begin, this time...?
Well, I guess... let's start with the good news, as I tell you that... well, Gumi had the best day ever. Got to hear more and more about it when she came home to tell me about it. It was as if the stuff with Makeup Weasel never happened to begin with, and she got to enjoy her school day in peace.
Didn't spend it alone, furthermore. I was pretty much right about my guess with Lizard Nerd. The entire day, she's- actually been hanging out with Lizard Nerd. Not only is he in our math and health class- turns out, she actually shared an ENTIRE DAY with him. Gym, Government, and English- Lizard Nerd's spent the entire day with her as a new study buddy. A sort of "backup Cherri", in a way.
According to Gumi, Lizard Nerd's nice to hang out with in class. He's kind, funny, and - obviously - smart. Rather than a nerd, he's- actually kind of like a geek as well. Someone who's knowledgeable and passionate about some niche topic. Apparently he loves the heck out of those old robot space movies and some other junk I couldn't be bothered to remember.
I'm still gonna call him Lizard Nerd, though, Rolls off the tongue better than Lizard Geek. Li-zard. Li-nerd. Zard. Nerd.
But- yeah, he and Gumi hit it off pretty well, and that's pretty amazing. Going back to that nerd side, befriending Lizard Nerd is probably one of the best academic things for Gumi. Five whole classes together. Complete new study buddy to learn together with, to ask a bunch of questions if Gumi has questions and stuff- in fact, he's also in some advanced Biology class instead of our normal one, he's totally gonna know a lot about our stuff.
Very useful.
Anyway. Gumi learned today that Soleil and Elena aren't as... "prominent"... in her classes as the lizard nerd, however. See, Gumi and I only share Drama class with them, as they operate on completely different schedules and stuff. Different classes, different teachers- different social groups. No guarantee we'll be covering the same stuff, so at best they're just friend-friends rather than study friends.
Even then- Gumi doesn't get to hang out with them during school, anyway. The lunch period separates all three of them. Our class has lunch happen right in between the class, a 30 minute lunch period starting at 11:40. Soleil eats at 12:20, like our lunch yesterday, while Elena's lunch takes place at 11:00 instead. Three different lunch blocks entirely - with only ten minutes of time in between.
Though, silver lining is... we all just happen to share a lunch on the days Gumi and I have French. Lizard Nerd's there, and so is Elena, and Elena's brother too. While Soleil stayed out of the cafeteria for the first day, that just means going on either she's joining us in the cafeteria, or we're going over to wherever she decides to hang out. Furthermore, Gumi- gets to hang out with them after school, and- there's a ton of fun to be had there, I guess.
Gumi has a lot to look forward to.
... so anyway, apart from that, not much to really note. Gumi came home as usual, and- yeah. Tons of other chill days for now, then- this Thursday and Friday will be the days that we actually now do real work, real school stuff. Usually it's just these first two days to chill before everyone actually goes into the school stuff the next two days and onward.
Knowing the Math teacher, it's probably gonna be some end of the week quiz on stuff we barely even covered... then, the Biology teacher's gonna go into some fun concept and all. By now, everyone's familiar with the people in their classes and all,
Not... not a lot to really... say. I'm coming back tomorrow and all, and... yeah.
...
Okay. I'm dodging the metaphorical elephant in the room.
Gumi had a good day, from what she's telling us. As in- I learned all of this from Gumi over the dinner table. The dinner table. Both Hippo Dad and I are learning about how her day is going, at the same time.
Hippo Dad works for eight hours a day. He leaves at around eight in the morning, and works from, like, 8:30 in the morning to- to... uhm...
... hold on, gotta count this.
So- nine, ten, eleven, twelve, one, two, three, four... he works from 8:30 to 4:30. Kind of like a "9 to five" job, but it's 30 minutes early or something. That's what it is on paper, but he gets home at 6 and starts dinner, which starts like- between 6 and 7, depending on how long it takes to make.
I don't really know how far work is from our house, but if he leaves at 8 and JUST happens to get to work at 8:30, then that means there's at least 30 minutes of downtime in between. Traffic, groceries, whatever it is that a dad hippo does, he came back home at 6 after being out of the house for 10 hours.
And Gumi got home later than him. She walked back home, alone, and got home at 6:15.
There is a gap of 2:30 to 6:15, a whole quarter short of a four hour time gap, where Gumi's whereabouts were completely unknown to me. Where Gumi just spent some prolonged amount of time doing something. Something she isn't telling me.
