"Leafy!!!" I heard several of my classmates cheer as I walked into the cafeteria. Although everyone had a smile on their face, the mood seemed almost...dim. Nowhere near as cheerful as the other morning meetings have been.
"Hey guys," I chuckled sheepishly, waving. "Sorry for making you all worry."
"It's okay Leafy! At least you're here now!" Needle clasped her hands together, giving me a warm smile. Although barely noticeable, the edges of her lips quivered a bit, as though her smile was being forced. I appreciated the gesture and I gave her a smile in return, but it was a lot less warm and lot more forced.
"Oh Leafy! Firey's in the kitchen right now. He told me to take you to the kitchen when you arrived so we can work on the cake together," Pin stood up from her seat and gestured towards the kitchen. "Wanna head over there right now?"
"Sure thing! See you guys later!" I waved to the rest of my classmates and skipped over to where Pin was, following her into the kitchen.
When we entered, I saw a head of bright orange hair move swiftly across the kitchen. Alongside the head of hair was the sound of a raspy voice cheerfully humming, a drastic difference to the mood in the cafeteria. Firey looked up at us and his instantly beamed, "Pin! Hi hi!! And Leafy! Glad you were able to make it!" Firey was holding a skillet pan with an almost-ready omelette in it. Behind him were an array of breakfast foods. Pancakes, bacon, waffles, an assorted array of berries, different types of soups, and just so much that I started to become overwhelmed at all the different choices. "I'm almost done making breakfast for everyone, so we can start baking the cake in a sec!"
"You made all of this by yourself? And so fast?" Pin questioned, donning the same expression of amazement that I had as well.
"Yup! Well, to be fair, MonoSpeaker let me into the kitchen a bit early, so it wasn't superrr fast," Firey spoke as he folded the omelette and set it onto a plate. "I think I should be done! Um, do you guys mind helping me bring all this food to the table? Heh..."
Pin gave Firey a playful eyeroll and went over to the plates of food, carrying as much as she could. I followed after her and carried my share of plates.
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After handing out all of the plates of food, we went back into the kitchen. Firey quickly grabbed some ingredients we needed for the cake: flour, sugar, eggs, yoyleberries, etc. and laid them on the kitchen counter. "Ok, time to start! I'll pre-heat the oven." Firey practically sang, hopping over to the oven and adjusting the temperature.
Firey, Pin and I got started on the cake. Firey and Pin were having a casual conversation about Pin's interest in baking as Firey was making yoyleberry puree and Pin was making the frosting for the cake. I was assigned the task of cutting up the yoyleberries to put into the cake batter. I already had the yoyleberries washed and ready in front of me, now all I needed was the...
I looked at the knives on the knife holder and counted all the knives. 4, 5, 6....7.
The knife that Icy used to kill Eraser was back onto the magnetic knife holder...
I gulped. Well...it most likely wasn't the exact knife that Icy used. Probably just a spare knife that MonoSpeaker had prepared beforehand.
....All Icy had to do to get a murder weapon was to come into the kitchen and simply grab a knife! I looked behind me and saw Firey and Pin still engaged in their conversation. Thankfully, their backs were turned towards
the knives, so they couldn't see me.
Thankfully? What am I thinking....
It was so simple. So so simple! All Icy had to do to kill was get a knife and stab Eraser! And ...to be honest...I miss being home. I miss going to my regular high school, talking to my parents, hanging out with my friends...
I inspected the knives a little more, my gaze lingering on the biggest one.
Is anybody here even my friend? We all say we're friends, but how long have we known each other for? Like, a week or two? Why should I care about them? We're all total strangers!
I looked behind me towards Firey and Pin. They were still discussing Pin's interest in baking, laughing and blissfully unaware of all the thoughts blossoming in my mind involving them...
All I have to do is kill someone and I'm free! I'm free from this prison!!
I grabbed the biggest knife.
It's okay Leafy! It's going to be so quick and easy! Just go up to them and....!!
I faced towards them again and put the knife behind my back, clenching it so hard I could feel my nails dig into my palms and my knuckles were starting to turn white...
Just go up to them and...
SNAP OUT OF IT!!!
