[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/owNaNfp.png[/img][/center]
[center] [b][color=black]|[/color][/b] [color=#fe0095]𝖣𝖠𝖳𝖤[/color] [b][color=black]:[/color][/b] 9 APRIL 2018 [b][color=black]|[/color][/b] [color=#fe0095]𝖨𝖭𝖳𝖤𝖱𝖠𝖢𝖳𝖨𝖮𝖭𝖲[/color] [b][color=black]:[/color][/b] FAMILY [color=black]►[/color] ALONE [b][color=black]|[/color][/b] [color=#fe0095]𝖫𝖮𝖢𝖠𝖳𝖨𝖮𝖭[/color] [b][color=black]:[/color][/b] HOME [color=black]►[/color] HINOTORI HIGH [b][color=black]|[/color][/b] [/center]
[indent][indent][indent][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/9soJNZ3.png[/img][/center]
The [i]bing[/i] sounded like a siren in the heavy silence of night. Maki crawled out from under her blankets, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She reached for her phone, the light blinding her for a moment. 

[center][b][3:08 AM, 9 APRIL 2018][/b][/center]
Another [i]bing[/i] erupted in the pitch darkness of her room. She tried to remember her passcode as a [i]bing[/i] punctuated the unlock noise. [i]Bing.[/i] Maki stumbled through a couple of the apps running on her phone. [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] She paused her music. [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] Closed out of a webpage. [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] Dread built in her stomach as the notification light on her phone practically strobed. [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] Then a message popped above the rest. 

[center][b][ew. i think u better not show up tmrw 😜][/b]
[i]Bing.[/i] 
[b][psycho][/b][/center] 
Her fear roiled into anger as she no longer delayed the inevitable. And inevitable it fucking was. [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i]
 
It was a massive group message. Most of the recipients were phone numbers that she didn’t recognize, but betrayal came as there were names pulled from her contacts. Words. Emojis. Memes. There was a variation in the delivery of everyone’s disgust and slander, but the meaning was all the same. And at the beginning of the chain, like a crown atop a pile of filth, was [i]the picture.[/i] Excavated from someone close to Maki, it was the final pat of the shovel on her social grave. She glared at it. [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] Shaking, her fingers muted her phone, and she dropped to the side of her bed. Maki crawled between the sheets. Sleep probably wouldn’t come, but at least she could stew in anger—alone. [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] And the notification light strobed.[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/9soJNZ3.png[/img][/center]
Maki was awoken by barely muffled laughter coming from the first floor. She grabbed her phone to check the time. It was an hour before she needed to be up, but she knew that if she didn’t get up now... she wouldn't. [url=https://i.imgur.com/6uaODXz.png]Reo and Yuuto[/url] were her older brothers, twins because there wasn't to be silence in the Ito household, currently attending university. Still, they would show up for breakfast most mornings. And today was particularly notable considering that it was the start of the school year. She grunted as she pulled herself out of her bed and eyed the battery on her phone. In her exasperation, she'd forgotten to hook it up. It was running on electric fumes. Unfortunately, she could only get a little charge as she got ready for school.
 
An hour, or so, later Maki walked down the stairs to the first floor. By that time, the aroma of breakfast filled the air. She entered the kitchen to the conversation turning silent. Her father had been speaking to her brothers, but he grew silent and cold. Maki could feel him bristling from the entranceway. Her mother turned, a smile on her face before it faded. Despite spending time in the country with her aunt, Maki hadn’t changed her look. She wore the school uniform in the basest of senses. The blue pinafore dress had the top two buttons undone, her loose tie spilling from it. Her sleeves on her dress-shirt were rolled up, her wrists suffocated by black cuffs and bracelets. Her fingers were anointed by clunky rings and adorned in black paint. Black tights were ripped with fishnet hose peeking out from the tears. Black boots, speckled with a myriad of spray paint droplets covered her feet. Around her neck was a leather choker, and her black hair was pulled in a lazy ponytail with streaks of neon poking out. Her makeup was dark with thick, black eyeliner and matte velvet-purple lips. She had her jacket thrown over her shoulder, sleeves pinned up, and her bag draped over her wrist laying on the floor.
 
Reo and Yuuto stopped mid-bite of breakfast, glancing between Maki and their parents. The atmosphere became even colder.[b] “Maybe you should just grab your breakfast and head out,”[/b] her mother said, stretching a smile across her face. She was already in her nursing uniform and packing her lunch. [b]“Don’t want you to be late on your first day back. Isn’t that right?”[/b] She glanced at Maki’s father. The man said nothing.
 
[b][color=#fe0095]“Sounds good,”[/color][/b] Maki said, grabbing the toast and fruit from an empty place setting. She pocketed the apple and wrapped the toast in a napkin before sliding it into her bag. [b][color=#fe0095]“I'll be late. Work and sh-[i]tuff[/i].”[/color][/b] A lukewarm goodbye greeted her ears as she left. Maki had forgotten the state she’d left things in. Her aunt had been far more filled with laughter and smiles, and the countryside had lacked the vitriol that Kyoto contained.
 
Halfway out of the door, her brothers clamored out of the chairs and followed her. They called after her, and she paused. The golden children, both of them had gotten into the university of their choice on a mixture of sports and scholastic scholarships. Everyone at Hinotori High had loved them. Reo was the louder one, prone to wearing brighter clothes and dragging his brother around. Yuuto was a little more reserved but far more charismatic. Maki couldn’t count on two hands how many girls in her grade had had a crush on her brothers. A lot of weird slash fiction had crossed her desk during that time. Maki fought back a bit of stomach acid remembering that.
 
