NOVEL SIMPLE [4] Shopping with a friend?
As the first rays of sunlight peeked through the curtains, painting the room in a warm glow, Eva stirred in her bed. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing sleepy eyes adjusting to the brightness of a new day.
With a soft sigh, Eva pushed back the cozy covers and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, her feet landing on the cool floor. She stretched her arms above her head, feeling the satisfying crackle of joints waking up from their slumber.
"Time for another school day, I guess..." It was Tuesday, just another day for school. The final exams were already finished, and there was nothing more to teach. But alas, the school still demands attendance from their students.
It's still 6 AM in the morning, and there is still a lot of free time. Eva takes a shower, wears her uniform, grab her walking cane, and head straight to the dining rooms for some breakfast.
As she made her way toward the dining rooms, the scent of freshly brewed coffee and the tantalizing aroma of breakfast being cooked wafted through the hallways, enticing her taste buds.
The sounds of her cane tapping the floor alert some of the manor's residents. While waiting for her breakfast to be served, she sits on the dining chair with a cup of coffee in her hand. She turns on the television to see whether there is any news on the attack she carried out the night before, and welp, she finds one.
"This is Sarah Donovan from the AGA Network reporting. A terrorist attack in the central city of Tokyo took course last night. A mysterious woman in a black dress, who we suspect is another member of the infamous terrorist group known as 'The Iniator,' is responsible for the attack. The local authority is still investigating the motive behind this attack, but we have confirmed that more than twenty civilians have been killed."
Hearing what was reported on the news, Eva couldn't help but cough and spit out her coffee. "Twenty civilians? How do they even get that number? They even hide the motive behind my attack. I knew their media was corrupt, but I didn't think it was THAT corrupt that they could just outright lie."
"What's surprising is that no other media, other than the one directly controlled by the AGA, is broadcasting it. And how exactly do they make the Japanese Astral Agent look the other way when all of this is going on?" She ponders.
On the outside Astral Agents can be seen as one unified group of public defenders. But that was a far stretch from the actual truth. Although it is true that AGA is the one who technically commands most of the Astral Agents in the world, the local government still supervises it and exerts some control over it.
This whole thing of one big organization that controls all Astral-related matters sounds good in theory but is actually terrible in practice. It doesn't help that the AGA is behaving more like a private corporation than a public organization the more its influence grows. The majority of the nations, of course, don't feel too comfortable with the idea of an outsider influencing their politics while also depriving them of their Astral workforce.
Most Astral Agents were conflicted because of this. On one hand, the organization basically controls their whole life now. On the other hand, their country was in an unhealthy relationship with the AGA and demanded their loyalty. The schism among Astral Agents is inevitable. There are people who are loyal to their country and those who stand to benefit from their allegiance to the AGA.
It isn't rare for them to try and arrest each other since, technically, both the AGA and the local government have the authority to command an arrest using Astral Agent. Astral Agent In Japan, who is technically still operating under AGA but only answer to their country, even have their own name to differentiate themself. They won't call themselves as AGA Astral Agents but Japanese Astral Agents(JAA). Both of them still refer to themselves as simply "Astral Agents," but when they introduce themselves in more secluded settings, they will emphasize either the AGA or Japanese.
How does she know all of this? Her father's computer again, of course! "He really needs to start working on his password." Eva thought.
"Here is the breakfast Miss Eva." With the breakfast dishes meticulously prepared by one of the housemaids, Eva couldn't help but forget about everything else for the time being and savor her breakfast.
The dining room where Eva ate was designed for five people, but again she eats alone today. Both of her parents are constantly jumping from one country to another. They eventually needed to come to Japan since it was where the base of their operation was currently located. But due to this, it's been four whole years since they set foot on the Britania Republic. At this rate, they might as well change citizenship.
"This is getting kinda lonely..." Although Eva doesn't consider anyone in her life special or even be able to care about any relationships at all. But her parents are still her parents, after all. She doesn't know how to describe it, but it just felt different.
"Lonely? Did you miss me already, Miss Eva?" A cheeky voice from a young boy can be heard suddenly.
"You're gonna ruin my breakfast Ryuji. Please let me eat in peace." Ryuji always wears a serious and polite face in public, but annoying his young lady is one of his favorite pastimes. But he knew when to stop and drew the line, so Eva simply let it be since it was harmless, well, for the most part.
"You wound my heart, my lady. I have done nothing but the best for you." Ryuji said in an exaggerated tone.
"Stop joking around. Sit down and eat." Usually, Ryuji wouldn't dare to eat at the same table as his employer since it's considered impolite, but his young lady would sometimes look like she wanted some company, so he complied.
The breakfast spread was a delicious medley of bacon, eggs, sausage, beans, bubble and squeak, tomatoes, mushrooms, black pudding, and fried bread—a feast of flavors and textures. Both of them enjoyed their breakfast without a word. Ryuji knows his young lady doesn't really like conversation when eating, so he to enjoyed his breakfast in silence.
Eva sits in her classroom and stares out the window while counting the seconds and pondering why time seems to go so slowly when she is so bored.
"Eva, do you wanna go shopping after school today?" Reina asked as she, like usual, came to Eva desk before the class started to talk.
Eva turns her head lazily toward Reina and asks. "Shopping? where?"
"I heard there is a new clothing store at the mall. They are very popular for some reason, so I was intrigued and wanted to check their brand. Wanna tag along?"
