Sick of being dumb, sick of being young

“Do… do we have to go clothes shopping?” Gina asked, concerned. “I mean, it’s not like we’re even helping Kim out, right?”

The girls were heading to the boutique, with Amelia in the lead. She had insisted that they take their mind off the hard night Gina had by going on a shopping trip.

Dawn had agreed, but Mary and especially Gina were apprehensive.

“Gina has a good point,” Mary agreed. “Maybe it would be better if we waited until tomorrow. After all, then Kim can get a commission!”

“If Kim actually goes in to work tomorrow,” Dawn pointed out. “There’s a good chance that she’s just going to take another Sick Day off. Apparently, that’s what she did today, right?”

“It’s not that simple, and you know it!” Kim grumbled.

She had joined up with the other girls when they’d all come down for breakfast.

And she wasn’t alone, either.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin circled Kim like a shark, guarding her from every angle one after the other like she expected a sniper bullet to come cracking through the air at any moment.

That was the reason Kim was trailing behind the other women in the group- because Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin wouldn’t let her get close to the others.

“Come on, guys, let’s not get too worked up, okay?” Morgana asked, trying to keep the temperature down. Like Kim, she’d joined the girls after breakfast. “Amelia, you said, um, that you wanted to help Gina, is that right?”

Amelia nodded. “Not just Gina. Everyone. You’re all too immature.”

Well, there was a nice way of saying that, and a harsh way of saying that, and she’d definitely gone with one of them.

Mary tried to smile, but even she could see the struggle Morgana was going through right now.

Maybe we should have let Vivian come along, she thought, biting her lip. As frustrating as the heiress could be, she at least knew how to set the mood and have a good time. And that was definitely something they could use right now. Or maybe Sylvia. Oh, but Sylvia wanted to spend more time with Marley and the others, so she went off with Dani, Carly, Marley, and Rose.

She was distracted from her thoughts by a poke on the arm.

Mary turned, and nearly recoiled in surprise from what she saw.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was staring at her with an inquisitive look, leaning in far too close for Mary’s comfort.

“Um… uhum, um…” Mary stammered, looking past the assassin to where Kim was standing behind her, looking just as surprised.

“…Yes?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin frowned and crossed her arms. She turned and gestured quickly to Kim.

“Is… is there a problem?” Mary still didn’t understand. She looked helplessly over to Kim, wondering if the other girl wanted something, but Kim held up her hands and shook her head. Her wide eyes showed that she didn’t know what this was about any more than Mary did.

Amelia sighed in exasperation. “This is exactly the problem,” she said strictly, strutting over towards the two women. Her heels clacked loudly on the pavement.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin shifted her body to face her, and studied her with a suspicious gaze. It would have intimidated most women on the island, but Amelia wasn’t most women.

She’d gone through all types of defiance in her classroom over the years. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was just another troublesome student.

“If you wish to get someone’s attention, use your words,” she snapped. It was a bad way to phrase her point and she knew it the second she said it, but it just slipped out.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin bristled and narrowed her eyes into daggers. She flexed her fingers open and shut like she was about to strangle the teacher, but she didn’t make a move.

“Um… A-Amelia, this really isn’t a good idea…” Morgana mumbled.

“She’s right,” Dawn nodded. “It’s okay. Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin is just a little different, you don’t need to get upset with her.”

“I understand that,” Amelia said, studying the slender girl carefully. “But that is not an excuse. I recognize that you have a disability, young lady, but that does not mean you are incapable of learning to write. Or to read, for that matter.”

She’d had just about enough of the flighty girl intentionally choosing not to communicate. She really wanted to help the assassin, for her own sake as much as everybody else’s.

How hard must it be, to not be able to properly express yourself in words? To not be able to convey your deepest desires through any method other than blunt signaling? Poor thing. I wish there was something I could do to help… if only I could make her understand how important it is to know how to read and write!

“These things are necessary!” Amelia said coldly, glaring right back at Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. “I won’t let you pretend that you don’t need to learn this.”

Unfortunately, while her heart was in the right place, her tongue definitely was not.

“Okay, come on! This is too much!” Kim reached out towards Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, but quickly pulled her hand back, afraid of getting too close and getting involved. “Listen, just… can everybody please calm down?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin glanced at her for a moment, and then back to Amelia. Then she softly nodded and took a small step back, all the while keeping her focus on the teacher as the emotions on her face spoke more than words ever could.

“…I apologize,” Amelia said, adjusting her glasses. A look of shame crossed her face. “That is not how I intended to come across.”

“Hey, I get it, you’re worked up, it happens,” Dawn said, patting the other woman on the arm. “You just need to choose your words a little better, that’s all.”

