OVERLOOKED ㅤkotlc

003. The Girl

She's observant; I have to be careful not to say anything about the mission. "Yep, I've been going here for a few years now," I say. "I'm heading to Healing Center right now to check on my friend."

"Oh—is your friend okay?" The Girl looks genuinely concerned, and it's nice to know that she's not really suspicious of me or anything; her analyzation earlier seemed almost instinctual, actually.

"I'm not sure. I think he should be fine."

"Ah, that's good." There's an awkward silence, and then she says—"I'm Rosaleen."

"Oh—I'm Dex." I watch her for any signs of recognition; her eyes widen a little, and I know she's at least heard of me.

"You're... the Technopath," she says. "The one from about a year or two ago, you made the ability restrictor—and your dad, he owns Slurps and Burps."

"That's me," I agree. Now the tables have turned, and I'm the one analyzing. I search her for any judgement or disgust.

I don't see any.

"Is, um, Sophie Foster"—it's kind of funny how she refers to Sophie by her full name—"okay? Like, the ability restrictor, she doesn't have it anymore, right?"

I laugh. "Sophie's good," I promise. "Don't worry. The ability restrictor was trashed a long time ago, and—you know when Ravagog flooded, or when the gnomes had that disease, but it was cured? Or when Atlantis was almost flooded?"

She frowns, then nods. "I mean... yes, I've heard of it. I know the gnomes got the disease, since the Council told us, but I thought the other ones were just rumors?"

A wry grin slips onto my face. Classic Council, keeping information away. "Nah, they were all true. And 'Sophie Foster' can't do all that with an ability restrictor, don't you think?"

Rosaleen realizes what I'm saying and laughs. "You're close with her," she notes.

"What?"

"You're listing all her accomplishments and whatever really proudly, but you're not taking any of the credit. You're proud of her, and happy for her."

I flush. "I mean—y-yeah. We're close, I think. But, like—everyone in the group—we're all proud of her. She's a good person, and—"

"Now you're complimenting her." Rosaleen raises an eyebrow at me, but there's something teasing about it. "I get it, you love her."

My face feels really hot. It's so hot in here. "A-As a friend."

She smirks. It's a softer smirk than Keefe's. More mischievous and playful, less... daring and bold. But she wears it well, and oddly enough, it kinda suits her. What am I—Dex, that's it. Stop thinking. "Of course," she says.

Another pause. I'm trying think of what to say, or if I should go, when she says, "Wait. You guys are always on dangerous adventures and whatever, right? So—if you're going to the Healing Center, it might be serious—right?"

"Ah... right," I say. It'd be really suspicious for me to deny that.

She kinda looks at me. One would think that she'd be really guarded, with a poker face on at all times. But instead, she's really... open, and it makes her seem almost vulnerable.

First, curiosity, then worry. Thoughts are scrawled in her eyes: What happened? Who is it? Is everything okay? Ahh, I hope they're okay. Should I let him go now?

But then, there's an uncertainty: Does he think I'm too pushy or nosy? I should let him go. It's important, right? What if I see him tomorrow? Won't that be awkward? It'll be awkward, won't it?

And then she looks away, and I'm guessing she's thinking something like: Oh frick, I was just... staring at him. For like, five whole seconds.

"I should go," I finally say. "Is that okay?"

"Oh—yes; you probably should, anyway, because I bet it's really impor—" Her Imparter buzzes, cutting her off, and she sends an apologetic look my way as she picks up.

It's a woman. Her mom, I think. They both have the same golden brown hair, though her mom's hair is curlier. She's larger, too, and there's something about her that's really pretty. Maybe Rosaleen gets it from her mom, then.

Whichever braincell is feeding me these thoughts: please shut up.

"Do you know when you're coming home? I have work soon—and Akel's lunch is at—"

"Twelve." Her mom smiles, and Rosaleen continues when she sees she got it right. "And your work is midday to midnight. It's 11:45 right now, so I can stay for five more minutes; then I'll come back and prepare his lunch."

It's interesting to see this side of her. It's so assured, and dependable. (Very responsible, too, unlike me. And it seems like she doesn't prank her sibling every other day.)

"Thanks, sweetie." Her mom is smiling, and I wonder how many times they've done this routine, where Rosaleen finishes her sentences and where her mom smiles at her like this.

Her mom hangs up, and Rosaleen pockets the Imparter, glancing at me. "Sorry, that was my mom," she says. "I have to go soon, but it was nice meeting you?"

"It was." Another pause. "Hey, wait, Rosaleen, we should hail each other another time. We'll be going to the same school anyway, and—you aren't awful." Oh—that came out wrong. "I mean—no, you're—nice. Like, I wouldn't mind—"

She just laughs. "You're not awful either, Dex." And then there's her smirk again.

I ease into a sheepish smile. "You know my full name, right?"

"Dex Dizznee?" Rosaleen guesses. "It's easy to remember, because your last name sounds like this human theme park that my mom used to tell me and my siblings about."

"Yeah—and my first name is Dexter, so if you hail me, use that."

Her lips twitch, and I think she's holding back a smile. "Yes, sir."

"I'll see you—whenever you want to hail me, then—?"

"Sure," she says. "And I'll see you tomorrow at school, too, maybe. Foxfire's big, though—I got lost a couple of times today. And I don't know if we have the same Level, or if you're even around my age or not, so—maybe we won't. But hopefully?"

There's a look on her face after that, like—"oh shizzles, was I rambling?"

But I nod. "Yeah. See you, then!" I say, walking backwards down the hallway as I wave.

She laughs. I probably look silly, but I don't think she cares. "See you," she calls, before turning around and heading to the entrance.

As her footsteps fade away, a familiar feeling of dread builds in me. I was distracted talking to Rosaleen, but now I'm just scared. What happened at that mission?

AUTHOR'S NOTE !

welcome back rosaleen 😌