"You're very close to Wendy, right?" It was Felicity's voice that made her come back to the current situation.
Sofony answered, "Yes."
"I knew it. So, did she get interested in Chris and that's why she sent you to probe me?" Felicity made some chuckling noises.
Sofony let out a soft "Huh?".
"You've been silent for so long. I thought you are feeling confused because Wendy suddenly wanted to know my true score with Chris."
"...You're bringing up Wendy again."
Felicity was silent for a while. Sofony too. Because the topic was what she wanted to bring up but didn't know how to. And now the other brought it up with ease, but not without tugging her best friend's name with it.
"My friends are consoling me. But they're also glad the stupid jerk who might even be a rapist and killer broke up with me."
"I know. I see it earlier. They are nice friends. They know how to console your heart by bringing up his bad crimes."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"But, they are wrong."
"Wrong? What do you mean?"
Felicity bitterly chuckled. "I'm feeling down. But actually, it's not related to the breakup or the damnable pervert."
Sofony was silent for a while, trying to think why the girl said that. "... It's confusing. Why are you saying this to me, and why did you mention Wendy?"
The girl snickered again. "Don't pretend. I know our campus goddess Wendy is interested in Chris. But Chris is in love with me. I know, because I saw them this Saturday."
The recording of that day popped up in her memories, but aside from getting interrogated, Chris' device did not show any sign of Wendy getting interested in the guy. Sofony's gaze turned weird. If her guess is correct, Felicity saw them but did not approach closely. Otherwise, how else could she mistake the scene as them having a date?
'My head is aching. It's a misunderstanding but let's try to forge ahead. Though I know this will make her misunderstood more. Chris, Wendy. I'm sorry.'
"Ahm, Felicity. How do you know that Mr. Chris loves you?"
It took the other a few dozens of seconds to reply. "Because we're childhood friends. We've known each other for ages. And his brown eyes are always telling me this."
"I see... That makes sense. If you're that close to him, then it makes sense that you can see that."
"Yeah. Chris is my best friend for a little more than 7 years. His mother is my mother's close friend. Actually, my mother made his mom my godmother. Chris and I are very close when we are little. I know what his favorites are, and what his hated things are."
Sofony noticed the change in her tone. The way Felicity spoke turned much gentler. Sofony had this momentary illusion that she was speaking with a girl who was describing her loved one. She asked herself if this was the sign she was trying to probe.
It seemed to be. However, she was irked by Felicity's gentle, but sadder timbre. The girl mentioned that she also knew what Chris hates... Was it related?
Sofony frowned, her face revealed confusion. Then she suddenly remembered a part of Felicity's statement earlier that was not clarified. "Felicity, I want to ask you. Why did you imply to me that Wendy knew how Mr. Meyer is in love with you?"
Her question received a laugh from the other. "Why you ask? Haha, it's because Wendy is a genius. And Chris is an idiot. You don't know, but he is a fool because he doesn't know how to mask his expression. He's too pure. Too gullible. Too easy to read... I just knew him so much."
"...Ahm, okay. You mean he had shown Wendy how concerned he is with you."
"Yeah. That should be the case. Now that I think about it, it should be because of Teacher's case. It should be due to how I'm Floyd's girlfriend, no, ex."
Felicity must be referring to Wendy's interrogation. The girl was correct. Sofony had listened to how Chris tolerated Wendy's teasing just to get information ensuring that Felicity was not dragged into Floyd's mess. He cared so much for Felicity.
"Miss Sofony," Felicity called. "Our school's nerdy goddess." She added. "What, do you think of love?"
Felicity's sudden mention of the title other students gave Sofony made the person in question blushed, but when the inquiry entered her ears, she frowned. She pondered for the answer, and when she finally thought of one, she spoke, but her nose was wrinkled.
"To be honest, I don't know. I've yet to fall in love. But if I would base it to the kind of love I know, it's like in a family, everyone should stick together and care for each other no matter what storm comes their way."
"A family," the other girl softly murmured. "You know, I don't get why I'm telling you this. But, unlike what my other friends know, my family is not as ideal as they think."
'I know.' Sofony replied inwardly. This girl's father was personally whoring her daughter, even using her as his own comfort woman. And the mother didn't know. A family like that, how could it be perfect?
Sofony sighed and said, "There's no really perfect family. It's normal for arguments to arise here and then. But among many, there are families that are broken, directly or indirectly... and I'll be honest with you. Mine's a perfectly broken one. Only my best friend knows. But my father abandoned me. I could probably be called orphaned now."
She didn't know why she revealed this to Felicity, but when she thought about it, it was actually not that much of a secret.
The other girl widened her eyes a bit at Sofony's revelation. Felicity started pitying the girl next to her, but then realized she was more pitiful. She has a father staying with her and her mom under a single roof, but at the same time, that same father was secretly impregnating her whenever an opportunity was given. Half of the blame was on her, of course, for she always allowed it and even enjoyed it. But half was his. What a very unholy matter.
Felicity subconsciously commented, "You are still fortunate."
