"Y'all know what's happening in, like, two weeks, right?" Sasha asked as she burst through the doors. The members looked over at her with some levels of surprise, but most of them just shrugged.
"Jasmine comes back?" Cleopatra offered, looking up from whatever sewing project she was working on. Sasha shook her head.
"No, that's next week on Friday. In two weeks, it's Christmas break!" Sasha exclaimed.
"Oh yeah! I forgot about that with Finals coming up," Leo said with a shrug. Aria nodded her head.
"I love Christmas!"
"Jewish," Anthony called out. Cleopatra scoffed slightly but didn't say anything. Not that she had anything against Jews, but he just didn't seem Jewish at all.
"Don't celebrate holidays," Kyra said with a sigh, holding a hand up.
"Okay, no. Here's what's going to happen," Mark called out from on top of the guidance counselor's desk. "We're having a holiday party now. Next week on Friday when Jasmine gets back. Brings gifts if you want. We'll get treats and stuff. It'll start at two in the warehouse, so you all are required to come. Finals are over and I want no excuses."
"Holiday parties are fun!" Sasha cheered, raising a fist in the air. She, Leo, and Aria seemed the most thrilled about it. Anthony shrugged, so he'd probably be there. Isa nodded her head, so she seemed to like the idea. Then there was Cleopatra, who seemed indifferent but they knew she'd show up. Kyra seemed to be fine with the suggestion and Monet and Mark would definitely be there.
"When was the last time you celebrated a holiday that wasn't Chinese New Year?" Sebastian asked, sitting down next to Kyra, flipping the chair to sit backwards in it. The girl looked up from her folder, a little frustrated that she had been interrupted during her case work, but that was what she got for bringing it to school.
"Since I was seven and my parents were alive. Haven't celebrated a birthday, let alone a holiday since then," Kyra replied boredly with a slight shrug of her shoulders. Sebastian scrunched his face up in confusion.
"How do you live your life like that?" He asked, leaning against the back of the chair with his arms. "That sounds completely boring." Kyra shrugged her shoulders.
"You learn to live with it, I suppose," She replied, looking back down at her case folder for a second. That one detail didn't seem to make sense. What was going on with this? "Hey, Seb?" He hummed slightly. "Do me a favor and stand up for a second, will you?" Sebastian looked confused, but he did as she said, standing up. Kyra stood up on her chair, considering she was at least a head shorter than he was, and looked down on him.
"What are you doing?" He asked, looking up at him.
"Fact-checking," She shrugged. She reached two fingers behind his neck, running it up and down like she was looking for something. "I can't figure out why this doesn't add up." Sebastian didn't say anything. More like he was completely frozen in place. With a huff, she sat down and picked up the folder again.
"It doesn't add up. I'm going to have to start over now," She sighed, flipping through photos from her past investigations. Sebastian sat down next to her again, looking over into the folder.
"Murder?" He asked, slightly concerned. Kyra shook her head.
"Kidnapping. Facts don't add up."
"I know. You've said that three times now, Sherlock." Kyra glared over at him, but it was short lived and she glanced back at her case again. "How do you even get away with this anyway?"
"I just spend a ridiculous amount of time at my grandfather's job with him," Kyra replied with a shrug. Sebastian chuckled a bit, shaking his head. Kyra closed her case file and shoved it back into her bag. "Plus, I'm fourteen so I have an internship there now. I get to be an assistant detective."
"You make me feel like I need to get a job," He commented. Kyra laughed a bit and shrugged. "Seriously though. Do you get paid?"
"I mean, yeah. I get paid ten dollars an hour, which is nice. Most of it goes to my college fund though, so I only really make twenty dollars a every two weeks." Kyra shrugged again and leaned back against the back of the chair. Sebastian nodded his head.
"I think I might get a job at, like, Ben Franklins or something," Sebastian shrugged slightly.
"It doesn't pay as well," Kyra replied. She smiled a bit at him. "It only pays about eight dollars an hour." Sebastian chuckled a bit and nodded his head. "Jobs are good though. It does teach you responsibility and things like that." Sebastian hummed in agreement, nodding his head.
