"Where Is Cale?"
A drooping Catrina asked Gabriel
"Well he is always late..."
They were sitting on a bench In a somewhat small park.
"Hey... didn't Cale seem a little odd today?"
He hadn't even teased Catrina for calling, like he usually did
"Not really, but at the same time I get where you are coming from?"
Cale has always been with Gabriel and Catrina ever since Primary School essentially they were his only childhood friends no matter how many times he would deny it, So they knew if something was off with him.
No matter how much Cale tried to hide his unease, Gabriel and Catrina could at least tell that he was uncomfortable with something
"Well not that many people would be excited to go to school"
"That's true"
They assumed that to be the case and stopped talking further about the matter and started talking about something else.
"Oh? Is that him over there?"
"Huh? Where?"
Catrina looked around, then Gabriel's voice made her stop looking aimlessly
"He's there"
"...That's a dog"
"It's adorable right?"
A sudden urge of submerging Gabriel's head in a bathtub full of biting cold water swelled in Catrina's mind
Minutes passed with nothing happening and just idleness chatter floating around
"Are you disappointed?"
"About what?"
Catrina sheepishly asked, boredom filling both her and Gabriel
"That you didn't get teased by Cale?"
Her eyes snapped back with life filling her retinas
"You...aren't suggesting that I am a masochist, are you?"
"I never said anything like that though?"
Their conversation had already turned into one filled with utter nonsense
"You implied that I am"
"That is entirely up to interpretation though?"
Gabriel glanced at the petite girl next to her
"If your mind wandered on and landed to such a conclusion"
Gabriel retorted and then landed the nail in the coffin
"Aren't you the weird one for thinking that way?"
Happiness filled his face, beating someone in an argument was and will always be everyone's shared joy, and Gabriel was no different
"Hm? what did you say?"
Catrina cupped her ear and drew closer to Gabriel
"..."
'You...feign ignorance?'
"I said, aren't you the weird one for thinking that way?"
"Ahh, okay"
She then shifted her attention towards the giant arched gateway which was the front entrance, not paying attention to Gabriel's words whatsoever
"...."
An intense awkwardness enveloped the two like a warm blanket
They both stayed silent for what felt like forever and then finally
"..?"
Catrina had spotted Cale in the distance, wearing a plain black shirt and Jeans
"Hey!"
Catrina sat up from the bench made out of marble, she waved her hands seemingly wanting to be noticed.
Cale spotted them shortly after and started walking towards them
Stopping right In front of the smooth marble bench they were sitting at. His hair was still a mess but it was nothing surprising to the two.
"Hey why were you late?" Gabriel asked him curiously
"I was eating"
"...."
"...."
Gabriel and Catrina stared at the Glutton In front of them with disbelief in their eyes.
"What is it?"
"It's nothing...."
Gabriel tore his gaze away from Cale, Cale paid no mind to it and simply asked with a tinge of excitement stuck to his tone
"So? what are you guys waiting for? aren't we going to go to the Cinema to watch a movie?"
"We are~" Catrina answered softly
The reason Cale came out with them and hang out in the first place was because of a movie he had been dying to see and even got tickets for himself the moment he was free and even used his own allowance for it
Gabriel and Catrina did the same for similar reasons as Cale.
***
'Sometimes, watching a classic and an amazing movie can calm and sooth your nerves'
This is what I believed at the very least
"It got delayed"
Catrina said outright, fiddling with the black bow that rested tightly behind her small head
"...."
'What did she just say? maybe I heard wrong'
I desperately wished it were not true
"What did you say?" I asked with my face turning more and more shaken
"It got delayed due to some maintenance and technical problems and the movie will now start at [1:15] PM or at least that's what they said"
"...."
I bit into my lip
Opening my phone, I check the time
[10:59] AM
"Haaaaa"
A long sigh escaped my lips
'At least they didn't cancel it..'
That was the only good thing about this
'Well I can just wait in my house and just go out to the movie theater when it was time'
"Well what now?"
I asked, wanting to know what my two accursed friends I loved teasing would do with their free time
"We wait?"
The response hadn't been what I expected
'Who is...we?'
I tried to take a step back but
Grab
'Ah shi-'
A slender arm grabbed my sleeve, refusing to let me go, her grip on it tightened, so much so It proved difficult to break free completely even for me
"Where are you going?"
Catrina asked me innocently, her other free hand tightening on my already bound arm, not allowing an inch to get away free
Gabriel sat up, barely containing his laughter in.
These two...
'They knew the movie got delayed and didn't tell me on purpose!'
I felt betrayed by the two people I trusted so much
'Is this her way of taking revenge because I called her a dwarf?'
She sat up, sticking her body closer, using her body weight to drag me down, making sure I wouldn't be able to shake her off without hurting her
"If we had told you the movie got delayed you wouldn't have come out right?" Catrina smirked, not hiding her Intentions whatsoever.
"And we can't just break in to your house and drag you out"
'Yeah, that's called a crime you know?'
"So Gabriel came up with a brilliant Idea to not tell you the movie got delayed"
This bastard!
I glared at Gabriel and saw him muster every bit of strength In his body In order to not burst out laughing as I was getting slowly dragged by Catrina.
And that's the short story of how I got dragged around by these two for 3 hours straight waiting for the movie.
***
"Uhg"
Vomit welled up in my throat
After watching the movie, I went back home exhausted by the dragging around I experienced from Catrina and Gabriel during the time I was waiting for the movie to start.
"Those two do not run out of energy no matter what kind of shenanigans they pull"
Of course I won't deny that I did have fun but I also won't deny that I felt exhausted after all of that.
"..."
Now what do I do?
There's nothing else to do but wait till tomorrow...
"I could start by trying to understand what exactly happened to my eyes"
The letter had said that In order to make full use of my 'Unique Eyes' I had to first 'understand' them and I didn't see any reason why I shouldn't listen to it when I know that I will definitely need them If I want to survive
I went to my bedroom and stood before my mirror In the corner of the room and tried to see what difference my eyes had than before that maybe only I would be capable of seeing.
"no change in my eye color, It looks the same overall..."
My eyes were still bronze, no change at all
I tried squinting my eyes to see If there was any difference.
"?"
And I had noticed something, swirling In my Irises
I couldn't tell what it was but I knew that It had something to do with what the letter had told me
"Now that I'm doing this"
Turning my attention towards the thin pitch black lines that were barely visible. I tried to see any white line.
However, no matter how hard I tried to see, I couldn't see it, I couldn't see any thin white line like before no matter how much I squinted my eyes.
'Was it maybe a one time thing?
If that was the case, then that'd be slightly disappointing
Laying down on my bed, I began to think about what to do now.
I kept pondering and contemplated on what my plan should be when I'm forced to go to Gardenia again for two whole days