//------------------------------// // 38. A Spot of Tea // Story: It's The End Of The World As We Know It // by Samey90 //------------------------------// Sunny Flare rubbed her forehead and squinted, staring at the computer screen. It was the only source of light in the dark room, which basically meant Sunny’s bloodshot eyes hurt and she had to constantly fight the urge to nod off. Shaking her head, Sunny grabbed the kettle and poured herself a glass of diet tea. It most definitely contained fiber; same with the oatmeal cookies lying on a tray next to the kettle. Recently, Sunny started to eat it in large doses, trying to compensate for the years of damage done to her digestive tract with alcohol and fast food. The results so far were astounding; Sunny was happy that, after leaving school, she lost the last remnants of social life, or else it could be seriously hampered by the side effects of her diet. By now, however, Sunny didn’t care about it. It was 3 AM and she was still at her computer. She turned it on with the intent of finding the driver of the car which hit Indigo and ruining his life, but half a kettle of tea and a few hours of trying to find some lead on the news sites, she realised that it’d do more harm than good. She spent another hour or so chatting in Japanese with the man she’d often referred to as her boyfriend; in fact, they’d met in person once. He was pretty secretive about his address, but it was no problem for Sunny; while on vacation in Tokyo two years ago, she managed to track down his IP address in four days, with another three before she managed to find his flat in Suginami. She knocked on the door several times. When this didn’t work, she started yelling that she was an NHK fee collector. Eventually, there was a reaction. Someone inside shouted that he didn’t have a TV and that he’d never heard such a horrible Japanese accent before. Sunny laughed, remembering those days. In fact, he did let her in; she spent about ten minutes in his flat, trying to start a conversation, but he wasn’t very talkative. Interestingly, once she left, he immediately started writing to her; she guessed he felt more comfortable that way. Yawning, Sunny looked at the screen. It was getting somewhat blurry; she realised that no amount of tea and oatmeal cookies would save her from falling asleep with her face on the keyboard, she quickly typed a few words of goodbye and switched the computer off. She then lay down on her bed, trying to figure out some plans for the next day. However, it didn’t last long. Not long after her head touched the pillow, she was sleeping, snoring loudly. Indigo gritted her teeth, trying not to scream. No matter what Sugarcoat told her about feeling pain and being able to walk, her leg still hurt. She was pretty sure she could feel every single screw, rod, and wire used to fix her bones. Clenching her eyes to stop herself from crying, she propped her back against the cushion. After checking if she was at the right place, Indigo took a deep breath and nearly blacked out when her ribs decided to join the symphony of pain. It took a few minutes before the pain died down. Indigo looked around and saw the nurse standing by the door. “You have a friend over,” she said. “Another one.” Indigo nodded. Her lips formed a pained half-smile when she saw Sunny Flare who walked in her room and sat on the chair. Indigo noticed that she still wore the pleated skirt which was a part of their school uniform, although a spiked choker, mismatched thigh-highs and a black t-shirt of Jem and the Holograms Sunny probably had last worn when she was thirteen would most likely make Principal Cinch have a heart attack. “Hello,” Indigo muttered. “Did something happen? You look like a minor villain from a cheap anime.” “I slept for four hours,” Sunny replied. “What you see is a blend of my mind being fucked and me trying to divert people’s attention from my face looking like I’m not getting enough sleep.” “No, your face always looks like that,” Indigo chuckled, wincing when she felt needles of pain piercing her left leg. “Very funny,” Sunny deadpanned. “Anyway, I went to get more tea and I decided to pay you a visit to tell you that I didn’t do anything stupid. Like, I didn’t hire a hitman to kill that guy, I didn’t get drunk, and–” “Could you shut up?” Indigo asked. “I’m sorry for being rude, but my leg really hurts. Also, I’m pretty sure it moved a few times.” She pointed at her stomach. “Hope my ribs heal before it starts kicking.” “Aww, little Indy started to kick?” Sunny leaned over Indigo. “Can I listen?” “Call it ‘little Indy’ again and I will kick you, even if it means they’ll have to pull all those metal bits in my leg back together,” Indigo said. “Seriously, I’d ask the doctors to cut my leg off, but–” “You wouldn’t stand it?” Sunny chuckled. “Also, I like ‘little Indy’ much more than ‘it’. Why do you call it that, anyway? Sounds like just another health problem you have.” “Maybe because it feels that way,” Indigo replied. “I don’t want to be a mother. I just want to be done with it… Don’t tell Bulk, but after the accident, for a moment I thought it died. It was kinda sad, but I felt… dunno, relief? I was happy it was over.” She sighed. “I’d be a crappy mother for this child…” “You don’t bother with bonding, I see?” Sunny shrugged. “Hoping that little Indy finds someone who loves her and is a better mother for her than you?” “More or less,” Indigo replied. “And don’t call her little Indy. I don’t even know if it’s a boy or girl.” Sunny chuckled. “You can always let her decide herself. Anyway, I see that what you figured out is more or less like my contingency plan in case I ever got drunk and impregnated by some fu–” “You were usually drinking alone or with your mom,” Indigo muttered. “Also, from those rare moments when you were drunk in public, you seemed too crazy and obnoxious for normal guys and we were pretty good at scaring off creeps.” Sunny rolled her eyes. “Oh, thank you for the detailed analysis of reasons why I can’t get laid.” “My leg hurts, I’m tired, and I can’t sleep,” Indigo replied. “And now you’re here, giving me a headache.” “I get it.” Sunny sighed. “You want me to leave.” “No, I’m just tired,” Indigo said. “It’s not you, I told everyone to get out today.” She rolled her eyes. “To think that Sweet Leaf got out of it almost unscathed…” “She did?” Sunny asked. “I mean… Someone told you that?” “No one did, so I guess it’s nothing serious enough to bother,” Indigo replied. “Unless…” Her eyes focused on Sunny. “Where is she?” “Sweet Leaf?” Sunny moved back with her seat. “She’s, umm… Well, from a certain point of view, you could say–” “She’s dead, isn’t she?” Indigo asked. Sunny froze. “Where did you get that idea?” “Your face,” Indigo replied. “I can’t walk but I’m not blind. What happened to Sweet Leaf?” “She’s alive,” Sunny Flare said slowly, trembling. “Unconscious.” “That’s what Sugarcoat told me after I woke up,” Indigo replied. “Is she still unconscious? It’s been two weeks since the accident, I think… The calendar doesn’t quite agree with me.” “More or less.” Sunny shrugged. “You were in an induced coma for a few days. She’s, to put it bluntly, a vegetable.” She lowered her head. “Something with hemispheres not working correctly. The doctors say she may get better, but so far she’s not responding.” “Damn,” Indigo muttered. “How did this even happen? She was in the passenger’s seat. Far away from the truck that changed my femur into a bloody puzzle.” “From what I know, she got hit on the head,” Sunny replied. Indigo sighed, staring at the wall. “As if this wasn’t enough…” “I’ll better go now.” Sunny got up from her seat and left the room quickly. She rushed as far from Indigo’s room as possible, running across the corridors and staircases. Barely avoiding a collision with a couple of paramedics and a nurse, she walked through some door. She looked around. The corridor was dimly-lit and those few nurses and doctors she noticed were pretty quiet. Sunny turned to look the other way, but all she saw was a clinging doctor’s scrub with a name tag saying “Dr. Meadowbrook”. Sunny took a step back and looked up, into the eyes of a blue-skinned woman with red hair tied in a long bun. “Hello,” Dr. Meadowbrook said. “Are you looking for something?” “Umm… Where am I?” Sunny asked, only to notice the large letters on the wall behind the doctor. “Intensive care unit?” she read. “ICU, yes,” Dr. Meadowbrook replied. “I see you too.” Sunny sighed. “Actually, I came here to visit a friend, but I got a bit lost and–” The doctor frowned but then nodded. “You mean that girl who had an accident? I’ll take you to her.” “Yes, but I just–” Sunny shrugged when Dr. Meadowbrook turned back and walked toward one of the rooms. Having no other choice, Sunny followed her. They walked down the hall and stopped in front of the door. “The nurses just finished washing her,” Dr. Meadowbrook said. “Don’t be afraid of her. Who knows, maybe she’ll hear you?” “Yeah… Maybe,” Sunny muttered when Dr. Meadowbrook pushed the door open. For a brief moment, Sunny wanted to turn back and run away, but then she overcame that feeling and slowly walked forward. Surrounded by the