The bell signaling the end of lunch period had finally rung. For most students, that sound indicated the beginning of class with two more before the day was out. "Hey, Shirai! You coming?" spoke a chipper voice. It was a young lady clad in a student's uniform with a blazer and skirt complemented by a pair of black stockings. In the school hallway, her voice still managed to project past the sea of moving teenagers stirring up their own conversations about a world of infinite micrososcms unrelated to them. Shirai, the surname of the girl she addressed, tightened her grip on the bag in her hand and sheltered herself, tucking in her knees. "Uh... yeah, I'll catch up with you. Okay? I'm not feeling good, so I'm gonna visit the nurse."
"Oh... tummy ache again? This is your fifth one this week!"
"I-I know. Yeah. I'll get it checked out tomorrow."
"Okay... but be sure to watch out for the toilet ghost..."
"That's such a stupid myth... if you enter the girl's bathroom and knock on the third stall three times, a ghost will appear." Ami spoke in exaggerated gestures, a looming voice to fit the bill. "No! It's real! A couple of the girls from class 4-B heard a ghost giggling in the upstairs water closet! And it isn't even the first time! The second time, they looked under the stall and there were no legs."
"Yeah, yeah... anyways, I've really gotta go, okay?"
"Ami... if it's your time of the month, I'm not gonna tease you." She giggled, coming close to keep something so sensitive to the male ear more discrete. She came in close and cupped her hand around Ami Shirai's ear and whispered "You need any pads?"
"No! No, no, no. I'm fine! Seriously, just a stomachache!"
"Okay, okay. Sorry for worrying about you."
"Yeah... thanks, Misaki." Ami brushed her shaggy hair from her face and forced a smile. Misaki didn't return the gesture, but instead nodded her head and waved before rushing off to class. Ami held her arm, stepping to the side of the hallway to obscure herself from the rushing torrent of fish in the stream {You always have a way of making me feel bad... stupid.}
•••
She was sitting on a toilet, the restroom completely vacant of any other students. Not to suggest she was actually using the facilities, but instead she'd set up something of a little camp for herself. She was squatting atop the toilet bowl, legs tucked to her chest. Her bag was held up by the toilet paper dispenser, dangling by the strap on a protrusion while a glowing battery flickered while attached to the phone in her hands. She was watching videos on the internet through her wireless earbuds, quietly giggling in the stall. This was her everyday life now: a toilet-bound ghost. She reached into her bag to find a series of gummy candies she popped into her mouth in rapid succession. {Yeah. I think this is fine. I'm not bothering anybody, and no one comes in here. I'm glad I have at least one place where I can be alone here.} thought the toilet hermit. Her smartphone vibrated with a ping in her earbuds.
11:45— R u ok, Mimi? ;-;
11:45— Yeah
11:46— Then come back to class. Im dying alone!
{You'll be fine by yourself for a bit, Saki. I've ditched this class plenty of times and you never complain about it. There's probably a partner project and she doesn't want to do the work... she's so lazy.} She thought, sighing through her nose. She tightened the clutch of her knees and wandered back into the small world of her phone, ignoring the reality around her once again to find the solace of a person she'd never even met within the confines of that blue light.
•••
Furniture was quickly tossed to the ground, emptied of all contents in a heated haste. Four men were present: three rummaged through the many articles of papers, clothing, and kitchenware in the fourth man's home. The design of the house was fairly grand, giving off the sense of wealth while still maintaining a modern appeal without becoming too gaudy. Within the living room, directly connected to the kitchen by a shared doorway were two of those four men; one on his knees above fresh tatami mats and a second holding a black pistol in front of his skull. "Lau, I could have sworn we had met an understanding..." The gruff voice of the gun-wielding man croaked.
YOU ARE READING
Aberration
SpiritualAmi Shirai is a standard underachieving high-school student. Her anxiety is commonplace, so her home is often the school stall: her quiet place of solace. This was the norm of her life until the end of another dragging day. Perhaps the chance encou...
