Two Weeks Later:
I wake up to my walking alarm. Things are still feeling numb and cyclical. I do my daily warm-ups. Then head to my room. I can barely stand to deal with myself, let alone dare to be near Miss Claire.
I'm disgusting. I can't expose the people I care about to me. My phone has been turned completely off. I haven't had contact with Mr. Eun-ji or Jane either. Especially Mr. Eun-ji… How can I ever look at him? Me. My hatred. My sick satisfaction. I killed Ironhide, the man he admired most.
I look in my mirror, and I see the fading brown hair dye and that filthy, pale yellow that is slowly peering out. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting… I grab my brown hair dye and frantically spray it all over my hair, even getting it on my neck and the back of my shirt.
That's when someone walks in and taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and see Mr. Eun-ji. He waves. "Hey, Ray. Come downstairs." He says dryly before turning around and leaving.
Of course, he'd be that way around me… It isn't like I don't deserve it...
I sigh and make my way downstairs, slowly slinking down the steps. I walk out into the pristine quartz lair. It's dry and empty. Miss Claire doesn't even seem to be here. I go and sit at the kitchen table. Mr. Eun-ji, on the other hand, is leaning on the kitchen counter in the corner.
The silence is excruciating. Do I apologize? Do I beg for forgiveness? I don't know if either is the right answer.
We sit in silence for an entire hour. Time is passing way too slowly. The silence is broken by someone covering my eyes. "Guess who, kiddo!" says a rather familiar female voice.
Jane?!
I take her hands off and turn around. "What are you doing here? I thought you couldn't leave your lab?" I ask, my mouth agape.
"Claire invited me. And I wouldn't miss out, considering what today is." She explains.
Before I can question that, Miss Claire bursts in holding a box. She runs over and opens the box, revealing a cake. "Happy birthday, my little Chameleon!~" She exclaims in a sing-songy voice. I examine the cake, it's red velvet, my favorite. It also reads in white icing: "Happy 9th Birthday Ray"
"I made the cake myself." Jane chimes in with a sense of pride.
"Thank you, Jane," I tell her.
Miss Claire slides another box onto the table; it's wrapped in wrapping paper with a black chameleon design on it. "You can open that later." She tells me, placing another box on top of it. "That too."
"You want cake?" Miss Claire asks me.
"Sure," I say, while my thumb and my pointer finger are playing with the corner of the cake box.
Mr. Eun-ji walks over with a large kitchen knife. He opens the box and slams the knife down into the cake, cutting it himself. Some crumbs of red velvet cake go flying, a few land on my cheek, while a lot of them end up on Mr. Eun-ji and the floor.
"Whoa, didn't have to be so violent with it, dude," Jane says, her eyes narrowing. Miss Claire drags him aside as I activate his power so I can listen to their impending argument.
"Eun-ji. Do not be a dick to the kid on his birthday! I told you that I understood what you're going through and said that you didn't have to come! You chose to come and support him on his birthday. So clean up your act." Miss Claire shouts. I honestly wouldn't have even needed the power to hear that.
They both walked back over after, but Mr. Eun-ji never verbally responded. So I don't know how the rest of the exchange went.
Jane finishes cutting the cake and hands me a slice; she cuts up three other slices for Miss Claire, Mr. Eun-ji, and herself. My slice is quite bigger than the others.
I stand up and walk over to the leftmost kitchen drawer. I grab out four forks. I hand them out to Miss Claire, then Jane, and then finally Mr. Eun-ji. The former thanked me, while Mr. Eun-ji simply nodded his head.
I stuck my fork in my cake and began to eat it. Savoring it. "This cake is really good, Jane. You're really good at baking." I tell her.
"Well, I had to go all out for my favorite little guy." She says as she reaches down to ruffle my hair, smiling down at me.
The smile is infectious, as it creeps onto my face as well. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Miss Claire smiling too.
Even though I haven't finished my cake yet, Miss Claire grabs the larger box and places it in front of me, "Here, here! Open it! Open it!" She says, practically bouncing with excitement.
I open the box, and I see a cyan scarf. I pick it up as she proclaims, "I made it myself!" Cyan. An arbitrary color. But it is very soft. Miss Claire takes it out of my hands and wraps it around my neck.
