Rising Shards

Oka practically ran away from the scene, not at all sure how to process it. She felt fluttery in the thrilled kind of way and the more scary floating away kind of feeling. She spotted Lillia reading and stood in front of her, twiddling her fingers as she waited for Lillia to put her book down.

“Do you need something from me?” Lillia asked, not looking up.

“Er, well…” Oka said. Lillia put a bookmark in her book and finally put it down.

“You look…rattled.” Lillia said. “What’s wrong?”

“I um…” Oka said. “I don’t know if I want to talk about it?”

“Are you sure?” Lillia asked. “Because you generally like to talk about things. Do we need to go to our spot?”

Oka thought about it for a second, then nodded.

After dragging Lillia all the way to their little nook where they discussed private matters, Oka still hesitated telling the story.

“Alright, what happened?” Lillia asked. “You don’t look devastated or sad, but it could be a delayed reaction…still, I don’t get the vibe it’s something truly devastating.”

“Fine!” Oka said. She gestured around, hoping Lillia would get what her random arm gestures meant.

“Just say it out loud.” Lillia said.

“I kinda…just saw Zeta naked for a second.” Oka said.

Lillia immediately punched Oka in the arm.

“Ow, hey!” Oka said. “What was that for? It was an accident!”

Lillia glared.

“You saw what?” Lillia said.

“I mean, it was just her back!” Oka said. “And it was just like for a split second, and…I’m not sure what part you’re glaring at me for. Practice got done early right? So I went back to grab my notebook and some snacks for homework, then Zeta walked out of the shower all uh…yeah. I only saw her for like a second though.”

Lillia rubbed her chin. Then she punched Oka in the arm again.

“Ow!” Oka said. “Stop hitting me!”

“Sorry, I’m just. Really jealous.” Lillia said. ”What are you doing here?”

“Jealous doesn’t mean you have to keep hitting me!” Oka said. “Especially when I’m in the middle of a crisis here!”

“Explain how much you saw,” Lillia said. “In as much detail as possible.”

“I don’t know if I like your tone, do you really need that much detail?” Oka asked. Lillia punched her arm again. “Ow! Fine!”

Oka paused, rubbing her arm.

“When you agree to something you should actually do it.” Lillia said.

“Fine,” Oka said. “Alright, well, I got into my bed because I was grabbing my notebook and the aforementioned snacks. And I heard the bathroom door click open, but I wasn’t really thinking about it, so I kept packing stuff. And then I looked to my side and didn’t really think about it for a second.”

“…and?”

“And…there she was. She was kind of…” Oka waved her arms around, hoping her vague gesturing would paint a clear enough picture.

“Stop drooling and give me more details!” Lillia snapped.

“I’m concerned as to why you want to hear it…”

“Because I plan on imagining myself as lucky as you and to just live vicariously through you!” Lillia said.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m concerned about.” Oka said.

“Just let me have this,” Lillia said. “You’re so lucky it makes me infuriated.”

“How is this lucky? My face is still all red from it!” Oka said.

“How is this lucky, you have to be kidding me!” Lillia said. “Not only did you start dating your crush, but now you’ve seen her nude?”

“Well, it wasn’t!” Oka said. “Alright, she was pretty naked yeah, but—”

Lillia punched her in the arm again.

“Stop hitting me!” Oka said. “Help me!”

“I’d say go back there and go kiss your girlfriend or thank her or something, not talk to me!” Lillia said, pointing firmly towards the girls’ dorms.

“But…it’s so awkward!” Oka said. She flinched, expecting a punch in the arm, but Lillia didn’t that time.

There were footsteps behind them. Lillia and Oka whirled to see 09 approaching.

“I heard Oka shouting, is everything alright?” 09 said.

“Oh…hi, 09,” Oka said. “No, we’re fine, we’re just…”

Lillia stopped Oka with a gentle wave.

“09,” Lillia said. “In the interest of maintaining some level of respect for your new cousin, I advise that you stay away from Oka for the evening.”

“Oh, I see,” 09 said. “So she did something embarrassing and is having a meltdown over it?”

“Pretty much, yes,” Lillia said.

“Got it,” 09 said. “Well, good luck, cuz!”

The two waited until 09 was gone.

“How are you feeling now?” Lillia asked.

“I don’t think I like her calling me cuz, that’s for sure,” Oka said.

“About the Zeta thing, I mean,” Lillia said.

“I think…I’m freaking out a bit,” Oka said.

“And I think you need to cool off, then go back and talk to Zeta,” Lillia said. “Just go for a walk outside or something until you calm down.”

“Yeah…that sounds…like a good…

Lillia sighed. “Do you need me to come with you?”

“Yes, please!” Oka said.

“Fine,” Lillia said. “But only if you explain what happened again, with more detail this time.”

“I did explain with more detail!” Oka said.

Lillia got ready to smack Oka again, but she was already power walking away.