perception

[harrukan-blog]

     Haru immediately shied away as Sabrina laughed at him. He looked off to the side, and wanted to put his headphones back in. Suddenly, he wished that he could disappear. What was so funny? He made a mistake, and that was that. But, she seemed to have moved on. She mentioned swimming, then, and he perked up a little. He was happy to hear someone talk about something he loved so much.

     That didn’t last long, though, because she stopped talking and he felt awkward. Haru had nothing to say, and he shuffled. Until she spoke again. “U-Um…a-actually.” He cleared his throat, trying to get his bearings. “I-I-I,” shit, I destroyed that, “f-feel the same way. I-In the water.”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “Whoa, really?” Sabrina bounced on her heels. “I’ve never met somebody like that before! How cool.” 

     Haru’s stutter went completely unnoticed to Sabrina. She was focused solely on his face, trying to decipher what she saw. However, it was not going well; her understanding of emotion was not the greatest, and Haru’s obvious discomfort flew right under her radar. 

     “Bro,” she said, freezing where she stood as her eyes grew wide. “We should totally swim together sometime. That’d be hella rad. And! And, and, and! We could talk more! About, um... stuff.” Her smile glittered in time with her eyes. “Doesn’t that sound fuuuun?”

[harrukan-blog]

     When asked about the meaning of his name, all Haru replied with was a quiet, “Yes.” I’m really not very good at this! Why is she even talking to me? As she went on about some anime she’d seen, he silently listened. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all. Even though she was progressively getting louder, at least she was trying, and that was something most people did not do. He was intrigued, and surprised by this girl, and he decided he’d give her a little more of a chance.

     Haruka stared at Sabrina’s outstretched hand, and then gently reached out and shook it. But he didn’t do it properly. He only grabbed one of her fingers and shook that instead of her whole hand, and once he realized his mistake, his face went white. How do you even make that mistake? “U-U-Um.” He paused. “Y-Yes. I-I…swim.” This is why I don’t talk to people!

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     Sabrina looked from her hand, to Haru, and then back again. She was shocked at his mistake; no one had ever done such a thing in her presence before. A snicker bubbled up in her chest before growing into a full-belly laugh. “Ha! You’re a riot, you know that, right?” After wiping a tear from her eye, she forcibly quieted herself down. Then, she cleared her throat and said, “That’s really cool, to be honest. I swim all the time for, like, fun and junk.” With her next words, her voice grew quieter than it had ever been. “Whenever I’m in the pool, it’s like I’m in a whole ’nother world, y’know? Like... it’s just me, and the water.”

     Silence fell over her shoulders. For a moment, Sabrina zoned out. Time flickered in waves around her; some places slowed, while others sped up, before everything eventually fell back into normalcy. Then, she snapped back to attention, and smiled at Haru. “That probably doesn’t make much sense, though. Ah, well. Whatever.”

[harrukan-blog]

     Haruka pulled out one of his earphones. She wants to try this again, does she? He sat silently for a while after she spoke, and then, slowly, as if testing the water with one toe, he said, “My name is Haruka.”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “Haruka, huh? Doesn’t that mean, like, spring or somethin’?” Sabrina rubbed her chin in contemplation. “Yeah, I’m sure it does! I remember it from that one anime... I think it was called Free? Ehhh... I was pretty weird--there were a lotta shirtless dudes--but it was all right, I guess.” While she talked, her voice got progressively louder. When she noticed this, she hung her head and dragged a hand down her face. “This ‘being quiet’ thing is a lot harder than it looks, you know,” she muttered. But she was going to continue to try. If she didn’t, she knew she would spook Haru, and she didn’t want that. 

     Slowly, Sabrina extended her hand to Haruka. Then, she grinned. “Oi, I just noticed something. Your hair. It’s pretty wet, ain’t it?” She nodded to herself. “Uh-huh, definitely! Now... either you’ve been gettin’ some serious sprinkler action, or you’re a swimmer. Is that right?”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

harrukan *

     “Hey, wait!” Sabrina ran up to Haru. Then, she held her hand in front of her mouth. “I wanna try this again,” she said. Her naturally loud voice was muffled by her hand. “Hi! I’m Sabrina. I like soccer and stuff. What’s your name?”

[harrukan-blog]

     “You’re too loud.” Haru sighed and continued on walking. “And annoying…” he mumbled, hopefully inaudible to Sabrina. And why should I care if you’re pretty?

