Her new image

“Huh? Alice?!”

Her lips did not open but only curved up into a warm expression. In my eyes was a smiling blond little girl, a friend whom I haven’t met in such a long time, a friend whom I had betrayed. And yet, she was still beaming so contently in front of me, and only now did a baffling pain struck my heart.

But she still offered me her hand. Even if I had left her, and even if I treated her like nothing after all the time that she spent with me, she was fine with it… Although I had known this before, still, only at this moment did I realize my wrongdoing.

“Hey Alice, I’m sorry-”

“C’mon Kiri, let’s dance! Like you always have.”

As she pulled me in, one of my feet lost my footing, and I fell forward. But my face did not meet the ground, for there was a thin arm that was now embracing my back and the other grasping my wrist. As the tawny sky used its remaining power to shine its grace, the compassionate lines on her visage just right above mine were as if embellished, and a familiar warm feeling began to arise, a feeling of which I thought I had lost.

“I’ll always catch you when you fall, Kiri. Not because I pity you, but because I love you. So, don’t feel bad about me.”

I took a moment to gain back my standing, but no more, I decided, no more would I regret having this kind little goddess before me. And so, I chose the only way I could repay her then, I gave her my love.

By hugging her, by the way.

As my arms covered her entire being, I could feel my warmth being sapped away, and yet, the feeling was of a pleasant nature. She was purging all of my doubts away, for she wasn’t one to judge, and I could trust her with myself.

“OH, MY GOD! OH, MY GOD! OH, MY GOD!”

As the girl shrieked with excitement, along with a slight hint of fulfillment, a grin impulsively got plastered on my face.

“Thank you, Alice, for being with me when I was alone back then. And sorry for just leaving you like that.” I made sure to sound sincere since I would not forgive myself the second time for making her feel deceived and betrayed.

“No, it’s fine, really. All worth it for the outcome, end justifies means, yes yes yes. I’m always here to repair what that bastard Stan did to you, yes.”

“Yeah, guess it does- ”, suddenly, one of her words resounded inside me. “Wait, Stan.”

When that word brought reality back to me, only then did I turn to look around my surroundings.

Myriads of stares were on me and Alice.

SHIT!

The crowd burst out in cheers, and everyone went crazy. That might have sounded fun and exciting if I were one of them, however, my role had been promoted to performer.

“Did you all see that? That is real love.”

As the GL girls made their announcement, and their side once more gained favor, my fear of being at the center stage was solidified.

No no no no no no no. Not even as a joke, no.

With every fiber of muscle in my legs, I left behind all those praise and joyful commendations, and I made a sprint straight out of there.

“Wait, Kiri!”

Still, this time, I did bat an eye back toward her, and I spoke.

“You can follow me if you want, but not before them.”

However, she stood still, and I made my escape back alone.

***

What the hell is even happening?

It was obvious that had been incredibly tumultuous and abnormal, and everything felt so random that it was impossible for me to even piece up anything. However, in the midst of all this freakish shit, it felt somewhat coherent. Recurringly appeared people, and each event led up to another, even if they seemed so distant and unrelated. It all felt like a messed up and disorganized plan.

But then why? Why me? Why all this chaos and for what purpose?

“Hey, you listening, Kiri?”

As my thought process was interrupted by the girl in front of me, I could only inquire about our previous conversation to save face.

“Um, no, sorry, Qi. Was thinking about something.”

“Jeez, Kiri. You were the one that asked me about my hobbies.”

Ah, right, I did.

As I skimmed around the cafeteria room I was in, my mind slowly adapted back to the present time. Our four roommates were eating dinner at this place as usual, not long after that whole Alice and Love war fiasco. When we settled into our table, one of the girls was fiddling with her phone, and Qi was talking to the other one, so I decided to join in by asking Qi some small questions. But I guess I was bored along the way and opted to think about the bewilderment of my situation.

“Uh, can you tell me again, Qi?”

“C’mon, Kiri. You know how frustrating it is to repeat- ”

“Holy shit!”

In an instant, and acting her character, the girl fiddling with her phone involved herself back in the conversation, and it was with a bang. Nonetheless, her scream did not startle me, not nearly as much as what she was showing the three of us right now.

“That’s you, right Kiri?!” The phone fiddler asked.

The answer was yes, but I wished my eyes were deceiving me.

“Shit, is that why you were shy with us before? We all accept you no matter what, Kiri.” Totally mistaken, Qi reassured me nonetheless. But my mouth stood still, and I refused to give my gratitude.

“Damn, you’re like a star now. A model for lesbians.”

No, it’s all a misunderstanding.

As I scanned the screen on her phone over and over again, I realized that my eyes were no liar.