"Yeah, that's true. I think I might apply over break. Getting a job is probably gonna be good for me." They were quiet for a minute, sitting in the corner of the room. It wasn't an awkward silence, surprisingly for Kyra since she tended to find most silences uncomfortable. Eventually, Sebastian did speak again.
"Do you wanna go gift shopping with me next week?" He asked. Kyra nodded her head.
"Definitely." Was she too fast? Did he think that she liked him or something. Sure, she'd known Sebastian for years. Heck, she was the one to nickname him Seb. Still, he was one of her first friends and he definitely was one of her closest. It wasn't odd if she went gift shopping, right? She didn't like him, right?
Right?
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Cleopatra's options were limited. Very, very limited. It wasn't that hard of a decision to make. It was either open the text or ignore it. It was that simple. Just a simple yes or no choice.
So why had she thrown her phone across the room?
That was even more simple to answer. It was because after literal months of silence, Bailey Michal decided it was a good idea to text Cleopatra again. Obviously, the only natural response to that was to throw her phone against the wall. What gave Bailey the right to text her again after months of not saying, let alone apologizing for what she had knowingly put Cleopatra through by calling her Tia. Bailey knew how much it affected her, so she had done it on purpose. They hadn't spoken since homecoming, which was the longest they'd ever gone without speaking by a few months. Still, what was she supposed to do? Of course she was still mad at her. However, there was the small issue of Cleopatra missing her. Sure, she was getting along great with Kyra. The two of them were getting really close and Cleopatra would dare call Kyra one of her best friends and yet, it still didn't fix what Bailey had left when they stopped talking.
Taking a second to calm herself down and think things through, Cleopatra walked over to her phone and picked it up, making sure that she hadn't cracked it. She preferred to not break things if she could. When she was satisfied that it wasn't broken, she sat down on the carpeted floor and leaned against the wall, staring at the text message on her phone.
BigBadBails: i just got expelled... guess im coming home now
What was she supposed to say to that? She knew that Bailey couldn't come home. Her parents were going to absolutely murder her. Bailey had to be aware of that, but still. Plus, there was the little detail that Cleopatra was still mad at her. The least she could have done was mentioned what had happened all the way back on homecoming.
Making a decision, Cleopatra texted her back. She couldn't be too salty, right? Screw it. Bailey deserved all the salt she had coming to her. After all, she was the reason that they hadn't spoken in months and Cleopatra wanted her to know how mad she was about it.
C-C-Cleo: Fun.
BigBadBails: youre mad at me still arent you?
C-C-Cleo: No, duh.
Bailey took her time responding and Cleopatra didn't mind. She set her phone down on the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to control her breathing. She wasn't the one at fault so why was she panicked so much? She didn't want to lose Bailey but at the same time, she wasn't a nice person. She knew that about herself. She was a lot of work and that was her biggest flaw. She knew that. But still, would she push Bailey away again.
BigBadBails: ditch texted me and said he saw you at lockwood. Please tell me you arent back at that dump.
C-C-Cleo: You're changing the topic.
BigBadCleo: ive gotten yelled at enough today
C-C-Cleo: Not my problem.
Bailey took her time replying again and Cleopatra bit her lip, curling up more against the wall. The corner wasn't that far away. If Bailey didn't respond soon, she felt like she might panic and hide over there. Bailey couldn't be that mad at her, could she? After all, she was the one who started this. Cleopatra had suffered a lot for it. Bailey probably didn't even think much about it or she would have texted her back after a few days. So why did she get to pretend things were alright when they clearly weren't? It wasn't fair.
BigBadBails: ur right k? i know im in the wrong and im sorry. i shouldnt have blown up at you or called you tia because i know how much it affects you. it was my fault and i cant stop thinking about it. i feel like a terrible person for it and you have no idea how many times i almost texted you to apologize but i saw the videos and you seems like you were happy with your new friends so i didnt say anything because i just figured you were better off without me. so there you go. i am sorry and i know i should have apologized for it sooner. you can hang with your new friends now. i just didnt know who to tell about me gettin expelled. mom and dad are going to murder me and im scared.
