Part 2: Apparition

 

Isabel Port, 2034 PD.

Amanda is now a literature major in university as a sophomore. She continued to coach for her father’s hapkido dojo up until her high school graduation, but she nonetheless still practices in her spare time as a way to stay fit. She also continued to maintain her prowess as a light adept by meditating frequently, particularly during the days leading up to when she was to leave home for college.

All while managing her busy schedule, she continued to be in touch with the girls she met those five years ago. She continued to see Andrea on occasion, usually during tournaments, in which they frequently greeted each other warmly to the surprise of many. However, without enough time to visit them, she resorted to writing letters to the others, and often anticipated when they would write back. She was most enthusiastic waiting for Ashley’s and Ariel’s letters, having taken special care of them during that fateful time.

It’s the final weekend of May, and Amanda is thankful she has an extra day off from classes because of the holiday. Finally some time to relax for the hardworking student… or so she thought. Ariel had reached out saying she also had a little more time on her hands and wanted to visit Amanda, having not seen her since she was a wee tot. Eventually, the word spread like wildfire, and soon enough, they all agreed to reunite that weekend at South Bay, the fateful place where they all met for the first time, especially considering that Adele and Aisha are actually planning something for their schools that same time…

-

It’s been a busy few months for Adele as she continues to decorate her school’s halls. Working long hours after school for the student council has been quite exhausting, especially considering that she’s now a senior and the events coordinator. It was that delicate balance of maintaining her academics, managing college applications, and attending extracurricular activities that gave her that exciting challenge that she always gets herself into… and she could never be any happier, so much that her best friend and fake twin, Minah Bang, always found fascinating.

Nonetheless, she maintained her status as a social butterfly and was now at the helm of a dance event to be held to celebrate the end of the school year, and one to be held while inviting Aisha’s own school out in Fallarbor City. How did this happen, though?

Well, Aisha and Adele traded phone numbers and called each other near endlessly over the next five years. The two spazzed over their own adventures at school, and Adele often took the opportunity to give the younger Aisha advice on how to “survive”. The latter often laughed her head off at some of the ridiculous stories that Adele told. Yet, every time there was always some moral that she would take to heart and would thank her unnie for it, especially if she encountered a similar situation.

Then, with Aisha climbing up the ranks of the social hierarchy at her own school as a sophomore, she convinced her superiors to allow for the collaboration with Adele’s school for the year-end dance. Securing funds through various bake sales and fund raisers, they had the money to be able to travel out on what was officially dubbed a field trip that would allow students to explore different environments. With Aisha fulfilling her end of the bargain, it became Adele’s turn to do the same, and she scrambled to get her friends on the student council to help her with the various jobs.

“Hey Adele, do you think we need more streamers?”

“No, I think it already looks good, Minah!”

“Sweet! Is there anything else that we have left to do?”

“I think this is a good stopping point. Hey, everybody! Let’s huddle up!”

Adele made it a customary ritual to huddle her group of helpers to review the day’s work and to make sure everyone continued to work hard. She knew that she needed them to help her and was eternally grateful for them.

“Alright, team. Really solid work today. Posters should be coming out soon. We got the DJ based on our funds from the bake sale, so we can really get this show on the road. We’ve come a long way, everyone. Let’s keep going, alright?”

“Yea!”

“Alright. Let’s call it a day.”

As Adele grabs her bags, Minah gives her a tap on the shoulder. “Say, Adele, you think it’ll all go according to plan? We’ve worked so hard to make sure it will, but I feel like something could end up popping up that we didn’t think of…”

“You’ve got a good point, Minah. Let’s just cross our fingers. Nothing’s happened yet, so knock on wood, I guess.”

Minah then gives two knocks on the wooden chair next to them. Adele sputters. “You’re the worst!”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it…” Minah laughs.

-

Later that night, Adele decides to give Aisha a call.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Oh, hi, unnie!”

“Hey. Just wanted to check in with you before tomorrow.”

“Oh, ok! I’m arriving tomorrow at about 12 or so. Ashley-unnie’s coming with me.”

“What about Ariel?”

“She’s arriving a bit earlier. She booked her tickets way before we did.”

“Oh, that’s interesting…”

“Yea. Ariel was SO adamant on seeing Amanda-unnie.”

“I mean, that’s how it all started…”

“Well, sort of. We kind of wanted to do the dance at the same time so it all led to this anyway, unnie!”

“Haha… I guess so… Ashley wanted to travel with you? I thought she gets along with Ariel more based on your stories?”

“Oh, well as I said, Ariel booked hers way before, and Ashley kind of wanted to travel with me.”

“Oh, is that so? I thought she really wanted to see Amanda-unnie…”

“She does, but she also wants to see you too… she keeps telling me she really looks forward to seeing you.”

“Aw… well, I’m flattered.” Adele then begins to briefly reminisce on how both she and Amanda looked after Ashley. “You know, Aisha… I still marvel at how Ashley stood her ground that day… I definitely could not have done that.”

“Oh, stop it. Honestly by that point, any of us could have.”

“I’m serious, though. Honestly, I didn’t expect Ashley to do so… she had seemed so… vulnerable before. Remember how I had to comfort her all those days after what happened?”