It's nice. I think I'll wear it when winter comes. "I like it, Miss Claire. Thank you." I say as I hug her. She returns the hug, "You're welcome. I stayed up all night finishing it up. The color reminds me of you," she coos.
Cyan reminds her of me? That seems random. But I appreciate it anyway. I let go of the hug and return to eating my cake, savoring it. I get two bites in before Miss Claire slides over the smaller box, "Now this one," she commands, radiating excitement.
I open the box and see a pendant. I open it and see nothing. I put it around my neck anyway. It's very simple and pretty. A bright gold color, most likely not real gold, in a rectangular shape. "I left it empty so you can pick what two photos are gonna go in there." Miss Claire chimes in. "Thanks, Miss Claire. I like the pendant. It isn't too much, but it also looks nice." I reply. "Obviously, I know my little Chameleon's tastes," she declares as she puts an arm around me.
I look over and see Jane with a panicked look on her face. "Claire, can you take us back to the lab? I forgot the kid's gift there!" she shouts. Miss Claire sighs and walks over to her. Without any words, she opens a portal and they walk through, leaving me alone with Mr. Eun-ji.
I can't do this. I should just go back to my room. I stand up and begin to walk away; however, Mr. Eun-ji runs after me and stops me. "I don't hate you." He says, still not looking at me. "It's just been… a lot lately." He says before further explaining, "I've been promoted to Rank 25 since Ironhide is gone. And I've been around Ironhide's former apprentices often; they're relying on me to fill that void that he left as much as possible. I won't lie to you, Ray, part of me is upset. But… Ironhide wouldn't have hated you. He probably even exonerated you in his dying moments. I'm grieving, and I'm sure you are too. You were the neighborhood boy that went missing, right, Ray?"
What? How did he- Never mind. "Yeah," I reply.
"Thought so. He told me about how that was his motivation. It isn't my place to forgive you or condemn you. But I know you're grieving as much as I am. Claire told me how torn up you were." He says, finally making eye contact with me.
"But I can't exactly hate you, can I? You're my one and only apprentice. Right, 'Parker'?" He says with a forced smile, a clear attempt to lighten the mood.
He pulls out a plastic bag with a supermarket logo on it, "Here, I didn't get your gifts from here. But it's the only bag I had at my place, so…" He says while handing me the bag, motioning for me to take out what's inside.
I dig in the bag and grab what feels like a card. I pull it out and see that it reads "WWSHA ID." It has a photo of my face, and it also has my name as "Parker". My status also reads as "apprentice", with Mr. Eun-ji's name listed as my mentor.
"Ironhide's funeral is two weeks from now. If you want to make a public appearance as Parker. You can." He said as I began to tear up. He notices and puts a hand on my shoulder, "Hey, you can't start cryin' yet. You haven't even seen the rest, kid," he jokes. He reaches into the back and takes out a small device with eight buttons on it. "It's a pager, more convenient for more covert options of requesting help. It's so you don't have to take all that time to sneak text like you did the last time you needed to call for help. The top button is for Claire, the one below it is for me, and the one below that is for Jane. The rest you can add at your discretion." He says as he hands it to me.
"T-Thank you," I say through tears.
"You don't have to reach for the last thing. It's just a gift card for your phone's app store. Five bucks." He shrugs.
I nod my head, putting the bag down on the kitchen table where I sit. "Mr. Eun-ji. A part of me felt satisfied after I did it. It's sick. It's wrong. And I hate it." I say as I sob, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" Mr. Eun-ji closes the distance and hugs me. "Goddamnit. I don't know what you want me to say to that." He says, awkwardly rubbing my back.
Soon after, Miss Claire and Jane return. And Mr. Eun-ji immediately backs away as I wipe my tears, both of us hoping that it looks like nothing happened while they were gone. However, Miss Claire rushes over to me, she leans down and whispers in my ear, "Do I need to take him outside and beat him senseless?" She asks.
I shake my head no, and she backs off. Jane then walks up to me and hands me a box wrapped in neon green wrapping paper with a neatly tied-up bow on it. "Sorry for taking so long; it ended up being in the corner of the lab." She says before following up with, "But please go ahead and open it."
