176Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡon9S5cEPvM
Early morning on one school day, Lily's walking towards school. She spots Tarutaru coming towards her with an alarmed expression.
"Grass Patch? What's wrong?"
"Oh, Lily... Come, quick, to the auditorium, they're making an announcement, there has been an accident, I head. Last night."
They both hurry and are brought to the auditorium, full of students and teachers. The Principal walks to the front of the stage. Lily spots Rose leaning on a doorframe just to the side of her, she drags Tarutaru with her and they push their way to Rose's side.
"Morning, Cotton Candy!"
"Mh." Rose mumbles, slightly shrugging her shoulders
"What's going on?"
"Somebody wasn't careful and died."
"What? Died?! Who?"
"Don't know, don't care. Got careless. Their own fault."
"Cotton Candy... Somebody died. You don't have—"
"No." Rose states, expressionless, just looking forwards.
"Psst… Lily… let her be. Listen to the Principal..."
Principal goes on with his announcement "... and it is thus that we must offer our condolences to Mr. Bennett's parents. This is a sad occasion for our school and it shows we still have a long way to go in teaching you students and for monitoring you that nothing like this could happen in the future. We well now take a moment's silence for Mr. Bennett."
Everyone gets quiet, Rose stands up and walks away.
"Cotton Candy...!" Lily whispers quietly to Rose
"Don't care." Rose says indifferently and just walks away without looking back.
Afterwards, Rose and Tarutaru are chatting together just outside the auditorium doors.
"Lily, why do you keep trying?"
"Trying what?"
"Caldwell. You keep trying to talk to her or something. Why? She's so cold and distant..."
"You see her like that?"
"Well, isn't she?"
"That's not how I see her… To me she's reserved, yes, but... Just there, just when she was talking about the accident… that wasn't coldness of heart, not out of cruelty or because she doesn't care."
"It wasn't?"
"No! You… you don't see that? She was scared. She was struggling, for… for... control, for lack of a better word. I'm not saying she doesn't act cold, but that's not her, I can tell. She's afraid of something, so she has built walls that are by now impenetrable..."
Lily looks out of a window and is so lost in her thoughts she has forgotten she's talking aloud and that Tarutaru is there.
"I just want to break that wall down, to walk in and hold that person close who is behind it. The real one, that has build all these obstacles between her and the world. I want to hold that person tightly..."
Tarutaru smiles at Lily and decides to leave her there with her thoughts.
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