Chapter 11

The next day at school, it’s lunchtime, and Yuki sits at a table in the cafeteria. She slurps her noodles, and next to her, Worman is eating a big, messy burger that he tries to keep from falling apart.

Across the table, Madi eats her onigiri quietly, while her boyfriend, Hajime, sits next to her, nibbling on an apple.

Worman keeps glancing at Hajime. His frown grows tighter with each glance, like something about Hajime is bothering him.

Hajime doesn’t notice at first, focused on his apple, but eventually, he meets Worman’s stare.

He tilts his head slightly, letting out a tired sigh. “Don’t..” he then says, like he’s trying to cut Worman off before he can even start.

“Can I say something about your hair?” Worman asks, his expression serious.

Hajime’s head falls back in frustration, his eyes closing for a moment. “Not again..”

Worman leans in a little, still serious. “I just saw a picture recently on my Nokia baksteen, and it looked like a foot or something. I don’t know, but is that what inspired you to dye your hair that way?”

Hajime blinks a couple of times, then slowly exhales. “No..”

Worman nods slowly, then suddenly whispers, “By the way, you love Marta, right? I just wanted to warn you, don’t love her too heavily. You can’t be her mother or something. And trying that is pretty damn racist, man. And if her mom finds out..”

He sighs, shaking his head. “I think I’m gonna release something heavy.”

Hajime groans and covers his face with his hand, trying to hide how awkward he feels.

After a moment, he leans toward Madi, whispering, “Why is this guy even with us?”

Madi gives a frustrated sigh, clearly as annoyed as Hajime. “I’m wondering the same thing,” she mutters, glancing over at Worman, who’s eating his burger messily.

“Don’t glare at me,” Worman says with a full mouth, not even looking up from his burger.

He breathes heavily, then continues, “Your boyfriend was trying to be your mom, also, he likes feet. So I was just giving him some advice.”

He takes another big bite of his burger and snorts, causing a few crumbs to fly out of his mouth.

Next to him, Yuki quickly averts her gaze, trying to hide the smile tugging at her lips. It’s obvious she’s struggling not to laugh, and she keeps her head down as if to avoid their attention.

Madi’s face drops when she notices.

“Oh no.. no, no,” she mumbles, shaking her head. “Don’t tell me you’re starting to find his bull crap funny now.. please, Yuki..”

She watches in disbelief as Yuki opens her mouth, about to say something, but before she can get a word out, Worman interrupts.

“We sniff shit in nails, also, Yuki’s my brother now. If her hair grows, she’ll be my sister. Anyway, who has leg hair? Nevermind, I gotta release something in the toilet. Hajime?” he asks, looking at the boy expectantly. “Wanna come with me to see it?” 

Madi slams her hand down on the table. “Leave my boyfriend alone! He’s not gonna watch you pee!”

Worman nods heavily, his nostrils flaring. “It’s a very long waterworm,” he says, glancing at Hajime. “I think he’d be fascinated.”

Madi’s face turns bright red with anger, her hand still pressing down on the table. “I swear I’m going to lose it,” she mutters through gritted teeth.

“Stop, you’re gonna fart if you get too worked up. And I don’t want to smell your fart, I only smell my own,” he says, and aggressively takes a huge bite of his burger, nodding at her with each chew.

Then, he snorts loudly, causing bits of food to fly in Hajime’s direction.

That’s when Madi snaps. “No way, I’m not taking this anymore!” she yells, and suddenly jumps up from her seat, ready to charge at Worman.

Hajime quickly gets in her way, wrapping his arms around her to stop her. 

Worman frowns and jumps from his seat as well, his both index fingers pointing at Madi.

“Then do you want two moms?! Huh?!” he shouts, his voice rising. He crawls onto the table, getting closer to her, his eyes wild. “Go on, then! But everyone will know that your cutie patootie is racist!” 

He suddenly loses his balance and falls off the edge of the table with a loud thud. He doesn’t seem to care, though, and quickly sits up on the floor, still going on like nothing happened.

“And I’ll tell everyone that he’s the white pukkel on nose hair when you pull it out! His life will be over, and it’ll be your fault, Marta!”

“WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING?!”

