Temperature is a great way to add a certain atmosphere to the world… If it’s a hot day, it gives you the feeling of summer and the sun, making life seem just a little more hopeful. However, on days like today, the cold air often bites at your nose and ears, causing you to raise your shoulders, trying to keep any warmth close to yourself. That’s what I have to do today, still biting my lip at how cold it is, despite the jacket I have on. I didn’t think it would be this cold for the fall a few weeks ago, but now I wish I had stocked up more groceries. It’ll be hard to keep us fed with the few food items I bought, but maybe I can improvise. If it comes down to it, I can try to buy us more groceries later on, but I would prefer to not be outside more than I have to.
The funny thing is that I usually have to walk back and forth to places, so I’m outside by default a lot. I have to walk all the way to the nearest bus stop to get to my job and those city buses don’t usually have the best heating systems. At least Sonata and Aria don’t have to stay in the cold… They get a warm ride all the way to school right from our street. It gives me one less thing to worry about, unless Aria starts acting up again… That rebellious attitude of hers doesn’t help her grades, resulting in a call from her teachers. Every time she acts up, I have to make my way to the school to settle some mundane matter and then take them both home for the day. Not only is it affecting her, but it affects how the teachers are viewing Sonata…
Sonata is a handful by herself. She’s a little girl coming into the world. Her body is growing, but her innocence remains. It’s a breath of fresh air from Aria, but she often gets in trouble for trying to have fun. I suppose it’s not that uncommon for eleven year-old kids, but still. I have to talk to her about sitting still in class soon… It’s unfortunate… She doesn’t have a lot of friends, despite being as friendly as she can be, offering to play with others and even giving her toys to kids who need one. I’ve asked Aria to look out for her sister, but she prefers to stick with her own crowd rather than pay attention to a kid. Aria has her own social group, so I guess I can’t blame her, but I could really use some help here…
Why does life have to be so hard…? Why does it have to be so difficult to look out for family while making a decent living? It’s all a fucking joke… Not only does my job barely pay me minimum wage, but the landlord keeps hiking up the price of our apartment every chance he gets… I swear it seems like the world itself is out to get me in particular here. As soon as you need a helping hand, the world is always willing to give you a cold shoulder. In this case, it’s quite literal… I can’t help but shake at the cold with a heavy sigh, walking quickly down the sidewalk. I don’t even know what I’m going to make for dinner tonight. I suppose I could fix some sandwiches again. That’s assuming if Aria hasn’t gone on a joyride with her friends again… I swear if she left Sonata alone again, I will be pissed…
Turning the corner, the sight of the apartment complex makes me exhale with a shake of my head, jogging towards our front door. The lights inside our apartment are on, so at least they’re still awake. I’m here now, girls… Sliding my keys into the door’s lock, I open the front door quickly, slipping in to avoid one more second of the biting cold. Despite the living room lights being on, Aria is nowhere to be seen. “Girls?” I call out, hanging my coat on the rack next to the door. Perhaps it’s just my paranoid nature, but whenever I don’t get a response from them, I can’t help but worry that something is wrong. They usually don’t hear me, but it doesn’t stop my mind from coming up with wild things. Kicking off my boots, I quickly walk down the hallway, not bothering to take my socks off yet. Aria’s door is left wide open with her light on, no one in sight… Of course she went out. She didn’t even bother to turn the light off before she left. When will she give me a fucking break and listen to me? If she isn’t here, then… Sonata’s been left alone again… Quickly turning around, I walk to Sonata’s door, knocking on it with a worried expression. I can’t help but worry when it comes to them… “Sweetie? Adagio’s home. Are you alright?” I ask with a soft yet pronounced voice, continuing my knock for a couple moments before turning the knob. The pink room is illuminated brightly by the light on the ceiling, but Sonata isn’t anywhere to be seen… The last time she was left home alone, she ended up breaking down and crying… She does that a lot… Whenever she hasn’t seen Aria or I in a long time, she feels anxious and nervous, wanting to be with us again. It usually doesn’t interfere with her school, but there have been a couple times I’ve had to leave work to comfort her. I don’t know for sure the reason why she is like this, but… I have an idea. “It’s alright, you can come out now,” I talk into the seemingly empty room, sitting on her bed as I look around. “I’m sorry you were left alone, Sonata. I’m here now, so we can watch some cartoons and read a story before bed, okay?”
