Unsuspecting Accomplice

Setting: At the psychologist / present

Doctor: But you… you don’t have a terminal illness, do you?

Pandora: Of course I don’t.

Doctor: Then, did you try to make alibi for your death?

Pandora: Not at all.

In a fantasy, Pandora looks at the parents and Leon pillars, now completely clad in iron.

Doctor: I am not able to understand. If you told your family that you have such a disease, I can only imagine that their love for you exponentially increased. All that you’ve built up for is now gone.

Pandora tries to punch repeatedly the statues but she can’t get through the steel.

Pandora: And you would be right on that. But this is me, the genius Pandora we’re talking about.

Doctor: If this is a part of your plan then… I have my guess but I’d like to hear where this is going. How did your family react?

Setting: Pandora’s house, living room / 8th July 2022

Leon: Y-you’re kidding, right?!

Father: (reading the medical record) No… it’s all here. This is signed by one of the best doctors in the city…

Mother: Hm. That’s rather unfortunate… Come here, sweetie. (She hugs Pandora who is tearing up.)

Pandora: Mom…

Father joins the hug, Leon embraces the family as well. All of them start crying except the Mother.

Mother: I’m sorry sweetie, I don’t… I didn’t imagine our family could go through such an ordeal…

Father: I’ll ask my colleagues whether they can recommend the best doctors in this country, we will get you healed, no matter what!

Pandora: No, dad. That won’t do. I already asked the doctor about it. There is nobody who can treat this disease in this country. That is why I need to go get healed to the neighboring country. Needless to say, it will be quite expensive…

Father: Nothing is expensive! Your health and life take priority over anything! How much are we talking about??

Pandora: It’s written on the second page…

Father flips the medical record and finds the number, he goes pale.

Father: W-what… One million? A full million?? Is this a joke? Nobody has that kind of money!

Leon: Dammit! But there’s gotta be something we need to do!

Mother: Of course there is. We sell this house, buy a flat and use the cash money we earn from that.

Father: What? But darling, this house… we’ve been building it with our own hands, we spent so much time and energy on it..!

Mother: So? Doesn’t our daughter take priority?

Father: No, you’re right… of course she does, I just wanted to find a different solution… maybe Leon could do something with his business?

Leon: What? No! That’s my life! And it pays my bills, I am not going to give up on that! Besides, it can keep us going when we focus on getting Pandora healed.

Father: Right. Sorry for asking… I knew it was out of question.

Mother: Then it’s settled. We sell this house ASAP and buy a flat. Let’s get her treated! This will be our family mission, everything else gets pushed to a sidetrack, understood?

Father: Of course.

Leon: Sure!

Pandora: You guys… (moved)

Setting: At the psychologist / present

Doctor: Hmmm, two things that don’t add up for me… First, your mother’s reactions really do feel so…

Pandora: Strange, right?

Doctor: But that may be just my personal feeling. The second, though, how did you obtain such a trustable medical record? I can’t imagine a doctor would issue a fake like that.

Pandora: Oh but he would. You’d do anything for your loved ones, wouldn’t you? I had a certain ‘someone’ help me all this time.

Setting: Somewhere in the streets / 8th July 2022

Pandora is walking in the streets with a clear destination in her mind. She makes a phone call.

Pandora: Hello~ my worst friend~.

A male voice answers the phone.

The male on the phone: What do you want now? It’s still early in the morning, I’m working!

Pandora: You shouldn’t speak to your benefactor like this~. I need to ask a little favor from you, little doggy.

The male on the phone: It’s gonna cost you, and you know that.

Pandora: Actually, no. I won’t give you any more petty change for your little services. (inner monologue) Sorry, my parents stopped giving me allowance after what I’ve done…

The male on the phone: Then fuck off, I won’t do anything for you!

Pandora: And what if I gave you 1.5 million in cash? Would that make you want to help me~?

The male on the phone: Where’d you get the money…?

Pandora: Hehe. Ask your dad to create a fake medical record for me. Make him use the real data from your sister’s condition. I’ll be at the hospital he works for in an hour or so. I’ll explain the details to him.

The male on the phone: This time, you’re playing with a fire.

Pandora: I’ll see it through. And I swear I will get you the money. Did I ever lie to you before?

The male speaking on the other side of the phone is revealed to be Shinzo, the delinquent looking boy from Pandora’s class who always skips school and verbally attacks Pandora whenever he can.

Shinzo: Then I’m counting on you. And you can count on me with getting the medical record from my dad, stupid bitch. (Nervous expression in his face.)

Pandora: Now bark for me, little doggy~.

Shinzo: But I’m in work, there are people around me!

Pandora: I. Said. Bark.

Shinzo: Woof, woof! (blushing)

Setting: At the psychologist / present

Doctor: Now it all makes sense… So this Shinuo guy has a sister that actually does have this rare terminal illness. His father is a doctor and the treatment can be done only in the neighboring country.

Pandora: She is the only person in the whole country to have this unfortunate illness. And as such her case is even a bigger guarded secret than usual health secrets. So even with my Father’s political influence and contacts with the Minister of Health, he was unable to gather any more information. All he found out was that there is a young girl with this illness and that it truly can be treated only outside of our borders.

Doctor: So it came together perfectly for you. And what is the deal with Shinzo then?