Cleopatra breathed a sigh of relief as she read the message. Bailey wasn't mad at her. If anything, she was more upset with herself than anything. It wasn't good for Bailey to be mad at herself, but Cleopatra was glad that it wasn't at her. She hadn't been treating her well while they were texting, mostly because she needed to get her point across, but still.
C-C-Cleo: You still have Ditch's number? Weirdo.
BigBadBails: he still has mine and its awful.
C-C-Cleo: Lol. Sucks to be you.
BigBadBails: you suck
C-C-Cleo: You love me anyway.
They were texting like things were normal again. That was good right? Bailey had to have known that she forgave her by now. She relaxed and stood up, heading over to lay on her bed. Even if her room at Chris's wasn't decorated that much, she still preferred it over her own and she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because the bed was softer or maybe it was because she didn't constantly feel like she was in danger. Probably that last one, but still. Chris's apartment was nice. Too bad she wasn't over here more.
BigBadBails: lol you right
C-C-Cleo: Of course I am. Anyway, I can't say anything about you getting in trouble because I haven't been home since, like, Thanksgiving so we're in the same boat.
BigBadBails: how u get away with that?
C-C-Cleo: Helping Chris plan for the wedding next month. You know, as you do.
BigBadBails: lucky! im in so much trouble tomorrow.
C-C-Cleo: We don't have school tomorrow. Maybe after I finish helping Chris with his wedding planning, we can hang out some. Give you an excuse to get out of the house.
BigBadBails: three day weekend?
C-C-Cleo: The final gift before we are tortured with finals.
Cleopatra smiled a bit to herself and set her phone on her nightstand. She needed to take her clothes off. Lolita was so much work to wear all day and she was ready to just get out of it and rest. She was glad that they didn't have school tomorrow. It'd only be a week before they had Christmas break after that and they would have Jasmine back. Things were definitely getting better now. She had Bailey back, Jasmine was going to be back next week, and she and Anthony weren't fighting as much. Once she and Bailey hung out, she had so much to tell her about. After all, not only had she had a crazy semester, but she also had one of the best starts to the school year yet. Things were better than they were back at Lockwood but they were also more interesting.
Yeah, things were definitely getting better.
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"Is there anything you wanna do?" Mark asked as they sat down at a small table. Monet shrugged her shoulders and set the cookie down in front of her, pushing it around on it's plastic wrapper with a finger. It was a snickerdoodle cookie, her favorite. He knew it was her favorite because he once mixed it up with Jasmine's and Jasmine had thrown a fit about how she liked chocolate chip cookies and Monet liked snickerdoodles and she was offended that he didn't remember. Monet hadn't been bothered about it and was quiet about it the whole time. She hadn't said anything about it until he apologized. Of course, this had been when they were about ten or eleven and Jasmine was in one of her moods, but he remembered it and took it to heart and as he knew, it hadn't changed yet. So why wasn't she not even touching it?
"Do you not want the cookie?" He asked. She hadn't said much all day. Of course, he knew about her depression and he knew it had been acting up recently. He thought about her and her struggles all the time. He prided himself in trying to make things easier for her while she was upset. But this silence was different, even for Monet. Something was bothering her and he wanted to know what. Monet shook her head at his question and politely pushed it to him with a slight cock of her head to see if he wanted it. Wordless, like how she had been all day. "I don't really want it. I'll save it for you so you can have it later." He took it and wrapped it back up, placing it in his backpack. "Is there anything that you want to do?"
'Again, Monet shrugged her shoulders and looked down at the table. Something was off, but he wasn't sure what. Could he even ask? Would she be upset with him for asking? Or did she want him too? Was she waiting for him to ask? He didn't know what to do right now. He didn't know what was causing this and he was worried for her. He'd have to call Jasmine in a little bit and see if she knew anything that could help her sister feel better. He noticed the change start when Jasmine left to work on her movie, so maybe it was something having to do with that? Maybe Monet was just upset that Jasmine had been gone for so long? He wasn't sure anymore.