“GO OPERATE ON LEG HAIR!”

“YOU NEED TO STOP TALKING!”

“I’M GONNA RELEASE PIERUS!”

Yuki tries hard not to laugh, but her shoulders shake slightly.

“YUKI, DON’T YOU DARE!” Madi cries out, her voice tight with frustration. “I SWEAR I’M GONNA CRY IF YOU DO!” 

Eventually the school bell rings, cutting through the chaos.

○○○

In the classroom, Madi and Yuki sit side by side, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

Yuki is idly doodling in the corner of her notebook, and Madi leans back in her chair, tapping her fingers lightly on the desk as she watches her best friend.

“Hey,” Madi starts, breaking the quiet. “I haven’t seen you using character ai these days.”

Yuki nods. “Yeah, I deleted the app, and my account too,” she replies.

Madi’s eyes widen in surprise. “For real? What happened? I mean, just last week, you were still so into it.”

Yuki hesitates for a moment, her eyes flicking away as she’s considering whether to share the full story.

She then looks back at Madi and says, “I’ll tell you during break.”

“Hm, okay,” Madi says, leaning back in her chair.

She stares ahead, thinking. She never expected Yuki to stop using the app, especially since she used to be so obsessed with it. She is glad, though. It is nice to have her back, fully present, instead of lost in her phone all the time.

Madi remembers how they’d barely hang out when Yuki was always busy with it. It feels like things are finally going back to normal.

Yuki fidgets with her pen, taking a deep breath before speaking. “By the way.. I owe you an apology,” she says, her voice quiet. “I was really caught up in that app, and didn’t realize how much I was distancing myself from you. I’m sorry for that..”

Madi’s eyes soften as she listens. She lets out a quiet breath and nods, her lips curling into a small smile. “It’s okay,” she says softly. “I’m just glad you’re back, ’cause I really couldn’t bear the thought of us growing apart.”

“We won’t,” Yuki assures, her expression filled with determination. “I won’t let anything come between us again, I promise.”

Before Madi can react, the classroom door creaks open, and the teacher’s voice cuts through the moment.

“Attention!” she announces, “We have a new student!”

The classroom falls silent as the door swings open wider, and slow, deliberate footsteps echo across the floor.

Yuki glances up, curious, her pencil still in hand. She turns her face toward the newcomer stepping into the room―but the second her eyes land on his white hair, her entire body tenses, and her mind goes blank with shock.

N-No, it can’t be..

Her hands tremble, gripping the desk as her breath comes faster.

When his gaze meets hers, Yuki can barely breathe. 

H-How..? How..?

“Good afternoon,” he says, his voice calm and friendly as he scans the room with a warm smile.

“My name is Dori. I’m an albino, so I might look a bit unusual.. but I hope we can get along.”

His red eye flicks to Yuki once more, before a small, knowing smirk tugs at the corner of his lips.

Yuki’s heart starts to race, her breath coming in shallow gasps. Her hands tremble, and her mind spirals into panic.

It’s because I didn’t meet him yesterday..

The thought hits her hard, and her heart pounds in her ears.

Now he’s going to tell everyone about my embarrassing chats..

The videos and pictures..

He still has them, hasn’t he? 

He does.. and he’s going to leak everything.

Her stomach churns, a wave of nausea rising in her throat.

I’ll be the target of bullying again.. I’ll be everyone’s joke again.. This school year is going to be just like last year..

Hell.

Her vision blurs as she struggles to breathe.

A hell..

..that I won’t survive.

“Yuki? Yuki, you okay?” Madi’s voice cuts through the chaos, but it feels distant, muffled by the pounding in her head.

Yuki’s eyes snap to Madi, her breath coming in short, frantic gasps. “I can’t.. b-breath―” she mutters, and without thinking, she stands abruptly, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. 

The sound echoes in the quiet classroom, and suddenly, all eyes are on her. The weight of their stares feels like a physical pressure, suffocating her, making it even harder to breathe.

She bolts for the door, her legs shaking, heart pounding. Her hands fumble for the handle, desperate to escape, and with one swift motion, she pushes the door open, rushing out into the hall without a second glance.
 
 
TO BE CONTINUED…