Paige Stevens
Their homeroom teacher left, marking their first lesson complete. Eyes glanced windowards. The numbers at the gate had gone up. The buzz still there.
Clean up came, they all silently set about their tasks, Jin and Paige swept.
"Okay, I've been listening to people talking and."
"And?" Jin asked.
"Naya's top of the grade."
Jin stopped sweeping.
"I guess that means I'll never catch up." He said winking at her.
She was playing with fire mentioning she who must not be named. But it was working, he was talking, she was responding. Her the patient and the therapist. Him… the chair.
"You have all my books?" He asked.
"Of course."
"Because of this morning? Or because you used to bring them every day?" He asked, eyes wide.
She pulled an 'of course not' face, so she wouldn't have to lie with her words.
"Heavy?"
"Don't puppy-eyes me." She growled.
He grinned.
The class emptied as trucks pulled up at the gates with the principal fighting to get them in. Jin had just started to walk into the open when she pulled him back.
"What's wrong with you?" Jin complained.
Paige hesitated but puffed up her chest, she'd failed him as a friend too many times in one day. "No, you don't get to go out there looking like this, let's just do dishing duty."
He sighed.
She'd be damned if she were to let him out there.
One of the students hesitated to give him an apron but moved on quick.
"Am I that scary now?" He asked, not letting the moment pass, smiling as Paige pushed him like she was moving a fridge.
"Bullshit Jin, you were always a little scary, but now you're back after you vanished for longer than three days. It should mean you're dead. You still remember that girl in Drake's apartment?"
"No? I… don't…"
"They found the body washed up in the beach, suffocated. Drake was talking about it all the time because hi-"
"His mom makes him walk his brother… fuck me… I remember."
"You really forgot…"
"What? You worried I'm not me?" He grinned, but it faded, "Wait, is that something you're thinking about?"
"No, I just… I don't remember what happened to me. I just popped back, as if there was no gap."
He stared dead eyed, "And?"
It should have been terrifying. And yet…
"There wasn't time to forget stuff because for all of us, time didn't pass. But you? Jin…Do… you remember what happened to you, or us?"
Jin disappeared in her chest, leaving her behind. A bell saved him and they rushed, throwing on aprons and filling trays with buns, deer meat and ramen. She put together the trays and others laid them out. No one filled a whole tray themselves, they were all parts to a conveyer belt, churning out food for primary schoolers.
It was groan inducing to have him go further and further away from her as duties rotated. At one point, there were six between them. She was being ridiculous, she did not need to be near him every second, for his sake, or hers. She was being silly-
"Jin? What are you doing?" Noaki demanded.
Paige turned, her heart sinking.
Of all the voices…
Kids were staring, Jin was wide eyed and cornered. A face she'd never seen.
"Nothing Noaki, go away." He coughed.
"You're stealing food." Noaki demanded.
"I mean it, shut the fuck up." Jin growled.
There was an ocean of ooooh's from the many girls there. Explaining Noaki's presence.
"I'm gonna-"
"Of course you are. Go! Go tell a teacher!"
"Fine"
He walked to the door only to be shoved directly into it, nearly breaking it off the hinges. The door bent, wood creaking as Jin lifted Noaki in one hand, toes dangling.
"Since you want to tattle so bad, don't do it hungry."
He reached into a blazer pocket as Naoki kicked and flailed, a bun burst to shreds, shoved into his face. There was nervous laughter. Naoki flailed harder, the black of the shoes painting streaks on the white paint.
"Jin no!" Paige yelled.
Noaki fell immediately.
She held Jin from behind, his shirt lifted and she found four angry scars ripping all the way across his back, the type people didn't walk away from, not outside a body bag.
"You're a psycho." Naoki yelled.
"You fucking think so?!" Jin yelled back, swallowing up Noaki's yell.
Paige launched herself between them.
It shut everything down. Jin stood, breath haggard, staring from person to person. He threw off his jacket, slamming it directly into Noaki's face, before marching out the kitchen. Paige scooped it and gave chase.
His shoulders were so bunched, his steps so heavy that it made her heart race. A wall would not have slowed him, he marched into the bathroom and slammed the door. One couldn't lock but he was so strong she couldn't make it so much as twitch.
"Jin, what the hell was that?" She yelled.
"Nothing!"
"Why are you lying to me? Is this who you are now? Is this really you?"
There was a bang on the door that would have made a warhead blush, the wood screaming out its agony, it was astonishing how strong he was.
"Is that supposed to scare me!" She yelled kicking the door… it was not the same.
"You, I want to use the bathroom." Came a deep familiar voice from behind her.
"Kazuki," Paige breathed.
He was flanked by a flustered Naoki and four others, Rie and Natabane in the distance.
"You don't want to do this." She said feeling the blood drain from her, her bones hollow.
"Do what? I just want to piss."
"No."
"I'm warning you."
Her eyes watered. "I… fucking… said… no…"
"Hey what are you all doing?" Came an authoritative voice.
There, to all their surprise, was the principal, flanked by the police and two people in some of the finest suits she'd ever seen.
"We just wanted to use the bathroom." Kazuku said as all parties bowed low.
"Is Jin in there?"
"Yes." Paige said, bowed lowest.