"Okay, do you wanna go to the carousel then?" Again, another shrug. He was getting worried. She was too silent. Yes, she was the type of person to want to do whatever you wanted to do, but this was too much for her. "What about the Ferris wheel?" More shrugging. "Are you feeling okay? Are you sick?" Mark reached over and placed his hand on her forehead. She looked up from staring at the table to glance at him and see what he was doing. He gave her a small smile to try to let her know that she was okay, but he didn't know if it worked. She just stared at him while he checked her head for a fever. When he couldn't feel anything, he pulled his hand away again and she dropped her eyes to the table again. "No, no fever. Is everything okay?" Monet just nodded her head, but he knew that she wasn't. "Mo, what's wrong? What's bothering you?" She only just shrugged again. It was like she didn't even think about it anymore. She just shrugged to say something.
"Just one of those days, I guess," She replied sadly. That was the first time he had heard her talk all day and it was almost depressing that those were the words that came out of her mouth, but he guessed he could understand it. Everyone had those days. He could only hope it would pass soon.
"Well, how about we go over to the Ferris Wheel and take a ride?" He asked. Monet shrugged, but he knew she wouldn't be making any choice of her own any time soon, so he took that as a yes. He figured if it was something she really didn't want to do, she would say no. Even though Monet said yes to just about everything, she knew when to say no around him. She knew he didn't get mad or anything at her so she knew she could disagree and it would be fine. He'd learned that over the past few days of them dating. She wouldn't let him force her into anything she wasn't comfortable doing, unlike how she allowed her father and so many other people do. Mark was almost honored, except it was something that she should already be doing in the first place. In all honesty, it made him sad. Monet shouldn't be used to the point of letting people puppet her life.
"Come on, Mo. Let's go over now." He stood up and held a hand out to her to help her up. Monet froze for a second before she ultimately took his hand and let him pull her up. He gave her a smile, but she could barely return it. He knew something was off. He should have brought it up then. Why didn't he bring it up? But he didn't. Instead, he held her hand and started over to the Ferris Wheel. Monet gave into the hand hold, since it was one of the first times they actually had held hands, and let him lead her over there, glancing around herself every minute to see what was happening. The loud noises made her cringe from time to time and she was jumpy, squeezing his hand when something scared or shocked her. It was so out of character but at the same time, so in character of her to do. She did that whenever they were together. She would cling to him whenever she got nervous or scared. Not always physically. Sometimes, she would just stay by his side and not want to leave. Others she would grab his hand or his arm and not let go. She had always been like that so it wasn't much of a surprise, but still. Why did it seem so different?
They made it over to the Ferris Wheel and got in line. Thankfully it wasn't too busy today, even though it was a wonderful day to be at the amusement park. It was supposed to rain later, so not a lot of people wanted to be out and about, but Mark had already planned this day and it wasn't going to be ruined by rain. Nothing was going to ruin his day with Monet. He loved her a lot, he always had, and now he was able to show it to her by being able to date her. A little rainy day wasn't going to be able to ruin that.
Monet was silent the whole time. Now that they were in line, she had her head on his shoulder. She had her eyes closed and an almost peaceful look on her face. It was probably the most relaxed she'd been today. Mark smiled a bit and gave her hand a slight squeeze, feeling her squeeze his back. She was still in there. She hadn't disappeared inside her head just yet. That was a really good sign. Maybe it really had just been a faze after all. She was just having an off day. Everyone had one of those.
They stayed quiet on the ride but just having her around was enough for Mark. Monet was one of his favorite people and so he was glad to finally have this time with her.. Monet gave him a small smile as they stepped off and he took her hand, leading her off to a slightly quieter spot so that they could speak once more to figure out what to do next.
"Do you still have the map?" Mark asked her as they stopped by a ring toss game. Monet nodded her head and slipped one of her backpack straps off to search for the map. She unzipped the pocket and dug through the things she had stashed in there. That was the bag that they had taken everywhere when they were younger, on every adventure they went on. It brought back a lot of memories, for sure.
"I put it in here. I guess I haven't cleaned my bag out since last year," She replied, pulling out the plastic bag that held the emergency stash of Jasmine's medications from last April when she had gotten stitches with a slightly confused look. Mark chuckled a bit and reached out to take them while she searched for the map. When she found the map, they traded objects and she slipped the pills back into the bag, slinging her bag back over her shoulder once more.
