Your daughter is really lucky to have you in her corner, you know.
The Language of Flowers
Sumi
There was a smoothie shop, off the beaten path, closer to the university and the hospital than the bustling center of town, and it had become her daily go-to. Sumi found it provided a welcome respite on the days she couldn’t bear dealing with the staring eyes at the Black Sheep Beanery.
She didn’t know how it was that half the town seemed to know her. She barely knew a dozen people, and half of that number were Yuriko’s family. Not only did they seem to know her, Sumi got the distinct impression they disliked her. Is it because you’re half human? Are humans not welcome here?! Discovering this smoothie shop had been a boon, and it was there that she found the answer to at least one of her unvoiced questions.
Join the local business owners coalition today!
She pounced on the flyer she found on the smoothie shop’s long bulletin board, taking a screenshot of the web address, exclaiming in delight that the group had a DiscHorse server.Oh heck yeah, you’re joining that tonight. Finally make some friends.
It was the first time she’d be using her account for anything other than chatting with ChaoticConcertina in months. She hadn’t even checked in on the plant server that brought them together in the first place, nor on any of the other servers where she’d previously spent time scrolling. It was nearly embarrassing to admit that in place of an actual flesh and blood partner, her emotional and conversational needs were being completely met by a stranger online, but it was true.
The worse she felt about the situation with Ranar, the more she looked forward to ChaoticConcertina’s messages, and Sumi had reached the point where something had to give. She wanted to meet him. She wanted to see if he really was as perfect for her as he seemed, and if it changed their relationship, they would either weather the storm or know for certain. Either way, she wanted to start living life offline, and knowing whether or not that meant with him or without was unavoidable.
For now, though, she needed to try making some local friends.
DiscHorse had a particular feature with its use of screen names that she appreciated. Different names could be applied to different groups one joined, allowing her to stay anonymous, unless she happened to share another group with one of the members. It was useful, as she had learned very quickly that much of the digital bullying her students dealt out occurred in private DiscHorse servers.
Even if it didn’t appear she was doing anything other than typing on her classroom laptop, Sumi always kept an open ear, surreptitiously jotting down anything that sounded useful. She’d acquired the name of several of those private servers over the years, infiltrating them with one of her handful of sock puppet names. She had discovered a widespread test sharing scheme, in addition to identifying a handful of previously under-the-radar bullies. Anonymity was vital.
She had her finger poised over the button to join the business owners’ server, doing so on her main account, but something tickled at the back of her mind, staying her hand.Assess the vibes first. Some of these people are sus.
She agreed with her inner tween, toggling over to one of her generic screen names, unconnected to her shop in any way. Sumi was shocked to have her suspicions proven right almost immediately.
Well, I certainly won’t be using her for anything.
I don’t care how nice she is, it’s a point of principle.
Right! It’s the principle of the thing!
AND she’s brand new in town? Like I don’t want to be that person, but . . .
We all know you’rethatperson, Skreeva??
Sumi scrolled back, and back and back, reading message after message of solidarity and support with the owner ofThe Perfect Petal. They vowed not to do business with her, vowed not to welcome her into the community. Theyhatedher.
And there was Ranar, she realized. Not many messages, but just enough to engender sympathy, just enough to make it clear thatshewas the villain in his story.
It made her inexorably sad. She spent the entire evening curled up in the corner of her perfect, beautiful sunroom, sobbing into a pillow.This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be!This was her reset, her fresh start. She was supposed to be happy.Maybe it’s you. Maybe you’re the reason it’s like this.
No. She couldn’t let them win that way.Look around you! You have this beautiful house. You joined the Japanese club and have already made friends. The business is already doing great. This is like the school, it’s just the hot gossip of the week. Give it a month and no one will care. Half of these people already don’t care! It’s not like all of your orders are for out of town.
It was true. They could paint her as the villain in this story if it made them feel better, but every person who was choosing to order flowers on the Bloomerang website was just as culpable, weren’t they?
He’s not going to forget though. He’s not going to get over this in a month.
Sumi couldn’t explain to herself why she was so bothered by that.He’s one naga. You don’t need to care what he thinks.She didn’t. Sheknewthat she didn’t . . . and yet she did anyway. She’d spent too much time looking forward tohimin those first few weeks when she was training, spending her time in traffic, daydreaming about discovering Cambric Creek with him, taking it for granted that he’d be a part of her new life . . . and now she needed to let go.
Let it go and forget about him for good.
He hates you, He made that abundantly clear, so stop giving him energy. It’s a big enough town. Your paths will probably never cross again.
PinksPosies&Pearls:You’ll be very happy to know that the Princess has settled in
and she is living large in her new kingdom, surrounded by her subjects.