The quiet sound of wood moving makes me look towards the closet, seeing the door open just enough to see a couple of eyes peer out at me. A small blue hand pushes a teddy bear outside of the closet, making its head look at me by pulling the back of the animal. “Promise…?” her small voice asks me from behind the closet door, making the teddy bear’s head bob to her words as if it was talking instead of her.
Chuckling slightly, I stand up from my position at the bed, walking towards the closet with a smile on my face. Leaning down and looking at the teddy bear’s eyes, I shake his paw with my thumb and forefinger. “I promise, Mr. Thompson~ Can you let me see my little sister?” I ask the bear despite the fact it has no mind or thoughts.
“Sonata wants extra cookies this time,” her small voice lets out, trying to bargain with me. Even though her attempt to swindle more sweets out of me is a playful one, I can clearly tell Sonata was scared being by herself. Her eyes look like she’s been crying recently, but the fact that she’s trying to make a deal with me is a good sign that my presence has calmed her down.
“Well, Sonata will have to ask me herself, Mr. Thompson. I do wonder where she is. You’ll have to bring me to her~” The blue hand hesitates slightly, but she eventually makes the bear nod, bringing him to the closet door and using her second hand to make it look like he’s pushing the door open, revealing the girl inside. “Hi, Sonata~” I say quietly, opening my arms wide. Without waiting a moment, Sonata quickly plants herself in my embrace, hugging me as tight as her little arms can manage. Despite her previously talkative manner with her bear, she stays quiet in my arms, resting her face against me without much movement. “How was school?” I ask her quietly, picking her up slowly and rocking her in my arms. Most people would criticize me for ‘spoiling’ Sonata by rocking her since most kids grow out of that stage by her age, but Sonata still seems to enjoy it. Every child is different and Sonata is definitely unique. Her love of stuffed animals and hugs makes her pretty innocent, but a part of me thinks it’s her way of trying to cope with the day.
“They were mean to me again…” Her voice is soft and quiet, barely audible as a result of her pressing her face against me. By ‘they,’ she usually means a group of boys who bully her at her school… They haven’t hurt her physically, but the problem is that they keep picking on her. The girls in her class don’t do anything to stop it either since they don’t like her, making Sonata sort of the outsider of the whole class. The most mean thing I can remember them doing to her is when they spray-painted the word ‘orphan’ on her locker, making Sonata run and cry in the bathroom… If I remember correctly, that was one of the days I had to leave work to get her.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask her with a soothing tone, carrying her out of the room and turning the light off behind us. Her head shakes slowly, holding onto me tighter as if the memory alone is stressful. “Alright~ I understand. How about this? I’ll let you have extra cookies tonight if you take a bath before dinner, alright?” I propose, patting her back slightly as we walk to the bathroom door.
“Can you stay with me…?” Sonata asks me slowly, her eyes finally looking up at me with a pleading look.
“Don’t you think you’re a little too old for me to-” before I can finish my statement, I stop myself upon seeing Sonata’s dejected look. Sonata is old enough to wash herself and such, but every time she gets anxious from being separated from us, she feels worried about being by herself again for a long time afterward… Closing the door while she’s in the bathtub only increases the anxiety she was already feeling, making her feel alone. In times like this, I usually sit inside the bathroom so that Sonata can still talk to me and know I’m here for her if she needs me. Technically, she can still see me through the shower curtain, but it’s just barely. I guess it still gives her that privacy while allowing me to comfort her. “I mean, a siren needs her royal guard, right?” I ask her with a wink, her smile returning to her face.