The girl chuckled because from love talk they turned to family talk. But Felicity meant it when she said Sofony was still more fortunate than her. Having no father was better than having a father personally reminding you of how dirty you have become.
Funny that if other girls had been told this and their situation was similar to Sofony, they might have believed that the person was mocking them. But since it was Sofony, she didn't comment. Deep down, she did a comparison, and like what the girl stated, she was way luckier.
"It's about time for Chris to move on. This is why I'm telling you. I don't know if Wendy is actually interested in him that way, or is just purely curious about the case, but I hope she hooks up with Chris. Actually, anyone can do. He's been loving me for so long and I'm grateful for it. I feel flattered. But I know, I won't be able to reciprocate his feelings fully."
Felicity's sad expression burned into Sofony's mind. The girl's voice was very gentle. She smoothed down her long, black hair before hugging her knees again. Sadness radiated from the girl's gentle aura.
Watching this, Sofony's eyes dilated. Clearly, this girl also cared so much for him. So it was confirmed, even without the increased in her brain department, it was easy to see at this point that Felicity was also in love with Chris.
Sofony grunted and frustratedly commented. "You are so impossible to understand."
"I know."
"In fact, you are making me so depressed. I want to talk to you because I want to know how you truly see your best friend, but now I think I know. Your expression, your words. You bring up Wendy, and I thought it's out of jealousy. But I never thought that what I would be hearing next is very different. But why? I can't understand."
"...Why am I not with him?"
The girl painfully closed her eyes.
"No. Why are you pushing him to someone else? That's what I want to ask."
A simple yet complex answer came out of Felicity's mouth. "Because we can't be."
"...You can't be with him?" The nerdy goddess stared at the other in utter disbelief. "I don't get it! You care for him so obviously. So why?"
'Just because your body is not pure anymore? He loves you so much, and you clearly also do. What's stopping you from changing for him? I saw how afraid you are that he'd know your secret hobby. You even cleverly managed to hide it even though he has become a part of that bunch of rags for you. Felicity, are you also afraid that even if you are together with him, you won't be able to stop embracing other men in bed?'
In the end, Felicity refused to continue talking and even though Sofony repeatedly tried to ask, the other girl didn't want to entertain her anymore. In reality, Sofony's goal was only to know if Chris was the real loved one, and her goal had been achieved. But she couldn't stop stepping up and asking. Her heart was so restless for the answer.
Felicity shook her head, "Miss Sofony, that's it. I really can't say any more. It's even a miracle that I talk it all out with you even though we're not that close. You know, that's a secret. My true feelings for him. I only opened up because you're so pretty and gentle looking. This is weird, why did I even tell you this?"
The beautiful nerdy didn't appreciate the praises. She sighed, "I don't have someone I love at the moment because I'm pretty much more focused on studies. I also have to worry about my finances..."
She continued after chewing on her lower lips "...But if I have someone like that, I won't hesitate to latch onto him, love him, pamper him, show him that he's lucky to have me. I won't let go of him. I will accompany him to every place he wants to reach, help him if needed. I will cheer him up if he's sad. I will kiss him every morning and I will also kiss him before I sleep. I will make him happy, every day."
'This is a serious discussion. Can you please shut up and not distract me?'
Felicity started shivering, her shoulders trembling as she tried hard not to burst into tears. A drop fell to the girl's left shoe though. Sofony saw it, and something stirred within her heart. Felicity looked very fragile and she thought the girl was really pitiful. She was so pitiful.
"Miss Sofony, I want you to know... I want to do those things too. I'm pretty sure every girl wants to. But I... I can't." The girl replied while wiping the tears from her eyes. She then turned to Sofony, then stood up and gave her a forced smile. "Okay! Let's stop here because honestly, you're making me cry and I really don't want to spill out all my deepest secrets from the bottom of my heart. Let's seriously stop. I beg you."
Felicity looked up, and her eyes ever so wandered upon the ceiling. The voice that came out was cracking. And when Sofony carefully peeped at her eyes, she saw the reddening of the rims.
'She cried.'
Sofony's hands reached out to Felicity, but then she stopped. She hesitated for quite a while and only when Felicity was already covering her face that Sofony also rose to her feet and hugged the poor, heartbroken girl.
"...I'm sorry..."
As the other one kept on crying, Sofony kept on saying her sorry. The other girl didn't know, but her apologies were all for what she had done and will be doing to her. Sofony's heart was already so heavy as if the crimes had already been done and those crimes were enclosing her heart with a thorny cage made of guilt. She was heavily cursing herself, the system, the world. Felicity didn't know any of it.
On the lower part of the staircase, the left wing of the first year senior high building, two shadows belonging to two beautiful ladies danced. One of them was crying herself to death and the other, still in the process of dying inside.
Unbeknownst to them, another shadow was upon the upper part of the stairs, hidden by the turn. The person's head was lowered, a balled fist trembling as it supported the body by the wall... For some sort of reason, this person's silhouette was very lonely, much lonelier and melancholic than the crying scene below.