Alternate Allure

CHAPTER 18: RUN, MC, RUN [Part I]

From now on I will put asterisks (*) when there is a word or concept that could be difficult to understand without an explanation. Something like a small glossary.

The definitions will be listed, in order of appearance, in the notes at the end of the episode. I hope it helps you understand the story a little better :D

The crisp Sunday morning air is almost too quiet. The streets are practically empty, except for a couple of half-asleep students dragging themselves out of the school building.

You adjust your backpack strap, mentally hyping yourself up to go inside, when-

"MC?"

You freeze mid-step, turning to see a girl with shoulder-length black hair streaked with purple, rhinestone-studded glasses and an AC/DC shirt tucked into a plaid skirt. You glance around, just to make sure she's not talking to someone behind you.

"Uh... hey?" You flash a polite smile, brain scrambling to place her. Something about her feels vaguely familiar, but you can't quite place it.

Her grin doesn't budge. "Oh! Right. Forgot about your whole face blindness* thing" She jogs up, unbothered. "It's me, Irma! You're here for your results on the Worldwide Genome Project, right?"

Your brain scrambles. 'Irma? Do I know an Irma?'

"Uh, yeah!" You force out a laugh, trying to play it cool. 'Who the hell is this??'

Irma, completely unfazed by your internal crisis, jerks a thumb at the school building.

"I volunteered too! Just got my results-it's crazy! Almost makes dragging myself here on a Sunday worth it"

"Oh yeah?" The moment she mentions the project, all previous confusion is momentarily forgotten. "Didn't think anyone else around here was into genetics"

"Are you kidding? You got me into it!"

You blink. "Wait-I did?"

Irma raises an eyebrow, her smile twitching like she's trying to figure out if you're joking.

"You seriously don't remember?"

You grimace, rubbing the back of your neck. "Uh... nope. Sorry, I'm just-" You make a little explosion gesture with your hands. "-drawing a complete blank"

She lets out a short, awkward laugh, waving it off. "Guess it has been a while."

Something about her tone makes your stomach twist. "Wait... what do you mean by that?"

Irma adjusts her glasses, looking off to the side before finally meeting your eyes.

"Well... we used to hang out. A lot, actually. Until, y'know... your whole overdose thing"

Your chest tightens. The air around you feels heavier, like someone just cranked up the gravity. She must see something shift in your face because she immediately backpedals, hands flailing a little.

"Crap, I- I so did not mean to bring it up like that! I just-"

You don't say anything. You can't. Your brain's too busy tripping over itself. Irma winces, rubbing her arm.

"I just meant... you were going through a lot, and I figured you needed, y'know? I kept waiting for you to reach out, but after a couple of months, I just kinda assumed you didn't... want to"

You rub the back of your neck, scrambling for a decent excuse. Because, yeah, you're pretty damn sure you don't know this girl at all.

"Irma, I- look, I'm really sorry. I wasn't ignoring you or anything, I swear. I was just..." You let out a breath, staring at the ground. "It was a lot... I was overwhelmed"