Metamorphosis: Part 1

I'll never forget what that mysterious girl said to me.

It's been a year since then, and it hasn't been easy.

I've still gone through a lot of pain from the emotional scars that still feel fresh to me.

However, her words have had an undeniable impact on the way I see things, and I want to do something with it.

Unfortunately for 18 year-old Marina Amiette, that was easier said than done.

"Oh, excuse me. Do you know if you have this in stock?"

"Um, I think it should be somewhere around here, let me check for you..."

It was a day like any other, working her job at a popular clothing retail store in the city. She didn't mind the work, but it wasn't exactly her long term career plan. Not that she had any in mind; her plan was to start university after graduating high school, but her mother advised against it.

A few months ago

"I just don't think it's what you need right now, dear." Marina's mother told her at breakfast back when she brought up the idea. "You don't even know what you want to do yet, and in any case, you should be prioritizing your mental state before you're ready to start really thinking about your future."

"But the future won't wait for me to be ready." Marina protested. "I've already lost so much time in high school, now I'm worried I don't have a purpose."

"Well, at least having a job will get you out there in the open, and then you can develop the skills you need." Marina's mother said, trying her best to be supportive.

Marina sighed as she played with her empty glass. "I can give it a try... I mean, I don't know how it'll go..."

"Just have faith in yourself, honey. You'll be fine." Marina's mother placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, which she replied to with a weak half-smile.

However, she still wasn't entirely convinced.

Present day

And so here Marina was, working her part time job that acted as her side hustle; or at least it would be in theory, if she had anything else going on in her life, but that hadn't arrived yet.

At least she didn't have to worry about working overtime to make ends meet, since she still lived with her parents rent-free. It wasn't like she had any connections with people she could move in with...

Speaking of which, Marina had made attempts to reach out to co-workers, but it hasn't exactly worked out for her...

"Um, hey..." Marina approached one of her co-workers working on the floor with her.

"Oh hi... Sorry, what was your name again?" The young lady, who couldn't have been too much older than Marina, greeted her pleasantly enough.

"Uh, Marina." The young woman introduced herself. "I just wanted to ask, are you doing anything after work today? Because I was gonna do some window shopping on my way home, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me if you didn't have plans..."

"Oh..." The woman said in a descending tone that hinted at upcoming disappointment. "I actually have to study for an assignment at uni... I don't really have time for much else."

"Ah, I understand." Marina smiled weakly, though anyone could see the disappointment on her face. She had plenty of precedent for people not being able to give her the time of day from her time in school, but maybe that's why she felt extra disappointed by any kind of rejection.

A few relatively uneventful hours later, Marina's shift came to an end. She felt a sense of liberation as she threw off her employee lanyard and grabbed her handbag that she popped it into, but paused for a moment when she saw the co-worker she talked to before on her way out as well.

"Have a nice evening, Marina." She waved casually, clearly meaning well. Seeing her nice demeanor made Marina wish she could get to know her a little better, but reluctantly she decided to let it go for now.

"You too." Marina weakly smiled back, as she followed her from a distance out of the store.

With nothing else to do on her way home, she stayed true to her word from before and checked to see what was new at the local clothing boutiques, where most of the spare money she made working went directly to. She knew it had become quite a habit, but for her it was more than just retail therapy.

There was always something about cute clothes that made her feel better - better about herself, when she put on a fit that she felt like she could be herself in. She couldn't put her finger on when exactly in her life she discovered her love for all things girly, but by high school, she had come to resent the way she was born. She never saw herself as... One of them.

Eventually, something inside her snapped. She decided she could no longer go on hiding her true self, and so she started wearing a girl's school uniform and asking her friends to call her by her new feminine name; 'Marina'.

Unfortunately for her, however, this made her time in high school unbearable when she became targeted by students whose worldview was threatened by her lifestyle choices. And inevitably there's only so much trauma one can take before they reach their breaking point, and for Marina, it happened when...

No... Gotta snap myself out of it. Marina caught herself getting caught up in those thoughts; a very scary place to get trapped in. She tried to take her mind off things by focusing on what dresses she wanted to add to her collection, but that could only give her so much fulfillment.