I released a breath I didn't even know I was holding and turned away from Firey and Pin and turned back to my yoyleberries. Right! The yoyleberries! I put the biggest knife back and grabbed the second smallest knife, a much more appropriate knife for the task at hand. I started to cut the stems off the yoyleberries, becoming lost in thought...
What was I thinking?! Seriously?! Am I going crazy?! There's no way I'd murder someone, right?
......right?
No. Definitely not. You're Leafy Greens, the most optimistic, friendliest, cheerful person here! And besides, there's a whole class trial I need to go through to actually escape! There's no way I can commit a murder-
"Ow!" I looked down at my finger, blood oozing out of a small cut I accidentally inflicted on myself. I quickly moved my hand aside so the blood wouldn't get on any of the yoyleberries.
"Leafy!!!" I heard both Firey and Pin cry out, running to me and examining my finger. Pin took my hand in hers and rotated it cautiously, "Are you okay?!" Firey worriedly asked.
"Yeah yeah don't worry! It's only a small cut. Not like I'm gonna die from it! Heh..."
"Um, well, actually, even a small cut like this can get infected and-"
"Pin!!!" Firey yelled at Pin, causing her to jump. "Hold on...." Firey walked over to the fridge and reached above it to pull out a first aid kit. "Here, you can wash it in the sink," Firey directed me towards the sink with his eyes as he got out an antibiotic and a bandaid from the first aid kit.
"Aha...Sorry for being so careless you guys...I was just....thinking..." I quickly rinsed my cut under the kitchen sink and let Firey apply an antibiotic to my cut.
"What were you thinking about?"
"Uhmmm..."
Pin did you really have to ask that?!
"....Oh wait sorry sorry!! I don't mean to pry!!!"
Pin seemed to pick up on my reluctance and immediately apologized, sheepishly rubbing her hand behind her head.
"It's okay Pin, don't worry about it!! Haha!"
Thank god!!!
"All done!" Firey covered up my cut with the bandaid and showed off a confident smile, putting his hands on his hips. "You're welcome, you're welcome! Let's....keep working on the cake??"
"Thank you Firey! And yeah! I'll be more careful this time, promise!!"
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Even after eating the yoylecake and all the delicious food Firey made, the mood in the cafeteria was still dim. No one brought up yesterday, nor even hinted at it. There was smiles and laughter, yes, but they seemed so flat and two-dimensional. I even found myself engaging in the fake laughing and smiling, internally cringing at myself.
The atmosphere almost even seemed tense. People jumped at the slightest sound or would try to distance themselves from each other. It was like all the trust we managed to form the last few days completely broke. Vanished. We all looked at each other with smiles, but with smiles that we all knew secretly meant, 'no matter what, I will never fully trust you.'
Pencil scanned the cafeteria while munching on some french toast and seemingly contemplating something and she looked at each of us. The cafeteria was currently silent with the exception of silverware scratching against plates or the occasional cough, but Pencil broke that silence as she sighed and stood up from her seat with a straight posture and confident attitude, clearing her throat, "Ahem. Everyone, I know that some of you guys might not want to be reminded of this, but I think we should talk about what happened last night. Like, seriously, this atmosphere is soooo...gross! You guys seriously think we can just brush aside everything that's happened?"
Ah, there it is. About time someone brought it up...
Everyone looked around at each other, waiting for someone to speak up.
"I agree with Pencil. We cannot just forget what happened. Even if we may be uncomfortable with it, it's something that we must deal with," Golfball was the first one to speak, closing her eyes and crossing her arms.
"Oh what do you know Bossybot? What the hell is speaking about this going to do?!" Snowball stood up from his seat furiously, his hand clenching onto the side of the table so hard I was scared it was going to break. "All that this is going to do is just bring the mood down!"
"The mood is like, already down SB. We can't just like, not acknowledge what happened," Match retorted, resting her elbow on the table and her head on her palm in a seemingly mocking manner.
"Yeah well, you just brought it down even more. I don't get how acknowledging last night is going to make things better. Acknowledging it is just going to cause us to be paranoid all the time and not trust each other," Coiny calmly countered, leaning against his chair. "You guys are acting like more people are going to die."
"Newsflash, we're already paranoid and don't trust each other, dumbass!!" Flower sprung out of her seat so fast it nearly knocked her chair down.
