The Girl With Metal Claws

Everything

MERAKI

The wind rarely felt that good in Wellspring.

As the wheels of the cycle kept rotating, stumbling, through the thin road with fields on each side, the wind blew across Meraki's face. For the first time, she understood early mornings. It felt different.

"I.. am sorry. I've never really had someone sit in the carrier and ride the cycle with me. That's why it's a little shaky," Rose said. Her voice sounded calm but nervous. Meraki stayed quiet, repeating her words in her mind. She sighed.

"Why don't you just use a car?" Meraki remarked but she immediately regretted saying it. The being rich since birth impulse had taken over her while making such a statement. It only grew when Rose kept quiet.

"I don't have one," she said, sounding embarrassed. Then she turned to look at Meraki and beamed with a smile, "But I'd like to own one someday."

Some time passed by, and the cycle rode on. Only the rotating wheels made noise and the soundly quiet wind.

"Are we still in Wellspring?" She asked.

"Uh, yes. I'm used to driving through the outskirts of the city to get to school faster," Rose said.

"I never knew this rat hole of a city had fields like this," as she sat on the carrier facing to her right, she could see the vast fields with crops of small yellow flowers. The sun had risen just a little higher causing a golden glow on everything around. On Meraki's face, on Rose's hair, on the thin road ahead.

Has it always been that way?

That's when Meraki heard Rose chuckle softly. She slightly moved her head to look at her and wonder.

"Of course you didn't know about these places. You poor elites, why would you need to walk these decaying streets?" She laughed. Even though Meraki was getting mocked, she felt strangely relieved.

"How come I've never seen you around school?" Meraki thought out loud.

"I have not done anything standoff-ish, it's only to be expected," Rose said, with a blunt tone. She looked like one of those people who stood back and watched everything.

"Why not? You.. are quite amusing," Meraki said, a smile playing on her lips as she watched Rose's back stiffen. She slowly turned her head back to look at Meraki with a bright golden gaze. She didn't say anything but had a small smile on her face.

Suddenly, the wheel got unstable and the cycle started shaking because Rose got distracted while riding. The cycle involuntarily started tilting to the side and soon, it toppled over, landing the girls on the floor.

The both of them slipped down from the slope beside the thin road and fell into the bushes of the fields. After a few seconds, Meraki emerged from the leaves and stood up, pressing against the floor. Wincing, she started dusting herself off. That's when she noticed the black stains on her hands. She tried dusting them off but it didn't work.

"Ew, what is this filthy sh*t?" Meraki cringed at the disgust she felt. She had never been in such a situation. Complaining, she looked up to see Rose standing in front of her observing. She had a concerned look on her face.

"Get this off me!" Meraki ordered, tapping her feet on the floor.

"You just proved the stereotype," she said.

"What?"

"You proved that rich people were seriously fussy and dramatic," Rose laughed lightly as she sat on her knees and started scraping the soil off of Meraki's hands. She felt embarrassed all of a sudden but she smiled. Rose did put her in her place while still being kind.

~

"Sorry for the events since morning," Rose said as she locked her cycle on the stands. Meraki watched her, standing quietly beside her. The school was almost empty because it was still too early. Rose looked down at her watch and her eyes went wide.

"Oh god, I need to go," she said, looking back at Meraki pleadingly. "I was supposed to be here an hour ago, I'll be taking off then!"

"Wait-", Meraki muttered but Rose was already rushing off. She turned back for an instant.

"Bye!" Rose called back with a sorry smile.

"B-bye," She said but not loud enough for Rose to hear. She had already hurried into the school, leaving Meraki confused. She sighed and found herself smiling.

~

The classes were never particularly interesting for Meraki when she had 3 tutors assigned for each subject. She was also used to bunking those sessions and running off to her new hideout, the basement. All through the literature, history and French class, Meraki felt like everyone was repeating the same thing over and over again.

The same words, the same language, the same tone. The words kept repeating themselves in her mind, making her feel nauseated.

"What if he comes straight for you? What will you do? Where will you run this time?" She heard these sentences from everyone around her. In the classroom, in the teacher's lecture, in the corridors, in whispers.

They were always whispering. Some secrets were meant to be hushed.

It was lunch when Meraki walked to her locker. She stood among people minding their businesses and hanging out. She opened up her locker to find yet another note slipped inside her locker. Suddenly, she felt everyone's eyes on her. She was hated since the Sandra Kennedy drama.

"So glad to see you fall on your face in your so-called social life. Keep it up, sucker," the note said. Meraki clenched her jaw at the piece of paper wishing her all the bad luck in the world, which was the last thing she needed. Her eyes trailed down to the person who signed the note, "Another girl you bullied."

