Fan Fiction ❯ Oblivious ❯ Meeting with the Past ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter Seven - Meeting with the Past
Students poured out of the school happily chattering about their weekend plans, and gossiping about who they'd be with. Each of them oblivious to the chaos that had unfolded while they scraped through their classes, passed their notes, and scribbled names into hearts. All of them blind to the pair at the back of the school- Blind to the misfortune of a stranger.
Talim hugged her knees closer, absently staring into space. Raphael sat next to her, fiddling with the parched blades of grass. Neither of them wanted to leave this calm before the storm, but they both knew it was inevitable. Surprisingly, however, it was Talim who rose from the crabgrass, and started on the way to Hitoshi's office. Raphael followed, a bit taken aback at her willingness.
They walked the length of the hallway and up the stairs, ignoring the slower students who stopped their current tasks to whisper about Talim's predicament. Talim didn't even bother to watch her shoes- It was time to bite the bullet.
She reached the door, and just as her hand touched the knob, she froze, chestnut eyes widened, and filled with the realization of impending doom. This was the last time. Last time walking through these office doors, talking to the secretary, talking to Ms. Hitoshi; the last time ascending the stairs, and making the trip through the corridors to the field where she had read many a book; the last time in the life she had worked so hard for.
"Talim...?" Raphael whispered, bringing her back to her senses. He watched her with a worried look on her face, confused at the abrupt halt she had come to after such a sudden surge of energy. Surely it wasn't healthy for someone to do something like that.
Turning the knob, Talim closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped inside. Rather than wait for the secretary to allow her in, she headed straight into Ms. Hitoshi's office, and came face to face with
"... Siegfried!?"
"Yo, man, what's up?"
Yunsung looked at Kilik with a furrowed brow; His long time buddy had been more quiet than usual, seemed to be lost in thought. "Don't think too hard, now."
Blinking, Yunsung waited for a 'Shut up,' or at least a punch from his friend, but nothing came. Something was on his mind, and it was important. Kilik was rarely at a conflict with himself- He always took things as they came, expecting the best in the end- Which was usually the way things worked for him. So it was a cause for concern when he was concentrating on something so intensely.
Finally, Kilik spoke, meeting Yunsung's eyes and returning the furrowed brow. "You doing anything this weekend?"
"No, just hanging out with Taki, 's'all," replied the flaming haired senior, "Why?"
Kilik's eyes narrowed suspiciously, as though he thought Yunsung had said something blasphemous. "Nevermind."
Yunsung rose an eyebrow, before giving Kilik a "See you later, man!" and running off.
I can't believe he doesn't remember, Kilik thought, about Talim's surprise party, and...
Link walked up, patting Kilik on the back. "Hey, guy. Ready to-" Link stopped short, for all he received in return was yet another glare, and Kilik walking off. "What?" he yelled, running after him to catch up.
... the fact that Talim never came back.
It was hard to resist the urge to look back. Yunsung didn't want to give Kilik the satisfaction of knowing that Yunsung had second thoughts- He couldn't be seen having second thoughts. People noticed him now. If they saw that Taki's boyfriend couldn't think for himself, Taki would hear. The relationship would end, and Yunsung would be forever branded as the guy Taki dumped because he couldn't take any risks. The wimpy guy Taki used to date.
Nobody cared about the fact that there was a reason Taki had dated him, or any of her boyfriends for that matter- In the end, it was all about why they broke up.
Something that could make or break your reputation.
There were roughly three semesters of highschool left, and Yunsung made no plans to ruin them.
He found himself walking back into the school, instead of to Taki's house. That was odd. The first thing he did everyday now after school was walk to Taki's. But something inside him, some little voice propelled him to go back- Had he forgotten something?
Yunsung shrugged it off, deciding to go to his locker on the second floor. He did leave a few CDs in there that Taki might enjoy.
Whistling some random tune, he trotted on.
"What're... What're you doing here? And what happened!?"
"I've solved your problem, Talim," Siegfried replied, giving her a weary smile. "Modern technology can work wonders. Capture someone with something you can fit in your pocket."
"What!? But... But how-"
She was interrupted by a loud clattering, and all eyes turned to the tape recorder on Ms. Hitoshi's desk. The room fell deathly still, the only sound emitting from the grainy tape.
"You're right, Sieg m'boy, I thought I was your equal, but I've realized the truth- I'M GREATER THAN YOU!"
"So I help a freshman- That makes me inferior?"
"YES! You helped a freshman, Siegfried! You fell for a freshman! A lowly little freshman! So what happens? Your girlfriend comes to me. Your rank comes to me. And what should've been your vandalising, your ruining of that girl's record- The privilage was all mine!"
Hitoshi's eyes widened, as the recorded Siegfried made his wiseass reply, and more clattering and grunting was heard. Then silence befell not only the room, but the tape as well, with only coughing in the background.
"Very, er, good, Siegfried, but I'm afraid you're too late. The bell has already rung, and you had until the last bell," sighed Ms. Hitoshi threading her fingers through each other and setting her clasped hands on the desk. Raphael frowned, dismayed at the truth, and Talim was about to slam her hands on the desk when a look from Siegfried stopped her.
