Carnivore

i) Probitatis

STARLIGHT FILTERED THROUGH TINY GAPS, PEPPERING THE ROOM IN GLIMPSES OF SERENE SILVERS AND TEAL.

Zinnia's thoughts were, as they usually were, upon ties that held her heart imprisoned within doubt and anxiety. Her fingers traced circles over the bedding she lay beneath, staring up at an increasingly familiar ceiling above her. Soft snores were a common sound for her to hear whenever she was staring up at this ceiling above her head, and even though Zinnia's eyes were heavy lidded and her body was exhausted, sleep was an illusive companion.

Kirishima Eijirou remained oblivious to his friend's bout of insomnia, his red-dyed locks splayed in a messy fashion over his face and his pillow, and drool had dribbled down the side of his face as he snored away in bed. The light from outside slipped through the curtains of the rather spacious room, peppering the various gym equipment with flecks of silver and left intricate shadows dancing in Zinnia's peripheral vision.

Long had it been since that night on the beach that Kirishima had found her past midnight, and since then it had become increasingly regular for Zinnia to become dragged along to stay a night every week. He used the excuse of his hair dye to have her come around whenever he happened to see her wandering aimlessly around the city, between shifts at the hospital, or even just when he would call out of the blue. She knew he could dye his own hair after the first night he had her show him how the products were supposed to work, but he still had her come over at least once a week to touch it up for him so it was always on point.

And so, Kirishima's bedroom ceiling was becoming more familiar to her, and the fold-out bed on wheels he had dragged out of the shed that first night had essentially taken a seemingly permanent residence within his room. Twice, Zinnia had met Kirishima's parents, and twice they had been remarkably pleasant and quite pleased to have her stay for as long as she wanted.

She had entertained that perhaps, given her tiny stature, they had presumed her an elementary school kid Kirishima was looking out for, but after spotting what was likely a rather perturbed look across Zinnia's face, Kirishima had explained that he had told his parents all about her, well before that first night she had stayed over.

'Yeah, I kinda told them you were a real bro and gave up on the exam to bail me out of that pinch back then.' Kirishima had explained at the time with a broad grin, even if it had been just the tiniest bit wry in the end. 'I mean, you did when you really didn't have to, and they know that.'

Zinnia at the time had looked up from the 3DS her friend had managed to bait her with, and raised a questioning brow.

'What do you mean "bro"? Even without actually being built like one, I'm clearly a female.' She had spoken.

And with a cheeky grin and a brief motion to the 3DS in her hands currently carrying on with strange chipmunk-like sounds, Kirishima reiterated with, "Nah, you're a "Lady-Bro".'

Needless to say, a scoff escaped Zinnia as she shook her head with a smile.

But right now, there was nothing to smile about as she lay there listlessly, with her thoughts tumbling over on themselves. There was nothing she could really do about it either, lest she wake her slumbering companion.

Tomorrow was the first Monday of April, the first day of the school year, and Zinnia was beyond nervous. Her efforts in finding a modestly priced high school was almost spent in vain, and in the end she had decided to just apply for every school possible and decide when her applications all came in with the fee lists.

She had taken up the cheapest school she could find that she passed the exam on, which happened to be one that supported its students obtaining after-school work from day one. The school however was a fair commute away from Zinnia's home, but as she learned recently, it was within walking distance of Kirishima's house.