Mischievous Function

Late Girls, Bad Times

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THURSDAY

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"Damn it..." Fanny grunted as she pushed open the bathroom door, suspending her greasy, messy, spilled-scrambled-egg-stained hands in front of her as she walked over to the sink, muttering to herself in disgust. "I hate scrambled eggs."

She turned on the faucet with one of her elbows and ran one hand under the water before wiping it off on her hoodie and rolling her sleeve up. After washing her other hand and rolling her other sleeve up as well, she soaked and scrubbed her hands for a few more seconds before turning off the water and ripping a paper towel from the dispenser to dry them off.

Then, a flushing noise came from a stall behind her. She glanced back to find Clock unlocking the door and heading over to the sink, waving once he saw her. "Hey, Fanny," he greeted with a light smirk. "Spilled your breakfast again?"

"I hate paper plates," she muttered as she used another paper towel to scrub her arm gauntlets dry.

Clock laughed as he washed his hands. "Well, at least the breakfast's free, so you can just go get more."

"It's paid for," she corrected, tossing the paper towels into the trash can. "Nothing's ever free."

"Oh, not this again, Fanny," he sighed as he turned to her with a disappointed expression. "Just relax for a bit and quit the random philosophical observations and existential dread, will you? We're on a school-sanctioned vacation."

"Well, I got shot in the shoulder a couple of nights ago and Bubble nearly got trafficked," she replied in a mock-sweet tone and a sarcastic smile, "so I'm sorry if I've got a bit to think about right now."

Clock raised an eyebrow as he joined Fanny near the paper towel dispenser to dry his hands. "Trafficked? So she almost got, like, run over?"

"No," Fanny replied bluntly with a scoff, "she almost, like, got kidnapped and sold as a—"

She suddenly cut herself off and blinked a couple of times, catching herself in the nick of time. Clock waited for her to continue, but gave her a confused expression when her pause dragged on for longer than normal. Before he could ask her what she meant, though, Fanny cleared her throat and continued, "...as...as something really bad."

"Really bad?" he asked. "Like what?"

Fanny shook her head and looked up at the ceiling. "You wouldn't understand, Clock," she sighed before looking back at him with flat eyebrows and narrowed eyes. "And I don't think she does, either. Or...most of our classmates, for that matter. Just...don't worry about it. It's in the past now, and it won't happen again."

Before they could take the conversation any further, the door to the bathroom opened, and in walked Test Tube and Bubble carrying their idol outfits. "What happens next?" Bubble asked Test Tube as the door closed behind them.

Test Tube grinned. "Transfer student shows up with even bigger—AH!" She stopped in her tracks, causing Bubble to do the same and pause for a second before she realized what Test Tube was looking at. "Oh. Uh...hi, Clock," she said as both she and Bubble quickly hid their outfits behind their backs. "Didn't expect to see you here."

Clock scoffed and crossed his arms with a frown. "Yeah, neither does anyone else."

"I don't want to be that girl, Clock," Bubble said, a look of worried apprehension on her face as she glanced nervously first at Test Tube, then at Fanny, "but, uh, could you maybe...leave? Please?"