Little Things ✓

Chapter 9

There's no point in playing pretend anymore. As of now, everyone knows that what's going on with this group is not just mere bullshit. There's something lying deep down it. If we want to leave this house and things as they were before we met again, then we can still do this; however, it means that we'll suffer for the rest of our days. It's time to let everything out.

And it's time for me to look for my item.

***

Isolating myself from all the criticism and the stern glares by several of my so-called "friends", I scan every corner to look for what I've longed to hide for the rest of my days. However, I know that a pact is a pact, so I'll have to show it to my friends, eventually facing belittlement and, why not, even threats. I can't be sure of who to trust anymore.

Kaiti is the most loyal person I've ever met, but her allegiance of trust isn't enough to face the others' growing diffidence. Shannon is a calm, composed and positive girl, but her prolonged silence seems to show otherwise. In other words, I believe she's hiding a massive secret she's afraid of letting out. I perfectly understand her, by the way, since I also have my own demons to face.

Then, there is Aaron, my only male friend. Now that he told me that he left the Army and I found out more about his feelings for Leayah, it looks like he still wants to hide them. I mean, there's no point in pretending that nothing happened anymore. I know he's always been my side, so why am I still perceiving that he's feeling the other way around? Does he believe I'm not worthy of his trust?

This, anyway, is what I'm thinking of Leayah. Since I caught her in the act, she has shown worrying signs of jealousy. I don't know who told her that I might have had feelings for Aaron or if that actually happened, but what matters is that the sweet next-door girl turned into a clingy, insecure young woman. I know she fears losing him. I want to help her. Though, I'm not even sure what I have to do to help her.

Penelope left her beautiful necklace here to forget, but she knows this only brings regret and sorrow, other than pain. So, why is she in denial? Why is she convincing herself that she made the right choice? Perhaps she's right, after all, so why does she look conflicted? Anyway, she doesn't even seem to want to accept any help. But why?

Then, the most difficult cases: Rheta and Hailei. The former has talked very little since she found her mirror, and she only opened her mouth to make some sharp remarks or rekindle some memories of her family. I bet she really misses her mom. Things have gone south since she left for college, and I remember that she wrote me a letter when she was a freshman to tell me that her mother had kicked out of her house.

The worst part, anyway, is that I only reassured her in my reply; needless to say, it only made things fall apart further as she didn't write me a single word back and stopped liking my Facebook and Instagram posts. Back then, I thought she was just drowning in college work and family issues. If only I hadn't overlooked those signs...

Speaking of Hailei, she got accepted into Hartley College, a private institute where only rich or well-off kids could have access. Her family is kind of well-off, but they had hard times when her father had to sell his company towards the end of our senior year; still, she managed to earn a scholarship thanks to her excellent marks. I have to admit, I was really proud of her.

Nonetheless, I still couldn't get why she'd change like that. I remember that she promised the rest of us that she would still be the same old Hailei. So, why the hell did she break her promise? Why did she break her trust? Did any of her new friends force her to do so? Or does this mean that she's been playing pretend with us all the time?

Now, I'm really confused. I don't know what to say or do anymore. I need a break, I need a good reason to leave this fucking place behind and the demons who took my friends, turning them into monsters. I wish I could have my old life back, but it's impossible. I guess the only way to get my friends back is to spill the truth and hope that things unravel for the better.

As I promise myself to stop holding words back, I stumble upon a big box. I stand up and read the yellow post note on top of it. It says, "Open it." I remove the post note and try to open the box, but struggle. I sealed it with tape, so the only way to open it is using a pair of scissors.

I go back to the entrance and open my backpack, hoping to find something useful. Only then I remember that I always bring a small pair of scissors with me. Well, there's no need to ask me what I need them for. I open the big box and realize that I'm no longer alone. Kaiti's head pokes behind me, almost giving me chills. "Boo!" she says, making me jump back.

"Hey! You scared me!" I exclaim, after which I retract my scissors. As the others reach us, they're surprised as they realized that my hidden object is inside that box. "Come on, Blen, show us what you've got," says Aaron, eager to see what deadly secret I'm hiding inside. His statement is meet by many "Ooh" out of admiration.

I turn to them and grin. "What you're going to discover may or may not please you," I explain, before extracting a volume from the box and showing it to the rest of the group. I close my eyes for a fraction of second, before opening them and realizing that I'm blinking at an unspecified direction.

"You all know I've always dreamt of becoming an author. This is what was supposed to be my first work, Story of My Life. At first I considered sending a manuscript to a publishing agency, but I changed my mind," I say again, much to everyone else's surprise. Most of them probably expected me to actually try and get it published so that I'd become  famous. However, I don't care about fame. I only want to tell the truth.

"Why don't you send it to an agency?" suggests in fact Kaiti, excited to see that my dream might come true soon. However, she gives me a joking threat, "You'd better send it quickly or else I'll do it, okay?" She nudges me playfully, after which I burst into laughter.

Afterwards, I put the volume back in the box. Aaron then points out, "Okay, now that we've all found out our items, shall we go? I mean, it's getting pretty late."

He winks as he puts his guitar back in its case and heads towards the entrance, but Hailei clears her throat. "Not so fast, Aaron." What the heck does she want? I mean, we're done with this task. Does she want to tell us something more?

I guess the only way to find out is paying attention to her, for once.