Elaine was walking to the roof for her free period to study when Arlo pulled her into an empty room. She was flustered from the sudden touch and was definitely confused. This was unlike Arlo all things considered to pull her into an empty classroom to talk.
"A-Arlo?? What are we doing in an e-empty classroom?" She cursed herself for stuttering but could you blame her? She was planning on studying but Arlo suddenly pulled her to the closest empty classroom with her a blushing mess.
Arlo was leaning on the teacher's desk, his face was one of concentration, he was studying her.
"Why did you hate cripples so much?"
She took a step back and her eyes widened from the initial surprise, out of everything he could have asked her she didn't expect that. "W-what?" She had to make sure she heard him right the first time.
He glared at her slightly and repeated the question slowly, "why did you hate cripples so much?"
She took another step back until her back hit one of the desks in the room, she needed to gather her thoughts, she wasn't blushing anymore. Elaine wordlessly hopped on the desk she hit and closed her eyes for a moment. Out of everyone that could have asked her, Arlo was the person she expected it the least. Before Joker and EMBER, they both respected and followed the hierarchy without question. In a way, it's what tied them together all the time, the hierarchy. She was the healer for The Royals and that was that. She didn't expect him to question how she used to view things since they both had the same cover that blocked their view.
She opened her eyes, Elaine couldn't look at him directly so she opted to stare at the wall behind him, "why do you want to know now?" she asked him seriously. Technically she wasn't glaring at him, rather the wall. Elaine knew how observant Arlo, she also knew that it was going to bite her in the butt one day. She just didn't expect that day to be today.
Arlo could tell the change in her demeanor immediately; it wasn't hard to tell considering her eyes had darkened, and she was glaring a hole in the wall behind him. He knew the risk of asking her about her past hate of cripples but he needed answers. If there was one thing she wasn't afraid to talk about with him, it was this. He knew she wouldn't back down from this topic.
"You treated them very differently compared to anyone else but one day you go to who knows where and your view of them changed completely. If I weren't paying attention to everyone around me, I would have said that your view changed because of what happened with EMBER and the Joker incident. But, I am not blind. Your view changed because of something else. Your week-long absence is what changed you."
He was entering dangerous territory and they both knew it. She straightened her back and she finally looked him in the eye. He changed his stance as well, instead of leaning on the desk he stood to his full height and looked her dead in the eye. Her green eyes against his icy blue ones. Her once bright green eyes had turned incredibly darker. In normal circumstances, she would never dream of glaring at Arlo but this was not normal. The atmosphere was tense that if anyone were to walk in they would most likely be downright terrified. Elaine wasn't known to be an intimidating person but if she had to she could be frightening.
"That doesn't explain why, you just about said what changed me but you haven't answered my question on why you want to know. Why do you want to know and why do you want to know now?" She asked him, he glared right back.
"I want to know how you started to hate cripples. I want to know what happened that made you change your view on them completely. Also, I've noticed anytime someone mentions anything about 'family' you get uncomfortable. If I'm not mistaken something revolving around your family made you hate cripples." He noticed as soon as mentioned 'family' she stiffened, his hunch was right. His mouth twitched upwards, he won.
Elaine paled, her eyes widened. She shouldn't be surprised that he noticed but to get it right on the money, she didn't expect that. She let out a defeated sigh, her shoulders slouched and she closed her eyes. Arlo wouldn't let this issue go and she knew it, might as well get it over with.
She played with the hem of her skirt and stared down on her lap while talking, "you're right, my hate for cripples did revolve around my family. Since my ability isn't a combative one, my parents used to always compare me with low-tiers and cripples. My mom's ability is healing as well but she's much stronger at it than I am. So when John first joined I liked the feeling of being above him, just being better than him to somehow prove my parents wrong. But, when it came to high-tiers they always made me suck up to them, change my personality, and be on my best behavior.
Basically how Zeke acts," she laughed humorlessly.
She chanced a glance at Arlo to see him looking at her expectantly, silently telling her to continue. "I was used to it at that point and it became a reflex to be extra kind to high-tiers or change my personality altogether. One day my dad was coming home but his car crashed and he died,"
Elaine took in a shuddering breath before continuing, "my mom forever blamed it on cripples. She said they tainted the world, that it would be better if we didn't have any cripples in the world. We never knew what caused the crash, but my mom said she knew it was because of cripples," she scoffed before muttering, "can't believe I actually believed her."