"Wait," he said, nodding to the tape. As if on cue, his voice came from the little speakers, laced with pain.
"What... What time is it?"
"Two fifty three."
The tape ended with a soft thud, and the scuffling of feet. Someone said that it was too late for anything to go wrong, and ordered someone else to 'cut the ropes'. Again it was silent, and then the tape ended.
"Wh... What...? What's that supposed to mean?" breathed Talim, eyes wide.
"It means," Raphael answered, stepping further into the room with a smile on his face, "that you've won the game."
"What are you talking about, student!? So the time was two fifty three, so what? You still didn't manage to play this in time!" growled Ms. Hitoshi.
"But..." Talim paused, coming to a realization. "But you said we had until the last bell to get a confession, and this confession happened before the last bell! You never said you had to hear it before three!"
Ms. Hitoshi frowned, contemplating Talim's statement, before sighing exasperatingly. "Yes, yes, all right. You stay in Regelus. Now out, I need to make some phone calls!"
The halls were empty; All the students had hastily left their imprisonment to enjoy the weekend. The only sound they could hear was a faint whistling somewhere down the next hall- It seemed to be getting louder, but whistling was the last thing on their minds.
"Thank you, Siegfried, thank you!" cried Talim, overflown with joy. She sort of tackled and hugged him at the same time, too ecstatic to care. Startled, Siegfried fell backward, and both of them toppled on the ground, with Raphael blinking at the air they had once pushed away.
"Ack! I'm so sorry!" Talim sputtered, looking up at him from where on his chest her head laid.
"S'alright, s'alright, could you... Just... Still sore, y'know?" he coughed, grimacing a bit under her weight.
"Oh, ri-"
The whistling had come to an abrupt halt, and both Siegfried and Talim looked up (or attempted to) to see whose eyes were on them. Raphael's eyes narrowed, and his lips curled into a frown, recognizing the newest addition to their little 'party' of sorts.
"What," Raphael shot at him, "Taki sent you here to make sure her plan fell through?"
Yunsung looked rather taken aback at the hostility, but he didn't let it show for long. He imitated Raphael's stance, folding his arms against his chest. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything," he snarled at Siegfried and Talim, who were still on the floor.
Talim let herself be pulled up by Siegfried, wide eyes trained on her long-time friend- Why was he being so cocky all of a sudden? Sure, he usually acted obnoxious, but this wasn't the friendly, I'll-do-anything-so-long-as-I'm-best-at-it-but-you-know-I'm-kidding, amusing Yunsung she had grown up with. He was being so... So mean to Raphael and Siegfried! Why?
"You just wish you were, don't you?" Siegfried spat back. "That way you could report back to your little-" here he swore, making Talim gasp a little at such vulgar language "- and get a little reward!"
"Don't focus your anger on me, Sieg. I know you've just been dumped, and I know you," he glared at Talim, "are a desperate little wannabe, but you could keep the rendezvous in private areas!"
Siegfried glanced back at Talim, seeing the look of consternation on her face, before moving on to throw a punch at Yunsung, who took the full blow. He stumbled back, his hands immediately going to his eye, before he glared back at Siegfried and bolted.
"Well... I didn't expect him to pull such a wimpy move," remarked Raphael, leaning back a bit and sliding his hands into his pockets.
"Probably thought he had protection, what with being Taki's newest flavour of the month." Siegfried stood in place, still glaring at where Yunsung had been, mouthing off like he was better than them.
"But must you always settle things with brute force?" Raphael asked, grinning a little. "I know you know words that would make his head explode."
"It was fast," Siegfried replied, nonchalant, "and satisfying." He looked at Talim again, his eyes ridden with rising fury. Her own eyes were shone with tears, and she turned away from him, lip quivering. He sighed, flipping a smoke from his pocket and lighting it with expertise.
"I'm going home. There's nothing left here but the tightass caretaker," muttered Siegfried. With that, he walked the length of the hall and out of sight.
"Bye, Talim." Raphael nodded to her, patted her on the back, and followed the same path as Siegfried. Talim stood alone in the hall, fiddling with the hem of her blouse, staring absently at the place where everything had suddenly changed. She seemed to be gawking at empty places a lot now- Always too late to react to what had happened, still taking everything in long after the war had ended. Things were so hard to process- What was wrong with her head? She had skipped two grades. Why couldn't she take in what was happening? Was everything too complicated? Kilik had been blinded by the need for gossip. Mina was drawn further into the clutches of Taki and her clique- Had Mina stood up for Talim that fateful art class? No! Cassandra was too close to the problem to help in any way; Her sister would always hear about it. And Yunsung.... Her best friend for so many years, she didn't want to lose him. But... She had. Now her closest friends were Raphael and Siegfried, two guys who she would have never even spoken too had she not skipped her grades. Two guys she would have never relied on for help. Two guys she would have never attempted to look past the surface of.
Now everything in her life was different, yet the same; Mina was still ditching. Cassandra was still never there. Her two best friends were still looking out for her- Yet, they weren't.

noisee: I had two chapters after this, but they disappeared with the rebooting whatcha. I'm sorry. Reviews will make me want to write, though. It's a proven fact. =D

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!