Matryoshka

Carving

It started out slowly but steadily. The bullying that is.

The girls, oh how cruel they can be, ripping and shredding with everything that they have until only a patch of person is left over.

I was, of course, patched up by my own perseverance. A matryoshka, if you will. So many levels left to me than what they saw outside. And a center that's fragile and delicate.

I wasn't the only one. Another girl, Gumi, suffered with me, yet we never spoke to each other. Her hair chopped off at the chin differed so much from my long locks that I figured our personalities would hold the same differences.

Turns out she was a matryoshka as well.

Not until they began ignoring us was it that we banded together.

Ripping and shredding a human can take. 

Isolation they cannot.

I was the one to initiate contact, although I could tell we had the same thoughts by the way that she stared accross at me longingly during lunch from her silent corner. So I joined her.

We both smiled in shared misery and ate out lunch in silence.

Ignoring the feeling of eyes upon our backs.

* * *

I slumped over on the desk, watching the clock and its hands' crazy round and round dance. The bell chimed right as they landed on four. Perfect, now I can go home and disappear into my couch.

A voice tapped my shoulder.

"Hey." It was soft and raspy from disuse. My ears were also in disuse from hearing the voice of a peer, so I flinched.

It was her. My counterpart..

"Yes?" I became curious. We sat together at lunch once, were we friends? I couldn't tell. It seemed like I had always been an outcast. Surely it has always been so.

"Come, let's rendezvous downtown."

I giggled at the use of such an archaic word to describe two friends meeting after school and agreed.

She grinned a straight gate of teeth and moved towards the door, "Then, let's go!"

I grinned the same grin and flounced past the girls. Look at me! Look at me! I don't need you, I have a friend! See? I don't need you!

I frowned.

Not even a glance.

* * * 

I slammed my locker shut, ignoring the flinch it caused my new friend. Hitching my bag onto my shoulder I stared at my fingers spread between numerals. 524. 5, finger, 2, finger, 4.

We walked out of the building and up the street, out footsteps filling the empty air.

Automatically, instinctively, my feet took the lead and hers fell behind mine. We were wandering and in the same time my mind was wandering with places we could go.

Too late I saw the branch laying at my feet.

I tripped, stumbled, then hopped managing to keep my face from having a rendevouz with the ground.

It looked like a new-born goose trying to fly, and people were staring. Of course, adults were too mature to ignore somebody.

She looked at me with pity, then her green eyes lit up madly. Grabbing both of my arms she side-hopped over a cement square. I copied her, but swinging a step farther than she did.

We played at our zany sideways leap frog, hollering in laughter at the stares we got. It felt good to collect attention.

Suddenly I pulled her into the cafe we were passing and dragged her into the nearest booth.

I had an idea.

* * *

Ideas are great, I decided over my green tea, if you have a way to actually bring them up. I pondered over my words and how to introduce them and bring them into acquaintance with my new friend.

Turns out I was over-thinking things. My new friend would introduce herself to them.

She leaned the back of her head so the booth was her pillow and rubbed the bridge of her nose. A whimper gave its depressed melody.

"Why do they do this to us?"

I knew why. We had both gotten too close to the class sweet-heart without falling into the mass fan-girl category.

I honestly had no interest in such a boring individual.

"'Kyaaaaaaa! Kaito, highly respected Kaito, please look this way! We love you!' doesn't ring a bell?"

Gumi flushed a bit, and I realized.

"Wait? You actually like him?"

Scarlet makes her eyes pop.

"Don't you? I mean, if that is the reason they're bullying us..."

"Not in the least. But listen." I smiled conspiratorially at her, "You're tired of being ignored, aren't you?"

"Of course." She was curious. And who wouldn't be, a way to escape isolating Siberia?

"Then let's give them something they can't ignore."