She shook her head and continued, "I knew I loved my father even if he forced so many things that aren't me on me, even though he brought my self-esteem down. I was............... broken for a while after he died, I was like a robot, just doing what I was told. My mom used my state of mind to shape it; the accident caused me to have an actual reason to hate cripples. I did everything my mom told me to do, at first I thought I wanted to make her proud. At first, it was like that but then she started hitting me. It's why I rather not get involved with violence, it's why I was so scared of John."
Arlo was studying the girl in front of him; he realized just how broken she was. He couldn't believe that this girl right in front of him has a mother who was like John except instead of hating high-tiers she hated cripples and low-tiers.
"My mom was coming home from buying some groceries I think, I don't really remember. But, a cripple mugged her. I think the person took her paycheck since she just got it that day. When she got home she told me the story, exaggerated the details to make it seem a lot more serious than what it was. When she came home she didn't look bad, I think she just got shoved to the ground and hit her head but she looked fine. She used the encounter with the supposedly 'cripple' and constantly told me about it so I wouldn't forget "Cripples are cockroaches, they deserve to die. They don't deserve our sympathy. They just take what they can since they are desperate bastards."
"When I got accepted to Wellston I was so relieved. I didn't have to go through the abuse from my mother, and I got to focus on my studies," Elaine smiled slightly but it was gone just as fast. "I realized the hierarchy at Wellston was a lot more serious but also a lot more hectic. My first year was the hardest I........... I didn't realize I was doing exactly what my mother taught me. I was abusing people just like my parents abused me. I just wanted to feel superior, to get away from the abuse but I was embracing it instead of getting away from it. I was using what I was trying to get away from. In my second and third year, I was doing the same thing just less frequently and not as harsh but I was still doing something I shouldn't have."
She was frowning deeply while reminiscing about dark times.
"Just the hierarchy forced on us, all of us being taught to follow the hierarchy without question, the stress and trauma from my family............ it was just too much. We were always taught to follow the hierarchy but we were taught differently."
Arlo finally had a solid view of what she has gone through but he was still curious about one thing; her week-long absence.
As if she could read his mind she talked about her absence from school.
"I was called from the local hospital from my hometown that my mother was brought in, from the Joker incident I thought it was a good time to escape so I went away for a week to make sure my mom was okay. I forgot all about what she caused me before and just wanted to make sure she was healthy," Elaine laughed bitterly and continued, "it was a mistake to visit. My mom was brought to the hospital because a low-tier, almost cripple joined the part of her job. She couldn't believe her boss expected her to work with the new hire. She lashed out at the poor woman, threw the hot coffee the woman brought her just to get to know her. Sarah, the new hire has first-degree burning but she's fine. My mom yelled at her, she went absolutely ballistic at Sarah. She was crazy......." Elaine whispered out
"The security apprehended my mom before things could escalate and brought her to the police before bringing her to the hospital so she could get diagnosed with psychosis. Her brain just kept on bringing her to cripples that caused her to finally snap. I didn't realize that she was going through this and it surprisingly didn't hurt me. I was disappointed that I didn't realize she was slowly turning into a psycho but at least she's getting help now." She finished with a bitter-sweet smile before it turned into a frown, she hesitated to say something but decided that she was going to say it.
"I....... visited her, she doesn't seem like she wants to change. She said that the people working at the psychosis hospital are the actual psychos, that they don't realize that the real problem is the cripples. That the people with abilities should work on killing the cripple population. I didn't realize it till she talked to me after 3 years about how skewed my vision of cripples is. I was so wrong yet she made me believe I was so right."
Her eyes were stinging but she fought against it and finally looked him in the eye.
"That's why I hated cripples."
Whew! That was an emotional chapter. I'm so sorry it took so long to update but writing (sorta) Arlaine is difficult. But, it was worth it. Don't worry I'll do a part 2 soon. Hope you enjoyed the read!
Happy Valentines Day!
✧ Astraea