Rising Shards

Marmalade poked her head around the corner, making sure Kalei was still in sight.

“She doesn’t seem to be having the worst time,” Marmalade muttered. “Not…seeming like super fun time, either.”

Kalei was meeting up with her old friend Risa, their first real hang out after they had a falling out in the past. Marmalade could have just waited in the dorm room for the signal from Kalei to call, but she found herself worried. And so I decided that being a creep and spying on them was the best option. Kalei and Risa were sitting together at one of the lounge areas in the girls’ dorm.

“What are you doing?” Roux asked.

“Nothing?” Marmalade said. She turned away from Kalei and Risa and tried to act casual to the approaching Roux.

“You look like you have some kind of condition.” Roux said, their ears going back a bit.

“That’s really rude, Roux,” Marmalade said. “I’m kind of in the middle of something here. In the middle of nothing actually, like I said a second ago. But like. A nothing that requires concentration.”

“Sure doesn’t look like nothing,” Roux said. “I heard some weird noises and thought someone was in distress.”

“I wasn’t making weird noises,” Marmalade said. “Totally wasn’t.”

“I thought the squirrelly squeaks came from Faleur at first, but I get the sense that it’s you,” Roux said. They shrugged. “Must be a trans girl thing.”

“I don’t think I was squeaking,” Marmalade said.

“So, who are you spying on?” Roux asked, leaning around the corner before Marmalade stopped them.

“Like I said, nothing!” Marmalade said.

“If it’s nothing, you wouldn’t try to block me from seeing.” Roux said.

This is taking too much time. They might walk away at this rate, or worse, see me being a total creep.

“Fine, it’s Kalei.” Marmalade said.

“Hmm,” Roux observed the situation. “Oh, she's with Risa. I should say hello, it has been quite some time since I’ve seen that particular gremlin. I wonder if she’s still doing the door-to-door sex ed thingus.”

“The what?” Marmalade asked.

“It was her startup business,” Roux explained. “The three of us are from the same town, so we all go way back. Risa’s an interesting character, I tell you what.”

“Huh…” Marmalade said. Maybe talking to Roux would be better than the current plan. I can be nearby still, but also not give the appearance of a complete weirdo. And maybe I can learn about Kalei a bit more from Roux.

“Walk with me, Roux,” Marmalade said. She giggled. “Sorry, always wanted to say that.”

“I always wanted to be told that! Very professional sounding, Marmalade.” Roux nodded in approval.

Marmalade stayed somewhat close to Kalei and Risa, but found a good path in the dorms to walk around that kept the two out of sight. 

“So yeah, Risa Taramin?” Roux said. “Afraid of public bathrooms.”

“Oh…” Marmalade said. “That’s kinda sad.”

“At least she was when we were growing up.” Roux said. 

I kinda wish you hadn’t told me that. Why am I being such an invasive jerk today? I just wanted to make sure Kalei was alright, didn’t I? Now I’m learning people’s embarrassing phobias.

Roux told a few stories about Risa that confused Marmalade more than anything. Risa didn’t seem like a problem child or anything, but the weird stories about her trying to start a business selling sex ed (that sounded suspiciously like a pyramid scheme on the business front) and all the times she cried in class. Roux was cool, but more than a bit blunt, and as Marmalade had seen on the Dynne server she invited Roux to, they had no issue saying things no matter how rude others might find them. On the server, this actually helped Roux make a splash right away, as everyone there found them hilarious. 

“So what was Kalei like when she was younger?” Marmalade asked.

“The same, pretty much,” Roux said. “A big baby. Cheats at games. Criminally unfunny. You know the deal with her.”

“I don’t know a lot about her, actually,” Marmalade said. 

“I must ask,” Roux said. “Snooping on her, asking questions about her. It makes me wonder. Do you have ‘the feels’ for Koridia?” They did air quotes a bit too close to Marmalade’s face for comfort.

“Who’s Koridia?” Marmalade asked, taking a step back. She knew Kalei’s last name, this was simply a nervous defense mechanism kicking in. 

But why am I nervous? I don’t have any ‘feels’ for anyone. It's just...nobody has ever asked me if liked someone like that. Maybe that was why? The shock of being asked something so personal, that’s all.

“Kalei!” Roux said.

“Oh,” Marmalade said. “Uh. Well…”

“And you’re making the weird squirrel squeaks again,” Roux said. “So it definitely was you earlier.”

“I guess I don’t know?” Marmalade said. “Don't know about feels or anything like that. That’s such a non-answer.”

“I guess it is,” Roux said. They patted Marmalade on her back way too hard. “Oh, Marmalade, what am I gonna do with you?”

“I dunno,” Marmalade said. “Not tell Kalei any of this, please?”

“Your secrets are safe with me,” Roux said. “Anything between us of this nature can be strictly confidential. I can regale you with tales of my infatuation with one Lillia Cadence, if you need the grounds betwixt us to be more even keeled.”

Marmalade squinted, not sure if any of that sentence Roux said was grammatically correct. “How are things with you and Lillia?”

“A bit cold at the moment, I must not lie,” Roux said. “But she seems relatively entangled with that Matora sister I can’t remember the name of. But! If the opportunity arises, I will pounce on that. Because she is the cutest girl at this school and I would gladly smooch.”

“Aren’t you bummed out about your crush being with someone else?” Marmalade asked.

“Eh, you win some and you lose some,” Roux said. “As long as I get a babe planting one on these lips relatively soon, it’s all smooth sailing for Roux.”

“That’s…” Marmalade said. “You have a good attitude about life, Roux.”

“Why thank you!” Roux said. They looked over to the lounge, where Kalei and Risa were still chatting. “Do you still want to observe them?”

“I think I’m set for today,” Marmalade said. “Is there anything you want to do?”

“Hmmm,” Roux said. “How about you be my wingman and help me pick up some chicks? I bet you’d be adequate standing next to me and hyping me up to the ladies.”

Marmalade laughed. “Sure, we can try that. No guarantees I’m any good at that, though.”

“Just say how cool I am if we run into attractive people!” Roux said. “Perhaps we can hit up a nightclub nearby?”

“I don’t think there’s a nightclub on campus.” Marmalade said.

“Surely there’s some place better than this, at least.” Roux said, gesturing around the dorm. “Walk with me, Marmalade.”

“You got it.” Marmalade grinned.