𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐊𝐄𝐘 - 𝐑. 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐀

𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

SEVENTEEN
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Zumi's body was half-submerged in water as her brows furrowed at the pain that stinged her skin that were affected with wounds – wounds that have yet to dry so the liquid touched her exposed flesh. She bit her lip and clutched each side of the tub tightly as if it would ease the pain that felt like it was stabbing her with multiple tiny knives.

Bathing was another thing that she couldn't enjoy unlike most people. For most people, they found this daily routine quite relaxing because of how the water ran on their skin, freeing them from the bacteria that had latched onto them over the course of the day – it relieved them from the disgusting feeling and gave them the time to think.

For her, bathing was just merely the act of cleaning herself with this liquid that felt more than uncomfortable on her. It did not give her time to think about her day and contemplate about different things because she'd take up too much time trying to ease the pain.

After a few minutes, her hands that clutched the sides of the tub eased. It took a while for her to get used to the water that surrounded her, now the next problem for her to be worrying about is applying body wash over her skin that already hurt considerably.

All of a sudden, the familiar ringtone of her phone blared loudly around the bathroom which made her groan in annoyance. She slowly stood up from the tub and grabbed a towel that hung right beside her, limping over towards the phone that was the very source of the noise that echoed continuously and loudly.

"Hello?" She answered, pressing the button to let it go on speaker mode then placing it on the small shelf beside the tub. She limped back to where she originally sat and waited for the caller to speak while lowering herself down on the water, mostly expecting it to just be her cousin because it was something that he's been recently doing.

"Good evening Hoga-san, I hope I'm not disturbing you." Kita's familiar voice echoed loudly around the washroom while she instantly hugged her legs close to her, feeling embarrassed despite her being alone in this small room.

She opened her mouth and answered nervously, "U-Uh, you're not..." she paddled her hands lightly on the water and watched it to distract herself from the awkwardness that only she was aware off then cleared her throat, "So, have you discussed with your fellow members already, Kita-san?"

"Yes, I have. We planned on having at least three or four backgrounds for the booth with the deadline of it being on the fourth of November, which is three days before the actual event. I would like to ask if that is alright with you since you only have seventeen days left to create it? That is if you start painting it tomorrow."

Zumi bit her lip in thought then hugged her legs in thought; Only seventeen days to create the paintings? The possible art block that might hit her amidst that short time frame and also the upcoming submission of projects and homework worried her.

"Will there be anyone who is going to help me?" She asked, furrowing her brows further in thought while calculating the possible number of hours that could take her to finish one large painting.

"I am afraid that everyone is already preoccupied with their assigned roles." He paused then she heard him add, "But maybe I can help with painting? Though I am not quite confident in my skills because I've never taken an interest in painting before."

She shook her head frantically then realized that he couldn't actually see her. She interjected, "No, it's alright. I can draw the basic draft of the image first before we paint it. You're literally just kind of coloring a coloring book."

"Alright, well I guess that's settled then. Hm, what else... oh yes, and for the art materials, we will be using our class funds so hopefully you can buy paint and paint brushes that are not too expensive."

"Okay, though I already have paint brushes and I also know good acrylic paint brands that are fairly cheap. Hope that helps." She answered.

"Alright well, I believe that's it. Please just send me a message when you need my help in painting or anything else. Have a good evening again, Hoga-san."

"You too."

-o-

The following morning was a Saturday and Zumi found herself alone while searching for the brand of paint that she always bought, though she couldn't help but feel unnerved because she couldn't seem to find it anywhere at the store inside the mall where she usually went.

She tucked her hands inside the front pockets of her grey hoodie with her short hair tied loosely behind her. Her eyes glanced around the shelves then sighed when she really could not find it. Her feet that were planted on the tiled floors of the store moved to walk back out of the store, sighing defeatedly because the only paint left were only the expensive ones.

She paused in the middle of her walk out and brought her wallet out, seeing all of her left allowance that were enough for buying at least five acrylic paints with that expensive price. Though only half would be given back to her as the original budget.

It's fine, I rarely spend my money for myself anyway.

She sighed and walked back to the store and to the isle where the paint was placed. She reluctantly grabbed the colors black, white, red, yellow, and blue paint, placing it inside the small cart that she got along the way.

Her feet soon brought her to the cashier while waiting in the short line. She reached her hand up to the back of her neck anxiously because of the amount of money that she would be spending – her father was surely going to be angry at her for finishing her allowance.

"Next please."

Zumi placed the paint on the counter and nervously watched the cashier begin to scan all of her items. Her widens at the sight of large numbers in front of her, while her hands trembled as she pulled out her money to hand it to the cashier.

The cashier accepts the exact payment from her hand then gives her a slightly heavy bag filled with plastic jars that contained paint. She clutches the paper bag and gave the cashier a silent 'thank you' before walking out of the store.

A grimace appears on her face; My father's going to kick me out of the house.

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i'm sorry for the
boring filler chap
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