“Okay~ I can,” Sonata tells me with her big smile, nodding slowly. Putting her down slowly on the bathroom tile, she gives me Mr. Thompson and walks towards the bathtub, making me smile slightly. Maybe she can make some friends someday…
Chapter I: As Usual
Walking into the school, I can’t help but feel my anger wash over me, irritated at this situation. I’ve been called to this school so many times that the front door gives me anxious feelings of what could be behind them. Every time I’m asked to come here, I can’t help but ask myself what is needed of me now. What happened this time? At this point, nothing can surprise me. Aria has caused so much trouble that anything short of murder wouldn’t make me do a double-take at all.
The yellow walls, contradictory to their cheerful color, only make me feel more stressed than usual. I’ve seen these same walls way too many times… Storming down the hall, I try to take deep breaths to calm myself before I see the principal and Aria. Anger has only made things worse for me in the past… I need to be calm, no matter what happens. I can scold Aria when we get home, but the problem with that is that she never listens to my words. God… Why can’t I get through to her…? Walking around a corner with a sigh, I see my two sisters sitting in front of the principal’s office, Aria’s arm wrapped around Sonata as she extends her legs and rests her head back. Sonata sits in an awkward position with her legs pushed together and her hands on her knees. Why is she here to begin with…? Why would they pull Sonata out of class for Aria’s misdeeds?
“Hey, Sonata~” I whisper to her in a kind tone, but her eyes look away from me with a nervous expression written on her face. Maybe she’s worried about Aria…? “We’ll talk about this later,” I tell Aria with a frustrated tone, walking past her and towards the door.
“Bold of you to assume I did something,” Aria says in a monotone voice, not even bothering to open her eyes and look at me. What in the hell does she mean? Why would I be called down here if she didn’t do something…?
Opening the door to the principal’s office, I look inside slowly, seeing the white woman sitting at her desk. Her hand scribbles something down on some documents before her eyes connect with mine, her hand signaling for me to close the door. “Ms. Dazzle. Nice to see you once again. I wish it was under better circumstances. Please. Sit.” I see Celestia’s acting as formal as she usually does. Walking towards the chair in front of her desk, I can’t help but look away from Celestia, trying to come up with the right words to say.
“Ms.-”
“Please, just call me Celestia~” she tells me with a smile as I sit down, making me raise my eyebrow slightly.
“Uh… Celestia. If you don’t mind me being frank, I have a busy day today and I really need to get back to work. What did Aria do this time?” Even though the chairs in Celestia’s office are quite comfortable, I can’t make myself feel at peace with the situation, still anticipating the reason I was called here in the first place.
“I understand. You’re a working woman and I respect you for that,” she tells me with a nod, slowly reaching for a couple of papers to her left. “But I’m happy to inform you that Aria didn’t do anything of concern today.” Instantly, I can feel my eyes widen as confusion takes hold of my mind. If Aria didn’t do anything… Then why the hell am I here? I must have misheard her, right?
“What?” I let out blankly, leaning forward in my seat to make sure I can hear the principal better.
“Your little sister, Sonata, is the reason I called you today.” Her hand pushes a piece of paper over to me, one I recognize all too well… The school uses the same document outline for every report of misbehavior. I’ve received dozens of these for Aria, but now, my eyes can’t help but hesitate to look at the paper, knowing it’s something involving Sonata. She’s such a good kid… What could have gotten her in trouble? “Sonata assaulted one of her classmates during recess,” Celestia says frankly, still looking at me.
“There has to be a mistake,” I say quietly, grabbing the paper and looking over the details. I can’t help but feel my mouth dry up as I try to understand the situation.
“The boy she hit was apparently teasing her, but we can’t quite prove that at this point.” Celestia leans back in her seat, seemingly done with her explanation of the day’s events.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Putting the paper back down on the table, I can’t help but frown, locking my eyes with hers once again. “Who was it? Tony? Shawn? Celestia, you should know by now that those boys do nothing but torment my sister!” The anger I had tried to subdue from before comes back to my eyes, clenching my fist with a grimace. “But the moment she has had enough, she’s the one punished instead of the boys?! They have never gotten a single warning for torturing my sister!”
