song:

Galipette by Lolo Zouai

 

 

 

 

 

Something shifted.

 

Something shifted and Karina Yu couldn't put her finger on it. It’s been running around her mind for the past few days since… the debate. It was since the debate.

 

“Why is she being like this?” Giselle heard the girl whisper to herself. She’s been noticing that her friend has been out of it, always looking dazed at a wall. Hell, she hasn’t been running about the election for a while yet either.

 

“Who?”

 

Karina snapped her head to Giselle like she just realized that she was hanging out with her. She runs her fingers through her silky long hair in frustration.

 

“Nothing, it’s just Winter”

 

Giselle didn’t understand, Winter has always been bothering Karina.

 

“Why what’s up with Winter? Did she harass you again?” 

 

The Japanese girl’s frown deepens when Karina shakes her head.

 

“No, it’s not that. She hasn’t been at my throat, in fact, she left me alone and doesn’t even take time out of her day to bother me”

 

“And isn’t that a good thing? Why do you look like someone just stole your cat?” 

 

Karina looks at Giselle, eyes confused like she was a lost kid. Giselle really tries to read her friend, but she can't right now. She didn’t look sad, happy, scared, relieved, and instead of her eyes being void of emotions, there were just too many emotions.

 

“I don’t know, Giselle. I really don’t know”

 

Maybe she can’t read Karina because Karina herself didn’t understand.

 

Again, Karina enters school with all eyes on her. 

 

She passes the gawking students, walking through the hallways filled with plastered posters of Winter’s face. Even when the girl wasn’t annoying her, she still followed her everywhere. On school premises and outside, when she was on her mind for some reason.

 

At this point, Karina was convinced that Winter planted some sort of electric chip in her head that would generate her photo in her mind when she closed her eyes for a moment. She really convinced herself that that was it.

 

This was just all a part of Winter’s evil plan to torment her until the election.

 

Right, that was it.

 

After the election, they would go back to how they were before. Back to when they didn’t mind each other and just saw each other as nothing but schoolmates. So Karina shouldn’t care about the other girl and how she stopped pestering her. 

 

So what was this? 

 

Why was her heart swelling when she entered her first class, like any other school day, into pre-calculus.

 

Why was her heart racing when she spotted the blonde girl sitting on the perfect seat, just right in front of her’s. Or when Winter turned her head to the door where she stood and flashed a smile. A genuine smile, no underlying intent to cause havoc.

 

Karina didn’t know. She would usually always know because she’s Karina, the nearly perfect student who would always place second behind Winter. She’s supposed to hate Winter, even ever since middle school when test results were posted in the halls. 

 

Why doesn’t she hate Winter?

 

She didn’t know then and she doesn’t know now, so she wets her lips and walks to her seat, not forgetting to greet the other students good morning. Karina cautiously sits in her spot, expecting some sort of jumpscare to come, but nothing comes. Winter’s back remains on her and she suspects the girl was on her phone. 

 

Class ended up going smoothly too as all the other school days have since the debate. 

 

Winter was on her way to walk to her history class to ask her teacher for her average percentage when she felt someone grab her wrist and drag her into the nearest empty classroom. She couldn’t see the perpetrator’s face but she already knew who it was from the light brown hair, Ning Ning. 

 

She could tell the girl was breathless from how she was panting and sweating, so she waited for whatever important thing her best friend had to say to her.

 

“Is this all a part of your plan?” Maybe Winter didn’t have enough coffee in the morning, but she wasn’t following.

 

“I’m sorry what?”

 

Ning Ning tries to rephrase to the best of her abilities.

 

“Your whole ‘I’ll infiltrate Karina from the inside’ ?” It didn’t help Winter understand the situation any better unfortunately because she still looked lost.

 

“I’m sorry Ning, I don’t think I understand what’s going on-”

 

“Listen, Giselle called me the other day and told me that Karina has been losing her because of you. Whatever you did or are doing, I’m advising you to stop it now and it’s really affecting her-” 

 

Winter cuts her off.

 

“Ning” she said sternly, successfully stopping the girl’s rambling. “I stopped the whole plan a week ago, I’m just doing a normal campaign right now. I don’t even think I’ve spoken to Karina properly since forever so I’m not sure what’s going on”

 

Ning Ning knew her best friend was telling the truth because if it really was Winter in front of her, the girl would’ve boasted about how she got Karina Yu to go ape .

 

“Oh- um. Well then, okay Winter, run along now” 

 

Winter gives her a weird look.

 

“Mmkay alright, see you later I guess Ning”

 

Ning Ning watches the classroom door close shut, and just then she remembers that she forgot to ask Winter why she dropped her plan.

 

“Ah well , I hope I won’t forget to ask her later” she mumbles to herself.

 

 Winter’s mind was in chaos all day. The question as to why she wasn’t messing with Karina, why Karina was so bothered by her when she’s not even doing anything, her missing history assignment that caused her grade to falter, and the election next week.

 

It was to the point where she asked her English teacher to be dismissed to head to the nurse’s office. She was let out, but not without feeling Karina’s stare on her. She didn’t care right then though because her headache was growing by the second.

 

“Well ” she mutters when she enters the nurse’s office to find a note on a table that she was out to grab lunch. So, instead of heading back to class, she falls to the farthest bed from the entrance that was by the open window.

 

Not before rummaging through the drawers looking for something to ease her head, popping a few pills mindlessly. 

 

She closed her eyes and let her fatigue drive her to sleep. 

 

It was interrupted by the sound of someone calling out her name. Winter opens her eyes to be greeted with Karina standing there worried written all over her face. 

 

“And what are you doing here, Yu?” She moves to a sit-up position to get a better look at the pretty girl. Winter notices how Karina was staring at the pill bottle on the bed’s side table. She watches her grab the bottle to read the label.

 

“Winter, did the nurse tell you that you could take this? How many did you take? And I noticed her note on the table”

 

“Ugh too many questions” Winter felt her head throb again and takes the water bottle Karina handed to her “No she wasn’t here when I came, so I just helped myself and… I’m not sure how many I took but look I’m perfectly fine” She winces again from her head.

 

“Yeah clearly” 

 

“Okay so what are you doing here, Yu. I know you’re not here just to scold me”

 

“Ah right” Karina shuffles around her binder that Winter just noticed she was holdin