"Speak of the Devil and the horns will appear." ~Giovanni Torriano (1666)

😈😈😈

Since May's Sinister Sister pulled her away from lunch, I have not been happy. Instead, I have been highly agitated and irritated. Made even more so since I saw May almost fall face first on the back stairs. Had it not been to for April's last-second save I probably would have lost my head and charged into the fray.

As it is I am barely keeping myself together. For the rest of the day my classes are edgy at best. I am worries, I am concerns, but I have not succumbed to my fears ...at least not yet. For I have looked into the eye of my dark goddess once more and been told to "Fear no more". And above all, I am forever faithful in my heresy.   

At the end of my last class, as soon as Dr. Doom invokes the 'five minutes to midnight',  I bolt out the back door without a second thought to the nigh end. I check for May in her Theater class, but she is not in her usual spot waiting for me. So I am almost sure now May is either still in the Nurse's Office or has already been sent home.

Out of the theater auditorium, I am rolling towards the Nurse's Office, when I spot a familiar ball of irritation in the distance. Hustling straight down the quad path right into the Other library. May's Sinister Sister storms through the front doors, shoving them out of her way like she owns the place and everyone in it.   

Beyond the glass, I see her rounding the corner to our usual carrel, and then glare around at the empty space. The petulant ponytail whipcracks and snaps as it seethes around scathingly at poor Clifboard. Who after being snapped at winces away in clear fear, then points out the glass right at me. The demoness turns around and we lock enraged eyes.

Her eyes narrow into mine like a gunslinger, before she storms at the double doors. At a glance, the first sign of the impending storm about to break is that her perfect ponytail is no longer perfect. It has started to fray and come unraveled, not unlike the girl herself.

So we have finally come to "that moment". The one that I have known that was on the horizon for us since our very first encounter back on the Annex Bleachers. So it has finally come to pass, for the fight she has to have. So of course, I am going to hand it right to her in spades and clubs.

"I'm supposed to tell you that she's not coming today, they sent her home." She snaps and snarls at me in passing. "She said she'd call you later and explain. I'm late to cheer practice...so buh bye."

"Well then, you should supposebly tell that me then, before you get back to practicing your cheer." I counter coldly, in clear irreverence to her existence. "Don't forget to stretch out first, I'd hate to see you pull something ...like a personality?"

"You know what asshole?" She stops short and seethes back at me quickly. "Every time I think you might not be that bad to have hanging around my sister? You just have to say something super stupid like that, just to prove what a freak you really are! So FYI asshole, they sent her home because her leg might be busted? She of course, didn't want you to know that yet, because she didn't want you to worry, as if!" 

"I checked for broken bones." I counter evenly.

"FYI asshole, you're not a doctor guy! You're just some dick that can swim fast!" She snaps back on attack. "And don't even get me started about that shit you slapped on my sister's leg. A slapstick!?! Are you fucking kidding me with that plan B bullshit?"

"Better than the nothing you had, when you left her sitting there bleeding into her socks." I counter back logically.

But I can see that April is now so far gone she's not hearing anything anymore. Now the beast is only out for blood, and woe and betides on anyone in her way. I know with a certainty, that if April was a guy? Yeah, we would already be trying to kill each other right there in the library atrium.

"You don't get to make those choices for her asshole! I do, not you! She's my sister, not your pet project till you blow away." Her eye twitching is now in overdrive as the rage takes over. "So in the grand scheme of things your opinion means nothing. So get it through that freaky flocking head of yours! I'm plan A and you're less than plan B. So you might think about that for a second before you say your next stupid thing."

"Like what it might mean for someone like my sister, to have to use crutches or a wheelchair?" Someone's Sister keeps snapping off psychotically. "So when you know there is a problem that requires actual medical attention? You come flocking find me so that I can deal with it. She's my sister, not yours! Not anything of yours...you freaky fucking asshole!"

I can see the lighting in April's eyes now, and I realize that I was wrong about her. She's not just petulance incarnate, she's scared shitless and in a near frenzy. She doesn't know how to deal with things that are outside of her mindset, and more importantly her control. This is how April deals with her fear, she loses herself in a shit-fit of rage. It's no wonder we can barely tolerate each other, because in this way ...she and I are exactly alike.  

"You need to get over yourself little chicklit, cause ain't nothing is up to either one of us. It's all up to May." I snarl back way harder than she was prepared for.

"What? You didn't actually think that what I did to quick fix her was plan A, did you? Sorry to disappoint, but as soon as I knew she was hurt, I practically begged May to go see the nurse. But she refused, saying not till after lunch was over. After everyone was gone, so she didn't embarrass you with her problems. So that's exactly what was going to happen, because that's what May wanted, not me."  

"That was of course until you showed up for 'sister time' and just took over. Remind me again what was it you said? Oh right ...'Don't interfere?' Cause God forbid anything ever interferes with your popular little life. "I shake my head slowly, never unlocking our glaring stare.

"After all, who am I to question your lack of understanding of anything, right? And FYI, that was what I was trying to tell you before you cut me off ...that she needed to the nurses. But as usual, you already knew everything you needed to know, to enforce your self-centered demands on her life. I just hope that frog march you forced her on to the secret sister talking time didn't add to the damage. You know ...the one where you almost broke her face on the stairs?"

"Yeah, I watched you with Mrs. Saint C, stupid. I just hope that like you didn't cause a bone splinter to break off while you force-marched her on an already injured leg. You flocking self-absorbed dumbass?" I start to mock her hard in the language of the Cheerio. 