“Adagio, please. I did suspend the boys, but school procedures demand that I take some sort of action against your sister. Teasing doesn’t warrant an attack,” Celestia says, trying to reason with me.
“This is no mere teasing! Sonata is just a little girl and she is constantly told that she’s not good enough because she doesn’t have a ‘normal’ family!” Placing my hands on Celestia’s desk, I can’t help but sigh heavily, looking down at the wood surface.
“Are you saying that her hitting another kid is justified in this instance?” the principal asks me in a quizzical tone, my eyes not bothering to look back up at her.
“I know I would have done the same thing in her shoes.” My whisper comes out harsher than I mean it to, but I try to compose myself, standing back up. “Whatever. Punish the victim, right? What did you give her? A week off?” I ask in an annoyed tone, my eyes looking down at the tired school executive.
“I decided to suspend Sonata for two days… Adagio, I just want to say that I am trying to do more. I understand how hard you work for your sisters, so I have been trying to work around the loopholes to get Sonata away from those boys.” Her eyes tell me she’s telling the truth, but even if that is the case, I can’t help but feel like it’s a little too late. Turning around, I quickly walk towards the door, forcing my lips shut before I say anything else I may regret. “Adagio?” Celestia calls out to me before I open her door, swiftly walking out before I can listen to her for a second more.
“Come on,” I tell my sisters without making eye contact with them, keeping up my pace down the hallway. Quickly, their footsteps catch up with me, walking beside me as we exit the school. Why can’t we get a fucking break…?
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Opening the door to our apartment, Sonata slowly walks inside ahead of Aria and I, making her way to her room before I grab her shoulder. “Listen. We need to talk. Go wait in your room until I get there, okay?” I tell Sonata gently, receiving a small nod in return. Every nervous action of hers makes sense to me now… Her guilt and fear of being yelled at are probably at pretty high levels right now. But I wouldn’t yell at her… I would never treat her like that, especially since… I already had to deal with that before…
Quietly, our little sister walks off, leaving Aria and I in the living room. Once again, I kick off my boots with a sigh before I hear a chuckle from the teenager. “That’s rich,” Aria lets out before plopping herself on the couch without a care.
“What?” I ask her quietly, looking at the time with a disappointed gaze.
“You immediately assumed I did something wrong and now that it’s our ‘precious little sister,’ you treat her with such care and kindness,” Aria explains with a slight wave of her hand, her eyes staring at the ceiling. “Every time I get in trouble, you can’t wait to scold me and tell me how disappointed you are in me.”
“Damn it, Aria. Not this again…” Bringing my hand to my face, I bite my lip in an attempt to keep myself from saying anything else. This attempt easily fails, however… “You never fucking listen to me. Why would I be gentle with you when you’ve clearly shown you don’t care about me or a thing I say?” My exhausted tone makes my statement sound much more annoyed than I would have meant it to, causing Aria to look over at me.
“I do care about you…”
“You certainly don’t act like it.” Looking away from Aria, I can’t help but close my eyes, trying to take another deep breath just to control my emotions. I can’t afford to let myself get out of control…
“Whatever… I’m just saying that you’re awfully surprised that she did something bad, but you always assume I will do something wrong,” Aria sighs in an annoyed tone, trying to push my buttons again.
“Is it really that wrong of me to want Sonata to turn out better than you?” The words come out of my mouth faster than I could think, making me cover my mouth immediately afterward. Silence follows my words as I try to think of something to say, not a word coming from Aria. Quickly, I can hear her get up from the couch and run past me, making me look towards her direction. “Aria, I didn’t mean-” A loud slam coming from Aria’s bedroom door interrupts me, making me frown even more to myself. I let my anger get to me again… God damn it, Adagio… I didn’t actually mean that. I shouldn’t have said that. Aria means the world to me too, I just… feel so frustrated with her. Why can’t I do things right for them just once…?