This story is always really hard for me to write for, which is why it takes so long to update. I think it’s partially because I don’t want to overlap with Lonely too much, and because Rin is on the complex side. She’s probably one of my most complex characters, even if she doesn’t seem like it. Still, this is eight pages in Word, but only thirty-five hundred words, so I guess it’s a lot of dialog?

Episode Six – Drama Girl

So when did this all happen? Why did I snap? Easy questions to answer… but why is it I am constantly annoyed? I slipped through society unnoticed, and now… Now that I have snapped and thrown off this world, people constantly bother me. Does appearance mean that much? I change a bit and now people suddenly don’t see through me, and suddenly they all want something from me. Where were they when I wanted the attention? Why won’t they leave me alone?

---

“Hon, wake up! It’s time for school!”

“Eh.” A loud moan responded. Rin slowly sat up in her head, her hair falling randomly in her face. A pillow slowly slid off her face from the movement. “Eh…” I slept so horribly. And was this pillow on my face? She slowly stumbled over to the mirror.

I don’t get it. She sighed at her reflection and quickly changed. She ran through the bathroom to care for her hair and teeth before heading downstairs. She stumbled over to the table in the kitchen and fell into one of the chairs.

“It’s supposed to be nice out today.” Shana stated as she took a bite of toast.

“Quiet.” Rin hissed.

“I miss the other day.” Shana sighed. “How could you act like that and then switch back to this?”

“That is none of your business.” She growled.

“You’re so mean to your cousin. You’re not normally like that.” Her mother frowned.

“Don’t worry about it auntie!” Shana chuckled. “Let’s get going to school then.” She stated as she finished her breakfast.

“I’m not done, go ahead of me.” Rin growled. Shana sighed and headed towards the door. She stepped into her shoes and then outside to find Amber waiting outside.

“Oh.” Amber fidgeted. “Hi.”

“You can just come in you know.” Shana frowned.

“That’s okay.” She avoided her gaze.

“Why do you always act like that?” Shana frowned.

“Act like what?”

“I can understand why Rin can be testy towards me, but you’re always one step from snapping at me.”

“Oh?” Amber muttered. Before Shana could press further Rin slammed the front door.

“Why are you still here?” She pushed past them. “Get going to school, idiots.” Rin continued without waiting.

“See, if she’s like that after breakfast, I don’t want to meet her before.” Amber stated as she followed.

“I can’t blame you for that.” Shana shivered as she followed them. It didn’t take long for the small group to reach the school. After visiting their lockers they went to class as normal.

I’m already sick of this, why did she have to come back after being popular? Rin frowned as the male population surrounded Shana again, and the bulk of the girls surrounded James.

I just can’t understand popularity. He doesn’t even have good grades; he’s just a bit athletic and attractive. I have the top grades in this class and I got ignored the entire time. She just looks pretty and sings and every one flocks about her. She sighed softly as Hanna entered.

“Well kiddies, it’s that special time of year!” She watched everyone scamper to their seats. “We have some nice little tests coming up.” The class groaned in a cliché fashion. “Good, your misery feeds me. While these aren’t precious midterms, they’re still important. Some of you,” She glanced at James, “Need to improve to stay on good terms with your clubs. Now, you get a week to study, so let me help you out.” She cackled.

---

Lunch used to be peaceful, now my voice is horse from telling those three girls and that annoying guy to leave me alone. Maybe I’ll finally eat alone today. Rin sighed as she opened her lunch. She was about to bite into a fish sandwich, specifically flounder with some lettuce, tomato and a large amount to cheese when a shadow covered her.

“What do you want?” She growled and glanced up surprised that it wasn’t one of the usual annoyances. The person before her wore a simple blue shirt and jeans, and had shoulder-length, light auburn hair tied behind the head. They had large, blue eyes that were carefully avoiding looking directly at Rin.

“Um… I… uh…” The person fidgeted nervously.

“Are you a boy or a girl?” Rin asked.

“Huh?” No one’s asked me that straight on before… “B-b-boy…” He stuttered.

I’ve always wanted to meet a boy like this. His personality doesn’t fit; still, maybe I can use him as a toy. She frowned and took a bite of her sandwich. Seems like he might be boring after all. She started to ignore him after he stumbled with pseudo words for several minutes.

“Here!” He suddenly shouted, which caused Rin to flinch as he shoved a small envelope at her. He quickly ran off before she could respond.

