Paper Bags

Paper Bags 03

"You're joking..." Rain stared at Haru, her face on her right palm, her elbow on the old wooden table.

Fatima didn't even bother to look at them, instead flicking through another page of the thick book she was reading. Haru sighed, placing both hands on his hips. It wasn't like he didn't expect his other two best friends to believe him — but...

"Can you stop reading that!" Haru said, leaning forward to snatch the book from Fatima's hands. Slamming it shut, he placed it on the table in front of him, leaning his palms on it to stare down at the girls. "I just told you that the very 'fact' keeping us locked down here is a lie and you both choose to... to—"

Fatima raised a hand, her palm facing outwards and silencing him. She sighed, leaning into her chair. "I get what you're saying. But do you have proof?"

Jason knocked his shoulder with his own. "Well... he's still here and not as a frog, isn't he?"

Silence washed into the scene, sounding ironically louder in the already quiet library. Haru counted down to three and then let a hand travel to Jason's wrist, clasping him tight in his grip. Taking a step back and pulling his best friend with him, he grinned when Rain stood up with eyes wide, slamming her hands down on the table.

"You went out without your Paper Bag?" she screeched.

Slight panic rushed into him as he snapped his head to glance at his surroundings. The small, square area with maximum of ten shelves, five ahead of him and the other five behind, thankfully were lacking of people. The oak-wood desk just on their left was void of the librarian, so at least Haru wouldn't be getting them all in trouble.

A flash of the Isolation Centre flashed into his mind and a prickle of nervousness echoed within him.

"Well," Haru said, shrugging. "Thing is, it worked. I was right."

Fatima stared at him before she shook her head, her curls disrupting her face for a brief moment. She immediately tucked them behind her ears, standing up as well. "And you let this idiot do it?" she said to Jason, her voice soft but her brown eyes twinkled when they caught the dim, white lights — coloured in mirth.

Jason pulled his wrist away from Haru's touch, must to his disappointment, and said, "I got curious."

Rain frowned. "This is absolutely stupid of you to do that. What if you did turn into a frog?"

"We go to the clinic?" Haru grinned again when that earned his a pair of dark pools full of irritation. It reminded him of the ocean on the stormiest nights, and he had only ever seen it through images in books. And they looked terrifying. He took a small step back in case. "Look, guys, we need to find out how to tell people about this. Get them to listen."

The two women remained quiet before they shared a glance. Rain reached a hand to brush through her straight bangs on her forehead, fanning them a little to show some of her pale skin. "I don't know... the last thing I want is to end up in jail."

"Yeah," Fatima said, biting her bottom lip. "But... I am curious."

"Curious?" Haru blinked before he snapped his fingers at her. "I can show you if it'll help?"

Jason grabbed his right elbow as soon as the words escaped his mouth. He turned his attention to his best friend, noting the furrowed eyebrows and a frown on his face. There was a sudden need in him to smooth that crease and lift the corner of the other man's lips upwards. His face heated briefly before he swallowed the lump of emotion down his throat. Deciding to press a hand on his best friend's shoulder and squeeze it, he hoped the assurance was conveyed.