"Only 'cause you brought the deaths up."
"Do you not know how to read the room you dumb investor?! Did you see the way we were looking at each other this whole time?! I hope you lose all your money!!"
"Dumb investor?!" Coiny stood up from his seat and looked at Flower with shock. "You're acting real bold for a girl with no redeeming qualities whatsoever!"
"Blah blah blah you're just mad that I'm right and you're wrong!"
"GUYS!!" Pencil slammed her hands on the table, "Arguing is going to do nothing but separate us! Can you guys stop acting like 10 year olds and, I don't know, cooperate?! Learn how to discuss things in a calm and civil manner?!"
"Hmph..." Flower and Coiny sat back down on their chairs, both pouting and crossing their arms.
"...Oi doin't know hoiw to feel...abouit discussing yoisterday..." Bubble spoke up, setting one of her hands on her lap and using the other hand to anxiously twirl a strand of hair around her finger.
"It's okay Bubble. I don't think anyone really knows how to feel right now," Pencil reassured, lightly patting Bubbles back. "Anyone else wanna speak up? Y'know, about how they feel and whatever."
"I mean, I kind of agree with SB and Coiny. Isn't it better to avoid talking about death? And like Coiny said, no one else is gonna kill past this point, right?" Needle spoke up, rubbing her left arm with her right hand.
"We thought no one was going to kill when we all first got trapped here and look what happened. It's kinda scary, but we never know for sure what someone is planning," TB responded, shaking his head. His arm was wrapped around Rocky's shoulder and he pulled him in closer towards him in a protective manner.
"Well, if we don't bring up the deaths, surely nothing bad will happen, right? We can just pretend like nothing happened and be happy here! It's better to be happy here than cautious all the time," Blocky reluctantly piped up.
"We're not gonna be happy here no matter what..." Spongy dimly responded, shaking his head with a sigh.
"...Yeah, I guess you're right Spongy..."
"..."
Everyone fell silent.
"...what about you Pin?"
"Wha-," Pin looked up, eating her now-cold baked potato she specifically requested from Firey.
"Got anything to say? Any ideas for escape? Any opinions about this? Anything?" Pencil asked, still standing up straight and tall.
Pin looked at Pencil, then to her baked potato, then Pencil again, then back to her baked potato again. She put her head down and she stuffed more of her baked potato into her mouth.
"Seriously? Nothing from the so-called 'Ultimate Leader?' Nothing at all?"
"Uhm...'orry, I'm jus-" Pin began, her words slightly muffled due to the food in her mouth. She swallowed and continued, "-I...don't know how to deal with situations like this. I've never had to deal with being at such a high risk of death like this. S-sorry, I need some time to adjust."
"What kind of shit is that? Seriously?"
"What?"
"You're acting as if we aren't in the exact same situation right now! Yet I, the Ultimate Writier, am being more of a leader than you! 'Ultimate Leader' my ass."
"S-sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me...I-I've been acting so anxious and self conscious and-"
"Whatever. Shut it. Don't care, didn't ask." Pencil shrugged her off and high-fived match
"Way to go Pence-Pence!" Match cheered for her best friend as Pencil struck a confident pose.
"Hey, there's no need to be mean to her," Needle stood up for Pin, patting Pin's back and giving her a gentle smile.
Match groaned, crossing her arms, "Well, like, sorry Pin isn't doing her, like, job. We like, need a leader, especially during times like these. Pence-Pence is so like, amazing for filling in for Pin 'cause she's like, not a very heroic leader."
"Pencil is only filling in to boost her already bulging ego. She's not a leader, she's just loud and talkative," Coiny defended Pin, rolling his eyes at Pencil and Match.
"At least I'm more of a leader than the Ultimate Leader. Isn't that saying something?"
"The only reason Pin is being all quiet is 'cause of the situation we're in, idiot. People deal with traumatic events and stressful situations like these differently. That's common sense," Coiny snorted, "maybe you're just too stupid to understand that."
"You think you did something, shortie?" Pencil balled up her fist, "even an oh-so-amazing leader should be able to work around traumatic events and stressful situations. Just admit that Coiny. You're not gonna die if you don't defend her y'know."