“Ha?” She scoffed. “I’m not interested!” She shouted back. Really, a love letter? She stared at the envelope. Not only has that guy never talked to me, but I barely know his name. I couldn’t tell gender from ‘Sam’ though. She started to crumple the note, but then opened it out of curiosity.

“Please join the drama club.” She read in scribbled red ink. “Huh? Huh!” She roared. “That idiot gave me a note asking this? It’s not like I wanted a letter like that, but…” She shoved down her sandwich and stood up. She stormed downstairs and followed the hallways towards the auditorium. She moved to the back of them room, stopping at the door that led under the stage. She slammed the door open and stepped into the room.

She received some gasps from the group at the table as she looked around. “Are you here to join?” One of the girls asked. The group was sitting at a small table in the center of the room, which had a rack of clothes on both sides, a full length mirror on the back wall, and a door leading back stage. Rin ignored their faces as she scanned for her target.

“Not here.” She muttered and slammed the door as she left.

“Maybe it was a bad idea to make Sam do it after all?”

I wonder where he’s hiding. She paused outside of the bathrooms. Even I haven’t broken that social barrier yet. She turned on her heel and walked into the auditorium. She scanned the crowd for a moment until she found her new target. She quickly moved towards him.

“You,” She stated as she lifted David out of his seat. “Come with me.”

“Eh?” David yelped as he was pulled along.

“Good luck.” James waved at him, not even bothering to stop eating his pudding.

“Go in here and find a feminine-looking guy named Sam.” Rin ordered.

“What?” David just stared at her. He shivered under her gaze, sighed, and stepped into the bathroom. “Uh, Sam, are you in here?” He found the room surprisingly empty for lunch time. He checked each stall, coming to the last one. It was closed and locked.

“O-o-occupied.” A voice whimpered softly.

“Look, Rin is looking for you, so it’ll be more troublesome if you hide from her and she has to come in here. She will eventually come in here.” The door unlocked a moment later and Sam stepped out. David gawked in surprise at him. He really does look like a girl. Sam sighed and slowly peered outside of the bathroom. The second his head poked out, Rin grabbed him.

“What’s the meaning of this?” She held the letter in her fist.

That’s… David stared at her as he stepped out.

“You, go away.” He frowned and quickly retreated. “Now, explain.”

“I-I-I…” He gulped loudly as she still had him by the cuff of his shirt. “I was… forced to. The others… really wanted you in the club after the other day…”

“The other day?”

“You were acting completely different, and then you changed back…”

“What do you mean by that?” She glared at him, making a fist with her right hand.

“It was the other’s idea!”

“So why did you listen to them? You could have said no.”

“No, I couldn’t…” He answered softly.

“What? Speak up!” She growled.

“I couldn’t!” He blinked at his own voice.

“Why not?” She slowly let go of him.

“It’s always been like that…” He muttered, avoiding eye contact with her. “I’m just… you know, the stage manager. I don’t do anything important for the plays.”

“Eh?” Rin frowned. I think I misjudged him slightly. Still… “All right, boy.” She stated. “I’ll join, but there are a couple conditions.”

“Conditions?” He shook his head, continuing to fidget nervously. “I can’t…”

“Fine.” She grabbed him and dragged him to the drama club’s room. This time she paid a bit more attention to the people inside. Misha, Lloyd, and Terry. She thought to herself from the list in her mind.

“Oh, you brought her back.” Misha stated. She had dark brown hair, tied back in a short, high ponytail. Her eyes matched, and she wore a light blue open-buttoned shirt with no sleeves over a matching blouse. Her light blue skirt stopped just above her knees. Rin focused on her, assuming she was the leader from her response.

“I’ll join on some conditions.” Rin stated.

“Conditions? You should have just stated that to me.” Rin ignored the surprise, and the voice behind her, as Scarlet barged in. “You should join me…” Rin continued without acknowledging her.

“What kind of conditions?” Misha asked, narrowing her eyes.

“This is going to be my toy for a week.” She pointed at Sam.

“Eh? What? Wait…”

“Your toy?” Misha tilted her head.

“This toy will do what I want for a week, and I’ll join.”

“Wait a minute!” He stuttered.

“Deal.” Misha nodded.

“What? Don’t I get a say?” Sam panicked.

“Sorry, but we need more members or our funding gets cut.”

“But…wait…I!” Sam was dragged away by Rin. Scarlet hissed softly and followed her.

“I know we need more members, but isn’t that a bit harsh?” Lloyd asked.

“It’s the only way to get her. She’s actually good too…”

“What are you going to do to me?” He asked.

