Standing outside the clothes shop, Cale felt the heart whom he had originally thought to have stopped its production, beat with newfound vitality.
The cold air inhaled, chilled his lungs from the inside out. A whitey breath came with each exhale that was taken.
In his faint reflection, Cale could see a pale figure with cerulean eyes staring back at him.
He didn't look any longer at his reflection, instead, he now looked at himself with his own eyes this time, not looking for the glass to answer him.
His skin tone was originally a small tan, not as pale as the mirror told him. And while Cale couldn't check the color of his eyes, he thought it to be the same. Unchanged.
However, when he looked at himself for longer, he could see it. He could tell faintly that he was far paler than before.
'Is it gradual?'
The mirror could be reflecting what he was inevitably going to look like in the future.
But that didn't matter, what mattered was that something had changed. Something deep within his soul, outside of his body.
He felt like he wasn't the same as before.
'What could it be?'
Wanting to know more, he sincerely wanted to go back, but this time he decided to tend to the bile riling up in his throat.
Breaths stopped as he rushed to buy a plastic bag from the grocery store, huddling in a corner where no one could see afterwards.
"Ukh"
The bile he had paused for a few minutes rushed back, leaving his mouth in a disgusting manner.
Cale clenched his hand around the bag, his legs, feeling weak, fell slowly to the floor.
A passerby patted his shoulder.
"There there, you too are hungover?"
Missing the shot completely, the stranger walked away, wobbling.
'You look more drunk than me'
Finding the strength to raise himself up, he did just that. Composure joining just as quickly.
'Anyway, why am I here?'
It was obvious the doppelganger was here, but it hadn't left a sticky note to tell Cale what he had missed.
The first thing Cale did after his heavy heart calmed, was open the phone that was thankfully in his pocket.
Cale's gaze lingered on the date.
12/21/2025
A full month-No, more than a month had passed since detention.
'That is quite depressing, I stayed as a corpse for almost two months'
Cale wondered if he would have turned like that lich priest, but didn't want to stick around and fuck around with death to find out.
"I already feel like a dog that was stepped on, I don't want to become some magical girl skeleton on top of that"
Feeling his pride shudder in fear, Cale walked to his original post.
'There must be a reason as to why I am here'
The chain events as to why Cale originally stood there, was obvious to predict.
'I met someone, they forced me to go out, and they must be someone that would want clothes'
Cale wouldn't go out on his own accord to buy clothes after all.
But the question here was who? Who would be able to force him out?
The first one to come to mind was his sister.
'She should have come back home by now'
A month prior to when school started, he overheard a call from his mother talking to his sister.
Cale acted as if the matter didn't really interest him, but the ears that strained to hear the conversation betrayed him.
And that was how he found out.
Step
A heel stepped onto the porcelain inside the shop, joyfully scraping the hard rubber lines on the small ramp.
"Sorry I took so long!"
At the surprisingly nostalgic voice, Cale felt a void in his heart fill itself up with relief. Sharply exhaling in the process.
'Never thought I'd hear that annoying voice again'
Truly, who would have thought a singular voice could make one almost completely snap out of it?
Rolling an eye towards her, Catrina could be seen at the edge of his vision, holding shopping bags full of clothes and....a console?
'Doesn't she already have one?'
He wanted to ask, but already knew that the doppelganger, would have already asked this question. So he thought to himself to be extremely careful talking.
'Curses, why can't they just shove his memories inside my brain?'
Maintaining an indifferent demeanor, his arm moved to catch the bags about to fall off.
"Thanks~"
Catrina appreciated the help being given to her with open arms.
Peeking at the clothes, Cale raised a brow.
"Aren't they too big for you?"
Asking this, Cale expected banter to be thrown at him, but strange silence followed.
Craning his head up, he looked at the perplexed look Catrina gave to him.
""Well obviously they don't fit, they are not meant for me in the first place"
"!!!!"
Realizing his mistake, Cale wanted to throw himself off the cliff at the immediate stupidity he showed the moment he came back resurrected.
'I just said to be careful!'
Taking a quick inhale, his mouth flowed out a river of an excuse.
"No, it is just that I thought that you were buying something for yourself"
Catrina only smiled ambiguously.
"Ah, yeah you're right"
Tilting her head, she moved forward, heel tapping on the ground headfirst.
"Still Cale, I really do appreciate moving these gifts even though you have a busy schedule"
'I do?'
