The Pearl

Stage 14: Is Purple Bad?

The fog smelled of lavender, which quite ironically was one of the 50 shades of the purple smoke.

I could hear the sound of sobs quite close to me, and I'd rather not know which of my friends was crying. I stumble blindly with my trembling arms outstretched, groping for someone or something to help me steady myself. Another scream pierced the night, only this one screamed Amanda's name instead. With panic rising in me, I miserably attempt to manipulate the purple clouds. Rise, I demand without opening my mouth. Rise and free us of your blinding prison.

No luck. My vision remained clouded with purple.

Get it? 'Clouded'? Cuz there are clouds...

Yeah.

God I'm so awkward.

I shake my head as if to wake me up from drowsiness. I'm in the midst of some strange gases (hehe gases) and am thinking about how awkward I am. Yup, it's time to prepare my eulogy. I giggle to myself unnecessarily loud. I then cover my mouth and yelp, "Oops!". I laugh hysterically again. I think I hear someone shout my name, but I can't place it because of my current state. I trip on a fairly large rock and drop to the ground.

"Wha-oopsies!" I say in a drunken tone - but I'm obviously not drunk; I'm seventeen (a.k.a. underage), and don't plan on breaking laws anytime soon. I stay on the warm dirt and close my eyes. It feels like I'm resting in bed. I burst out in yet another set of giggles, so much that I clutch my stomach from the pain.

Keilani Noel Vuair, you are mad loopy. Get your head cleared and think for a moment will you?

I snicker at my inner voice. Noel? Who's Noel? I dunno a Noel. Noel kinda sounds like Noah. Oh! Noah sounds like boa! Isn't that a snake? Ewwww snakes. I like the fluffy boas better.Ooh, I should model like I have a boa on. Still laying on the ground, I lift my hand up onto my forehead and position my legs so that it looks like I'm flying. My other hand hovers a few inches above my collarbone as if there indeed was a feathery, pink boa wrapped around my neck. I close my eyes and wait for cameras to flash. A tiny grin rests peacefully on my mouth.

Yes good job Kei, that's making it much nicer.

I ignore the sarcastic voice in my head and stay still. After waiting for who knows how long, my mind wanders off into a dream and my eyes drift closed, leaving me to sleep.

::::::::::

I feel a sharp pain on the top of my head, where my clip should be. My hand instinctively shoots up toward it, only to find that the pin is (unfortunately) still molded to my scalp. I let out a disappointed grunt as I flicker my eyes open. My eyes quickly meet the stares of several heads hovering curiously over me, all with a shawl covering their mouths, and all female. Even though I'm now awake, they don't move to give me space. Their eyes seem like they're trying to figure something out.

"Ladies, is she awake?"

"No madam," one transfixed girl with icy blue eyes and raven's hair lied. None of the others showed any sign that they were disappointed or mad at her for lying.

"You're lying."

The girl finally snaps out of her reverie and stutters out, "I'm terribly sorry madam, I didn't mean to. I-"

"Enough. Just leave us."

The raven haired girl stands as she pulls up another girl, who had pink hair, and that girl pulls up another girl so that the crowd above me rises in a wavelike motion. As if they were communicating to each other mentally, they turned to their left in unison and glided away gracefully. I'm too busy watching them leave that I don't realize that there is still someone in the room.

My head shifts and sees yet another person that was dressed the same way as the others, only she held herself in a way that just oozed confidence. She also had light lavender hair with two white star pins pulling the hair away from the sides of her face. Her almond eyes were soft, but calculating and stern all at once.

My head was spinning in confusion.

I didn't even get a chance to recollect myself before she smoothly says, "So you're Keilani Vu." I froze at the way she said my last name. Sure, I already knew that's how it actually was, but no one else knows that but me and the people who dealt with my info. A tiny smirk finds its way onto her face.

"H...how...," I mumble stupidly. I automatically clear my throat and repeat myself stronger and clearer to hide my vulnerability. I nail it, and the girl's face shifts from surprised back to curiosity. But this, however, doesn't prevent my fears from bubbling in my gut. I hadn't forgotten about the purple smoke nor the screams and yells. I clench my jaw to stop myself from breaking down.

"My friends?" I question in a commanding form. To add to my act, I rise to meet her eyes and cross my arms with my weight on my left leg. Her face goes slack and she stands agape, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"You're supposed to be the easy one," she says breathlessly, "unless you're not Keilani. Then are you Amanda Rose? I don't think you're Iimura; she's the one bandaged." She snickers as if to imply that Iimura was weak and she (the girl) could do better in her situation.

I don't answer her but instead hold my head up a little higher. "What's it to you?"

She pauses, contemplating what she should do. Finally, she holds her hand to me in a handshake and smiles genuinely. "Hello. Nice to meet you, Amanda Rose. My name is Calliope, but you can call me Callie-all my friends do." She throws me a playful wink, enunciating friends.

I almost scoff at her but don't (as that is not a very Keilani-like thing to do), then do it anyway (as that's a Manda-like thing to do). "So you're just going to assume I'm Amanda then?" I add in a little smirk. "That's not very smart." Calliope rolls her eyes with a small grin.

"I'm not that big on smarts; I just go with my gut. I think it should be more about reflexes," she inputs,  "since that is going to help much more than any brains will."

"I'd love to stay and exchange philosophies, but I'm kinda done here," I say, the lie slipping out of my mouth before I could even register it. "So can I see my friends now? Or do you not have the smarts for getting me to them?" I hold my arms behind my back so she wouldn't see as I make a fist bump. Her body tenses, but she calms herself almost immediately. She smiles largely at me, but this time I see that it's forced.

"Follow me." She doesn't wait to see if I'm behind her as she takes off to the plainest door in the room. I'm about to warn her that she's going to bump into the wall, but she passes right through it. My mouth lets out a small shriek of surprise. I gulp and inch my way to where Calliope went through and stick my hand slowly at the wall. It doesn't let me through. Now frustrated, I jam my fingers into the wall again and again. I then remember that I'm alone in an unfamiliar room. 

Naturally, I freak out. My breathing speeds up and my arms tingle with fear. I try to shout for help, but all that comes out is a pathetic whimper. My lower lip starts to tremble, and my throat gets tight. No, I'm not going to cry here. I breathe in slowly as an effort to calm myself and close my eyes. It takes a second for me to realize that my cheeks were wet.

I guess I am going to cry here.

My soundless sobs now turned to wails, and now I'm curled in a ball on the cold, hard ground. "I told you it's not the one," a voice says over an intercom. I instantly flush at the thought of someone watching as I cried. Then my embarrassment turns to fear as I glance around for the source of the noise. The intercom laughs.

"Don't worry Keilani Vu. Calliope will get your friends to join you anyway." I notice how the person says Calliope instead of Callie; were they not friends? "Let us just stay here and relax. I'll put on some elavator music." The person stayed true to their word and turned on soft music that clashed greatly with the state I was in. "Oh just carry on with the tears. I'm just gonna read."

To my surprise, I actually start to weep once again.

Short A/N cuz I literally have two mintues until I publish the next update. oops. :P kay chow you stinkers.

UPDATE: I changed Keilani's middle name from Rose to Noel, so if you guys are confused here's the explanation c: