Addy stepped on the elevator and froze, taking in the scene. Akintola was on her knees in front of Takahashiâs room, forehead pressed against the door and hands clasped against her mouth, attempting to muffle her sobbing even as she pleaded with Takahashi in a thick voice. Her head whipped around at the sound of the elevator doors closing behind Addy, eyes wide like a cornered animalâs. Even as Addy registered what was happening, she swiped at her eyes furiously, a trembling smile pasted onto her wet face.
Addy wasnât smart, and she knew it, but there were a few things she could recognize. She recognized the look in Takahashiâs eyes at the end of the trial. She recognized the terrified sadness in Akintolaâs frame. She recognized the guilt thick in the air. Something unruly in her settled, smoothed over and pushed down by the knowledge of something much more important.
These were her friends, and they were hurting. She knew why, through similar experiences. She couldnât give them platitudes that wouldnât help or leave them there. These were the facts that she knew.
So, the only thing to do was take action. She knelt next to Akintola, hands hovering above her. âAkintola, Ak-â She listened to the other girlâs babble for a moment, still apologizing and asking if she was alright despite her red-rimmed eyes. âHyun.â She said, emphatically, getting her attention. âIs it okay if I hold you?â After a moment, she got a stuttering nod, and didnât hesitate to wrap her arms around her and hug her for a moment. âItâll be alright,â she promised, determined to make it so, âand I know what to do.â
She rose and brought Hyun with her, holding her securely in both arms. âIs this okay?â She asked, and Hyun nodded into her shirt, where she was still shaking with muffled sobs and broken-off apologies. Addy carried her back down to the kitchen, not even noticing a familiar orange blob in the corner of the dining hall, and sat her down on the counter, making sure she was steady before moving to rummage under the sinks. âAha!â She said, snatching the large pack of thin cleaning sponges with the rest of the cleaning supplies. She had learned about them a few days ago while she cleaned the entire kitchen in a minor meltdown.
Triumphantly, she grabbed some scissors and handed Hyun a pair, told her âjust copy what I doâ, and started cutting the sponges into strips. Hyun was slow to respond, and still shaky, but she set to the task with a slow determination.
A small cough broke Addyâs concentration, and she turned to see Ezra worriedly peeking in the kitchen, glancing from Hyunâs shaking frame to Addy and then to the scissors in their hands with no small amount of confusion. She waved him in, hoping he wouldnât assume the worst from the scissors, and he cautiously slipped next to them, watching Addy and Hyun work with quiet curiosity. âUmâŠâ He started, trailing off, but Addy heard the question in his voice. âYouâll see,â she said encouragingly, âItâs for Takahashi, andâŠall of us,â She offered him a pair of scissors and some sponges, just in case he wanted to help. He stared at them like they were foreign objects for a second, before taking them and starting to follow in Addy and Hyunâs lead.
Addy watched carefully that they didnât slip and they soon had a fair amount of sponge strips between the three of them. âNow, we clump âem together.â Addy said, using hair bands to tie large stacks of the sponges together in the middle, making the ends splay out in a semi-round shape. âHold these for me?â She requested of Hyun, still set on giving her tasks to preoccupy her, and then grabbed a small mop bucket and filled it with water.
âAlright, let me know if youâre uncomfortable!â Addy said, gathering Hyun, still holding the sponge-balls, in her arms again and picking up the bucket by its handle to set it on her wrist. Ezra shook his head though, taking the bucket for her, although she could easily carry all of this on her own. Addy supposed he didnât want to feel useless, though, so she let him. She hurried back to Takahashiâs room, and bypassed it completely, stopping at Hyunâs. She glanced back to make sure Ezra was still keeping up-barely, but he was almost there, holding the bucket as if spilling it would melt the floor-and she turned back to peer down at Hyun in query. âCan we go in, Hyun?â
Hyun looked up from where she had her face burrowed into Addyâs chest. Normally sheâd be blushing pretty hard by now - Addy was pretty - but she gave off more of a dear friend vibe. She finally took in that Addy had asked her a question, and cleared her throat. âYeah, you can go in. Itâs a little messy.â By that she meant that there were half dried sculptures on the desk and a muddy cup of water sitting next to an unfinished glass of sweet tea - there was labels on them reading âsmoothing waterâ and âNOT smoothing waterâ. She gave Addy a sign meaning âdown.â Addy set her on her feet in one gentle motion. She turned back to Addy once she was on the ground. âSo⊠whatâs the plan?â Ezra, having finally caught up with them, nodded vigorously in agreement with Hyunâs question, and then immediately panicked as this motion almost spilled the water he was holding. âWhatâsâŠall this. For, Addy?â
As soon as they had entered the room, Addy took one of the sponge balls from where they were still nestled in Hyunâs arms, and motioned for Ezra to set down the bucket of water. He did, and she dropped the sponge ball into it. âWe,â she announced, walking over to the connecting doors, âare going to show Takahashi that we canât let him pull away now. We were all friends before, and⊠and we care about each other now too, a whole lot. If he doesnât realize that when we say it, then we just gotta⊠show him, yâknow?â
She pulled the soaked sponge-ball from her bucket and held it up, water dripping down her arm. âAnd the best way to do that,â she said with determined cheer, âis to go to prank him!â Ezra blanched, looking petrified, and Addy quickly continued, âHarmlessly, of course! But heâs our friend, and pranks cheer people up, and thatâs what friends are supposed to do! I think.â She didnât have much experience that she remembered, but she was going to try! She owed them that much, at least.
Hyun blinked up at the others words. Prank Haruki? Would that work? She looked down at the sponge balls in her hand, before dropping them into the bucket on the ground. She pulled one out from it, water soaking her floor. She didnât care. The only thing on her mind right now was helping Haruki. She gave Addy a wide beam, her eyes scrunching closed. âLetâs do it!â
Ezra gradually seemed to calm down from his initial reaction to Addyâs suggestion, and considered the lopsided, dripping sponge-ball in her hands. He nodded, giving her a small, anxious smile.âThatâsâŠa good idea, Addy. Um. Actions. Make more noise than words. Right?â Addy wasnât quite sure that was the right wording, but actions were what she understood best, and she gave him a double thumbs-up in agreement.
Addy shot a cheesy grin at them, took a deep breath, and knocked on the connecting door twice before opening it swiftly, and leading the way inside.
"Hey, Takahashi!â She called into the room, spotting his pink hair near instantly. âWater you doing hiding from your friends who care about you?â She near-hollered, and then lobbed a soaking wet bundle of sponge at him, being careful to regulate the strength behind her throw.
Hyun caught Ezraâs eyes from behind Addy, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze, grinning at him. She laughed at Addyâs pun, before lobbing the sponge at the surprised Haruki. It bounced harmlessly off his head, soaking his hair. His ahogae popped right back up. âAddy, wasnât that pun a little watered down?â
Ezra spent too long trying to think of a water pun, as Addy had suggested, that he missed the opening âattack.â He quickly readied his ammo, and then paused, stuck in the doorway. He didnât want to throw too hard and hurt HarukiâŠthough they were only sponges, but still. âUmâŠweâŠwanted to sea you?â He winced at how bad his pun was, even though it was the truth, and gently lobbed his sponge in Harukiâs direction, missing completely despite the room not being that large. âWe missed. You,â He added, a little quieter.
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