What is that unknown event...? I have no idea. It's at least- something. Something that goes beyond "hanging out with Lizard Nerd" and "chatting with Soleil and Elena". Something that Gumi didn't bother to text me or call me about- not a single text from her.
So I sat at that table with her and Hippo Dad, and I stared at her the whole time. The whole time as Gumi was telling me about all of this exciting stuff going on with her day. How she only... ONLY mentioned some minor information of just the school day in general, of how her classes went with Lizard Nerd. She didn't hang out with any of her friends after school, as- Lizard Nerd got on the bus back to his house.
Which... which is something that caught my attention. Lizard Nerd got on the bus.
Gumi didn't.
Gumi walked all the way from school to home, deciding- apparently, not to get on the bus to be driven home. Granted, we're like... not that far away, it takes the bus driver only like 15 minutes to get to school after our bus stop. Bunch of stops in the way and all, it's actually a nice walk if we didn't have to get up early in the morning.
But... this is a new town, a new city- and... and Gumi walked home, all alone... for four hours.
And she's not telling me about what happened.
The look on my face- it... it got so noticeable that Hippo Dad asked if something was wrong. To his credit, something was probably wrong, he is right to make that assumption.
But I just told him I was zoning out a little. Told him I didn't even notice my face making any upset or weird expressions, that I was pretty much enjoying his dinner a lot - which, is the truth, yeah. Full honesty, it's delicious. Hippo Dad felt like cooking two whole steaks, one for each of us, while also preparing some store bought macaroni and cheese. It's cheesy and savory and I enjoyed it a lot.
But the deliciousness of this dinner is not good enough for me to ignore Gumi's upset little expression. That small glint of pure anxiety in her eye, as if something was weighing heavily on her. Apart from the time gap, I didn't have any clear evidence of what was bothering her, but- it's... it's a sneaking suspicion.
I wanted to know, but it's- if Gumi's keeping it from me, then it's probably something really bad. Some possibly awful thing that she isn't telling me, because she doesn't want to upset me. Maybe- maybe she thought I'd panic, that I'd take it to the extreme?
Which is fair.
I just... I waited for a good time to confront her about it. We finished dinner, Hippo Dad went off to his room for the night and told us to get him if we needed anything, and- yeah.
Gumi and I went to go brush our teeth, casually played rock paper scissors for who would use the shower first (Gumi's rock beat my scissors), and then we were off to bed.
In between, however, I just asked a question as Gumi was about to go take her shower. Right outside the bathroom door, I threw the question of concern right into her face and asked: "Gumi- is there... something you want to tell me?"
"H... Huh?" Gumi asked for a moment, before- she shook her head. "... oh. Uhm. No, I told you everything at dinner, Cherri..."
"Alright."
With that, Gumi went to go take her shower while I went back to our room and waited, just browsing social media for a bit. Watched a few things I'm totally not disclosing to you because I don't want some Mr. California I've only known for 2 days to know about all the crap I watch... no offense.
... then Gumi's shower finished, and it was my turn.
So I got ready for the shower, and right before I go in- Gumi then had a question of her own to ask me: "... do- do you think I have something else to tell you?"
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With that, I knew that Gumi was thinking about the question the whole shower. The look on her face told me a lot, as if I were playing some sort of mental chess with Gumi, as if I just pinpointed some funny little tower thing gambit (or whatever it's called).
So... I proceeded to respond as innocently and subtly as possible, to make it seem like I was just going on about nonsense. To see if I can get Gumi to tell me herself what could have happened. "... well, you said you told me and Hippo Dad everything, so... no. I don't think so."
"Ah..."
"That is, if you really don't have anything else to say. Right?" I asked.
Gumi stared at me for some time, then shook her head again. Told me to my face, no. "N-No... I- I don't. Really."
"Alright."
Then I took a shower, thinking heavily about what Gumi's thinking. She's definitely hiding something. Something really big, something really important.
But I couldn't just... outright accuse her or anything. Maybe it's- something private, something personal? A surprise, or a big secret... something that she might be struggling with.
Both of our showers done, both of us just drying off our hair and all, both of us changing into our pajamas- and only after that, does Gumi finally open up.
"... S-Soleil."
I looked at Gumi with a curious look, my eyebrow raised and stuff. "Soleil?"
"... yeah... I... I guess t-there is something I was keeping from you. So, we walked by each other in the hallway. S-she was asking where you were, by the way..." Gumi told me.
"Huh. Was she?" I asked.
"Yeah... asked me in the middle of Government, asked something happened to you... and, uhm, I told her about the suspension..."
"Ah..."
