Transparency

Chapter Nine

The rest of that day passed by, composing of multiple checkups. So you've been here before, it wasn't because you had swimming problems, other people in the family have drowned, and so on and so forth.

By the time the sun was close to down for the night, word got out that Sankra was going to be discharged due to her condition improving back to a near regular state.

Mesonii watched from her window as Sankra's bus-driver father drove her away.

She paced back and forth through her room, the reality show about the rich jellyfish on again. Still distraught about exacerbating Sankra's problem, she threw herself onto the bed and grimaced. In a quick bout, she tried to call up the nurse that had walked her over to the cafeteria in the first place. Busy.

Loneliness had to take its toll soon. Maybe she should just sleep again.

-

An alarm beeped softly from a clock next to Mesonii. Six o'clock.

The night before, she had made her bed, cleaned the windowsill with a tissue, and set the slightly worn digital clock before passing out on the bed.

She rolled over and turned the television on without haste. The Squid Sisters were on. All the stages, according to Callie, were now fixed from the snowfall and were ready for battling-- even poor Bluefin Depot, looking to collapse at even the slightest touch.

Switch.

A rerun of a televised Turf War. Saved for the best of the best. Maybe Mesonii could've gotten in there if she hadn't nearly killed herself.

Switch.

Cooking show. Did that inkling just plunge a live shrimp into his soup?

Switch.

Some infomercial. If you buy our service, then maybe your life wouldn't be the way it is right now. Hoo, whee!

Switch.

A children's educational show. Remember, a starfish will always tell you not to hurt your friends!

In a fit of distress, Mesonii squeezed the remote's "off" button as if she was pulling the trigger on her Splash-O-Matic. She knew it had to be a matter of time before she would be discharged from this hospital, but when? Why couldn't it be now?

She got up out of the bed, throat still somewhat sore. At the very least, she had to get out of this room. No one could prevent her.

Mesonii headed straight towards the door, ready to dart down the hallway. As she grabbed the handle, it turned without her input and the door pushed towards her. The doctor, and a nurse, had just come to check on her, the latter holding a bundle of clothes she immediately recognized.

"Oh, hello. I'm just coming here for a small checkup."

After taking Mesonii's heart rate and checking her ears and throat, the doctor nodded to the nurse. The nurse handed the clothes over.

It took almost no time for Mesonii to react. She threw off the drab hospital gown she wore the past couple of days, forced herself into her regular clothes, the ones she really took a liking to, and took a seat into the wheelchair that would whisk her away back to her normal world.

-

The dawn of the third day since she had left the hospital was to start off with happiness. To take additional precautions, the doctor had told her not to participate in any Turf Wars and stay at home the previous two days, a prospect Mesonii initially did not enjoy. She decided to spend her time at Flanker's, living in the chef's table and continuing to read The Art of Squidbagging while Aunt Pesto yelled orders from the pass.

To celebrate the occasion of this new day, she attempted to cook a delicious breakfast, taking a impeccable caviar egg out of Aunt Pesto's pantry. Attempted meaning nearly burning it to a crisp. Flaky and not very good without a problem-inducing amount of salt.

Despite the problem with the egg, Mesonii still saw the day as something good. While sprinting over to the Central Lobby, she felt the thrill of finally coming back after many, many awful days. She could finally start anew.

The Central Lobby, though the most prominent one in Inkopolis, wasn't very crowded today. Regardless, the green spire reached to the sky and attempted to make itself noticeable while a small number of people ventured over. As Mesonii walked in, she noticed the televisions showing which stages  would be available for play.

Blackbelly Skatepark was one, as well as Moray Towers. She didn't like the latter very much, as she always feared falling off the high-rise parking garage. Like Sankra had said, there were those safety precautions, but regardless, there still weren't amicable feelings to hold towards the stage.

Taking this into account forced her onto a bus headed for the skatepark. Unlike the trip to Camp Triggerfish a couple days ago, this shuttle still had empty seats.

Much like the camp, though, this stage had a entrance area and waiting rooms for teams, the lines of which couldn't even compete for length. It was only a matter of seconds before Mesonii was admitted into a room; the first one to the right, first half.

This was the first Turf War she's been in since she had nearly drowned. After questioning her readiness, Mesonii knew that she was good to get back into the game and opened the door to await her first two teammates, clad in green hair, one anxious to start the battle and another clutching onto his Tentatek Splattershot as if he was about to be water-boarded.

Delpha and Peppie.

END OF ACT ONE