“Yea, but… I feel that Ashley-unnie really embodied what you’ve been telling me over the last few months about high school. Honestly, maybe all of us would have.”

“And what would that be?”

“To stare down adversity in the face and tell it that it won’t win.”

Adele’s heart jumps for several seconds as she hears Aisha’s remarks. “Hmm… I don’t know…”

“Trust me, unnie. I honestly feel that way.”

“No worries, I understand.”

“Oh! Unnie… what about Andrea-unnie?”

“Oh, err… well, she’ll meet me at the school. Speaking of which, we’re practically done with decorating the halls, so you’ll be able to see a good amount of our work when you stop by!”

“Cool, unnie! You’re really working hard, aren’t you?”

“You’ve asked me that so many times and I’ll tell you again: it really doesn’t feel that way!”

“You’re ridiculous, unnie… it honestly feels unnatural…”

“Well, I guess there’s parts of me that just aren’t normal.”

“You can say that again. Anyway, I’ll see you soon! Looking forward to meeting up with you all again! It’s been too long!”

“Alright, Aisha. Take care and safe travels!”

“Bye, unnie!”

“Bye~”

-

It’s early in the morning as Amanda is en route to the train station. As someone with a rigid routine every single day, she made it a point to wake up and arrive early enough to have some spare time to grab something to eat and be aware of any potential delays, even though they were exceedingly rare. The good thing for her is that she always has to go the station to get to her school, so she can stop at her favorite food stand which opens early every morning. This morning, she’s surprised to find a new worker there who’s someone she knows very well.

“…eh? Hoya? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, hey, Amanda! I figured I’d get a job so I could get some more cash on hand. Plus, you know how much I love this place!”

“Not as much as me…”

“Oh, sure. I assume you want the usual?”

“What do you think? I think you know the answer,” Amanda says with a chuckle.

After a few minutes, Hoya hands Amanda her favorite snack food. She’s set for her trip on the train. “Thank you, Hoya!”

“No prob, Amanda! Enjoy your trip!”

Amanda gleefully skips on her way to the train station, finds her platform, and then boards the train. It departs on time as she sinks into her seat. Ahh… I get to enjoy chicken feet this early in the morning?

As she eats her snack, she scrolls through her phone for all the texts from the girls, just to make sure of what the day’s plans were. She was to meet up with Ariel first at the train station before waiting for Ashley and Aisha, who were arriving on a later train. They would then have lunch somewhere in the city before meeting up with Adele and Andrea in the afternoon to help out with the dance event planning.

Afterwards, Amanda scrolls through the various pictures of her phone through the years, before coming across one that she took the day she last saw all of them. She then realizes she has no idea of how everyone looks aside from Andrea after all this time. She wasn’t one to ask for pictures, and she had also been busy with her own school life. “I wonder what little Ariel looks like now… she was so small back then…”

Alas, after a quick two hours, Amanda arrives at the station, and ironically, on Track 12. Very little has changed since the last time she came here, but it feels like a lot since there’s now the mass of people shuffling about as opposed to the ghost town that it was five years ago. Passing by the storage closet, she remembers how she was able to unlock the door to help Alexa. Wait… Alexa! I wonder if she can make it this weekend… Amanda realizes. Alexa had been quite busy training at the academy, as communication with her has been sporadic at best between all of them.

Nevertheless, Amanda heads up to the plaza, where she agreed to meet up with Ariel. She knows that Ariel is supposed to arrive before her, so begins to look around. There’s people everywhere. How can she find that little girl whose optimism and quirkiness was so unforgettable?

“Unnie!”

Eh? Where was that?

“Unnie!”

Turning her head in the direction of the call, Amanda sees a tall girl running towards her. Is… that Ariel?!

“Unnie!”

“A-Ariel?”

“Amanda-unnie! I missed you so much!” Ariel pipes as she hugs Amanda tightly.

“I… missed you too… you… grew so much…” The wee tot who barely stood up to her chest five years ago is now standing over her.

“I… guess I did… I’m 169 now… but you didn’t change one bit, unnie! You’re still the pretty unnie that saved me!”

Amanda’s heart races momentarily. “Come on, Ariel. Let’s go find a spot where we can wait for the others.”

-

On another train en route to South Bay, two girls sit next to each other. A girl with a tied bow in her hair stares out her window, out towards the sun.

“You alright, unnie?” the other girl asks, patting her friend’s shoulder.

“Yea…” the girl responds after a good pause.

“It’s really been a while, hasn’t it… you nervous?”

The girl quickly looks at her friend and gives a slow nod.

“Don’t worry… I’m here with you, unnie. I know how much you want to see her.”

“Thanks.”

-

What is "the academy" that Alexa is really attending? Can Adele's and Aisha's dance really go to plan? Find out more next chapter!

-

A/N: Sorry for the long wait in updates. I struggled with writer's block, and it looks like it'll kind of stay that way for the time being, so updates will take much longer than last time. Part 2 will have a change in theme, as there will be less action, but expect the conversations to ramp up in abundance as I want them to drive what's going on. Anyhow, hope y'all enjoy this opening!

Playlist: Amber by 311