Seiza and Group of Caring Friends

"I... I..."

I lost my words. I didn't know Sei... Syairah had a backstory like that. She never told anyone?

"It's okay, Zeed. I... I wasn't sure either."
"Sei... Sya..."

I wasn't even sure how I called her. Wiwin understood it perfectly, though.

"Oh, Seiza! I'm sorry that happened to you", she went for a hug. "You're with us now. Don't worry about your past, and I promise we'll visit your orphanage and Kenneth in the near future."

She smiled happily. I joined in. I sat next to her and said, "I... was speechless when you told us your story, but now I'm certain..." I touched both of her hands. "We'll protect you no matter what."

Sei... Syairah said, "Thank you... And you can still call me Seiza. You don't need to be confused. I like my nickname anyway."

... Did she just read my face too? Out of all of them, Seiza could do it too?! I released my touch from Seiza and covered my face.

"Didn't I say your face is easy to read, Zeed?" Wiwin roasted me.

I uncovered my face, and I gave her the look. She laughed it off.

I immediately changed the topic. I looked at Seiza with confusion. "Wait. Didn't you say that I yelled at you, reminding you of your parents?"

She peeked at me and quickly buried her face inside Popo. "I... met them once... in the five years I was in Jakarta." Oh no... "They seemed to forget. They looked at me, and we exchanged gazes... but we ignored each other."

That was hard to listen to. If I knew what Seiza went through, I'd help her even more. I thought she had mistaken many things for just her quirky things. I was wrong.

"... Seiza, may we have a word?" Harold asked.
"Sure, Harold. What is it?"

They went to the back of the RV, and to respect their conversation, I went back to the front. Tasyah welcomed me.

"Yooo! A little bit heavy back there, huh?"
"Yeah... one ton gallon heavy."
"... Hey, will Seiza be alright?"
"You asked me?"
"Zeed, you're a leader now; your duty is to keep this group working. If Seiza couldn't do her engineering again, we'll lose another..."
"Are you seriously going to say that!"

I stopped her before she went on.

"Tasyah... listen. I'm a leader now, but could you respect me too? I'm a human, not a hero or any superpower being. I always try to improve myself so I can help keep my group running smoothly. It's already hard! Don't put more weight on me."

Tasyah frowned. I could tell that she felt guilty about what she said.

"Hey! Eyes on the road! What are you looking at?"
"..."

She didn't answer me. It made me feel guilty as well.

Then...

"You know what, Zeed? Fuck you!"

There it was! She even gave me a present with her finger.

"Yeah? Fuck you too."

...

Time passed, and we were at the toll stop.

"COME ON, ZEED! WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO LONG TO USE THE BATHROOM!"
"STOP KNOCKING, TASYAH! I COULDN'T FOCUS ON DUMPING MY SHIT!"
"Eyywww, groosssss! Don't say that out loud."
"You're the one making me!"
"Why doesn't this toll rest area have separate toilets? Why does it have to be bisexual toilets?"

I could ask the same.

[Meanwhile|Seiza's POV]

"We've got some repairs to do, Harold."
"I hear ya."

I felt a heavy weight just lifted from my chest. After talking to Harold, I felt like I could breathe again. I never felt better.

"I'm glad you're okay now, Sei."

Wiwin came out of the RV to greet me.

"Thanks, Win. I'm also happy."

In an instant, she frowned and said, "Though I feel bad for Tasyah and Zeed now."

I found it crazy that both Zeed and Tasyah have allergies, and we had just encountered it.

"Am I that bad at cooking fast food? Like, the other day! Tasyah couldn't handle canned food... and now I can't even make instant noodles?!"

Harold replied, "Have you checked the dates?"
"Huh, dates?"
"The expiration date! That's on the pack. You can't use old instant food; that would be bad for the body."

Wiwin went back to the RV and grabbed the instant food pack. Searching the trash bin, she gathered all the noodle packs. She searched one of the packs for any dates. She seemed confused as she scratched her head.

Harold asked, "Did you find the date?"

She was ashamed and gave up. She brought all of the packs to Harold. "I hate to say... I don't understand what I'm looking for."
Harold picked one up and said, "Win... These are from two years ago."

The wind felt kind of strong today as the atmosphere around us became more somber. I knew I had just become "normal" not too long ago, but as a living human, I was sure... that wasn't the wind.

"Suddenly, I don't feel so good", I announced that I wasn't feeling well. I held my belly to hold my stomachache.

Wiwin was horrified and asked for forgiveness. I walked away to join Zeed and Tasyah.

But before that, I heard Harold and Wiwin exchange conversation.

"Note for self, Win. Give all the quick meal preparation to Zeed. I trusted him more than you in this one."
"... Right..."

...

"... Sei, why are you...?"
I shoved Tasyah away. "Step aside!"

Tasyah was confused.

I saw Zeed on his way out as well. "Oh, boy, I felt relieved... WOW??? Seiza?"

"OUT OF MY WAY, ZEED!"

He joined Tasyah in the confusion department. He asked me, "What happened to you, woman?"

I replied, "ASK WIWIN! She was the one who poisoned us with two-year-old instant noodles."

I didn't see their reaction, but I'm pretty sure they were mortified. I heard they stepped away from the toilet, and I finally have my peace...

Yeah, peace...

"WIWIIIIN! What the heck, girl? How could you do this to us?" I could hear Tasyah's shouting. "AND HOW THE FUCK DID YOU SURVIVE THE POISONING?"

I presumed she was asking Harold there; I couldn't hear his answer, but I could hear Tasyah respond, however. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU BUILT DIFFERENT?! ARE YOU MOCKING ME?"

Deep down... I felt relieved... We never have this kind of time together in the apartment. The time we had there was so cramped. This might be because of my realization after I got Slimefy, but... I'm glad I'm with them now.

... I really do.