I lightly inspect the box; it is quite large. I tear off the wrapping paper and see there are multiple layers of wrapping paper, each a different color. I take the rest of them off and open the box. I see a large figure of a Giganotosaurus, a giant encyclopedia about dinosaurs, and a few studded building block sets of different dinosaurs: a Triceratops, an ankylosaurus, and a T. rex.
I feel my eyes light up. I'm slightly starting to bounce on the balls of my feet, shifting my weight from one side to the other. "Thank you so much, Jane!" I say as I put the box down and hug her.
Jane laughs as she returns the hug, "Seems like I've won, eh?" She says, addressing the other two. "No need to be so smug, E-" Mr. Eun-ji cuts himself off before continuing, "Jane." Miss Claire shoots a glare at him. And Mr. Eun-ji backs up. "Anyway. Wanna end off the night with a marathon of your favorite dino movie franchise?" Miss Claire asks, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on.
"Sure!" I reply, sliding onto the couch as Miss Claire and Jane sit on either side of me, and Mr. Eun-ji sits next to Jane.
We end up watching the entirety of the original trilogy, as the reboot movies aren't that good in my opinion. Shortly after, Mr. Eun-ji says his goodbyes and leaves. Jane stays and chats with Miss Claire and me, but soon after, Miss Claire portals her back to her lab.
When she returns, I speak up, "Miss Claire?..."
"Yeah, kiddo?" She replies, her head slightly tilted to the side.
"Thank you for the party. It was amazing. I don't think I've ever had so many people celebrating me before." I tell her.
Miss Claire goes and hugs me, "Ever since your fight with Ironhide, you've been locking yourself in your room and isolating yourself. You looked so miserable. I just wanted you to smile," she says, just holding me tight for a while.
She eventually lets me go, "Ray. Don't beat yourself up. What happened happened. I'm not going to deny how you feel. But think about it this way: Would Ironhide want you to stay this way? To be miserable. To hate yourself."
I sigh before quietly responding, "No. He wouldn't. He'd ask me to live. To succeed where he couldn't. Right the wrongs of the system."
"Then honor that. I'm not asking you to just get over it. I'm asking you to try and pick yourself back up, one step at a time." She tells me, taking my hand as we walk to my room.
"Alright," I say, as we finally arrive in my room and I get into my bed.
"So, I know you may not like this. But I gotta tell you something serious." Miss Claire says, her expression darkening.
"What is it, Miss Claire?" I ask her in response.
"Tomorrow I gotta fly out of the country. I'll be gone before you wake up. It's important. So you'll be in the care of Eun-ji and Jane. I'll make sure to call you every day. And I'll still give you targets to take down. Ok?" She explains.
What? Abroad? I know I have Mr. Eun-ji and Jane, but can I last without Miss Claire? I want to tell her to stay. But I don't want to sound bratty. I haven't been the best to her lately, putting myself in danger and worrying her needlessly. If she thinks I'll be fine. I don't want to disappoint her.
I inhale sharply before finally replying, "Ok, Miss Claire. If you have business you need to handle, then you should handle it. I promise I'll do my best and be good while you're gone."
She giggles and responds, "Even though you drive me nuts, you still can act sweet like that. I'll miss you, you know that?"
"I'll miss you too, Miss Claire. I'll hold you to calling me every day." I reply.
"Sounds good. Not sure when I'll be back, I have some important business to handle." She further clarifies.
"I'll await your return patiently," I tell her.
"Goodnight, my little Chameleon. Be good for Eun-ji and Jane, and try not to be as reckless as you have been lately." Miss Claire says as she tucks me in.
I slowly drift to sleep, coming to terms with how I'll last without Miss Claire.
Well, on the bright side. Today made me feel better about everything, if only a little. I'm lucky to have three people in my corner. But I need to learn how to fight without them. Without needing Jane to heal me after every fight. Without Miss Claire and Mr. Eun-ji bailing me out when I pick a fight I can't win.
Mr. Eun-ji is shielding me emotionally. Ironhide definitely meant a lot more to him than he did to me. My guilt for my sins shouldn't overwrite his grief.
And Miss Claire, always spoiling me and doting on me. Filling the role of a mother that I didn't have. I look up to her; she matters to me. I can't be useless to her.
Self-sufficiency… I need to be more self-sufficient…
I can't be a burden…