Coiny just scoffed and crossed his arms. "Doesn't give you a right to be so mean to her. You're expecting so much from her," Needle responded for Coiny.
"Yeah, 'cause she's the, like, Ultimate Leader! We've like, said this like 5 billion times already." Match argued back. "I like, say that Pence-Pence should be the group leader."
"Thank you Match! Alright, if you think I should be the group leader, raise your hand!"
Match immediately and enthusiastically raised her hand, followed by Bubble, Flower, Blocky, Snowball, and a few others.
"Sorry Pin, we just need some sorta guidance like, pronto," Firey apologized, raising his hand half-way.
"W-what the hell?! Are you guys being serious right now?!" Coiny stood up from his seat once again, enraged. "Voting to replace Pin right in front of her?!"
"Get like, over it Coiny. You're so like, sensitive." Match retorted once again.
"Alright then! Guess this means I'm officially the group leader!!" Pencil ignored the bickering between Coiny and Match and raised a fist into the air.
"Hold on! I'm much more qualified to be the leader," Golfball argued, sticking her chin up in the air while her gaze stayed on Pencil.
"Ugh, you're so annoying GBGB. Anyone for GBGB to be the leader?"
The only two people to raise their hands were TB and Rocky. "Whoo, go GB!" TB slightly cheered.
"...Ok, guess that means I'm officially the leader!!" Pencil ignored TB and Rocky. She placed her hands on her hips and sneered upon everyone else.
"You're all so...ugh!" Coiny's face was a few shades redder. He face-palmed and started to walk away from his seat, "Pin, Needle, let's go." Needle soon followed, getting out of her chair and following Coiny as she muttered a few unexpected swears under her breath. They both started at Pin, who was still in her seat. Her gaze was directed downwards as she stared at her sweaty hands, which were curled up into tight fists and were resting on her lap.
Pin gulped and let out a small, nervous, chuckle, "No Coiny, it's ok," she gulped again, her head kept lowered as moved her gaze from her hands to the floor, "I mean, it's not a bad thing at all to want to have a leader. Helps us not be so scatter-brained and whatnot..."
"Yeah Pin, but you're the leader, not that dumb writer bitch."
"We'll, I'm not the leader right now. Pencil is, and I don't mind having my pride hurt-" Pin's lower lip quivered so slightly I almost didn't catch it, "-well, I guess I do, but in this situation it doesn't really matter. I'm not capable enough right now to be leading, especially when all our lives are on the line..."
"What are you- huh?! What do you mean you aren't capable enough? Sure you are!" Coiny let out a nervous chuckle, "What happened to the confident and optimistic Pin I knew? Haha...!!" Coiny tried to say in a positive way and cheerful tone, but nobody missed the way his voice slightly quivered and the spew of nervous chuckles that came from him.
"You barely even know me Coiny. We've only known each other for a couple of weeks, so stop acting like you really know me," Pin finally lifted her head up and stared at Coiny with an intense gaze. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed and her hands, which were still balled up into fists, tightened and slightly shook. Coiny opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Instead, he just sighed and continued his way out of the cafeteria until-
"Hey!! Don't leave yet, Mr Investor! I I have some verrrryyy good news to share with all of you!!"
"What the-!!!"
MonoSpeaker sprung in front of Coiny, shoving himself directly in front of Coiny's face, causing Coiny to stumble a bit from his unexpected appearance.
"What the hell is THAT thing doing here?!" Pencil ran towards the front of the dining table and stuck her hand out in front of the table in a protective manner.
"Well, I'm just here to very quickly announce some good news! For successfully completing the first class trial, you guys have unlocked the second building of Hope's Peak Academy! Feel free to explore! Upupupupu!!" almost as quickly as he came, he left, completely vanishing from thin-air.
I looked around the table and saw some people already getting out of their chairs and preparing to explore the second floor.
A second floor, huh?
Guess I might as well explore. Maybe there's a way to escape up there?
I left my seat, a small bit of hope bubbling up inside me.
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A/N: hi guys! Extra long chapter lol :p kinda rushed towards the end sorry
Also, I was wondering if u guys would like more ships to be in this story? LOL If u guys wanna see more moments for any ship just lmk!
Also btw didn't proof read. If u see any mistakes feel free to point them out