“Nothing now. Meet me after school. After all, the bells about to ring.” She turned towards him and let go of his arm. “It’d be a bad thing if you didn’t show…”

---

“What do you want?” The school day had ended and Rin was guarding the school gates.

“I’ve been haunting you to join my club; if I had known there was such a condition I would have done it.” Scarlet hissed.

“I didn’t know you were into that stuff.”

“I didn’t know you were either.” She shot back.

“There he is.” Rin frowned as Sam tried to sneak away through the school’s field.

“Fast…” Scarlet blinked as Rin disappeared from her side.

“What are you doing?” Sam yelped at the sudden voice. “I told you it’d be bad if you ran.”

“I…” He stuttered.

“Just hit her and run, fu-fu.” Scarlet snickered.

“Come with me.” She grabbed his arm and started dragging him.

“What are you doing?” This time Shana blocked her.

“Why do you people keep stalking me?” She growled.

“Says the person kidnapping someone.” Scarlet stated.

“You can’t say anything either.” Rin growled back.

“You refuse to take an interest in anyone, why are you bugging this poor girl?” Shana asked.

“I’m a guy.” Sam stated softly.

“Really?” Shana stared at him.

“Please don’t look at me like that…” He stated nervously and stared at the ground.

“Ah!” Shana coughed and looked away.

“I’ve been bored lately so I wanted a toy to play with. You two are no fun at all so I got this one.”

“Could you stop referring to him like that?” Shana frowned.

“You can’t have him.” She pushed past her. “This is mine.” Rin walked away, dragging Sam with her the entire way.

“I don’t get it.” Shana frowned. “Well, maybe a little, but…”

“Don’t tell me your family has a weird fetish or something.” Scarlet stated.

“Huh? Of course not! It’s just so rare to see a guy like that…”

“You know, I’m better off not asking.”

“I’d better make sure she doesn’t hurt him.” Shana chased after them.

“Why me?” He gasped. “There are other members of the club!”

“You’re the only one I could make into a toy.”

“Huh? Why do you keep calling me that?” They stopped outside of her house.

“It’s your own fault for giving me that letter like that.”

“Eh? That’s how they told me to do it…”

“Is that so? I’ll add that into my plan.” She pushed through the front door.

“Plan? Wait, can I call my parents?”

“Worry about the small stuff later.”

“Oh, welcome home…” Her mother frowned as she dragged him upstairs. “It’s nice that you’re bringing boys home, but leave your door open!” She called as she disappeared.

“She actually got it right…” Sam muttered. “Wait, we’re going to your room?” He gulped as he was shoved on her bed. “W-what are you going to do?”

“Shana cleaned my room up again.” She growled at the clean floor.

“Of course I did…” Shana leaned against the door frame, huffing loudly. “How did you move so fast dragging someone?”

“For a stage singer you’re out of shape.”

“So what are you going to the poor boy?”

“I was thinking a dress, but a skirt would look cuter.”

“Wait, I’m not going through that again!” He shouted.

“Again?” Rin raised an eyebrow.

“I have an older sister…” He avoided their eyes again.

“Then you should be used to it.” Rin opened her closet. “Oh, right, I don’t have any skirts. This is the first time I’ve wanted one after all.” She turned around and darted for the door, knocking Shana over. “You’re not getting away.”

“I don’t care if they kick me out I’m not letting you put me in those clothes for your amusement!” He shouted.

“Oh?” Rin asked as she moved away from the door. “I figured it was something like that.” She muttered and moved back into her room.

“Kick you out, what do you mean by that?”

“They said…” He glanced back at Rin, “If I couldn’t get her in the club, they’d kick me out.”

“How could they say such a thing?” Shana frowned.

“The club is in danger of being canceled because no one’s showing any interest… We even have to recruit people for our plays.”

“If the club was doomed, why did you listen to their threats? You would have been out anyway.”

“I’ve been in the drama club since middle school. I just wanted to stay as long as possible.” He stared at the floor.

“When did this plan come up?” Rin suddenly asked.

“They thought of it a week or two ago…”

“So they really wanted you.” She glared at Shana.

“Me?” She frowned.

“They didn’t know of my abilities until a few days ago.”

“Abilities…” Shana frowned. “You’ve acted before?”

“That doesn’t matter. They were using me to get to my sweet, popular cousin.”

“Huh? I know you’re all twisted now, but that’s really convoluted. Why would they go through all that instead of just asking me?”

“That’s the way Misha works.” Rin scoffed.

“How do you know her?”