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “Ex-fucking-cuse you?” Sabrina picked up the pace. Then, once she was walking right beside Haru, she said, “Loud is proud! And loud is great! And--... well, you get the point.” 

     Haru muttered something. Sabrina strained her ears to hear it. “What?” Her face fell. “First that girl, now you, too?” Sabrina kicked the air. “God. I can’t seem to please anyone lately.” She slowed to a stop before turning around and heading in the other direction. “Whatever,” she said, uncharacteristically quiet. “It’s not like I wanted to be your friend, anyway...”

[witchykidd-blog]

         Carter just rolled her eyes at the doctor comment. It was pretty obvious that she wasn’t any DOCTOR — she was only twenty years old, for one thing, and for another, she didn’t know any doctors who ran around covered in enchantment tattoos. So she just lets the comment slide by without response, focuses on her real interest. 

          “Hmmm… Could be super speed, or time travel… Do you know if you’re a mutant or cursed something?”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “Well, golly gee--I never that of that before! Not once in my entire! Fuckin’! Life!” Sabrina rolled her eyes. Then, she frowned. “I’m not cursed, Doctor Strange. I’ve never come into contact with anything like that. And I don’t think I’m a mutant, either--my, um... my parents... weren’t anything special. I mean, sure, they were especially shitty, but...” she trailed off. 

     After clearing her throat, Sabrina said, “...Besides, this just started showin’ up a few days ago. I almost got hit by a car, but then... it slowed to a freakin’ crawl. And I was like, ‘Jesus! Are y’all seein’ this?!’ But, of course, everyone else was super slow, too.”

     Suddenly, a man with a cart bumped into Sabrina, who then stumbled forward. She flung her hands out, catching Carter’s shoulders in her fingers. The world slowed. Sabrina’s eyes glowed. Sighing, she muttered, “Here we go again...”

[witchykidd-blog]

           “Well, unless we’re both the exact same kind of nuts-o, that’s definitely not right.” Carter hummed, thinking it over for a moment, before adding, “How did it feel, exactly?”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “What are you, some kinda doctor?” Sabrina sniffed snootily before checking Carter out. “Huh... well, you’re definitely not dressed like one. Maybe you’re one of those sewer doctors--y’know, the kind even poor kids won’t go to.

     “But... it felt exactly like I told you. One second, stuff was normal, and then the next, everything was movin’ all slow-like. Even you!”

[witchykidd-blog]

               “…Do it again.”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “And how the heck am I supposed to do that? I don’t even know how I did it in the first place!” Sabrina throws her hands into the air. “Seriously, I’m just tryna figure out what’s wrong with me, or if I’m goin’ nuts-o, or somethin’...”

[witchykidd-blog]

roaroftim-e

[witchykidd-blog]

           "What the Hell? Did you just teleport?”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “Beats me, dude. But stuff, like, slowed down for a sec. So. There’s that.”

[stellarumn]

roaroftim-e.

     Jay watched hopelessly as her cat skittered between the feet of the people in the crowd. “Orchid! Come back!” She dashed after the white ball of fur, her feet beating hard on the cement as she dodged between person after person. But, losing her concentration in desperation to catch the cat, she was stopped as she slammed into someone and fell back on her butt. “Oh no…A-Ah, I’m sorry, a-are you okay?”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     Sabrina squeezed Sammy’s hand. The two of them were on their weekly trip to the grocery store. There were a lot of people out in the street today, but Sabrina didn’t mind. However, Sammy did. He looked around nervously, and wrung his fingers in the edge of his shirt. Too loud, he thought. Too hot. Too crowded. Too-- 

     Someone slammed into him. His hand was ripped from Sabrina’s, and he was thrown back. Somersaulting across the gravel, he landed in the grass on the side of the plaza. Blood began to pour from several small cuts on his arms and legs. It stained his clothes and stung his skin. 

     Sabrina looked around frantically for her little brother. “Sammy!” she called while shoving through the crowd of people. “Where’d you go? Come on, don’t do this to me!”

     Tears welled in Sammy’s eyes. He sniffed, but still brought his fingers up to his lips. A sharp, short tune filled the air. Sabrina heard it, and moved towards the source of the whistle. Once she found it, she picked Sammy up before turning on the person who had hurt her brother. 

     “Just who the hell do you think you are, huh?! Why I oughta--... oh. It’s you.”

[stellarumn]

     It all happened very suddenly. Jay felt fingers on her chin, her face being lifted so that her gaze would meet Sabrina’s. But when her wide eyes opened, it was not Sabrina that she saw. Her eyes dilated with fear, and she almost screamed. It was the ghost of her past, her father doing this, not Sabrina. He had a knife, he was going to scar her again, he was alive. Tears began to spill over and she stared, unblinking. “N-No…p-please…” she whimpered, but when Sabrina let go of her, the vision was over. She brought her hands up and covered her face with them.

     Jay felt her chest tightening, and she curled in on herself again. She did not register anything that Sabrina said after that. She did not catch anything that happened at all, in fact, up until Sam came into the room, and promptly calmed Sabrina down.

     Her body still shaking, Jay peeked around her hands. She tried to breathe, to calm down. Sabrina had addressed her. “U-Um…” Jay mumbled, stumbling over her words, “n-no…”

     She bit her lip, and brought her hands down to curl into her scarf. “Y-You, um…t-time didn’t slow down, y-you, um, moved really fast out of the way…o-of the car…i-it was like you teleported, o-or something.

     “I-I…I don’t r-really…know what happened…”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     A bad feeling weighed down Sabrina’s stomach. It was one that she didn’t experience very often. But she knew what it was--it was guilt. “Hey,” she said, almost whispering. “You cry a lot, you know? But... it’s not your fault. It’s... mine. Right?” She stared at her hands. “Ugh... I’m such a fuck-up. It’s no wonder you can’t quit cryin’. I’m too much. I’m just too fuckin’ much all the time, but... I don’t know how to stop. It sucks, ’cause... this kinda thing has happened before, I’m sure of it. And yet...” I still have no self-control.

     While Jay shook, Sabrina stared. There was something missing--the guilt was still there, but she didn’t feel bad for her. It was just like everything else in her life; it was just another event in the string of daily life. “Why?” she asked herself. “I should feel bad for you, or something, right? On TV, people cry over their friends and family and shit all the time. But here I am, lookin’ at some chick bawl her eyes out and... I don’t feel a single damn thing. Am I broken or something? Fuck... I am, aren’t I? I should’ve known... nothing’s ever right with me, so why would I be right with me?”

     Sabrina dragged her hand down her face. “Whatever,” she said. And then she put it on the back burner, like she did with every other issue in her life. “I don’t care.

     “I don’t really know what happened either, though. That’s the thing--nothin’ made any sense! And it still doesn’t. Like, what am I? A freakin’ witch?” Sabrina rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.” 

[harrukan-blog]

     What is she, Nagisa? Haru wondered, as he continued to walk away. “No.” That was all she was getting. She and Nagisa would get along, I bet.

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “Huuuuh? Why noooot?” Sabrina pouted. “I’m pretty, and charming, and exciting! How can you not what to shower me with attention? Like, really. I just don’t get it!”

[harrukan-blog]

     “Ha. Ha,” he said flatly, getting up and turning to walk away. He’d just find somewhere else to do his homework. Whatever.

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “Hey, wait! Where do you think you’re goin’?” Sabrina chases after Haru like a hyena chases after its prey. “Pay attention to meeee....!”

[harrukan-blog]

roaroftim-e.

     “You’re being too loud.”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “Cool story bro, tell it again,” Sabrina shouted loudly. “Really. Sounds like a good one.”

[stellarumn]

     Jay squeaked loudly in protest as she was lifted off of the ground. “H-Hey! Put me d-down!” she yelped, but she remained still. There was no escape, and Sabrina clearly had no intention of putting her down. Orchid chased along after the two as Jay was carted off to wherever-the-heck.

     She’d closed her eyes on the way to Sabrina’s house, and they were still squeezed shut until she was tossed onto the couch. She yelped again, and looked around. “A-Ah…Orchid…” she mumbled, looking around. The cat had probably gotten locked outside. She felt bad.

     Shutting her eyes again, she began to feel panicky, curling up where she’d been thrown. “W-What are you gonna…do to me…?” she whimpered, fear filling her chest and making her brain feel like it was mush. “I didn’t…mean to make you…almost get hurt, I…I-I’m sorry…”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “Oi, what’s your damage? I mean, for fuck’s sake, you look like you’re gonna start hyperventilating!” Sabrina frowned. Then, she walked over to the couch, grabbed Jay’s chin, and looked her straight in the face. “Is it ’cause I’m bein’ so rough with ya? Well, sorry, but that’s how I am with everybody! You just gotta get used to it.”

     Jay began to cry. Sabrina stumbled back, shocked. “Whoa, hey,” she said, “There ain’t no need for that!” After raising her hands into the air in surrender, Sabrina continued, “I didn’t mean to make you cry--I swear! I just...” 