It was on the confession page of the school itself, and inside was a poll divided into two sides, GL vs. BL. That only meant that the war that occurred today had reached greater heights, and usually, that would not be a problem for me, that is if I wasn’t directly involved. To explain it in a sentence, one of the images shown as promotion, some would even say propaganda, had a picture of me and Alice hugging.

That damn smile.

I didn’t know why I was smiling so contently, and even my heart was warmed by my own expression. However, an eerie feeling replaced it in an instant, and the reality of the situation had finally been registered within me.

Everyone will know me now, and they all will think of me as that girl in that picture. And as I continued to be bombarded with questions from the three girls at my table, I shut my brain off in the hope that this was all a dream.

.

.

.

It was not.

It was the following morning that it hit me, my life was now in and of itself, an image, and not a single person would ever again see me for who I truly am, a straight girl.

And what made me realize that was that same image, albeit now on a bulletin board. The Love War had expanded its fire throughout the whole school, and every nook and cranny had been invaded by this infamous image of me.

As I stared at my own smiling self with a sense of utter despair and fear, whispers began to form behind me as if wanting to add more to my shame and misery.

And, curiously, I turned back, only to be met with gazes that smeared on their blushed visage. So, I ran away, even though I knew that it was futile. Still, stares from both boys and girls alike lingered on me, no matter how fast I attempted to escape.

.

Okay, in all seriousness, it was not that bad.

They only came up to me to ask light questions and made sure not to bother me. The students were in every way nice and accepting, so clearing up the misunderstanding didn’t prove to be much of a tedious feat. Actually, their surprised reaction was even funny and amusing.

Still, that’s not to say that all was fine, the damage was too great for me to fix my image and at the end of the day, I was still known as the girl from that picture.

Well, guess I can’t ask for everything, can I?

And so, as the bell made its last noise of the day, I strolled out of the classroom without a hurry. As the bustling and clamor of students once more invaded the hallway, I continued to walk with ease. Their talks and conversations were all now background noises, all faded away by the greetings toward me. And it didn’t take me long to reply with my own voice when their faces were all I chose to see.

“Hey, Kiri, over here.”

As I reached the school grounds, a familiar voice welcomed me. To which, I inquired back.

“Hey, Qi. What’s up?”

“Apparently there’s a basketball guy and some other dudes from outside of school that’s demolishing ours right now. And, what’s more even surprising is he’s asking to see you.”

“What? What now? Why?”

“He’s pretty hot you know. If you really aren’t into girls then prove it.”

It was a dumb comeback, and yet, I could not think of a riposte. And so, in the midst of my puzzlement, I was once again dragged away.

Ah, so that’s it.

The chaos had not and would not stop.

“Oh! There she is.”

Just as his gigantic figure entered my sight, the man, I mean the high school boy had already started to approach me. However, there was one thing that I did not completely expect, even though it was so damn obvious, a crowd of more than twenty had gathered here.

“It’s an honor to finally meet you, Kiri. I’m Wa Ghy U” Following his greeting, my hand was met with both of his meaty and bold palms, and he shook it gently.

However, before I could even think of a joke for his name, my mind was interrupted.

“Wait, that’s Kiri, right?”

With only one sentence igniting the rest, a clamor of questions now filled the air. And, the boy turned toward me and smiled.

“Looks like you made quite a name for yourself. I heard nothing wrong, Kiri.”

“How did you guys even know each other?” as Qi inquired, Wa Ghy U turned to her with a grin, and then he faced the crowd with a powerful voice.

“Oh, the crazy stuff that this girl could do. She once convinced a man to buy a doll for four hundred damn dollars, and it wasn’t any rare one, just a little anime figurine. Oh, and the ability to con literal hotel and airline personnel into giving her free food and accommodation. But you might be thinking that all of this stuff is pretty shady, but no, she one time threatened five big bullies to stop messing with a boy she never even met. She was just that kind of person!”

Shut the fuck up.

Shut the fuck up.

Shut the fuck up.

Shut the fuck up.

As he went on and on, I could feel the blood rush up my cheeks, and smoke began to puff out of my ears. And despite my countless attempt of silently persuading him to stop, he only gave me a cheerful beam and continued. However, I no longer had the patience to let my image be tainted even more.

“I do not know this guy, all these stories are made up.”

“No, it’s not. Stan showed me the pictures you guys took.”

“How did-”, that word, no, that name gave me a chill one more time, and every piece was suddenly laid down to paint a coherent picture. “Oh.”

My sudden halt most likely concerned him, evident by his silence and awkward stance. And even though this might make him even more weirded out, I chuckled, and I chuckled hard. Then, I reached my hand upon his shoulder.

“I have a question for you, beef man.”