I thought to myself: well, that's to be fair... that morning, I told Gumi that I didn't want to be added to the group chat with Soleil and Elena. Maybe she took my insistence of not joining the group chat as a "don't tell Cherri about anything going on with Soleil/Elena".
If it was just a "Soleil asking about me" issue, then... yeah, okay. I can just leave it at that.
"... alright."
That brings us to now, where I cannot - in fact - leave it at that.
I have been wide awake for the last few hours, thinking to myself: "oh, it's definitely more than that. Definitely."
What in the world does seeing Soleil in the hallway have to do with you being gone for four hours, Gumi?
None of that gives me anything to work with. It doesn't explain anything about what Gumi was keeping from me.
Again, Gumi came home ALONE instead of anything. If they hung out after school today, then that's fine, Gumi doesn't have to tell me what they did- I just wanted to know THAT they did. That they did something after school. That's good enough for me.
Instead, Gumi didn't tell me anything whatsoever.
In theory, Gumi's just keeping it all a full blown secret all because of Soleil. That Soleil wanted Gumi to keep things as vague as possible or whatever.
...
Though...
Gumi did say... Soleil was asking about me.
Maybe she wouldn't mind a little bit of a late night chat...
Wait. Wait, no. Shoot. Main problem to that, is that I don't know Soleil's number. Huge downside to not being in the group chat with Gumi, that I didn't bother to be added to the chat when Gumi offered.
I don't know anything about how to talk to Soleil after school, actually. I could try to find her social media, but there's probably a bunch of Soleils and I don't feel like thinking about how all of her information or our information could be readily available online or whatever. If I knew what social media name she uses, then- that could be a way, but... no, no. I need her phone number to contact her as Cherri Kusuri, as a classmate.
So... I guess I have to break a bit of the rules to talk to Soleil, to ask her if anything's wrong. Making sure Gumi's nice and asleep and all... I get out of bed, and begin to look for Gumi's phone.
It's password protected, but- not a password that I can't get past. Gumi and I have an agreement to, only in times of emergency, use the other person's phone behind their back. We know each other's phone passwords and stuff, so if Gumi needed to use my phone- then she could, and vice versa.
Bunch of uses I'm not going to tell you because it's a Kusuri sister secret.
So, you heard it here first, Mr. California. If Gumi ever takes me to court (lol) over this, my emergency in this case will now just be to get Soleil's phone number, to message her or call her or something. The objective is to just get the phone number for reference, to chat with Soleil.
Should be alright, since Soleil was asking about me to begin with, maybe... maybe it...
...
... huh. Gumi's... Gumi's phone. That's... hm.
I can't find it.
Been thinking to you this whole time, trying to search for anywhere she could have it. Her drawer tablet, her backpack, our shared closet- funnily enough, MY backpack... under her bed, in the bathroom, at the dinner table- can't find it anywhere in the house.
Did she drop it somewhere? Or is she discreetly just- hiding it from me?
That's...
... that's pretty cool.
Sure, I might be a little upset that Gumi's going through so much lengths to hide whatever this is from me, but- I actually am not. For real, I'm not upset at all. This actually kind of makes me feel proud and impressed. Usually, I'm the secret haver in the family, so it's like... wow. Proud of my secretive lil' cohort.
Now I gotta satisfy this curiosity. Figure out what she's keeping from me.
Let's see how in depth she went to hide this phone. I take a moment to take my phone out, dialing Gumi's number. Running the risk of her waking up, sure, but- let's see if she either muted or turned off the phone in some hiding spot, or if she's just keeping it ringing in a spot right next to her.
Doesn't seem like it's anywhere in the bedroom, so it has to be-
"Yes... hello? What is it?"
...
Huh?
W... what in the-? Someone answered.
"... it's 1 in the morning, Charlotte... what do you wa... oh- uh- wait-"
...
They hung up.
Who... who in the...? Who in the world was that?
The voice sounded like- I don't know how to describe it. Deep and masculine, but not in a guy way- a girl way. A girl with a deep voice. Had a faint growl behind it.
That... huh. Honestly, it kinda sounded like they checked the phone itself, and saw my name show up as- someone else's name. "Charlotte"... like, as if they weren't expecting me. As if they... they answered the wrong phone...
...
Did... did this person take Gumi's phone?
I call Gumi's phone again- expecting a response. This person knows I called, that I got an answer, so if-
... no answer.
Immediate "decline call", given it only rang for one second before hanging up again. That's...
... if- if Gumi did have her phone taken, then- hm. Assuming that Gumi's phone is still locked, all they can do for now is answer and decline calls, as well as read notifications. Nothing about accessing or changing contacts or anything like that, not without knowing Gumi's passcode to unlock the phone.
