Cliché

chapter 24. the number you dialed does not exist

What comes next?

After the climax comes the resolution. The denouement. The epilogue. I'm almost certain that night was the climax— the emotional toll it had taken on me definitely felt like it— but the days after haven't felt like the resolution. Inside my chest, like a main character's intuition, in a milder version of that same dizzying sensation in the diner, I know that there's more to my story.

No other characters have disappeared, but none come back to life either. I try to convince myself that it'll take some time for my story to be restored to normal— and the first real sign of that comes only a week later.

"I can't watch any more shows with romance," I state, vigorously shaking my head as we walk through the halls after classes have ended for the day. "I've had enough of that to last me for eternity."

"You can never have enough romance. Not when it's the right kind." Brie sighs dreamily. "And Rei and Amira are basically made for each other."

"Definitely not. I bet they're faking it." I declare boldly as we begin descending the steps that lead to the ground floor of the school. After watching a few of the previous episodes with Brie, I can sense that something's off with them. I just don't know exactly what.

Surprisingly, Brie stays silent. I had expected her to go off on me about my brash opinion. When I look back at her, her demeanor has changed completely: there's a smirk painted on her glossy lips and a mocking glint in her eyes, and even though she's slightly shorter in height, she's somehow looking down upon me.

"Hey, whore."

The Mean Girl is back.

I can't tell if I want to sigh in exasperation or jump in joy at the sight of a scene taking place. It's a sign of normalcy— if something had been wrong, scenes would have begun becoming extinguished by now— yet it brings back a memory of Maddie's words.

But they're not supposed to be aware. That must be another side effect of the real person coming and messing with your backstory. The malfunctioning is complex.

What if by fixing the world, I had inadvertently taken away my only friends' ability to live freely? Or, what if the world has been fixed, but the characters who have already disappeared are unable to be brought back?

No one is going to give me answers— not the author, not the other characters in my story, nor you, the reader. All I can do now is focus on the scene in front of me.

I glance between the staircase we're at the top of and the Mean Girl's malicious grin. "You're going to push me down, aren't you?"

She lets out a curt shriek of laughter. "Now, what makes you think that?"

"Every coming of age movie I watched during the month of hell," I answer monotonously, grimacing at the mere memory of it.

"Well, bitch, you're wrong," she snarks as she steps a platform shoe forward. Her ankle twists at an odd angle, and she's tumbling down the marble staircase until she's sprawled out on the bottom. She whimpers in pain and she clutches her abdomen, streams of tears falling from her eyes.

"Mean Girl, what the hell? Are you alright?" I dash down the stairs two at a time, crouching down beside her shaking frame as I assess the damage in shock.

Instead of a burning glare as I had expected, she looks up at me with large, doe eyes, glittering and glossy with sadness and betrayal. "Iris, how could you do this to me? I thought we were friends!"

I frown. I didn't do anything.

Only when I hear an angry yelp and the mumble of a walkie talkie do I understand her plan. The principal stalks towards us, practically fuming at the ears as he stares down at me. "Irissa Lockhart, you are expelled!"