"See my Plan B was to not have her walk anywhere on like a possible greenstick fracture. But to carry her back her to Nurses Office. You know ...like so that she didn't put any weight on the leg until a professional could like take a look at it. Like they taught me to do at the Red Cross for my First Aide cert by actual trauma doctors? Which like I would have done immediately if it were up to me...but like it was not? So like instead I got to sit there and like watch her force herself to bear the pain and bleed into her blazing socks."

"Cause in case you missed this nuance, she hates being the center of attention, unlike someone." I wave up and down at her triangle troop slut suit. "All so she doesn't embarrass your so-called life in front of your pop peeps, as poor Apeshit's blind batgirl sister? Who can't seem to figure out how to avoid the new furniture. The furniture that flocking idiot Chins keeps put in her way, after being asked to remove it the last time this happened."

"So hells yeah Apeshit!" I rage in on her hard. "Let's come down here to give me a flocking fun time, after the fact! You know, instead of using all that uber bitch power of yours to address the ongoing issue of Chins redecorating the Keller house Fung Shui style. Cause won't that be flocking funny, right? Which is most definitely not."

"So thanks anyways for the message. Not May's message of course, but the real one you came down to deliver." I seethe back into her soulless little eyes.

"Which is you're large and in charge of all her choices, not me, and clearly not her. Completely disregarding her wishes of being in charge of herself, for the sake of your appearance. Cause that's the real Plan A, isn't it idiot?" I seethe down into her red rage face.  

"So I will respect her will, and go along with Plan A bullshit, if that what she wants. Right up until I think it threatens her well-being, at which time I am gonna do what I am gonna do ...irregardlessly of your desire for her continued invisibility."

"So Plant Apes here's a thought for you to reflect on ...before you say your next stupid thing!"  I loom over her and force my hate down her throat."You want to be in charge of her life so bad? Then by all means, be large and in charge, if May will let you. You don't want nothing to do with her, cause she interferes with your rise to popularity power? Then do that too, and be just like all your other popular friends with special people in their lives."

"So just do us all a favor and pick one or the other, and just go with it. But whatever you choose to do, the one option not available to you is this bullshit."

"Buy don't you ever come sideways at me again." I fade away from the confrontation. "Or at anyone trying to help her stop bleeding."

"Even if we aren't up to your exacting triangle troops triage standards. Because you keep on pulling this kind of shit? Then maybe someday someone else helping her just isn't worth the effort of dealing with you in the aftermath. Well, that is if you're still around of course, and not on to your next shiny life."

"Cause in case you haven't figured it out yet? All this uber-entitled-bitchy-princess-know-it-all bullshit? Yeah, that does not mean shit to me, at all." I snort in disdain at her existence.

"But lucky for May, I ain't built to fear you and your kind of crazy. You got nothing I need or fear, because I won't be here long enough to even be a memory on your next bad day." I push in on her head a little harder. "So since I have no fear, I will tell you the true truth about just how twisted up you really are. When you pull this bullshit, and try to pass it off as you 'got this covered and I need you to back off now'."

"Cause I know your secret, you little flocking petulant popularity pod princess." I seethe in at her low and mean. "That you're nothing but a scared little girl. Who's worried about saving your big blind sister from her next nasty fall. And you're over your tiara in the deep dark end of the pool princess. So sink, swim or call for help, and those are your only choices. At least until you can grow the hell up and learn to handle something more than bitching and complaining after the fact."

"But me? I'm going to go handle and have a little chat with Chins and tell her a horrible Hellen Keller joke I heard." I drift past her on the way to Chin's classroom.

"Stupid little selfish girl...so blinded by your supposably popularity to know what's truly important." I hiss down into her broken little brain. "It's no wonder your sister is so worried sick about embarrassing you. Flocking up all that popularity mojo you've built up for yourself, stomping over your sister's corpse to get the bright and shiny life in the spotlight. Without your triangle troop tiara what flocking good are you to anyone?"

I swear to the Sea, I would have dumped a gallon of pigs blood on her head, Carrie style had I had it handy. Instead, I leave her standing there with her shiny little glitter eye shades wide open, the sparkle spirits glistening in her frozen eyes.

And 'till this day she has never told me or May how long she stood there statuesque stone shell-shocked and staring through me. Not even blinking before she finally woke up and realized I was already a bad memory. When I walked away, leaving her staring right at the spot I used to be standing in, right before she got skull banged sideways into a catatonic comeuppance coma.

Backside Note:

Am I sorry for that moment?  

Honestly, I don't know? Yes, no, maybe?

Yes? : Because bleeding out my hate rage out on April probably saved me from just walking into Mrs. Chin's room. Then smashing her skull into that faux fake ass Oriental Express bookstand over and over until she got the point. A clear violation of the Kings X prohibition on hitting women. Which might have caused me to have a permanent psychotic break with what little was left of my reality. Which I am thinking would not have been good for anyone.

No? : Because in my anger, I misjudged a little girl who was trying too hard to grow up to be something she wasn't ready for, nor had any examples to pattern herself after...namely a responsible adult.

Maybe? Because I know that this confrontation had to happen sooner or later, it was always an inevitability. Had it happened on a better day over at the Da Frost with May playing referee? Sure of course, there would have been less damage for everyone involved.  

Had it happened later on? Say at the emergency room, when May was fighting for her life? I might have just slit April's throat on the spot and be done with her noise, without a second thought edgewise.

But, that's the thing about roads not taken? You never know what could have been either way, for better or worse. Better to reflect on how better you could have navigated the road you did take, and try to avoid some of the obvious pitfalls next time. Hard learned life lessons are always superior to hypotheticals ...but only if you can manage to live past the pain of those many misadventures.