Pandora: Once I overheard his phone call with his dad and found him crying behind the school. He skipped the school often and started to get a ‘delinquent’ status. But he is a really kind boy. He skips school because he has to work two jobs in order to raise enough money for the treatment of his sister.

Doctor: Therefore you involved him in your schemes and paid for his little services.

Pandora: Exactly. He helped me spread the rumors about myself. He was staged to say all those rude things about me all the time. But I had to be careful to not make him another pillar. Helping his terminally ill sister would make him care about me so I was treating him like human shit. No. Like a dog. He honestly hates me, ahahah.

Doctor: Does he know you want to commit suicide?

Pandora: No. And he didn’t care at all about my motives. We made a deal, I would help with the money and he would do little favors to me. An unsuspecting accomplice in my suicide.

Doctor: You are more cunning than I imagined.

Pandora: Everything was set up perfectly. The whole summer break flew by without any major incidents. I just continued growing seeds inside of Alyssa and Vulcan by ignoring them and not meeting them even once. My family was conflicted, they were so stressed out the whole time because of me. But there was one minor detail that I forgot about…

Setting: Pandora’s high school / 2nd September 2022

Pandora walks into her classroom. A new school year has begun. She sits at her usual desk, Alyssa is already there, sitting in front of her.

Alyssa: Hey, Pandora…

Pandora: Hey babe, how was your summer?

Alyssa: Really bad. (Sad) We didn’t meet even once. This was my first summer without you.

Pandora: Haha, at least you took a rest for a little while.

Alyssa: I won’t even ask you why you didn’t call me at all…

Pandora: Okay, then don’t. (smiles)

Student Council President: Oh Pandora~! I am so glad to see you after two months!! Are you coming to see your boyfriend today?

Pandora: No, I am not planning to. Also, I am not gonna candidate for a Student Council President this year either. So the victory is all yours again.

Student Council President: Ahahah, that’s fine, I don’t mind.

Pandora: (inner monologue) What a facade.

Student Council President: (whispering to Pandora’s ear) Meet me on the roof after school.

Setting: Pandora’s high school, rooftop / 2nd September 2022

Pandora comes up the stairs, she opens the door to the roof and comes outside. There is nobody waiting for her. Suddenly, the door is slammed. President was waiting for her behind it. She is holding her school bag in her hand and slowly walks towards Pandora.

Student Council President: (pissed off) Do you have any idea how long I have been waiting…?

Pandora: What’s going on, Prez? Did you miss me during the summer break that much~?

Student Council President: Yes, that’s exactly it. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat. All I have been thinking about was you.

Pandora: Oh, I meant is as a joke… (She notices a barbed wire in President’s bag as she comes closer.)

Student Council President: I had a lot of time to think. And this is the only logical outcome of our relationship.

Pandora: Heh, I see. Just my bad luck, I guess.

Pandora starts to imagine in a black and white fantasy how she is strangled with the barbed wire by the President with her eyes being also pushed out of her eye holes while trying to catch a breath but the scene is broken by the actual danger that President poses in reality, as she continues speaking.

Student Council President: You are actively trying to become less and less perfect. And on top of that, I know about your illness that you were diagnosed with. I can’t let that shit devastate your body. So I figured, I should kill you right here and right now to preserve your perfect self for eternity.

Pandora: You have always been a kind girl, President. Thank you for caring about me so much.

Student Council President: Yes, this personality… there is no mistake. You are the chosen one for me. So I shall execute you with my own hands. (She blushes.) But not before I make you mine.

She throws herself at Pandora, kissing her on the lips and licking her face with her tongue. Pandora tries to defend but is unable to do so as President overpowers her.

Student Council President: After all those months without training, you’ve gotten weaker.

Pandora: Oh no, somebody help me~, this nice girl is trying to rape me~! (President puts her tongue inside Pandora’s mouth and makes a subtle move with her hand on Pandora’s lower body, which makes Pandora flustered as her pupils in the eyes shrink.)

Student Council President: Your perfect body… will belong to me at last…! (She tears Pandora’s uniform but Pandora takes the opportunity to grab her and push her away.)

Pandora: President! I told you over and over again. I am not perfect. I couldn’t be. And I’m gonna prove it.

Student Council President: What?

Pandora unbuttons her torn shirt.

Student Council President: W-what are you doing? Me being forceful is one thing b-but… Have you no shame?!

Pandora strips to her bra, her back is seen as she takes off the bra as well. President closes her eyes.

Student Council President: S-stop it, you pervy idiot!

Pandora takes President’s hand and puts it on her left breast.

Student Council President: (still closed eyes) Aaahh, this is how I imagined them, so soft and squishy, full of my wildest dreams- …wait. What is that? (opens eyes, confused)

Pandora: Now you understand?

Student Council President: But… but… that’s-!

In a fantasy, Pandora watches her statue that has a cloth covering her chest. The cloth is being unwrapped and it slowly falls down. The pillar below cracks significantly.

Pandora: A person like me can never be perfect again. Not with a scar like this.

Student Council President looks completely terrified as she realizes that Pandora’s breast has a rough scar under it. In the fantasy, the statue starts bleeding from the place of Pandora’s scar, with President’s pillar finally crumbling down.

CHAPTER 15: END