alexis
it had been around a week since the incident in the cafeteria with isabel. since she'd encountered crybaby in the bathrooms, alexis had been ignoring her completely;
in fact, she had been avoiding her whole group of friends, opting to spend her free time alone instead. occasionally she would talk to angelita or celeste when they shared a class together, but the words exchanged were usually few and awkward, as both parties were scared of mentioning a subject sensitive to the other.
alexis knew how desperate crybaby was to talk with her; angelita had brought it up several times. she wanted to talk to crybaby too, but was terrified of the potential outcome;
her feelings for the bicoloured hair girl she'd met on the bus had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, and alexis wasn't sure how to handle it. she'd never felt this way for anyone before.
and she didn't like thinking about it.
right now it was time for drama class, with mr cornwell. alexis settled into her seat at the back of the theatre a few minutes before the bell rang, and spent the time she had to spare shuffling idly her notes. just like her thoughts as of recent, they were jumpy, messy and made little sense, but writing them during class gave her something to do now that she had no friends to giggle over stupid shit with.
a split second after the bell rang, angelita and crybaby both entered the theatre, the doors slamming loudly behind them. alexis's heart sank as both of them almost automatically placed themselves in seats either side of her, as they would have done before they entered their current situation.
alexis felt herself zoning out again as she thought about what had happened between herself and crybaby, and she allowed herself to fully acknowledge for the first time how unfair she was being on the girl who she felt so much for. she heaved a sigh and turned around to apologise to crybaby, only to find that she was caught up in an argument with a boy sat in front of her.
"...actually, having a larger capacity to feel and express emotion is one of the many qualities that makes us superior to your kind," she huffed, backed up by supportive nods from angelita. the boy's jaw dropped in indignance.
"...if you could please turn to page four and take a look at what role you've been assigned to," mr cornwell continued from the front of the theatre.
crybaby raised a hand, and then spoke before being permitted to do so.
"uh, yeah; about that... is there any way i could get a role that's, uh, less domesticated? like- an assistant director, or president of the united sta-"
she's cut off by the same boy from before leaning back and hissing, "president? what a joke. your kind is too soft and sensitive to handle a man's job."
crybaby cast her eyes around the theatre for a moment before rolling her eyes, and muttering "fuck it" and standing up.
"all of you are so soft, and so fucking sensitive," she called; the class fell silent as they all swivelled around in their seats to stare at her in curiosity. "do i really offend you?" she lets out a bitter laugh. "keep your costumes and masks. i'm fucking out of here." she pushed her way past alexis and angelita's seat to the end of the aisle.
alexis watched crybaby's admirable exit in awe;
however, the glory was cut short as two men who appeared from seemingly nowhere each grabbed one of her arms and began manhandling her away from the exit, towards the backstage wings.
crybaby was kicking and screaming in terror. "what- get off me, you fucking-"
alexis watched in horror, feeling as though her chest was being ripped wide open as she watched the girl she loved being hurt. she turned to angelita, who just shook her head.
"she refuses to use her powers unless she has to," elita whispered. "she doesn't want to become dependent on them."
alexis stared after the door that crybaby and the two men had just disappeared to, a sinking feeling settling in her stomach as she realised that there wouldn't be much she could do to save her.
✦ ♫♪ ✦
alexis was sat in her seat of next period. the class was in silence, apart from the sound of pencil scratching against paper. she was staring out of the window, trying to ignore the painfully empty seat beside her that would usually be filled by crybaby's bright presence. the girl hadn't been seen by anyone since the occurrence in drama, and alexis was growing increasingly concerned.
all she wanted was to tell crybaby how sorry she was.
she was rudely interrupted from her thoughts as mr cornwell's voice crackling into existence over the school's announcement intercom.
"we are pleased to announce that after a last minute change of plans, we will be able to perform our annual school performance after all. this is a one-time only experience advised that everyone attends, or there will be consequences. please make your way to the school theatre immediately."
there was a sudden flurry of noise as everyone's stools screeched against the floor, in complete unison.
the rest of the students marched out of the classroom with no personality, like they were robots.
alexis caught angelita's eye from across the classroom, and the two of them shook their heads in alarm. neither of them had received any warning of such an event.
both hung back until the rest of the class had gone so that they could walk into
the theatre and sit down together, and not be alone in their attempts to figure out what the fuck was going on.
crackling music began to play from a gramophone somewhere offstage; the red velvet curtains were slowly drawn back to reveal a scene with three couples on stage. crybaby was the female counterpart in the central couple, looking beautiful in a vintage dress. however, as she performed the play perfectly in sync to the other cast members, her facial expression was swinging from angry to monotone; as if she was fighting being brainwashed.
in the play, the boy she was dancing with insisted on crybaby ironing his clothes while he and the other men walked around the edge of the stage together. crybaby hit her iron against the ironing board to the beat of the table, seemingly continuing to struggle in gaining back control of herself.
suddenly, she looked into the audience, her eyes meeting alexis's.
her whole body froze for a few moments, while everyone else continued their performance around her.
crybaby blinked her eyes and shook her head; almost as though she was broken from a trance, she ignored the choreographed moves completely as she grabbed her iron, stomped up to one of the boys in the play and pressed it into his flesh. there was a sizzling noise and an agonised scream.
she tossed her iron to the side, the music faltering as she took centre stage.
"you're all being brainwashed," she yelled, her voice cracking with desperacy as she waved her arms around. the students continued to all stare back at her with identical, unsettling smiles.
the two men who had wrestled crybaby away before, in drama class, approached from behind and grabbed hold of her.
"open your fucking eyes!" crybaby screamed, fighting back against them.
alexis watched, her heart shattering. she had no idea what those men would do to crybaby, and she seemed more than reluctant to use her powers to her advantage.
"for fuck's sake, open your eyes," alexis screeched, standing up. her heartbeat was racing with a mixture of indignance and fear. "can't you see what they're doing to you?"
the whole room seemed to pulse and shake for a moment;
the two men holding crybaby were thrown backwards to the floor, and the whole audience began to hum with people muttering in horrified tones.
alexis looked down at angelita, who was sat in her seat, her expression unreadable.
"d- was that me?" she asked a little shakily.
"sure seems like it," replied angelita with a slightly shaky grin. "look- crybaby wants you."
alexis looked back up to the stage, where crybaby was staring directly at alexis. their eyes met, and alexis nodded, hurrying down the aisle to reach the stage.
instinctively, crybaby jumped down from the stage and instinctively, alexis caught her.
"i'm so sorry," alexis whispered into crybaby's ear.
crybaby pressed her forehead against alexis's for a moment, quivering, before their lips met.
it was only brief, but it was definite, and it filled alexis with a new hope that she hadn't known existed.
"don't be," crybaby murmured back before jumping out of her grasp onto the ground and grabbing her hand.
in a much louder voice, to all the other students, she added, "we have unfinished business- all of this is the fault of the principal!"
without hesitation, students poured out of the theatre, stamping and changing. crybaby led them towards the principal's office, with alexis being half-dragged alongside her, barely able to keep up. angelita and celeste hastily fought their way through the crowd and made it to the front; the four girls held open the ornate golden-white door to the principal's office.
students flooded in, all headed directly for the principal. above the din that the prisoners of the school were making, the principal's agonised yells could be heard.
and by the doorway,
four powerful girls with identically dark eyes linked hands,
giggling in unison as they watched their principal's body being torn apart.