Grabbing another bag that was about to fall down, Cale gently took the load off of Catrina.
"Where to?"
Humming a tune, Catrina ignored him. Asking again.
"Hm~ Hm~ Hm~"
She still ignored Cale.
'Why is she acting like this?'
Only a month and a half have passed, how much could have possibly changed during that time?
Silently, Cale followed the hummingbird in front.
Anytime she'd struggle, he'd be there to lift off more of the load, this happened for a while before the shopping bags evened out.
Cale spent that time thinking 'who are these clothes meant for?' but seeing it's futility, he stopped thinking entirely and only followed Catrina.
Staying patient until the end will often not solve most questions on anyone's mind after all, be it a reader reading a novel, a detective investigating a suspect, patience solves almost every question you might have.
Walking down a slope, they had reached a park.
"Wanna take a break?"
Catrina snapped her head toward Cale, a bag of chips rattled in one of her bags as her steps joined in a rhyme.
"Sure, why not?"
Sighing, Cale followed her to a bench under a massive metal shade shelter.
"It's cold~"
Still shivering from the cold, Catrina opened the bag of chips, proceeding to eat one at a steady rhythm, forcing Cale to watch her munching on the regular flavored chips.
Leaning on the cold bench, Cale asked a simple question to the petite young lady to the side.
"Two more days left, right?"
Stopping abruptly, Catrina curled her toes in the cold.
"Two more days of what?"
Stretching, Cale felt relief washing over his body.
"Until Winter Break"
And that meant one more thing.
Gardenia would be in the far past for two weeks.
However, in the midst of the relief, Cale couldn't help but realize one thing.
He still did not know a single thing about the practical exam.
Though, at this point, it seemed like it would take place after the winter break.
That thought haunted him for a while.
The thought of resurrecting and instantly jumping into danger made him feel that this was perhaps an unfair take.
But what could he do? What could possibly allow him to survive 100% the entire day?
Cale caressed his neck, feeling it tighten and burn hot, made his features wince in annoyance.
'Am I just afraid?'
Or was it something else?
Thinking this, he all of sudden felt depressed. He peered to his side.
'Should I tease her?'
It might up his spirits. He thought.
But one look at her made him feel it was utterly pointless.
He didn't have that much energy after all.
Fatigue still crept, he wanted to sleep and have the darkness embrace him.
Nostalgia ended, now he wished for rest. No matter how short the hour is.
Uncrossing his legs, fingers flexed, moved and hooked onto the bags.
"How about we start moving?"
Catrina stopped eating, swallowing the crushed chips down her throat first.
"Why such a hurry?"
Standing up, Cale took all the shopping bags up, astonished by how many he picked up by himself, Catrina stole a few bags before Cale took them all for himself.
"Where to?"
He asked, voice low yet considerably fatigued.
"Oh, my house..."
Twisting the bag of chips, it closed as it fell in the plastic bag with the console inside.
The road ahead was silent.
None of the two really talked this time, Catrina tried to open the conversation but it dried up rather quickly, only when they passed a supermarket did one of them speak.
"How's Gabriel?"
Raising a brow, she was about to ask 'what of him?' but stopped when peeking at Cale, more correctly, at his condition.
Cale, being noticeably paler than before, made Catrina ponder why she hadn't noticed it before.
Eyes barely focused on the road ahead, fingers occasionally quaked and twitched, breath, though very well hidden couldn't hide its ragged rhythm.
"He's out of town, back to his hometown"
Sharply stepping and ignoring the increasing drowsiness. Cale cast his hazy vision downwards.
"I see"
Soon enough. They made their way to Catrina's home.
"I can go myself up"
Tearing the shopping bags from Cale's grasp, she carefully wobbled her way to the elevator.
"You sure?"
Cale asked, bringing a tired hand to his hips. Vision beginning to overlay multiple images together.
"Yeah, I...hup! Am quite sure"
Sighing the cold air, Cale turned away from the door.
"Wanna stay and rest for a bit?"
The heavy lids that curtained on his eyes raised themselves ever so slightly.
"No, I'm fine"
He said, without looking back.
"Come on, it's Christmas, and you can't stay for even an hour?"
But the persistence popped a vein.
Peeking out her head, she awaited an answer, and it was a flat one.
"No, I'll see you tomorrow"
With those words.
Thud
The door closed, leaving the worrying Catrina behind.