Mr. Skull

Installment 4: Friends

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           "Pearl?!" whelped Amanda as she approached the car, still wearing her pajama's and slippers. She had parked her car near the area in a plaza nearby, and walked to them on foot. Her brother waited for her in their car. Nick had stood outside the door, constantly glancing at Pearls direction with his hands crossed over his chest and thrummed them impatiently on his uniform, creating crumples in his clothes.  

    "Amanda..." Pearl pressed her forehead against the window; feeling the coolness of the glass against her bare skin made her skin crawl.  The glass began to condensate from the heat that emitted from her body.
"Pearl," Amanda hushed through the other side of the window, her words barely formulated through the muffle of the barrier between them, and Pearl had to read her lips to understand what she was saying, "I got your call. What happened to you?"

    "Look Manda, it's a long story that we don't have time to explain right now. I just need you to do a favour for me, and drive my car home." Pearl said, shifting her weight onto her right thigh to alleviate the pressure from her handcuffs. 
" Of course Pearl, but do you honestly expect me to comply to your wishes when you abandon us for almost a month and a half, and then call me when you absolutely need me?" Amanda said in dismal, walking closer to the window in order to tower over Pearl. "Not only that, you don't even explain anything to me at all.  What did you expect? I show up, do what you want me to do and then throw me away like you did?" 
"No-" Pearl tried interjecting, but was quickly shunned by the rest of Amanda's rant

"I'm sick of this! Why can't you talk to us normally? Why did you push us away?" tears swell in her eyes, and Amanda batted her eyelids to force them back.

    A long silence stretched between the two, as they both stared teary eyed into each other's eyes. The silence was abruptly cut off when Nick cleared his throat.  Pearl took a few moments to formulate her thoughts before speaking: 

    "I know I've been a terrible friend Manda, but you have to understand that what I'm going through is something you can't understand." 

    "What the fuck does that even mean?" Amanda scowled, impatience growing in her voice. The use of vulgarity caught Pearl off guard- Amanda wasn't one to swear, even if she was angered. This type of behaviour was unprecedented especially from someone as calm as her. 

"You wouldn't understand."

    "Yea, sure" she spat, "Look. I'll do this last favour for you because I care, but unless you start talking to me about your problems rather than pushing me away, this friendship between us is over-" she paused for a moment, her furious gaze slicing through Pearl like knives "Unless we were never friends to begin with." 

It was like a balloon popped in Pearls chest, the shock-waves sending chills up her spine and irritating her eyes. Soon, tears poured like a waterfall from her hazel orbs as she watched her friend stomp towards her car, and pull out of the gravel. The sound of the tires on the rocks slowly dissipated and blended in with the sound of traffic behind her.  

The car door swooshed open at the driver's side where Nick had already situated himself in the seat. He cranked the car key to ignite the ignition and the car came alive. He sat there for a few minutes, with his left foot dangling out of the car as he handled the paperwork that applied to Pearl. After a few minutes of tapping, clicking, and the shuffling of paper, Nick shut the door and began to drive.  

"Mama..." A familiar voice gurgled. Pearl turned her head to the left to see the skeleton sprawled on the seat.

"I love you more than your friends love you. I see through all of your flaws to find the true you- one that is suffering. Why do you cry my dear? Is it out of sadness or is it an emotion that you are trained to feel?"

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