The Helpers

Miss Direction

*click-click clickitty-click click* Sabrina opened and closed the latches on the new briefcase-her briefcase over and over. She ran her fingers over the fine leather, a shade darker than her hair. The latches looked like gold, and might very well be. It even had her name in calligraphy on a little plate by the handle. "It's so pretty Chloé" she gushed. Then focusing she opened it and began transferring everything from her school bag into the myriad compartments, pouches, and slots inside.

"Yes yes I'm wonderful, I know." Chloe waved off Sabrina, she was watching news of the latest Akuma attack intently, perched on the edge of her giant overstuffed lounge. "Your old bag was simply too painful to look at any more."

Sabrina paused. She laid a hand on the old bag she was going to be retiring. She wondered if Chloe even remembered buying it for her two years ago. It still had plenty of use in it. Sabrina shook the melancholy from her head. She'd keep the bag at home. She had plenty of uses for it, it wouldn't have to feel useless.

Sabrina dipped back into organizing mode. Each thing in a place and everything orderly. Even so deeply focused the words of the news broadcast bubbled through the back of her brain, filtering for keywords. '-new hero in yellow and black has arrived-'

Sabrina tensed. Where was the spare remote? It should be within arms' reach, why hadn't she kept it close? The new case. She'd forgotten. She grabbed her phone, she had the remote app for just such occasions if she could just work fast enough; too late.

Chloe snatched a banana from the bowl beside her and pitched it at the screen,"Stupid Vesperia!" she screamed and pitched another,"Stupid knock off!" her voice rose and cracked; another,"Not even a bee!" Chloe's face was a shockingly bright red. She snatched up the empty bowl and hurled it at the TV hard enough to crack the screen, crazing the picture and creating a sextuple image of Vesperia as the camera zoomed in close.

Sabrina dove for the remote, but Chloe snatched it up, rising,"What do you think YOU are doing?" Chloe rounded on her.

"Oh, um." Sabrina wilted under that blue-in-red glare,"I just thought the news was lame so I'd change the channel." she couldn't look up, couldn't meet Chloe's gaze. She tried to commiserate,"Stupid Vesperia, Queen Bee was better," she mumbled under her breath

"WHAT?" Chloe snapped, unmollified. Sabrina forced herself to look up. Chloe's eyes stared through her, the flush of rage hadn't gone down like it used to.

"Queen Bee was way cooler." she tried again, a little louder.

"QUEEN BEE?" Chloe screamed, still louder yet,"She's a Nobody!" Chloe loomed over the hunched Sabrina. "She doesn't exist!" Chloe threw the remote across the room,"Don't you Ever-"

Chloe froze. The color tried to drain from her face but the persistence of her flush left her complexion spotty. Chloe's head slowly turned, looking back over her shoulder at her own fist, raised and cocked to deliver a blow. Before Sabrina's eyes a massive ball of emotions flared across Chloe's unguarded face. Panic, revulsion, despair, sadness, anger; like a wheel at a fair it was spinning and no way to know which one would end up in control. Chloe unclenched her hand, staring at her fingers as if they belonged to someone else.

Sabrina's stomach knotted hard. This was the absolute worst it had ever been. What scared her wasn't Chloe's anger, it was that she didn't know how to solve this. "Can we watch the shopping channel?" she tried. It was a pathetic offering but her thoughts were scattering in panic.

Chloe's head turned back to Sabrina, those blue eyes still unfocused, unseeing. The irises began to zero in, the wheel slowed and clicked to a stop. Shame. Chloe snapped back from Sabrina and covered her face,"Get out."