And so as she stood in the middle of the street, Marina let out a deep sigh. I'm tired of waiting for something exciting to happen to me...

Suddenly, she was snapped out of her thoughts by a burst of commotion.

"Hey! Get back here, you little shit!"

Marina was alerted by the aggressive voice calling out in the distance, which was followed up by another person's mischievous laughter.

"Oi, you're gonna have to do better than that if you want me!" Called out a voice that sounded much closer... And it was fast approaching. "What, did I really hit you that ha--"

Then, it happened; just as Marina turned around to see what was going on, she came face to face with a short blonde woman around her age, just before she collided directly with her, sending the both of them flying backwards and hitting the pavement.

"Owowowow!" The girl cried loudly; and perhaps a little too dramatically since she didn't seem all that hurt by the impact.

"Oh no!" Marina yelped as she leapt back up and rushed to the girl still on the floor. "Are you okay? You're not badly hurt are you? I'm so sorry, I was distracted and I..."

"It's okay... It's cool." The girl chuckled.

"Well... Let me help you up, at least." Marina grabbed the girl's hand to pull her up back on her feet, and they both got a good look at each other. Marina couldn't help but notice the girl looked like the exact opposite of her with her messy hair, copious amount of makeup and clothes that looked like they had been to war.

On the other hand, this girl saw Marina with her soft fair complexion, flowing hair and cute pastel fit, and her initial thought was; Damn, she's really cute.

"Hello?" Marina waved to the girl who was too busy looking at her.

"Oh, oh yeah..." The girl snapped out. "Yeah it's fine, I'm the one who wasn't watching where I was going, so I should be..."

"Got you now!" A harsh voice, the one Marina heard call out before the girl, came right up to the two of them to reveal who it belonged to; a regular-looking but out of shape guy who needed a moment to catch his breath as he came to a stop.

Marina looked between the man and the girl, and realized she was in an awkward position as she was quite literally in the middle of their conflict. She wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she should try and say something to resolve whatever was going on, even if she didn't know what that was yet.

"Umm, why are you chasing her?" She inquired with uncertainty clearly in her voice.

"Because she kicked me in the balls, that's why!" The man grunted as he pointed aggressively at the girl who was now positioned behind Marina, grabbing onto her arm as if for protection.

"Yeah, because you're a stupid ass bully who had it coming!" The girl argued her case; if there was one thing Marina could take away from this exchange, it's that this girl was not submissive.

If only I could be more like that... Marina couldn't help but think in the corner of her mind before bringing herself back to the present situation she was in.

Please someone help me... She thought to herself desperately. Being in the presence of such aggression brought her back to a place she didn't like, but she knew it probably wouldn't solve itself without her mediation.

"Well, I'm sorry if she reacted violently, but it sounds like it was only to help protect someone else, since she clearly saw they were in need of help if you made them uncomfortable." Marina said nervously; not exactly very domineering, so she wasn't sure if her words would have any effect. "Maybe you should both apologize to each other... You know, let bygones be bygones, okay?"

She held her breath for a moment hoping they would comply; like she wished more people would.

"A-apologize to that bozo? No way." The girl sulked, still clutching onto Marina's arm.

"Then I won't either." The man tried acting all prideful, even though he didn't really seem to have much to be proud of. "Besides, what's it matter to you? What reason do you have to defend her like this?"

"Un..." Marina let out a little grunt out of reflex. He hit her with a hard hitting question; it was true. She had only just met this girl a moment ago, but in that short time she established herself as being very abrasive; in theory, the kind of person Marina wouldn't want to be around. And yet, she also showed humility towards her, and perhaps subconsciously, she grabbed onto that as a sign she wasn't all bad.

She was just misunderstood.

Just like how Marina had felt for so long...

And so, maybe because she was projecting, she decided she had to do something to help this girl out; just like the mysterious woman did for her a year ago.

"Because..." Marina started to reply without thinking it all the way through. She stuttered for a moment before blurting out the first excuse that came to mind right then and there, throwing caution to the wind in a moment of impulse. "She's my girlfriend."

The girl's eyes peeled wide open. "Ehh?" She exclaimed. Marina turned her head around and nodded at her, as if to tell her to play along.

