Preparation ✧ 7

It was starting to hit me how short of a time two weeks was, as the entire building turned akin to a bee’s nest, buzzing with preparations. The show menu was set, and confirmed during the times the Director came to visit, despite her packed schedule. She was constantly receiving calls from all over the globe; people and organizations insisting on hogging their attention to themselves.

“So that's the kind of future you want for yourself? For us?”

“It's not like her hard work is for nothing… I still think it's the coolest thing in the world to touch people's hearts.”

“Sigh… I don't think I will be able to talk the determination out of your system, then.”

It's not like I had any concrete plans on how to become such an important person in the first place, so I didn't think Mimi had to ponder over such matters at the moment…

Either way, despite everyone being busy practicing and preparing for their respective roles within the circus, we sometimes had some downtime to relax and unwind as well. I really cherished these times, it felt like with every conversation our bonds would grow like a beautiful secret garden.

One evening, we were gathered in front of the small television on the third floor. As Nilsu worked on fixing up the outfit of Salvar, I was absentmindedly brushing her long, flowing locks. I didn't even hear any of the chatter going around us, I could only focus on her hair.

It had such a unique color gradient—starting from a warm orange, going down to an aqua hue, just like her eyes. The way the tips were so light, almost to the point of turning white truly reminded me of a pretty day out at a wavy beach. They were so soft to the touch too… Even though her tangles had long been taken care of, I couldn't stop myself from brushing…

“Aha, I knew it was Amri on the screen~ Would recognize her voice from a mile away, heh…”

My stunned state was interrupted by Ivone’s playful voice, coming from the entrance of the room. I turned my head towards her, and I realized that Roan was right behind her.

He muttered a low “I hate her, I hate her, I hate her,” and kept on walking forward in the corridor, leaving Ivone alone in front of the door. This made her scowl.

“Stop being so irrational, there's nothing wrong or unlikable about her.”

I figured that Roan had said something as a reply, but he had gone too far into the corridor, so I couldn't catch his words. Ivone ignored him and sat in front of the tv, her signature grin back on her face.

I wondered why Roan didn't like Amri, especially because he was usually such an easygoing person. It was difficult to imagine he genuinely hated someone…

“Right? I got curious as well. Plus, she's like the poster woman of Aberrants.”

Mimi was right. I had heard people talk about her even in my small village, and now that I was in the capital, I would constantly see her on the tv and in the newspapers as well. Even though I had seen her face countless times, it was only recently that I learned she was sort of the promoter figure of the AAA. She would attend events, give out interviews, and handle anything that was of social importance. Indeed, she was the face of Aberrants.

“Nightmare job description.”

“I think it sounds like a dream I wouldn't want to wake up from…”

It went without saying, the famous Amri was an Aberrant herself. While I had never seen her without her iconic sunglasses or fashionable blindfolds, I had heard that her eyes would emit light at all times. A truly unique Aberrance…!

“Lamp Lady.”

“Yes… just like a lamp, hehe…” I tried to hold back my laughter at Mimi’s nickname for her, and looked at the small tv screen. My eyes widened in an instant—there was someone I recognized standing next to Amri!

“Ah, there he is~ The ever charismatic Sir Alaric!” Ivone declared. “It never fails to move me how he wears matching items with Anri despite him being a Regular~”

This man, wearing a light blue suit full of flower embroidery, and matching sunglasses with Amri next to him, was none other than the man we had bumped into with Nilsu on our first day! She sometimes would turn her head from her sewing to the tv, but when she saw the man, she didn't give a particular reaction.

“Well, unlike us, she probably recognized him to be the founder of the AAA at that time.”

“But isn't he like a… super important figure…?”

“I mean, when you think about it, he's on the same caliber as our Director, so it's not like seeing a celebrity. Now maybe if we bumped into Amri, it'd be another story?”

Either way, it made my heart pound to know that I had seen such an important figure in person. As a fellow Aberrant support organization founder, perhaps he wanted to see our Circus. Would he pay a visit the show here, too…?

“Nah, he must be busy as hell. Maybe it's just that his schedule happened to have a small gap in it the day he had some business to handle in Balamur. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Ughhh Mimi, you're too realistic… let me dream here!”

“Dream about what exactly?”

“Like… like… what if he saw our show, and got so impressed, that we were invited to all sorts of cool events—”

“Okay then. Stop dreaming.”

I grumbled and Nilsu turned towards me with a questioning look. I quickly explained that it was just Mimi annoying me. This made her giggle, I guess it had amused her… I didn't mind, as long as I got to see and hear her cute sounds of joy.

The tv showed the AAA introducing their new line of medicine for Aberrants. Ivone stood up, and stretched her body.