[b][color=92278f]“Wow, Sis, you really want to piss them off, don’t you?”[/color][/b] Reo asked, hands on his hips.
Yuuto frowned. [b][color=662d91]“I don’t know why they thought anything would change. You’re just you.”[/color][/b] He sighed. [b][color=662d91]“You hear from…”[/color][/b]
[b][color=92278f]“Toyashiro?”[/color][/b] Reo finished. [b][color=92278f]“I’m still ready to kick his butt.”[/color][/b]
[b][color=662d91]“After me, of course.”[/color][/b] Yuuto huffed.
[b][color=#fe0095]“Thanks,”[/color][/b] Maki said, smiling for the first time that day. [b][color=#fe0095]“I’ll let you idiots know if I need your assistance. But I think I can manage.”[/color][/b]
[b][color=92278f]“Just don’t kill him,”[/color][/b] Reo said, laughing.
Maki shrugged and started to walk away.
[b][color=92278f]“I’m serious.”[/color][/b]
Yuuta perked up afterward. [b][color=662d91]“Seriously, Maki. Please take homicide off your to-do list.”[/color][/b]
She continued to walk, hiding her growing smile.
[b][color=92278f]“I don’t think she’s going to.”[/color][/b]
[b][color=662d91]“You still know that cute receptionist at the police station?”[/color][/b]
There was a pause, probably punctuated by a wink from Reo if she knew her brother. [b][color=92278f]“Oh, I [i]know[/i] her alright.”[/color][/b]
[b][color=662d91]“You’re gross, Re-re.”[/color][/b][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/9soJNZ3.png[/img][/center]
Used to, the walk to school was something that looked forward to. This morning, she just slid her headphones over her head and let the music drown out the world around her. Everything was a monochromatic blur as she moved through Kyoto towards Hinotori High. The occasional [i]bing[/i] erupted from her phone. Maki knew she could silence the notifications, but they were fueling each of her steps.

[i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] [b]Silence.[/b] Maki passed the threshold of the school, and her gaze rose until she saw the crowded schoolyard. Chatter was abundant and people clumped together in groups. Exchanges of the personal and electronic nature happened. There was a lot of catching up to do. Maki pulled her bag tighter on her shoulder.

It was then a shadow eclipsed Maki’s downward vision. She looked up to see Funai Hina standing before her. Maki sucked at her teeth. They’d never been friends, but Maki’s reputation had always kept Funai at arm's length. Now there was nothing stopping the other girl. Maki would have been an idiot if she hadn’t noticed Funai was the first to comment on the message chain. 

[b][color=0072bc]“I was hoping they cleaned the grounds a little better,”[/color][/b] Funai said, glancing around at the crowd that was forming around her. [b][color=0072bc]“There’s still some trash here.”[/color][/b]
Maki fully removed her headphones and stuffed them into her bag, unfortunately crunching her toast.
Funai put a hand to her ear. [b][color=0072bc]“I guess the trash doesn’t have a mouth… for once.”[/color][/b] Some laughter chimed from around them both.
Maki narrowed her eyes.
[b][color=0072bc]“Not that we haven’t heard about she uses it.” [/color][/b] A smug grin spread over Funai’s lips as she looked up at Maki. While shorter, Funai's stance oozed vapid superiority. [i][color=#fe0095]That's it.[/color][/i] The combination ofthat and Funai's words finally snapped Maki into action.
[b][color=#fe0095]“While we're talking about it, Funai, why don’t you suck mine and move the fuck out of my way?”[/color][/b] She smiled as she walked past the other girl, shoulder-checking her as she did. [b][color=#fe0095]"Terribly sorry, Dog Face Funai."[/color][/b] Now it was her turn to flash a flippant grin.
Funai whipped around, her long blonde locks cascading around her face. She was trying to hide her anger. [b][color=0072bc]“Your smugness won’t get you far. Wait until after school. You won't be able to engage in your favorite pastime with a busted lip.”[/color][/b]
Maki pivoted, walking backward. She flipped the girl off with both hands, her glossy fingernails catching the sun. Figuring that she could make them really regret the “psycho” comment, she licked the length of her right extended finger and then spit to the side. Funai took a step backward as the crowd behind her was avidly filming. 
[b][color=#fe0095]“Bring it,”[/color][/b] Maki said, turning back around and hurrying out of the schoolyard. She could already hear her phone going off. [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] [i]Bing.[/i] [b][color=#fe0095]“Fuck me that was stupid,”[/color][/b] she grumbled.[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/9soJNZ3.png[/img][/center]
It was the beginning of the year, meaning that the authority figures needed to blow their hot air to a crowd of disinterested teens. Maki found her way to the assembly hall. She took a seat near the rest of the third years, but far away enough that she didn’t owe anyone their personal space. Dumping her bag in the seat next to her, she fished out her uneaten apple—the toast an unfortunate casualty. She kicked her feet onto the back of the chair in front of her and waited for assembly to start up. The sooner today began, the sooner it could end.[/indent][/indent][/indent]
[b][color=black]|[/color][/b] [color=#fe0095]𝖳𝖠𝖦(𝖲)[/color] [b][color=black]:[/color][/b] N/A [b][color=black]|[/color][/b]