Divided We Fall

Chapter 2

Despite the sheer dullness of staying at home, Mika makes it a point not to leave once she gets back. Through one of the windows, she can see the clouds darkening in the sky, and maybe she never got through middle school, but Mika can tell that means it's going to snow soon. Maybe it'll be less dull in here; the artificial lighting isn't that bad if she thinks about having to sleep under the moon and stars year round.

Back when she was still in school and still in the system, winter was never a good time; everyday after school she had no choice but to stay inside with all of the other kids. Mika would sit there in silence, drawing her own coloring pages since the other kids never shared with her, and she would eat alone at meals. Now, since the ripe old age of fourteen, Mika has company, and this company actually likes to talk. Leo bugs her to watch movies or tv shows, and they sit together at their tiny kitchen table and talk about things that Mika doesn't really care about. This routine, despite being two years old now, still throws her off guard, but Mika places all of that blame onto Leo. Who even asks about someone's day? That can't be a real thing.

So she passes the rest of that dreary winter day by curling up on the couch and reading a book. Well first she has to clean up the dishes Leo had left when he went off to who-knows-where, but after that chore is done, Mika is left with nothing to do other than read the manual for their fridge. It's not the most interesting read, but she'll take any bit of learning that she can. Maybe she should've stayed in school.

No, living like this is definitely better. At least in this apartment she doesn't have to worry about people putting nasty things in her desk, or loosening the screws in her chair, or throwing her stuff away. Although it had taken her a couple of months to fully trust this revelation, she is free from menial torments, but that's not to say that Leo is trustworthy. Sure, he has her back on missions and he hasn't smothered Mika in her sleep, but that won't last forever. Leo is just oblivious. He hasn't seen what everybody else has, this evil thing about Mika that makes her scum of the Earth. Him and Leader are the only ones who haven't noticed, but when they do, they'll surely treat her with as much disdain as everyone else.

And when that day comes, Mika will stick with whatever gives her an income, no matter how terribly she's treated, just like the parasite she is.

The time passes by pretty slowly with the terrible thoughts swirling about her head, but Mika makes due until it's time for a late dinner and she can no longer ignore the emptiness in her stomach. Leo still isn't home yet, but that's not too unusual. Despite not having a real job, he's not at home all that often, and Mika plans to ride out this whole 'having a place to live' thing until she's evicted.

Feeling just slightly petty, Mika sets to work on making a nice, homemade meal that she can enjoy by herself. The easiest thing, probably, is to just make one of those microwaveable meals that she bought a couple of grocery store trips ago, the same ones that Leo subsequently shoved into the very back of the freezer.

It takes a couple minutes of digging, but in the end Mika is victorious, her prize being a slightly freezer burnt box of equally frozen food. The box boasts only a four minute cook time, and Mika will take anything she can get at this point. She places the plastic unceremoniously into the microwave, and not even two minutes later Leo is walking through the door, snow covered boots still on and marking his steps into the kitchen.

"Hey Mika, what's - what're you microwaving?" Leo asks, and he walks to their microwave and presses his face up against the glass, too impatient to even wait for an answer.

"It's frozen dinner. You know, the only thing you'll let me cook?" Perhaps Mika shouldn't be getting an attitude with the person who makes her meals, but the grumbling from her stomach is getting louder and louder. If it weren't Leo's fault, she'd probably feel embarrassed. "You never let me use the kitchen even though I pay just as much rent as you do. I even payed more this month!"