medical equipment purpose of which Sunny didn’t know, the bed looked small. Sweet Leaf looked even smaller; she barely looked like herself, as most of her hair had to be cut before the surgery. Her head was wrapped in bandages, but unlike Indigo, she only had minor wounds otherwise. Her eyes were closed and her calm breath was punctuated by the sound of a heart monitor. “Hello,” Sunny muttered. “It’s me, Sunny Flare. Remember me?” Sweet Leaf didn’t reply. Sunny noticed how thin and pale she looked and shuddered, walking closer to the bed. “So…” Sunny cleared her throat. “It’s weird, right? We were taking care of all those old, sick people and I hated it, right? But you… You liked it. And now you’re here…” She wept loudly, covering her face with her hands. “Just… This is stupid. Why did this happen?” Still, there was no answer. Sunny took a napkin and wiped her eyes. “I really wanted to get that postcard from Africa. Remember? You promised you’d send me one to prove that you really believed that shit you kept telling me… And I didn’t listen, because…” She started to cry again. A few minutes later, she wiped her eyes again and took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to come here, but… Well, the doctor said there’s a chance you hear me. I wanted to apologise for all the mean things I did to you. And for the photos. I was a drunken cunt, but that’s not an excuse. I’m really sorry…” She leaned over the bed and grabbed Sweet Leaf’s hand. “If you hear me, wake up…” “Are you alright?” Sunny trembled and turned back to see some woman standing in the room. She didn’t know who she was, but the long, green hair were a hint Sunny couldn’t miss. The woman walked to her and nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry,” Sunny said. “I just… We used to work in the hospice together.” “Ah, Sweet Leaf told me about you,” the woman replied. “She did?” Sunny raised her eyebrows. “If so, I’d better go now…” “You must be Lemon Zest, right?” the woman asked. “I’m Clover. Sweet Leaf’s mother.” “N-no, I’m Sunny Flare,” Sunny replied. “Possibly the worst human being in existence. She must’ve mentioned me.” “Ah, it’s you.” Sunny closed her eyes, waiting for the punch. “She said you were a bit lost, but she hoped you’d find a way,” Clover said, looking at Sunny and wincing slightly at her clothes. “Did you?” “Somewhat,” Sunny replied. “Not really. This whole situation… My friend also was in that accident. And this… This is just not right.” She looked at Clover and sighed. “I’ll better go.” “No, you can stay,” Clover said. Sunny sighed. “But I don’t want to. I’ll be honest: I never really liked your daughter and if she ever said that she liked me, she was probably lying, if not to you, then to herself. I… I was bad to her. Really bad. Even today, I ended up here by accident. It sucks that she ended up like this, but no matter what he said, I’m not her friend.” She lowered her head. “I never was. And I won’t have an occasion to be, I guess.” Clover patted Sunny’s head. “You have a good heart, Sunny Flare.” “You know nothing about my heart.” Sunny shook her head and walked by Clover, leaving the room. She only calmed down in front of the hospital. For a while, she stood in the street, taking deep breaths. A part of her kept telling her to go to one of the stores where no one bothered to check the buyer’s age and get drunk out of her mind. Sunny’s throat was dry, but she gritted her teeth, reminding herself that there were almost sixty days since she last drank alcohol and it’d be a shame to ruin it like that. After a few minutes of struggle, she managed to fend off any thoughts of drinking. However, she suddenly realised that she wanted to smoke. She’d gotten rid of her e-cigarette a while ago, so it was out of question. Eventually, she went back to the hospital’s cafeteria, buying a plastic cup full of cheap tea, just to keep her hands occupied. She also managed to bum a cigarette from the girl working at the cafeteria. She walked back outside and went down the street. The tea was burning her fingers and the cigarette made her stomach twist. She smoked a half of it before throwing it away and focusing on her tea. It was hot and almost black; those were probably the only good things Sunny could tell about it. She sat on the bench, looking at the trees and bushes in front of her; they just started blooming. Birds were singing and Sunny could see people walking around, chatting happily. She took another deep breath, getting rid of the remains of smoke in her lungs. “Why does it have to be so fucked up?” she asked. Nobody bothered to answer.