     ...have no self-control.

      Suddenly, Sabrina was thrown back into the past. Shattered vases, cups, and plates lined the floor around her. An giant of a woman stood in front of her. Her lips were pursed in a thin line. “Sabrina,” she said. “I don’t make enough to keep paying for your damages. You know that, right?” 

     Sabrina’s past self just stared at her. She didn’t understand.

     The woman sighed. “All right, that’s it... I’m calling the adoption center tomorrow. I just can’t deal with you anymore--you’re too much!”

     In the present, Sabrina balled her hands into fists. “Am I too much for you too?” she whispered. “Is that why you’re crying? Well, I’m sorry! Okay? I’m really fuckin’ sorry!” She choked on a sob. Sam rushed into the room and wrapped his tiny arms around her. 

     He said nothing. He didn’t have to.

     Sabrina hugged Sam tightly. “Thanks, Sammy,” she murmured. Then, she wiped her eyes and stood up. Sam left the room as suddenly as he had come. 

     To Jay, Sabrina said, “I don’t blame you for what happened, aiight? I just wanna know if you saw the same thing I did.” Nervously, she cleared her throat. She hadn’t even asked it yet, and she already felt foolish. “I... when... back there, did time slow down? You know, like the Matrix only... not?”

[stellarumn]

     Jay jogged after Sabrina, but she stopped dead in her tracks when the car came barreling down the road toward the girl. “Watch out!” she screamed, not prepared to see another person die. 

     Her eyes grew to the size of plates as Sabrina practically teleported out of the way. The car skidded to a stop, past the place where Sabrina had been, and Jay clapped her hands over her mouth.

     She knew that she’d been about to see yet another stranger die. She thought about how it was her fault. Technically. She closed her eyes, and breathed, but she didn’t get a chance to calm down.

     Sabrina had grabbed her arm. And she was being tugged down the street. Her eyes shot open. “H-Hey, h-hold on!” she yelped, heart beating all too fast as she stumbled along behind Sabrina. “W-Where are we going?” 

     Please tell me you’re not mad at me…

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     Jay stumbled once, twice, three times. This always happens whenever I try to get somewhere! Sabrina thought. Well, not really. But once is still way too much! Without slowing down, Sabrina picked Jay up and slung her over her shoulder. It was easy--Jay was practically a stick. 

     After zooming past the soccer fields, Sabrina turned onto Cotton Road. Cotton Road was lined with charming, small houses. The one that Sabrina bounded up to belonged to her and her younger brother. “Hey! Hey, Sammy!” Sabrina rapped furiously on the door. “I want in, like, right now!”

    The lock clicked and the door cracked open. A small boy appeared behind it. He looked up at Sabrina and smiled, but said nothing.

     Sabrina ruffled his hair before stepping into the house. “Yeah, it’s nice to see you too, kiddo.”

     Sabrina entered the living room. Then, she threw Jay onto the couch before cracking her back. “Geez,” she said around a pant, “I really gotta work on my cardio...”

[stellarumn]

     Jay blinked as Sabrina trotted up. “Um, yeah, sure—” she started to say, but Sabrina was already gone. Jay hopped up from the bench and zipped after her, with Orchid following closely behind. 

     “Hey! Wait up!”

[roaroftim-e-blog]

     “Wait up, schmake up--we got candy waitin’ for us!” Sabrina quickened her pace. Then, she flipped around, stuck her tongue out, and blew a raspberry at Jay. While she was doing this, however, she failed to notice she had walked right out into the street. A car was headed at full-speed towards her. The driver, wide-eyed and terrified, slammed on the breaks. But it was too late.

     Sabrina saw the car at the last second. She threw her hands up in front of her face and squeezed her eyes shut. But when no impact came, and her bones remained intact, she peeked one open. 

     The car was inches from her face. It moved a centimeter every ten seconds. Sabrina stared at it with her mouth hanging open. Then, she turned to look at Jay, who appeared to be frozen on the sidewalk.

     “Okay, I’m all for cray-cray shit, but this is a little too cray for me...”

     Quickly, Sabrina scampered out of the way of the car. Once she was back on the sidewalk, it resumed its barreling, and skidded to a halt down the street. Sabrina didn’t wait to see what happened to it; she grabbed Jay’s arm, whirled around, and then ran towards her house. “Come on,” she muttered, mostly to herself, “We gotta figure out what’s goin’ on...”