Museum Studies

The Arrow Strikes

A few days after the UV incident and the mysterious conversation with the stranger, Roberta was eating lunch. The museum's cafe did free food for all staff, so she usually went there on her lunch hour. As she worked her way through a falafel ricebox- as a pescetarian, Roberta was glad for the meatless selections of the museum cafe- when her phone buzzed.

Hey, baby! Wanna go on a date this Saturday? Read the message from Mark. Roberta almost jumped for joy, then she remembered what the stranger had said a few nights ago.

He's a fool... Who acts like a mewling puking infant when he can't get his own way

Dammit, why did that keep going round in her head? She wasn't going to let some random stranger tell her how to live her life! Yeah, Mark could be petty- but it was her fault for being weird. Anyway, he'd said that he had a rough childhood with his conservative parents, so that probably explained everything.

But if he thinks his parents are bad for being close-minded, how come he acts like such a bully himself?

Gahhh, it was that bloody voice again! Roberta was seriously considering going to see a shrink about it. It kept telling her that Mark was bad, Mark was dangerous, Mark was cruel. But if Mark left her, nobody else would ever want her! That was what he said at least, so Roberta replied to his text quickly.

I'm in

Saturday came along, and Jotaro watched Roberta from the window of his penthouse as she waited in the rain for Mark.

"She sure spends a lot of time with that Mark guy." Kakyoin said, walking into the room and sitting beside Jotaro on their black velvet couch. Kakyoin was in his dressing gown and a hair roller, holding a hot mug of matcha. He and Jotaro used to go out to clubs and dance the night away, but once the two of them reached 50, they realised that they preferred a quiet night in with a good film, or just some good books and each other's friendly silence.

"Yeah, but I don't think that they're in love." Jotaro said, curled up in the big sweater that Jolyne had brought him for Christmas a few years ago. The lights were low and the music was lower, which was how he liked things. After some time, being in a bright flashy nightclub full of people being as loud as possible just turned his nerves to shreds.

"What makes you say that?" Kakyoin asked.

"Yeah, they're boyfriend and girlfriend, but couples are supposed to do stuff for each other. He never takes interest in her interests- he just calls them weird- and he only ever gets her gifts after he's yelled at her. She's always expected to apologize when he gets mad too."

"Oh shit, you're right!" Jotaro always spoke his mind and put things bluntly, and it was this bluntness that made everything come to light.

"People always used to make fun of me as a kid for getting interested in Marine Biology. And here he is, making her feel like shit and expecting HER to apologize!"

"We should talk to her about this." Kakyoin replied, tugging his robe around himself.

"She'll think we're being pushy. Jolyne always thought I was being overbearing when I told her that her old boyfriend- the one she dated in high school, with pink hair- was bad. Anyway, we're not close enough to Roberta to get it through to her. She needs her friends and peers her age to tell her this, so she can realise how badly Mark's treating her."

Jotaro got the urge to light a cigarette, but popped a peppermint into his mouth instead, as he was trying to quit.

"You're right, JoJo. But we should still be on guard, in case something bad does happen. I know what to look out for in these kinds of situations."