'...I can't believe it! We got separated!'
The walls of Hotel OJ were way, way too orange, like oranges in an orange basket. They felt like they were way too close in the thin hallways.
Being inside made Apple feel queasy. Nothing was blue like the sky, or green like the grass. And there were no flowers to smell or grass to walk on. It all felt so fake.
How did anyone stay inside all the time? It was so weird and unnatural!
But there was something even weirder afoot.
'She seemed mad. Is she upset that I got eliminated? Was she just having a bad day?'
Life was so much harder without the coolest person ever there! There was a hollow spot at Apple's side, a part of her arm that felt exposed.
And it'd only been, what, a day?
'Did I mess up?'
'...No, she's been like that for a while.' Her heart sank. '...What'd I do wrong, anyway?'
XXX
The dense forestry around them did Apple no disservice. She had a sharp instinct for all things Marsh, after all.
"Marsh, there you are! Haha, I've been looking all over for you!"
Apple hugged her. Marsh went eerily still. "I found a really neat tree to climb. Wanna come see?"
Marsh shoved her away. "Do you not know what 'leave me alone' means, or is your peanut-sized brain just that stupid?"
Apple laughed off the insult. "I know what it means! But being alone sucks. That tree won't climb itself!"
"I'd rather fall from a tree than spend time with you!"
"Huh?"
Marsh shoved past her and stormed off. Apple rubbed the warm spot on her arm where Marsh had pushed her.
'She must be having a bad day for the sixth time in a row... I wonder when she'll stop saying we can't hang out? When'll we draw together again?'
XXX
The day hadn't come where Marsh miraculously decided to hang out with her again. When Apple was eliminated, Marshmallow watched with gladness, not sadness!
It was really confusing, but mostly it made her sad.
Apple wanted to hug her.
"You've, like, walked through here five times now."
Apple turned around to see Pepper. Or was it Salt? She never really knew the difference, anyway. But she was tall and gray and looked veeeeeery irritated right about then.
"Oh. Sorry. I'm just..."
"Lost in thought?"
"Yes?" Whatever that meant.
"That's new." Pepper rolled her eyes. "Anyway, where are you going? Salt wants to take a power nap, and I'm not letting your dumb pacing disturb her."
"My room. But I'm lost."
"Fine, whatever. What room is it?" Apple handed her the key. Pepper scowled. "You aren't even on the right, like, floor."
"Oh."
"This is floor one. Your room is on floor three."
"Sorry." Apple looked down.
Pepper looked surprised, then said, "It's no big deal! You don't need to cry about it." She put on a bright grin and added, "In fact, I can escort you! Just follow me."
"...Okay."
Pepper led her up to a metal door with some buttons in front of it. "Do you know what elevators are?"
"No."
"Then, do I have news for you! An elevator will take you to any floor you want, and you don't even need to walk! Isn't that amazing?"
"I guess. I didn't know."
"It's the most useful thing ever when you're shopping at a mall. Salt and I carry so much that we'd totally fall down the stairs if we tried them. So we're lucky they have these."
"I like walking."
"You're a little weirdo who doesn't even know where her hotel room is. So what do you know?"
"Hm."
"Talk about a one-sided conversation." Pepper looked at her strangely until the door opened, and they stepped inside. Apple looked down. "You know, the least you could do is say more than three words to me. What do you want to talk about?"
She heard Marsh's laugh in her mind, that perfect laugh that she hadn't heard in so long. "Dunno."
"Maybe tell me why you got eliminated the other day? That'd be interesting..."
"I had a bad day. And I don't know. One minute everything was great, but the next, she just..."
Apple trailed off. What had Marsh done? Turned her away? Hit her with a mop? Stopped caring altogether?
What was the word for the fact that she felt like she was going to cry at any moment because her heart was empty?
"Broke my heart," Apple finished.
"Nobody saw that coming." The door opened again, and Pepper walked out, so Apple did too. "Sorry, that was mean."
"Okay."
"No, I feel bad now. But you're in luck, because I'm the one person here at the hotel who could relate."
"Oh."
Pepper waited a few seconds before saying, "I'm glad you're so curious! I was eliminated in season one. And I missed Salt for, like, ever."
A wave of sadness washed over Apple.
"...I-I do miss her... We were buddies! But she..." They came up to a door. Pepper stuck the key in it and turned it. "She..."
"Marshmallow's a loser anyway. What I learned is, the best way to not get sad about someone is to get distracted."
She opened the door to Apple's hotel room and strolled inside. Apple followed.
Pepper handed her a pillow.
"There! It's just like the real Marshmallow: punchable, spineless, and full of fluff."
Apple regarded the pillow blankly. It was white, squishy, and didn't hug her back, so it was a lot like Marshmallow. But the smell on it was of fresh oranges, not of sweet candy.
Something about pretending otherwise felt wrong. Wouldn't the real Marshmallow not want hugs?
Pepper had a little salt shaker in hand. "Do you see this? I used to spend time with Mini-Salt all the time on Idiotic Island. And I still sleep with her sometimes when we're, like, fighting."
Apple blinked. "Uh..."
"The word starts with a 'thank' and ends with a 'you.' And don't mention it, really. I don't need people to know I spent time with a little kid." Pepper gave her a funny look for a moment, then patted her once on the head. "If you ever have a problem with what's-her-face, just find me. I have so much experience with white friends being selfish that I'm like an expert. Just don't interrupt me while I'm with Salt, or I'll have to kill you."
Pepper laughed at her own joke. Was it a joke?
Pepper was already walking out, so she couldn't ask. Apple could only lamely reply "okay" before Pepper shut the door.
The room suddenly felt a lot bigger when she was alone. Apple stared at her new pillow friend for a long time.
'Well, Marsh isn't here... and she might be sad when she finds out I moved on before she stopped being in a bad mood. Maybe I should do this.'
Fairy tales were her favorite sort of stories. And princesses always got their princes and happy endings by hoping really hard for it.
Apple hugged the pillow close with a sigh, flopping back on the bad.
'I guess I'm in it for the long haul. Just you and me, Marsh. No being separated...'