“Ah, I keep remembering the memories of my childhood, they've come a long way with their medicine… they used to taste sooo yucky… At least they felt like the comforting embrace of a warm blanket~”

She wrapped her tattooed arms around her torso, imitating the blanket imagery. As she spun softly, she noticed us. With a sweet expression on her face, she stepped forward. “Hiii, sweethearts~ How's it going?”

Nilsu changed her position to face her directly, and I put away the hairbrush.

“Hello Ivone! Nilsu is putting up a new outfit for Salvar and I was sort of chilling, listening to the tv.”

She smiled brightly and gave us headpats. “Good to know you two are doing well~ The show is getting closer, how do you feel?”

Nilsu grumbled, her voice like boiling water. It seemed that she wasn't too pleased with being reminded of that fact.

“Are you feeling nervous? All of your outfits look amazing so far, I'm sure everyone will love them! I'll have to agree with one thing though… I wish there was more time, just so that I could have an outfit made by the talented Nilsu~”

My friend’s expression changed in an instant. Her eyes sparkled like aquamarine stones, and she quickly scribbled that she would love to make one for her in the following shows.

“Aww, you sweetheart~ I'll definitely look forward to it.”

Somehow, her voice didn't sound as cheerful as usual saying that, so I couldn't help but wonder if she was tired from all the practicing. As if she heard my thoughts, she went on to say “Aw man, all the practicing is starting to get to me. I should take some strength aid.”

She took a nearby pillow, puffed it up nicely and sat against the wall.

“Strength aid… as in, special meds for Aberrants?” I inquired, curious about the topic. From the newspapers, from Rudi, from the tv, I had been hearing a lot about Aberrant specific medicine lately.

She shook her head. “Oh, I meant vitamins and such. Ya know, the ones even Regulars use.”

“Ah, I see…”

“Right, there's that option too.”

Ivone started to rub on her tired arms, massaging them thoroughly. “That being said, if any of you get too stressed about the show, let me know. As you know… Aberrants can be quite sensitive to emotional changes. I wouldn't mind sharing my stabilizing meds, I'll be getting a new batch delivered very soon.”

Nilsu seemed very interested in that. With her blue pen, she scratched her thoughts on the notebook she had on her lap.

“Mine haven't been doing much for me lately… I would like to try them, if okay.”

Ivone smiled, and this time it looked different than her previously exhausted smile. This one looked… warmer.

“Of course. Medicine keeps on evolving, after all. I hope mine can help you better.”

I felt like such a topic was not something I could comment and be involved about, as we never felt the need for stabilizers or any kind of Aberrant specific medicine. It made me feel kind of… left out. Like an outcast in my own community.

“Shouldn't we be thankful?”

There were a lot of things humanity didn't know about Aberrances still, research conducted by passionate researchers continuously presenting new information. Debates commenced about whether the emotional instabilities were genetic, or perhaps the effects of psychological distress caused by existing in a world of Regulars…? I honestly couldn't tell. It could be both.

“Maybe it is all about genetics, and we happened to be lucky to not need them.”

I smiled faintly.

“Maybe you are my medicine, Mimi. The one who keeps us sane and healthy.”

She didn't reply to that. Hehe, perhaps I had made her flustered…

Well, it's not like I thought relying on medicine was a shameful or bad thing. For this or that reason, it was a fact that most Aberrants needed some sort of psychological aid, so I could only feel thankful science could give them a helping hand.

“It still doesn't feel right to me, though. Something tells me this is just sweeping the real issues under the rug.”

Again, I didn't really feel as if this was something I could comment or even form an opinion about. Maybe if I got to know more about the experiences of people…? I knew that Rudi had to use a bunch, even if mostly for physical reasons. For Nilsu, it seemed like she used a mood stabilizer, albeit to less than optimal results, judging from her words.

“I've seen her frequently get frustrated, throw her work aside and storm off somewhere. She also cries easily. Likewise, she also gets cheerful at the blink of an eye.”

That was true, of course I had observed her mood swings many times as well. Each time, it was my joy to be by her side though, whether she was crying or laughing. It wasn't a problem for me, I only saw it as the nature of this person I was fond of. I accepted her just as she was.

Would that sort of acceptance be possible for herself, too…?

Suddenly, I felt a small hand on my shoulder, nudging me softly. Trailing that hand with my eyesight, I found out that it was Ivone trying to catch my attention.

“Hey hey, you seem a bit lost in thought. Or perhaps, having a conversation with Mimi~?”

I chuckled awkwardly, pulling myself back together. “A little bit of both.”

She inspected my expression for a few moments and then tilted her neck.

“Y’know… there was something I've been wanting to ask you for a while now.”

“O-oh?”

What could it be…?