"I can help you clean it out after we get home." Monet offered a sad smile. "How about the carousel?" Mark questioned. "It's right over there." He pointed in the direction that they were headed. Monet shrugged her shoulders a bit and brushed her hair behind her ear. He sighed a bit but he didn't say anything about it. "How about we try this game and then head to the carousel?" Monet shrugged again, but it wasn't like she was going to share her opinion anyway.
Mark bought them both a turn. He offered Monet the rings first but she shook her head. Mark smiled a bit and tossed the rings out all at the same time. He intended it to be a joke, but surprisingly, one of the rings landed right on the target. Monet's eyes widened slightly and a small smile made its way to her face. It was a real smile, not one of those that she'd been forcing when he smiled at her today. How many of those had he seen today? Only one or two? Mark smiled back and committed her face to memory. That was something that he never wanted to forget.
He picked a teddy bear out, a camo one with a black shirt all with the intention of giving it to Monet. He hadn't been expecting to win and if he brought a stuffed animal home, he was never going to hear the end of it from his family. Besides, he was taking Monet out. The least he could do was give her the bear to remember the day. Handing it over to her, Monet's eyes lit up once more but before he could see if she was smiling, she hugged him. With one arm around his neck and another holding onto the new stuffed animal, Monet had hugged him. Mark smiled a bit to himself and hugged her back, wrapping both arms around her waist. It wasn't a huge deal, but for Monet, he knew every moment counted. Even small things like this. When she didn't know how to express her thanks, she acted out on a limb, hoping it was the right thing to do.
But one thing was for certain. Having Monet in his arms just felt right.
"Hey, it's your turn." Mark didn't want to let her go, but he knew that Monet needed to take her turn. Monet let out a careful sigh and let go, handing him the bear to hold, reaching out for the rings to give it a try. Three tries. That's all anyone had. Yet, while one of his landed, none of Monet's did, even though she used actual technique and skill. He watched her face fall at the sight. His heart broke with hers. If he hadn't made it, she wouldn't have been so sad. He shouldn't have suggested this game.
"Oh, Monet, it's okay. The games are rigged anyway." But she only shrugged her shoulders again, falling back to lean against his chest, taking her bear back and hugging it tightly. Mark sighed and rubbed her back. "Come on, we'll go to the carousel now. The games are made for people to lose anyway. You can't let it bother you." It already was. He couldn't do anything about it.
They started away from the game counter, the person running it expressing his regrets, and headed towards the direction of the carousel. Monet held onto the new toy with one arm so tightly, it was almost like she might break it. Mark offered her his hand again and she took it, walking as close to him as she could without tripping either of them. He could only hope that the carousel would help her mood again. This whole date was an up and down ride, almost like a rollercoaster. But rollercoasters always ended well. The day would be fine. He knew it.
"Do you want the cookie now, Mo?" Mark asked, glancing over at his girlfriend. Monet thought for a minute before nodding her head. He smiled and reached into his own bag, pulling out the cookie for her. Monet gave him a weak smile and took the cookie from his hand, twisting her backpack around to get a drink of water. At least she was eating the cookie. He wasn't sure if she had even wanted it, let alone how well she'd been eating recently.
They made it to the carousel and got in line for the ride. Considering that it was typically a children's ride, the line was crowded with younger children who were excited to take a ride on the different animals that were displayed on the ride. It took them ten minutes to get on but Mark didn't really care. During that time, Monet had stayed quiet, like she had the rest of the day, but she seemed normal other than that. Maybe she'd just had a nightmare or something last night and didn't want to talk about it. He knew it happened a lot.
The ride only lasted about two minutes and by the time they got off and stood off to the side, Monet was looking a little pale. Mark frowned a bit, recognizing the face as something his sister normally got when she was sick, but when he lifted his hand to feel her forehead, she didn't have a fever. Odd. He shook it off.
