I stared at her blankly as a million and one thoughts raced through my mind. Who? Where? Why? And again, who?
She stared back, her stern gaze meeting mine. She had very unusual features that a normal human couldn't possibly have had. Instead, they more resembled that of an anime character. For example, her blue-coloured eyes which seemed to glisten like gems even in the dimmest of lights and her blonde hair that she wore in a long, slick ponytail. In her right hand, she held a staff that was almost as tall as me. An impressive feat since I was 6 foot tall compared to her only being about 5'3". On top of the staff was a crystal that glowed whenever she waved it about, knocking over countless of my rare PouchBeast figurines. She instantly reminded me of those mages I used to be fascinated by in low-budget fantasy movies.
Scanning her up and down, I wondered how such a weirdly dressed girl had ended up in my room. Was this a prank by Aza or another bully as a final parting gift? One last laugh at the weakling before everyone graduated and went their separate ways? I doubted that conclusion, knowing that a joke of this complexity would be lost on those idiots. Maybe I had a secret admirer this whole time, and she finally found the confidence to reveal herself to me. My head drooped into my hands, knowing that this was even more unlikely than my first theory.
"Err... Excuse me, what's taking you so long? Are you stupid or something?" Her brow furrowed and her left foot repeatedly tapped on the ground. She was clearly annoyed at my lack of response.
"Yeah, yeah so-sorry... hold on, but... I'm not really sure what's going on," I spurted out, still recovering from the assault of unanswered questions floating about in my head.
She walked around the room, looking up and down as her whip-like ponytail snaked behind her. My eyes didn't follow her. I was still looking toward where she first appeared, lost in thought. I still didn't have a clue who or what she was, where she came from and why she was in my room.
"What do you mean," finally turning to face me again. She looked as confused by the question as I did. "Weren't you the one who generated me?"
Generated? Eventually, the memories of what had happened only a couple of hours ago filled in the missing gaps. But there were still many loose ends. I got ready to unleash a barrage of questions. Our gazes met again. Silence filled the air, it was the quiet before the storm. A showdown of wits.
"You're telling me I created you through that Random Angel Generator app?"
"Yes."
"Is that even possible?"
"Well, I'm standing right in front of you, isn't that proof enough?" She had a point, but that would also mean that the game description was not entirely truthful. It wasn't digital avatars I was randomly generating but real, breathing, living beings. I prepared myself for the second round of interrogations.
"So... what now?"
She hesitated. Her eyes darted around the room like she was trying to find something. After failing to find what she was looking for, she focused her attention back on me. "Didn't you summon me because you didn't want to fight alone?"
At that moment, I remembered the app's promise. A promise that I had been waiting to hear for a very long time. The last two years of my life had been a living hell and at the big age of 18, I was more alone than I had ever been before. No friends to have my back, no girlfriend to comfort me whenever I had any fears and troubles either. What I wanted more than anything was to be there for someone and know that they would always be there for me. After telling her how I ended up in this situation, she looked a little disappointed.
"I guess I was a mistake then," she mumbled in self-pity. Her eye-line fell to the floor as she twisted her foot back and forth. However, before the loss of purpose could set in, we heard a knock on the door.
I could hear my mum walk out of the kitchen to go see who it was. Barely able to make out any words, I put one ear closer to my room's door to see if I could discover what the mysterious guest wanted. A loud shout that made my skin crawl interrupted my quest.
"Sevennnnn!!" The entire street could have probably heard my mum screaming my name. I walked downstairs to see what all the fuss was about leaving the strange girl in my room. Needing to put this Random Angel Generator thing on hold, I went and cleared my head. I could just about make out a tall silhouette standing just outside the front porch. Recognising who it was, I meekly went out to greet him.
"Seven, I didn't see you at graduation, how come?" Spoke a soft soothing voice. It was Abad, a kid in my year. He was the type of person to stand and watch me get bullied, but at least try to comfort me afterwards. I had no hard feelings towards him though. Nothing good would come from him stepping in and trying to protect me, except for the bully's focus being split between us. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I lied to him, saying I had a stomach ache as a reason why I couldn't make it.
"What a shame," he nodded. "By the way, I picked this up for you." He reached into his bag and handed me a certificate. 'Awarded to Seven Romero' was written on it in golden fancy lettering. I knew I did nothing to deserve it, guessing that this award was more of a show of pity. I would much rather the school did something about my years of torture than gift me a useless piece of paper.
"Why don't we go out to the park, I need to tell you something," Abad said whilst placing his hand on my shoulder. I had no reason to say no. The fresh air would be good for resetting my mind so I could focus on the problem at hand.
The rain had stopped from earlier and now the sun peeked out from behind the clouds. It felt like nature was returning after taking cover from the harsh storm. Birds sang, insects buzzed, and the wind rustled the fallen leaves, all to the beat of our footsteps. It was beautiful. If I wasn't so afraid of being seen by someone from school, I would have gone outside more often.
Suddenly, Abad came to a stop. The wind blew his scruffy brown hair over his eyes, so I couldn't quite make out his expression. His fists were slightly clenched, which I hypothesised to be because of the cold. Although it was the beginning of summer, today felt darker than usual. The winter still had a hold over the newly reborn sun.
"You understand, right?… I really wish it didn't have to end up this way." I couldn't get what Abad was saying. Before I could get a word in, he began mumbling again. "I don't care if they use me,… as long as I can get by unharmed each day,… I'm fine being at the bottom."
I stumbled back, still struggling to digest what he was trying to tell me. Something didn't feel right, so I kept my distance. But it was already too late.
"He makes a good little fishing rod, doesn't he!" Aza laughed hysterically as he and five other people stepped out of the shadows of the dense forest. I realised they had lured me here. It was a set-up.
Aza spat on Abad before glaring at me. Of course, there was no way in hell he would've let me leave school peacefully. "Didn't you already have enough fun beating me up earlier today?" Sadly remembering the lashing I took.
"Huh? I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm definitely going to have fun beating you up right now." My prediction was confirmed, the people who hurt me this morning weren't Aza and his crew. I knew I made sure not to run into them. But I had bigger things to worry about now. Aza clapped his hands and his friends began powering up their abilities. I was in for it now. There was nowhere to run or hide in such an open area like this. I looked up to the sky and accepted my fate.
"You sure have terrible luck for a guy named Seven, it's almost funny!" Suddenly, white long feathers fluttered down from the sky, obscuring my vision. Dust and debris shot up whenever and wherever the feathers would touch the ground. Somehow they were made of a dense heavy material yet moved as if they were lighter than air. The smoke made it hard to see who was standing in front of me, but I recognised the voice. It was that strange woman.
She effortlessly dispatched each bully one by one, whilst dodging every attack. Her movements mesmerised me, almost as if she was dancing. It was nothing like I had ever seen before. The last one remaining was Aza. He took a few steps back in fear before giving up and charging her. She swung her staff up quickly and used the crystal at the end to hit him in the stomach. I could tell it hurt because Aza started coughing with both hands squeezing his chest.
"Who are you?" He demanded. His body curled up in a ball, wincing and writhing in pain. I had never seen him in agony before. Secretly, it brought a smile to my face.
"I haven't been given a name yet, so I guess you can call me Seven's guardian angel!" She landed the final blow before turning to see if I was okay. Her smile was so warm and welcoming. I had just been saved by a girl no less, but that didn't matter to me. My body moved on its own as I ran up to hug her.
Never had I been so happy.
[Friendship Rating: +20 ~(˘▾˘~)]