"So, I'm afraid you won't get to do anything with her without getting through me first." Marina stood her ground, even though she was very much nervous deep down. "I know her enough to know she means well."

The girl was too stunned to speak. She gazed at Marina like her knight in shining armor; like she was standing before an almighty superhero who had come to rescue her.

The man, much less impressed, shook his head in resignation. "Forget it. Some people aren't worth the trouble." He sighed as he walked away, causing Marina to breathe a sigh of relief.

I'm glad he didn't make things any more difficult... She thought to herself. Still, he couldn't even bring himself to apologize...

Marina tried to shake off this bad experience before she turned to the person who remained.

"Umm... I'm sorry about that." Marina apologized instinctively, her embarrassment catching up with her all at once now that the adrenaline had worn off. She couldn't even bring herself to make eye contact with the girl aside from a few brief glances upwards to make an attempt at social etiquette.

"I was just trying to think of a good excuse to get you... Well, get both of us out of that situation, and that was the first thing that came to mind, I didn't mean to make you feel awkward or anything, but I'm just relieved it worked..." Marina stumbled over her words without the slightest hint of the composure she had just a moment ago.

"No no, it's okay." The girl chuckled awkwardly. "I'm just happy you were able to get me out of that pickle!"

"Oh... No problem." Marina looked away nervously. The two shared a moment of awkward silence as neither knew what to do, until the other girl took the initiative.

"My name's Eimi, by the way." She revealed. "You know... Just thought you might wanna know that... For reasons."

Marina nodded along. "Ah. Well, nice to meet you Eimi. I'm Marina."

"Aww, cute name!" Eimi smiled. However, neither of them knew what to say still, and Marina for one couldn't stand this kind of social anxiety.

"Well, take care Eimi. Glad I could help." Marina half-smiled as she began to walk off, but secretly she became overcome with a feeling of emptiness now that this brief encounter with someone new had ended, and now it was back to reality...

Or so she thought.

"Wait a minute!" Eimi called out to grab Marina's attention, causing her to pivot on her heel to face Eimi from several feet away.

"The thing is, the real reason I told you my name is because..." She stumbled clumsily over her words. "I think you're really pretty... Not that that's the only reason, I also think you're really nice, and so that's why..."

She took a dramatic pause as she summoned all her courage for the ultimate confession. "I want to ask if you'll go on a date with me!"

Her words sent a ripple effect around her that was felt by Marina... As well as all the other people within ear shot who got a front row seat to this sweeping gesture. Eimi didn't mean to make Marina feel publicly mortified, but one of the two girls was far more aware of their surroundings.

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" A nice old lady passing by smiled. "To be able to experience young love again..."

"Uh..." Marina blushed the same shade of pink as her hair, which she was using to hide half her face as an instinctive reaction to her embarrassment. However, as her mind raced, she internalized the old lady's words. Experience love... That's right. I've never been able to be in a relationship, so maybe then... She came to a realization. It could help me find myself.

Of course, Marina still wasn't sure about this. And she certainly didn't know how far this relationship would go, if anywhere at all. But at least now, she had some kind of lead to a much needed change in her life. That was more than she had before.

"I'll..." Marina clutched her chest as she stepped forward with determination on her face. "I'll do it!" She declared boldly.

Eimi could hardly believe it; obviously she hoped she would accept, but with her lack of rizz, she didn't believe her attempt would actually succeed.

"Really?!" Eimi ran up to Marina and grabbed her hands excitedly. "Does next Saturday work for you? Do you have any ideas on places you'd like to go? Any cool cafés? Do you like going to the game center? Or maybe we can go anime shopping, so we can see what kind of interests we have in common?"

"W-wait!!" Marina cried out, fearing her brain was about to overload from too many questions. "At least give me a chance to answer a question before you fire five more!"

"Oh, sorry..." Eimi stepped back sheepishly. "Well, can we swap phone numbers and talk it over? You okay with texting?"

"Sure." Marina smiled nervously.

Once they were in each other's contacts, Eimi gave a cheerful goodbye and left Marina with a realization.

She had a whole new issue to deal with; a date.