"Do you want to get a drink or something?" Mark asked her as they sat down at a picnic table. Monet shrugged her shoulders. He sighed but took it as a yes and unfolded the map out in front of them. "There's a place right here that has slushies. Do you want one?" Another shrug. He took that as a yes. "Okay, want a cherry one?" Another shrug, another yes. "Okay, I'll be gone for a few minutes. I'll be back soon though." Monet nodded her head and watched him stand up. He smiled at her a bit and shifted his backpack. "Don't go anywhere." He teased a bit, bringing a small sad smile from her. He turned to leave but Monet caught his wrist. Confused, he turned back to face her.
"Thanks for making today really special for me," She said softly. She had such a sincere look in her eyes that he could only smile. She was glad that he was trying. He was trying to make her day better and she wanted to thank him for it. That had to be it. It couldn't be anything else. Mark leaned down a bit and kissed her forehead gently, something he had wanted to do since they started dating but didn't because he hadn't wanted to scare her. Monet let out a small, shaky sigh and closed her eyes, her hand tightening around his wrist.
"Alright, I'll go get your drink now." He reluctantly pulled back to study her face. She was looking a little more pale now. Her face almost ashen white. He reached up to feel her forehead once more, but there was nothing. "Drink some more water while I'm gone. You're looking a little more pale. You might be dehydrated." She gave a small nod and looked up at him. He wanted more than anything to kiss her again. He could barely stop himself from leaning down again and just going for it, but now was not the time nor the place. He had all day with her after all.
He started down toward the drink place and kept thinking about how things were going today. Sure, Monet was a little down today, but maybe if he got her to pick something for them to do, he could try to make her feel better. He could believe that it might work. After all, she seemed excited to be on this date with him. They'd spent days planning this. She wouldn't have been working on it with him if she didn't want too. She would have pulled out of helping with the plans. That's the way Monet worked.
As he got in line, his phone buzzed. It's been relatively silent all day, since Jasmine was in the middle of filming and Cleopatra was busy. They were the ones who always started conversations. Confused, he pulled it out to look at it. He wasn't with Monet at the moment so he didn't feel like it bad for him to just check.
Surprised, he saw it was from Monet. For some reason, she was texting the group chat. She must have just gotten lonely or something. He wasn't really sure, but it wasn't a big deal at all. He knew she didn't like being left alone some times so maybe she just needed some company.
Monet: Hey guys.
Leo: hey Monet.
Isa: Hey
Monet: I'm not really sure how to say this... But what you're reading right now is a timed message. I wrote this about a week and a half ago, which is weird to say because I'm writing this now on the day. But yes, this is a timed message because I won't be able to explain this any other way.
Sasha: Yeah Monet?
Sebastian: Monet...
Monet: I don't know how else to put this, so I'll just go right out and say it. I'm committing suicide. It sounds harsh to you all, but honestly, I don't know if I've ever come up with a better idea in my earlier days. If you're reading this right now, then I'm already either dead or dying. Either way, it doesn't matter. It's too late to stop it now.
Mark gasped out and almost dropped his phone. No, this couldn't be right. He'd been with Monet a few minutes ago. She couldn't possibly be dead now, could she? He couldn't even wait to see what the rest of the messages were. He had to make it back and he had to make it back now. But as he started to run, it hit him.
Thanks for making today really special for me.
Mark knew he shouldn't have made that assumption. He had noticed something was off when they were by the Ferris Wheel and Monet gave him that sad smile. He knew something was wrong when her face fell when the ring didn't make it. He should have asked when the snickerdoodle cookie didn't even make her smile. Mark should have done something, should have asked her to join him when he went to get them a drink. But now he was putting all the clues together and it was too late. This was not one of her off days.
There was a crowd. Why was there always a crowd? He pushed through the people until the started to split themselves for him. When he got to the front, he stopped. There she was, on the ground, looking more dead than he could have ever imagined. Why did Monet's thoughts have to exceed reality? Why did she suffer so much and not tell anyone? There were people trying to revive her before the ambulance showed up, trying to get her live, but who knew if she would at this point. Mark ran forward and took her hand. He had known. He should have done something about it. Tried harder to make her day even better. And above that, he should have held onto the bag when Monet had given it to him to hold.
Because when Monet Ivory thanked him for the day, the pills she had taken were going to make sure that it was her last.