Transparency

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"I'm sorry we had to meet like that, kids."

Yellow Helmet, no longer wearing a helmet but now a yellow facemask (apparently she had caught the cold), subtly lifted it up to spoon the soup into her mouth.

Mesonii flicked the strip of gauze taped to her head, right at the spot the glass had hit. Still as painful as ever, but at least it kept her from doing the thing she detested- focusing.

Sankra eyed the bottle of milk tea coming her way to the table, and attacked it as soon as it came.

It had been two weeks. Team Lonely won the Splatfest by a mere six points, but that was the least of anyone's concerns.

Yellow 'Facemask' (as what Mesonii deduced to call her) decided to call the younger inklings to the cafe under the Squid Sisters' studio to talk about life. But it didn't seem like they were paying much attention.

"You don't want to talk today? Ok." She caught a noodle in her soup and slurped it right into her mouth.

Mesonii stopped scrutinizing her bandage and listened to the other inkling's talking, suddenly not feeling good for ignoring her words. "Frankly, I'm not even sure who you are. Your taste isn't bad, though. Sankra and I came up here a week or so ago."

Yellow Facemask looked at the sunset, shining on the plaza, and sighed. "Yeah. I go here sometimes with my friends as well. They have lots of nice food."

Sankra put the tea down on the table and wiped her mouth from the excess, causing the facemask-clad inkling to divert her attention. She chuckled at the recklessness of the trivial situation. "Ha! Never thought milk tea took off like that."

"I was reading on one of the old Splatfests and I wanted to try it. It's addicting."

Mesonii, though she knew it was distressing her tablemates, began to distract herself again by eyeing at the menu. Yellow Facemask, frankly, caught onto this faster than she could even consider the move.

"Hey; is something bothering you? There's no need to worry about anything." She shredded a packet of oyster crackers into the soup.

By her body language, anyone could tell that Mesonii had something on her mind- she wasn't going to let anyone know what was bothering her. "No. Nothing's ever wrong, is it?"

"Something's bothering you. I know it."

"I~I'm in no way distressed!" She exhaled sharply from her nostrils and fell back onto the seat of the booth.

Sankra put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hey. Next time you're wanting to hold things from us, make sure to keep your body language normal. It's ok to tell us, Mesonii."

Mesonii sighed, the stretching causing a sting to reach to her right cheek.

"I haven't been feeling the same at all."

Yellow Facemask fiddled with her soup and ate some before responding. "It's sensible. When people have that month where their whole world just flips upside down, there's no way they can feel the same as before. It's change, and people get it."

"I-I know, but I feel like I've screwed up a lot of people. I think me being here has just, changed others' lives, too. The entire Cetacea family, you and your pink friend, Guppi... Sankra."

While fiddling with her facemask, she contemplated the response. However, she was silent for a while before talking again.

"When you get friends, that's what you do- you change them for better or for worse. If it's for the first one, I gotta admit- it's pretty great."