Kazoku Futarikiri had never placed much value in labels - fat, skinny, loud, quiet, nice, mean. All they were good for was dehumanizing someone, trimming their existence down to a few adjectives.
But she was pretty sure she was a bad person.
Steal...
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After a few days, it had become routine for Kazoku and I to share lunch.
I couldn't tell if she thought of it as annoying. Each time I took a seat in front of her, it was as though she internally flinched. Her eyes flickered up to mine before settling on the paper bag I set in front of her.
"I thought I said not to make this a habit," she said. Despite her words, she didn't hesitate to reach inside and grab the sandwich.
I shrugged, "I have a selective memory." I took a bite of my school issued cheeseburger.
The ziplock bag snapped open, allowing Kazoku to pull out the sandwich. She looked at it for a second. "Then I'll just have to start refusing to eat whatever you bring."
"Yeah, sure," I scoffed, watching her take a bite. "You wouldn't last very long without my gratitude."
Kazoku didn't appear very impressed. "Don't pride yourself too much."
I opened my mouth to call her ungrateful. I only managed to stop myself when I recalled who I was talking to.
I knew the reason she was talking like that wasn't because she was unappreciative. It only made sense that her nature was defensive. From what I did know about her situation, she clearly didn't have anyone to go to for help. Now it was obvious that accepting aid just made her uneasy.
Now the only thing on my mind was how to change that.
"As a prideful person I take offense to that," I scoffed, taking another large bite of my food.
Kazoku shrugged. "Not my issue."
Her tone made it obvious that her words were meant to end the conversation. It was already clear that I hadn't been awarded her full attention.
I went quiet, allowing myself to thing. I occupied myself by racking my brain for ideas on how to pry, each varying in how subtle the approach was. A direct question wouldn't do much. Kazoku had never been eager to cure my curiosity unless I had clear leverage.
Finally my mind landed on an obvious solutiong on how to get answers out of her.
The few times I managed to get her to converse, it became substantially easier to have her answer questions. In simpler terms, once she started speaking, she didn't stop.