“Ha!” Rin scoffed. “I’m a ghost; I know everyone in that school in great detail.”

“Um, can I go now?” Sam asked.

“No, you’ve become much better than a toy. Congratulations, you’re now a rook.”

“Rook?” Sam gulped loudly.

“Now we’re chess pieces…” Shana sighed.

“I’ve been used enough in my life I could tell right off something was wrong. This time I’ll make sure to get even…”

---

“So you got her to join?” Misha asked as the small group headed towards their meeting room.

“Um, yeah…” Sam fidgeted nervously as they entered the small room. Misha turned on the light and let out a small yelp.

“I’ve been expecting you.” Rin cackled as she sat in one of the chairs, petting a large, white stuffed cat.

“Rin? Why are you here?” Misha asked.

“I joined, didn’t I? Don’t I have a right to be here?”

“Yeah…” Misha stated at her as she petted the fake cat. “What’s with that?”

“It’s the drama club? Isn’t this dramatic? Speaking of that, I’ll be taking over.” She spun around in the chair.

“Take over?” Misha scoffed. “Wait, we didn’t have a chair like that…” She realized the wooden chairs they normally used were against the wall, and four office chairs surrounded the table. She just took note that another chair was occupied.

“You can leave, Scarlet.” She growled.

“I’m the only member of my club so I’ll just work out of here.” She snickered. “I like drama anyway.”

“Wait, you can’t…” Misha stated.

“You’re here.” She spun back again as Shana entered. She moved over and joined them at the table. “I didn’t really want her to join, but it was necessary.” Rin stated as she scratched behind the cat’s ear.

“Thanks.” Shana muttered.

“Shana joined? That’s great!” Misha exclaimed.

“Have a seat.” Misha started towards the table. “Not you,” Rin glared at her and motioned towards Sam. “You.”

“Me?” He glanced around nervously.

“Sit.” She commanded and he slowly took one of the seats. “You people can sit in those.” She pointed at the wooden chairs.

“What? You can’t just come in here and bark orders!” Misha scoffed.

“Oh? You really wanted Shana, I mean me, in here didn’t you?”

“You…” Misha glared at Sam.

“Oh, he didn’t tell me.” Rin cackled. “I figured it out. That’s the problem, you see, I know all about you and you know not of me.”

“That still doesn’t mean you can just order us around.”

“That doesn’t, but the fact I had a chat with Miss Luna does. She’s rather a difficult person to deal with.” Rin shivered. “I’ve been promoted, since I’ve gotten more members in two days than you have all year. Don’t worry; I’m sure you’ll make an excellent stage hand.”

“What? We’ll see about this!” Misha stormed out, leaving her two lackeys behind.

“So, what will you two do? Do you wish to face me?”

“We’ll just eat lunch out there.” Lloyd laughed nervously and dragged Terry out.

“Now what?” Shana asked.

“What do you mean?” Rin spun back in her chair, an evil smirk appearing at Sam’s nervousness.

“You got your revenge, do you actually plan on running this club.”

“No, you can do that.” Rin stated.

“Huh?” Shana glared at her.

“Anyway, has this taught you anything?” She glanced at Sam.

“Excuse me?” He sunk down in his seat under her gaze.

“Go get me a soda.” Rin demanded. Sam slowly got up and headed for the door. “Stop you idiot, never mind.” Rin growled and slammed her head on the table. Sam slowly sat back down.

“Rin, you…”

“Shut up.” She hissed. “I hate people with no self confidence. If you keep that up, you’ll be a gofer your entire life. Instead of listening to everyone, think for yourself.”

“I... I’ve never had anyone stand up for me before…”

“Ha, you misunderstand me. Your attitude just annoys the hell out of me. It’s less troublesome to change you than kill you.”

“Eh?” He gulped loudly.

“Also, I hate when people take advantage of the weak.”

“You haven’t changed at heart after all!” Shana beamed.

“You,” Rin was interrupted as Misha burst back in.

“I won’t accept this!” She stated.

“Go get me a soda.” Rin demanded.

“Huh? I’m not…”

“If you don’t, you’re out of the club.” Rin cackled.

“You…” Misha growled and left.

“Don’t worry, my dear cousin, you can have all the annoying duties. I’ll just take care of the moral!”

I was wrong… When did she become so evil? Shana frowned as Sam stared intently at her.

So cool! Sam stared at her in awe.

Even if her motivations are wrong, at least she did something kind, sort of. Still, there’s got to be something I can do to change her back!