Eva pondered a little. She intended to spend the remainder of the day looking for a new target for her second persona, who she had recently given the name "Moonlight." But then again, she also needs some new clothes since the last one was already disposed of since it's basically unusable.
"Sure, let me tell Ryuji first that I'm going home late for today." Eva takes out a phone that looks very transparent. One could wonder how people even knew they had their phones with them. But it looks neat, so nobody is complaining.
Eva picks an icon with Ryuji face on it and taps the call button. It's not even two seconds before Ryuji picks up the call.
"Yes, Miss Eva? Do you need anything from me?" Ryuji's voice can be heard on the small speaker.
"I'm going to go the mall with Reina today, so you can head back home without me," Eva spoke to the microphone.
"I'm sorry, but I can't leav-" Eva hung up the call conversation before Ryuji could even complete what he was saying. If she hadn't hung up the phone right there, she knew Ryuji would make it into a ten-minute conversation.
"Ahahaha... Are you sure that's fine?" Reina asks with an awkward laugh.
"Trust me, it's better this way."
"Poor Ryuji," Reina thought in her heart.
The mall buzzed with vibrant energy as shoppers and visitors weaved through a labyrinth of stores and corridors. Eva was still waiting for Reina since they split up after Reina lost her phone. As usual, she always stands out whenever she goes. This is one of the reasons why she likes to buy everything online.
When she was in situations like these where she was by herself, the best she could usually expect was for someone to glance at her and then continue to mind their own business. The worst part is when a complete stranger tries to talk to her. Some would straight up just try to hit on her, but it's usually just people trying to be kind to her since, in their eyes. A lone girl with a walking cane who appeared to be exhausted from walking was sitting alone for whatever reason.
Well, Eva doesn't really blame them since they are just trying to be kind, and her face does always appeared to be exhausted. But it's just in an environment like this where she always needs to put her friendly face on display. Acting is exhausting, after all.
"Sorry for the wait. Apperatenly I dropped my phone when I was at the entrance, luckily the staff found it first and handed it to me." Reina breath is ragged as if she has just run.
"You don't have to run, you know? Although I should probably help you find your phone. My bad." Eva smiled bitterly.
She gives off the impression of someone who is troubled by the fact that her friend was running around while she sat there idly doing nothing. Of course, that wasn't really the case, but she at least needs to act and pretend she shows some regrets.
"No, no, no, It's fine. I can't possibly let you do that..." Reina now feels terrible at making Eva wait.
There is an unnecessary awkward silence, and both of them seem hesitant to speak. Why unnecessary? Because this whole situation was totally normal, they can just walk it off, but because Eva is currently pretending to feel bad. In return, Reina actually feels bad because, in her mind, not only she makes her friend wait for her, but she is also the reason why Eva feels guilty about not helping her.
Guilt trip at its finest.
Feeling enough is enough, Eva finally breaks the silence. "Should we continue shopping?"
"Y-Yeah, let's do that!"
Eva and Reina then navigated through the bustling mall, immersing themselves fully in the experience. They explored a myriad of shops, from clothing stores to food stalls and anything that might catch their eyes, or Reina eyes in this case. Eva doesn't really need anything than a new clothing for her persona, so she lets Reina takes the lead and just follow her wherever she goes.
"Let's take a photo on that photobooth," Reina suggested.
"Photobooth? They still have that? I thought they had gone extinct." Eva replied in a slightly surprised voice.
"This is the year of 2196, sure progress has slowed down ever since the discovery of Astral and the war, but photobooth? Isn't that like an ancient relic at this time and age?" Eva was baffled.
"Of course, it was not the same as the one in the history book, silly. They just re-invented it." Reina chuckled at Eva confusion.
"Oh..."
Both of them enter the photobooth and smile at the camera after scanning their card. The result was not bad for an ancient relic. But it's not really an ancient relic anymore if it was made using the latest technology.
"Here, we can keep one each." Reina handed her one of the photos. With the current technology of phones that can directly print out photos, Eva doesn't really see the purpose of re-inventing a photobooth or the reason it exists anymore. Maybe it is an ancient relic, after all.
***
"It was fun," Reina said, smiling brightly towards Eva.
"Yeah, it was," Eva returned her smile.
Shopping with a friend, eating at food stalls, taking a photo together, and basically just having fun with her best friend. For Reina, For Reina, this is one of the happiest moments in her life... But it will soon turn into a tragedy.
"I'm going to the bathroom. Wait for me, okay?" Reina said as she headed to the bathroom.
"Sure." Eva doesn't really mind waiting at the moment. In fact, she feels tired, and sitting is the best salvation she could hope for.
Five minutes have passed since Eva is still waiting for Reina in the bathroom. What is taking her so long? Who knows.
Just as she was about to stand up and search for Reina, a thunderous roar that echoed through the surroundings stopped Eva at her track. That was the sound of a bomb exploding. She can feel the floor begin to shake, and many screams can be heard from far away.
(Hello, there is your best clock again! I'm now entering the most dangerous of zone when writing. That is laying out the plot! Feel free to let me know if I was moving it a little bit to fast or slow, I also feel kinda bad for Reina even thought I'm the one who writes it lmao)
Anyway I will probably will keep asking for advice until I feel the novel plot are established, so here is another survey!
Side Note: I'll probably never stop keep asking. LMAO.