Metanoia

Chapter 7: Greetings and Death

Jovie's POV

    "Um, hi." I say, shifting farther away from the plate. I look up to a tall and slender figure, which makes my subconscious scold myself about how short I am. But hey—freaking finally, I'm looking at someone properly.

    She pulls her cap over her head and scans me through piercing dark eyes. Her pimpleless face tilts and breaks into a grin, seemingly entertained by my confusion. Grey hoodie, light blue jeans—oh, oh no.

    It can't be her.

    But it also can be, since...well, I just got here.

    "Hello." She replies in an affirmative voice, ironic compared to my stuttering. Her voice is restrained, as if she's holding back something. I don't reply. She's mad.

"In case you didn't hear, I'm Sora." she monotones, and I suppress a groan. "Interesting food you got there."

    "It's not interesting—" I bite my lip. Wasn't she mad or something? "It's...it's just anchovies." Although I knew damn well what she meant.

    She quickly swipes my plate and takes a fried fish  before I can yelp 'Hey!'. She rips off its head and takes a quick glance at me, smirking.

    I pretend she didn't do that.

    "Shhhh." She says in an otherworldy tone, almost motherly---no, it couldn't be. She's still mad. I remind myself.

She takes another bite, spitting it in the nearest trash. "Metanoia food sucks,"

My temper flares. Maybe I was wrong about her. But then, in the end, she's less annoying than Isis. But I let my rage into my voice still. (I mean, she deserves it!)

    "Then maybe you shouldn't eat it."

    Great. Now she hates me. I need to do something.

    To my surprise, she puts the plate down and shrugs. "Yeah, maybe I shouldn't." She leans against the wall and looks away from me.

    I look away from her, too, hoping she'd leave. She doesn't.

    "Soooo..." I hedge, scouring my mind for something worth talking about. "I was wondering, why haven't they done the check-in procedures yet?"

    "Oh relax. They're going to do it tomorrow. That's just the chaoticness of this dumb building." she replied in a burst of lamentation. "Get used to it."

    "What if I can't?"

    "Then welcome to Hell."

    I sigh and look at my crappy room. Welcome to Hell indeed.

    "Nah, trust me." She chuckles. "I used to be like that too, but after a month you're just like 'meh'." She widens her eyes in demonstration.

    I nod without thinking. Damn. She's starting to be a lot more relatable than expected.

    "So, how's this place for you?" she asks. I could ask her that, too.

    I give the most generic answer ever. "It's okay, it really is." We both fall silent and the seconds pass. My eyes fall on her again, this time searching for the right moment to ask her that one question.

I muster up the courage to open my mouth. "Well, um, so, how's this place treating y-"

     My door slides open. I snap out of my trance and spin towards the door. A skinny figure stands at the door. I can barely make out her yellowish face, blemishes splattered all over it. But what truly catches my eye are her two big, white eyes.

Then I realize my door is open, and I hate this. God, do I even have any privacy now? Is there even a key??

But I don't complain.

    "Amandine." A distant, muffled voice makes my blood run cold. No, the voice isn't natural. It's from another world. And even hollow. Sora freezes. "I've been looking for you."

    She's got the wrong person. I whisper to myself. She's got the wrong person...

"Uhm, okay." Sora and I say in unison, and she shots me a grin that's kind of not smug.

Sora waves a dismissive hand and replies, "Charis, please go away. This is private."

Creepy Girl, or Charis,  simply says, "You said please? I'm gonna stay."

My mouth falls open and I give Sora a wtf expression.

"This is private for me, too." glares Charis, turning to me. "I have something I need from you. You know what that is!"

"You've got the wrong person, so get the fuck away from me you biatch." I blurt out without thinking, my subconscious whipping up my previous thought because I am as forgetful as a goldfish.

Charis is unfazed.

"Wrong person." echoes Charis, frowning as she staggers back and leans against a wall for support. Her misty eyes flash into my soul. "Amandine. Really?" She says the name like a curse word, like it pains her to say it.

Sora falls silent, observing us only now.

"No, before I take it, how is Isis."

"Isn't she one of the prefects? She...she's everywhere!" I protest. Her grin fades, and I falter. "And, um, isn't she?"

Charis doesn't give any sort of reaction, and I finally answer due to my social awkwardness. "She is, she is."

"And, well, Sora."

Oh wow, she finally ackknowledges her existence.

"Isis."

Were they doing some sort of telepathical message thingy? Is this a magician thing? "Yeah. I can confirm." Sora sputters. So she's stuttering? Rare. "I...really can."

Boy, this Charis is weird.

But, worst of all, who the hell is Amandine? And although I know damn well Charis is crazy, I can't help but wonder what messed-up stuff she had with this...unpronounceable name.