Meraki sighed and closed her locker door. She crumpled up the paper and stuffed it in her pocket as she leaned against her locker. She looked around her to make sure no one had noticed but she was anxious inside. What would people think if they knew of her cowardice? What will they say when they know about her nightmares?

Suddenly, her eyes moved to the side and she spotted a group of people standing, chatting. But Meraki noticed that one familiar face from them, the girl who had managed to distract her from everything stood right there.

Rose stood with a blank expression, specifically bored, and she had her hands hooked around a guy's hand while the guy stood close to her. She had a boyfriend, Meraki speculated with a weird stinging realisation. The guy looked like a douche, almost someone who'd disappear among the crowd. Meraki tilted her head to the side, watching them. Why him, she found herself thinking.

That's when she spotted Elliott walking past her. She knew she wanted nothing to do with the people in the basement outside school but she didn't have much of a choice. Meraki reached out and grabbed Elliott's collar to pull him back to where she was. He flinched and looked at her with a confused gaze.

Elliott looked like a mess. Dark bags under his eyes, sunken cheeks and a hasty appearance altogether. It felt very underwhelming and almost made her laugh.

"Who's that kid?" Meraki asked her, motioning towards the guy beside Rose. Without complaining, Elliott followed her gaze and looked in that direction.

"Who?" He asked.

"That punk kid. The one that makes your skin crawl," Meraki winced. She didn't even know him but she wanted to punch his face for existing.

"Oh.. that's Benjamin, he is.. well... I don't know how to introduce him," Elliott said, nodding his head slightly. Meraki let go of his collar.

"I understand," she said. Elliott took off. He looked like he was in a hurry.

Meraki looked back at Rose to get some kind of closure on her assumption of the situation. Just then, Rose raises her eyes and they immediately lock with Meraki's. They stared at each other for a second and Meraki felt an incredible urge to smile.

She was just wondering how to react when Rose looked away with a similar cold and blank expression. Like she never knew her. Like she never acknowledged Meraki's existence.

And when it stung, it stung hard.

~

The moment the school bell rang, Meraki snatched up her bag and was the first one to leave. Everyone else watched her leave.

She rushed through the corridors that were filling up with people and was determined to go out undetected. She had a plan to avoid the confrontation she was walking towards. She had checked her phone a lot of times but her parents never called her. She had no idea what was going on.

Meraki exited the school exit and entered the parking area, trying to get to her car. Whenever she doesn't take the car to school, someone from her house always drives her car to school so that she doesn't get stuck without a ride. It was all her father's orders.

She turned to her side and spotted her white car placed in its usual spot. She advanced towards it when her feet abruptly stopped. They pressed against the floor, suddenly heavy and jammed.

A man in a brown suit and cardigan stood smoking a cigarette, leaning against Meraki's car. The man seemed to be waiting for someone. His back was turned to her but she could see the half of his face. He was older now, freckles covering his face and his body had slumped. But it felt like nothing had changed. His eyes were still cold and bewildering, with the same maniacal gaze that made people want to get away from him.

Vincent Turner, the man behind Meraki's nightmares.

She realised how close she stood to him. How he could see her if he just looked over. He would see her and he would smirk and she would lose all control.

She was afraid she would burn him down to ashes with her flames and not have the slightest bit of remorse.

Meraki backed off, hiding her shaky hands behind her back. She moved her pace up and kept on walking away till she was out of his sight. Then, she crouched down and knelt behind a bush, gasping heavily. Her heart thumped in her chest, making the fear feel alive.

Vincent remembered her.. and he was not ready to let Meraki get away.

Suddenly, she heard a shuffling noise beyond the bushes. Her body froze as she heard footsteps growing louder and louder, till they stopped just in front of her. She heard the rustle of the leaves as the bush in front of her parted and a face peeked from between.

"Hi," Rose said with smiling eyes. Meraki flinched at the sudden wave of relief that spread through her.

"You.."

"Do you... want a ride?" She asked, expectantly. Meraki fell speechless.

"I'm not going home," she managed to reply.

"Where are you going?"

"To... Spring Market."

"I'll drop you there!" Rose offered. Then she noticed the scared look on Meraki's face. "Sorry for the intrusion, I just wanted to make up for what happened this morning."

"Ah, it's fine," she replied, standing back up.

"So..?" Rose asked with a hopeful glance like she was looking forward to it. Meraki looked around till she spotted Vincent's eyes searching for her. She quickly held Rose's hand and ducked down, hiding. "What's up?"

Meraki stared at Rose's concerned eyes and shook her head.

"Let's go," she said.