"Tulip."
It's two o'clock in the afternoon, school ended and Noah stands by Tulip's school gate like he does every Monday. Tulip approaches with two girls beside her, the three noticing him.
"Who's that?"
"Noah."
"Ah! Noah, that guy you told us about."
Tulip says his name dispassionately, unusual to her usual fervid reaction. Despite feeling Tulip is being unnaturally distant today, Noah smiles courteously and moves forward to embrace her.
"Tulip, let's go home."
"Actually, I'll be going with my friends today. Sorry."
"Oh?"
Not expecting the abrupt change in their routine, only then Noah looks at the girls Tulip call her friends. They stand awkwardly behind Tulip, unsure of what to make of Noah who has not greeted them.
"Ah- your friends. Nice to meet you, I'm Noah. You guys seem to already know though?"
Introducing himself, the smile that he had shown Tulip is communicated to the girls. They look at each other and return the smile, clasping the arms of Tulip animatedly.
"We've never met you, but yes, Tulip talks about you a lot!"
"Does she? I talk about her a lot too."
Noah laughs, his body language laid back like usual no matter if they are strangers. Tulip who has been acting the opposite towards him, bit her lips briefly and resolves to interrupt their serene chatter.
"We'll be going now, Noah. Don't worry, they live close."
"Already? Ah- bye Noah!"
Tulip tightened her grip on the girl's arms that grabbed on to her, saying her goodbye and coldly pass Noah.
"Ha..what's with people leaving me today?"
The two girls continue talking to one another after also saying their goodbyes, missing the low voice of Noah. That includes Tulip too, looking past her shoulder at Noah who she thought said something, but not wanting to stay any longer she doesn't bother to ask.
The three now in the far distance, Noah who's left sole once more, stares at them as they go further. In thought, Noah's hand went through his hair, revealing his eyes and clear facial expression full of bitterness.
"A butterfly, no, a plane? Is that what it is now?"
—
"Awh didn't we leave too soon? He didn't even know you were going to walk home with us instead of him!"
Tulip friend, Sasha, says on the left side of her. The one by the right, Layla, look down at the two and nods her head with her fingers cupping her chin.
"I thought so too, but he's basically your brother right? I think it's okay."
Sasha hums in realisation, muttering 'that's right'. Tulip in the middle of the two is quick to correct them.
"Oh, he's not my brother."
"Whattt? He's not?"
"Aren't you guys living together?"
Puzzled, the two girls exclaim out, gaping at Tulip muddled. Tulip walking uncomfortably holding their arms, first have them let go and explains.
"We live together but we're not related, he takes care of me well, that's all."
"Uhh.. I don't know. That doesn't sound right."
Sasha says, wearing a judging face. Layla walks ahead of them and faces the two, expressing her opinions.
"That's right, there's only so much boys will do for girls unless they like them."
Gasp, Sasha jumps up and down and points at Layla.
"That's it! He totally likes you, Tulip. Picking you up like that every day?"
Tulip beside them rolls her eyes. She use to consider the idea, but after countless painful rejections, she has given up on the thought.
Also, how did they go from sibling to him liking her? You have to be strange for your mind to work in that way.
Waving her hand dusting off the air full of the girls delusions, Tulip tells them the truth.
"Definitely not. Believe me, I know that's not the case."
"Hmm..arent you being too pessimistic? Have you confessed or something?"
Cringing, she looks at Layla and Sasha that are talking absurdly.
"Who do you think I am? The boy should confess first, not girls."
"Yeah we know, you sounded so hopeless though."
"Tulip is too pretty to get rejected. That can't be it."
These are the girls Tulip are closest to in school. They've been with Tulip ever since last year, her first time going to school since appearing in Novourse.
As she has told, Tulip went to a special school. There were groups in the school, not social groups, groups that teachers assigned depending on what they need assistance in.
For Tulip's case, and these girls beside her, it was their mental and psychological problems. Oh, the teachers and the whole of the school had no idea of what Tulip needed to help her go through her development issues. So they placed her with the teachers that were experts in dealing with the well-being and development of kids with mental and psychological difficulties.
Sasha was and still does have a hard time concentrating. Now attending a school that is known for brainiacs, you can assume that she wasn't there because she had difficulties in schoolwork. No, it was a behaviour issue that can be controlled as long as Sasha is aware on how to.
Now she is, and she was when Tulip attended the previous school. In school, she tries to be as normal without being straight-up depressed. Normal as in not being loud and bothering others like how her brain would tell her to every second of every day.
Basically, Sasha can't sit still. With the practice of managing these urges, it has been a lot easier and is now possible.
Tulip remembers Layla telling her stories of how Sasha would cry every 10 minutes when they started being a lot stricter with her who didn't like the idea of getting better because of how hard it was to get better.
With her managing her urges to be a nuisance in class where you have to sit quiet hours a day, she has become quite the brainiac. Loving science where there's a lot to discover, and involves moving around. Finding a favourite subject that distracts her without having to exert it herself, has been a lot of help in improving.
Layla though, her issue was and is communication. Apparently, it started as a stuttering problem, which isn't an issue that has you going to a special needs school. However young Layla got exceedingly insecure of it.
Fixating on trying to stop the stutter, and that fixation had her obsessed with trying to be like everyone else, at some point Layla went mute. Refusing to speak so she doesn't have to deal with the stuttering at all.
Fortunately, sometime in third grade, she opened up to the people in the school. First the teachers and staff, then the students. Amid that, she found Sasha, the reason for her major progress, bringing in a lot of change for Layla. Not only externally but internally.
Sasha was and is, the total opposite of Layla. The reason being Sasha a talker and an overwhelming extrovert, and Layla quiet to the point of being mute and an overwhelming introvert, best friends.
It all sounds novel, but it's reality. Those girls are also her friends.
They were and are accepting, even welcoming, of Tulip keeping her distance. So unlike others whom she is not only distant with but draws a line between, Tulip only maintains a distance, erasing the line long ago.