The atmosphere was tense, very tense. Neither of the two moving from their positions, it was as if the winter got into their bodies even though there wasn't.
Or perhaps the two of them became mannequins. It would be terrifying. But it's also awkward knowing that people are going all around their day while two bystanders are having a stand off in the middle of the sidewalk literally side by side.
"Boo."
That, of course, until someone appeared behind Trizha and gave her a good jumpscare. Sometimes, things just had to end.
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
Screaming at the top of her lungs, Trizha swung her left arm towards whoever was behind her.
"Ah, ducky-ducky."
It was Margaret, who then ducked the next second right before the back of Trizha's hit could hit her face. In exchange? Wyne was hit in the face instead, who was standing behind Margaret.
"Ah–!" Wyne stammered out yelped as she was sent hovering off the ground.
Thud!
"Ow…!"
Unfortunately for her, not only was her cheek punched, her buttocks were slammed onto the ground after taking impact.
"T-trizha… y-you reckless idiot…!" She stammered, rubbing her cheeks.
Trizha stood there surprised and dumbfounded, covering her mouth with her hand as she looked down on Wyne with a gasp.
"Oops." she said, almost letting out a chuckle. Wyne heard it.
"DON'T LAUGH AT ME YOU BASTARD!"
"Hehe, sorry, sorry!" Trizha leaned in to Wyne, extending out her hand to pick her up from the ground.
"Geez! Next time you do something stupid, I'm going to slap you so hard our friendship breaks!"
"You know what else would break?" Margaret said casually. "Your teeth and cheekbones. I heard someone died in a slapping competition once."
"Yeah, thanks for the 'healthy' reminder, Margaret," Wyne replied dryly.
As the trio pick themselves up, Wyne brushes off the dirt off her buttocks using her hand, annoyed and still frustrated. She then turned back to Trizha, still holding lingering anger from earlier.
"And I hope you zoning out and staring into the distance wasn't the reason you ignored all our calls and made us late."
"Oh, that?" Trizha smiled sheepishly. "I, uh… overslept. Hehe." she said cheerfully.
"You hear that, Margaret?" Wyne said. "This is what happens when you stay up too late scrolling your phone. Should've learned from your mom."
"Oh, come on! Being popular is exhausting!" Trizha protested. "Influencing people online is a job, you know."
"Since when was chasing trends a real job? That's just fame in denial, a time consuming reputation."
"Okay, okay. Let's get out of here already, we're late for school."
Trizha then walked past the two, but suddenly, Margaret raised a hand.
"Don't worry. I already called Wyne's dad to pick us up and get us there quickly." Margaret says, casually.
"Hey, can you please not use my dad as a transportation device…?" Wyne said, pleading.
"It's better than asking creepy strangers to escort us to school. We could get kidnapped and they would take advantage of our youthful bodies. That would be terrifying." Margaret exclaimed.
"Terrifying indee–wait, that's not the point!"
Honk! Honk!
A car suddenly pulled next to the trio, its window opening up showing Wyne's father, who's smirking at them with a cool shade of glasses.
Even Wyne was embarrassed seeing him giving her a humiliating expression. But she knows it too well—he's doing his best to cheer her up, for a reason.
"Y'all asked for a ride, lads? Hop on!" Wyne's dad cheerfully asked.
"I would appreciate it if you called us 'girls' instead. We're not men…"
"Okay. Lads. Get in!" Wyne's dad says, stubbornly.
Honk! Honk!
Wyne groans in defeat as she enters the car and so is Wyne. On other hand, Trizha was staring at the other side of the road looking for someone the whole time—and that certain someone was suddenly no longer there.
That one young man… was no longer at the other side of the road. As if he had vanished.
Margaret was the first to notice but stayed silent, then came Wyne, who broke her silence.
"Hey Trizha! You better not be using the zoning out as an excuse to be absent! Well, if you are!" Wyne shouted.
"Quickly now, my fuel's running out—you'd be paying if it does, Wyne." Wyne's dad said, teasing her with a smirk.
Wyne immediately looked back at her father with shock in her face.
"Haaah?? You haven't given me allowance this month and you already have the audacity to make me pay for you, old man?!"
"Not my fault you waste your money buying a ton of miso ramen. You're not Japanese, act more like a Malaysian that you are."
"Hey now! People have their own likes and dislikes!"
"Soooo, you don't like Malaysian culture? That breaks my heart~, huhu!" He teases.
"That– that's not what I meant!!"
"I heard one time that our ancestors would sacrifice anyone who rejects our culture." Margaret casually said.
"Wait, really?" Wyne's dad asks.
"Not sure."
"No one asked you, Margaret!"
The bickering continued inside the car, Trizha looked at the other side of the road one last time. She was sure that someone was there, or was it just her imagination?
For all she knows, she felt a sense of familiarity just by looking at him, as if she had met him before. Specifically, in her dreams.
She sighed, thinking she was just hallucinating, before entering Wyne's car as it drove off.
…meanwhile, someone from the other side of the road was watching the car drive off. It was the same young man from earlier.
Civilians walking around already took notice of his presence—and they all felt an eerie feeling just by looking at him.
"Mommy, why does he look so scary?" A child asked.
"Shhh! Be quiet!" The mother said, pulling her child away from the young man.
"Hey, that's him, isn't he?" A person said.
"He looked more terrifying in person. Look at that body…" another muttered.
Standing alone, he endured it all.
He doesn't answer their murmurs, only accepting it as 'justice' for his very existence.
He stood there, unwavering to their rumors. In this world, that is what it means… to be the Symbol of Loneliness.
And so, he spoke. His tone was low, yet it was soft and gentle.
"...Time to go."