I know at least that Gumi had the phone during health class, and- and went phone silent after. Could have been at any point of the day, but- most likely, it was gym when it got taken. Someone who knows a Charlotte, and - quite possibly - has some sight issues preventing them from differentiating the two names while in the midst of the night... and curiously enough, either they share the same ringtone as Gumi, or Gumi has her phone silenced and on vibrate.
... I can also take a guess why this person, this classmate, took Gumi's phone. Someone who has a problem with the Kusuri Sisters. Someone who either stole Gumi's phone while it was unattended, or someone who confronted Gumi to take the phone itself. Either case- it's likely that the person who took it was a student.
And this is also why Gumi had to walk home, why she couldn't call me. She doesn't remember the home phone number, and has trouble remembering my phone number or Hippo Dad's. She walked home all alone, because... she... she couldn't get anyone to help.
Did... did she talk to Soleil and Elena about this? Is this something that they know about? A-Again, she has trouble remembering phone numbers, so if she couldn't find Soleil and Elena...
... no, no. Wait. Soleil. Gumi and Soleil encountered each other in the hall- supposedly she knows.
Or- wait, was that a lie, or...
... I... I don't know.
I just don't know. Apart from my whole- deduction I came up with just now, I'm... I'm completely in the dark on this.
I had no idea Gumi didn't have her phone... I didn't know it got stolen or anything, and- b-because I wasn't there, it got stolen in the first place. If I was there, I could have- protected Gumi's phone, or stuff. I just- I never had the chance to know about any of this.
B-But- Gumi never told me, never told me about the missing phone. Why did Gumi keep this a secret from me after school? Why didn't she tell me or Hippo Dad about this? Her phone was taken by a classmate, one who completely KNOWS that I'm calling and is refusing to answer for some reason...
I...
...
... I... I hate this.
It's official. Two days have passed, and I can say with certainty... I absolutely hate high school.
I hate everything about it. I hate Makeup Weasel, I hate these classes, I hate these classmates and teachers and parents and everyone I've seen and had to spend my time around. It's all just a load of crap.
Oh, "high school is the most important chapter in a girl's life," I told you! Those movies that tell us all about high school, something I spoke about the very first entry in this mental diary. Trying to capture all of these memories, all of this stuff. Went into this, ready to project my feelings for all of it, to just tell someone else about my life and probably make money or whatever.
I've come to terms with the fact that, after the EFD season, every person in the world's "replacements" acted the exact same, as if they were still human. Whether or not they were really our neighbors or stuff, they still acted like it. Still acted human, still behaved human.
So I guess if everyone in that school is still human, then even a human high school is just the biggest metaphorical representation of trying to survive a literal animal wildland. Nothing but people ganging up on each other, trying to survive the whims of everyone around them, wanting to find some purpose and identity to keep going. The people that live whatever high school is... they pass this challenge.
Survival of the fittest, and the fittest saw fit to eat me and Gumi that very first day. Now they've shown their fangs and teeth and claws and all, deciding Gumi and I are their prime targets to metaphorically - and, maybe literally - feast off of. Just because some ugly weasel loudmouth decided to have the school harass me and Gumi for an entire day- now all of this is happening.
There's some story going on here, sure, but as far as you know- it's just my final words! The preface to my last will and testament, come what may.
...
And you know what?
I don't care.
I'm done.
I tried to be a good enough person for this school. Tried my hardest. Been looking forward to all of this for an entire summer? Been excited for it. I wanted to move past whatever it is middle school was, wanted to finally fully adapt to this whole new world, wanted to treat these... these creatures as if they were still human in some way.
They think so low of me, they think of Gumi and me as targets to go after, to make fun of and harass and bully the hell out of, to the point where they think it's fine to take Gumi's phone? To the point where they think it's okay to laugh off the entire day while my sister, MY SISTER, walks home lost and all alone with nobody by her side?!
Well, if it's survival of the fittest... then I'll be the worst of them all.
I call Gumi's phone again and again... calling three times, and noting the fact the phone stops ringing at different times. This person still sees Gumi's phone, can still hang up right away. Gumi's phone is being kept safe, and- is still actively pressing the decline call button.
... then, I text Gumi's phone. I reach out with one single message to the person who took it, for the slim chance that they'll see it. Something eloquent to make sure they get the message through a locked screen, giving one- single- warning message to be the bigger person- the "bigger animal", rather. Two lines, just to make sure they see it...
You will give Gumi's phone back to me. Or I will be your worst nightmare.