spotify:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4s0ptUIrWuAWf892vO5Hbc
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7pW2TRJlD4kme5VGyn3doRReeAPRNcGemini Yukiri's Gymnasium Escape
Third Person Perspective
The group stood there awkwardly for a beat too long before one of the girls finally spoke up. "You guys gonna just stand there, or nah?"
Kiori finally snapped out of her glare. "Oh, yeah... who the hell are you, and why are you standing there staring at me like I grew a second tail?"
Before anyone could respond, Yukiri reached out and slammed the door shut, cutting Zane off from the room. "He'll be fine," she said. The girls giggled at Yukiri's sudden move.
"So, hey! I'm Anette, nice to meet you!" The others joined in immediately. "I'm Rieko!" "Hi! I'm Riene, and I'm the prettiest!" the other girl chirped with a grin.
Anette grumbled, gesturing toward the two. "As you can guess, these two are twins. One is the sweetest person you'll ever meet, and the other well, you can probably guess that, too."
Yukiri's Perspective
I managed smile, nod, look helpful. I'd only known these people for few seconds, and every second felt like I was performing on a stage with no script. Its getting way too hot in here. Holy why is people so talkative, why does Kiori have so many friends?
I was already shifting my weight toward the exit when one of the girls hugged me from behind.
"Hey girlie! I'm Celeste!"
The sudden warmth made my skin prickle with a sharp, cold alarm, I slipped away as soon as she let go, offering a quick, breathless laugh. "Sorry! I just... forgot something in the other room!"
I didn't wait to see if they believed me. I just turned and ran.
I rounded the corner, my vision tunneling until all I could see were the floorboards rushing past. I didn't see Lorelei until I was already colliding with her.
"Ah! Yukiri what the—"
I hit the floor. The sharp sting in my palms was almost a relief; it was the only thing that felt real.Oh its just Lorelei and Souki. I knew he looked familiar, He's just like Lorelei.
"Yukiri? I thought you didn't come to the sleepover?" he said.
Third Person Perspective
Yukiri, still sprawled on the ground, flashed a sheepish grin. Since she was still relatively a stranger to them, she leaned into the only identity she'd established so far, the clumsy girl. "Hi Lorelei! Hi Souki!"
She scrambled to her feet, her movements a bit stiff. She brushed the dirt off her hoodie with quick, rhythmic swipes. She stood there, laughing softly at her own mishap, the sound perfectly blending into the awkward energy.
Lorelei burst into a fit of laughter. "I swear," she managed to gasp, "every single time I see you, you're either falling down or breaking things! It's like a talent."
Souki joined in with a light chuckle. "Yeah, that's just Yukiri for you. Like Seyuki failed to give her balance."
Yukiri's face flushed. "I'm just... extraordinarily unlucky," she mumbled, offering a shy, apologetic shrug.
Eventually, the laughter died down, and the trio began the walk back. Yukiri was just glad she wasn't going back there.
Yukiri kept her eyes glued to the heels of Lorelei's shoes. She followed the movement mechanically, her mind drifting into a quiet, numb space where she didn't have to think about the crowd or the noise.
Souki, however, wasn't looking ahead. He kept stealing sideways glances at Yukiri. Since he'd only known her for a day, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something felt off. She was smiling, and she was walking, but she looked a little off.
They reached the classroom where the siblings were staying. To Yukiri's luck it was just them.
An another announcement. "Hello students! its now 10 pm! 1 hour until bedtime! but, if anyone is interested There is a party in the gymnasium! I was not asking, of course you guys are interested! now move your butts!" Lorelei giggled at the announcement "This guy is way too cheerful i swear! mr. Resiante" air quotes "Fancy last name but personalaty nah, bro's way too high-key" Yukiri looked at Souki like a translator, staring into his soul. "Don't look at me! I still don't understand her" Lorelei gasped offended? probably. "You guys are just new gen's! Of course your-" Yukiri left.
Yukiris perspective
this is why I don't leave my room. Anyway I been here for just 3 days and its already killing me.
I haven't drawn, practised my guitar in a while. Im just tired. Oh and the uniforms. Do they have sleeves? I hope so. I hate these scars. I fidgeted with the sleeve of my hoodie deep in thought.
Oh I was in front of the gymnasium. Great, it smells like grape juice and I can feel too much mana.I pushed the door open and Just as I guessed a lot of people but, a lot of food too.
I grabbed the pudding standing to the side as I watch the other students dance or laugh or do anything.
The atmosphere in the gymnasium is a jarring contrast to the quiet, numbing fog Yukiri has been wandering through. One moment she was in her thoughts and the next, she's hit with a sensory overload of neon lights, pounding bass, and the cloyingly sweet scent of artificial grape.
Third Person Perspective
The gym was a chaotic sea of movement. High-energy mana pulsed through the air, vibrating in sync with the heavy thumping of the speakers. Students were blurred shapes of motion, their laughter lost to the music.
In the corner, far from the strobe lights, Yukiri looked like a small island of stillness. She held her pudding cup with both hands, her fingers gripped tightly around the plastic as if it were an anchor keeping her from being swept away by the crowd.
"Hey! Look who made it out of her shell!" A voice boomed over the music.
It was Riene, the self-proclaimed 'prettiest' twin, sliding toward Yukiri with a glow-stick. She didn't wait for an invitation, leaning into Yukiri's personal space with a grin that was far too bright for the dim room. "I thought you ran off for good! You gotta come dance, the music is insane right now!"
Yukiri offered a weak, practiced smile, her shoulders hunching upward. "I'm... just refueling," she shouted back, gesturing vaguely at her pudding.
Yukiri's Perspective
Refueling. That was a good excuse. It sounded human. Great Yukiri.
10:15 pm. Forty-five minutes until I can legally disappear into a sleeping bag and pretend I don't exist.
"You okay? You're staring at that pudding like you're trying to set it on fire with your mind."
I blinked. Souki was standing there, leaning against the wall a few feet away. He looked just as out of place as I felt, though he hid it better behind a mask of casual boredom.
"It's good pudding," it was true.
"You're a bad liar, Yukiri," he said, stepping closer. He didn't hover like the others; he just stood there, a quiet barrier between me and the rest of the screaming gymnasium. "You look like you're about to vibrate out of your skin. If you want to leave, just leave. Lorelei is too busy trying to start a mosh pit to notice."
I took a bite of the pudding. It tasted sweet.
Third Person Perspective
Souki watched her for a moment, his expression unreadable. He saw the way she fidgeted with her sleeves a rhythmic, obsessive motion. He'd seen that look before, the look of someone who was drowning in plain sight while everyone else was busy swimming.
"Fine," Souki said, crossing his arms. "But if you lowkey pass out from the 'bad vibes' or whatever Lorelei calls it, I'm not carrying you to the infirmary. I'll just drag you by your tail."
A small, genuine spark of amusement flickered in Yukiri's eyes. "Sure why not" she murmured. Her shoulders relaxed just a bit.
For the first time since the sleepover started, the gravity in the room felt just a little bit lighter. She still hated the noise, the smell of grapes, and the itchy feeling of her arm under her sleeves, but as she stood there with Souki, the gymnasium didn't feel quite so much like a stage.
She felt safe for once, no quiet estate, no loud laughing, no anxiety.