Considering that Amelia was the person who was supposed to be giving lessons on maturity, that was a rather scathing criticism. But she couldn’t argue against it. She nodded somberly, and glanced apologetically over to the assassin again.

“…I am very sorry,” she said sincerely, holding her hand over her heart. “The fact that you refuse to learn to read or write is troubling for me, as a teacher, and as someone who cares about my stepson’s future. If you’re going to be part of his life, I cannot have you remain uneducated!”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin flinched, and then that flinch turned into a scowl.

Amelia winced again. “…That last part… what I meant was, I would be concerned if you didn’t know these things. I did not intend to imply that you didn’t have a choice.”

If possible, she would have **** Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin to learn to read, by riding crop, if necessary. But she didn’t want to resort to that. She didn’t want to be too overly controlling of someone who had spent her whole life as a human weapon.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looked back at Amelia with a perplexing expression on her face. Like she was trying to judge the other woman for herself. It made Amelia feel very anxious and unsteady, like she didn’t know what to do.

It was Mary who stepped in to break things up this time.

“Um, sorry about all this, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin,” she apologized, playing with one of her pigtails. “Please… is there anything I can do? Anything you need? It’s about Kim, is that right?” She looked past the slender girl, and to the tomboy standing behind her.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin nodded.

“Can you… show me? If possible?” Mary tried.

The assassin paused for a moment, then smiled a little. She nodded her head, and brought up her screen for everybody to see.

It was blank. Like the expressions on everybody’s faces.

She squinted and frowned, and her fingers danced over it, like she was trying to figure out how to get it to show what she wanted.

“Are you looking for transformations?” Dawn tried, approaching the girl to study the shifting screen carefully. “VP? BP?”

On that last one, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin quickly nodded, looking urgently over to Dawn.

Dawn shrugged and brought up her BP score.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin: 4700 BP

Still, not everybody got it.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin pointed fervently at her screen, then started jabbing her finger at Kim.

It was Gina, who had remained silent throughout this conversation, who actually figured it out first.

“Ah!” She gasped in realization. “You’re agreeing with me and Mary! That we shouldn’t go clothes shopping if it won’t help Kim get BP!”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin practically hopped up and down in place as she nodded cheerfully, dismissing her screen without a second thought.

“Wait, seriously?” Kim asked, surprised.

“That’s what this is about?” Dawn groaned in exasperation. “All those headaches just for that?”

“So you weren’t mad at me?” Mary sighed in relief, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck settle down. “Oh, thank the lord. I was worried I’d done something to offend you!”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin shook her head. She turned and looked at Amelia and her expression hardened for a minute, though.

The older woman had a rather sheepish expression of her own on her face. “…Given how fervently you’ve made your case, I suppose that’s a reasonable ask,” she relented. “Kim, perhaps we were too hasty to go clothes shopping today.”

“Whoa, look, like I said before, I don’t really care,” Kim replied, holding up her hands. “Seriously, that doesn’t matter to me at all. If you guys want to get clothes without paying a commission, I mean, I have over 8000 BP at this point. That’s a lot. I don’t need to make a ton more.”

Amelia nodded. “Fair enough, I suppose. Although she certainly seems to think otherwise,” she pointed out, gesturing to Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin.

The impetuous killer puffed up her cheeks in frustration and stomped her foot.

“I’m a little surprised, actually,” Dawn said, scratching her chin and smirking in amusement. “Kim, I completely had you pegged for a workaholic like me, not someone who knew how to take a break and not focus completely on the job!”

Kim smiled a little and actually laughed. “Well… this stuff happens,” she replied, shaking her head. “I’m not going to be completely focused on work 100% of the time. Dakota managed to convince me to take this stupid Sick Day, and I’ll be damned if I don’t make the most of it!”

Mary held her tongue in spite of Kim’s swearing, and just nodded along in agreement. If that’s what her friend wanted, then she’d support her.

“Besides, Dawn, I don’t think you should be talking,” Morgana pointed out quietly. “You’ve been spending more and more time sleeping in that bed of ours every morning. I’m starting to get worried about you.”

Dawn turned red from the top of her ears to the tip of her tail. She stammered quickly and her tail flicked frantically back and forth. “Th-that… it’s not so simple!” She scowled, glaring at the other girl. “That bed is very comfortable, that’s all!”

“I know, I sleep in it. But I can still get out of it…”

Dawn didn’t really have anything to say to that.

“W-well… I guess I have gotten a little too used to being pampered,” she admitted reluctantly. “It IS the Luxury Suite, after all…”

“You’re really going to have a hard time if they vote you out of there, huh?” Gina cackled, shaking her head. “Meanwhile, my room I could take it or leave it. Same with Sylvia. She’s a chill roommate for sure, but neither of us are super-attached to that room of ours.”

“I like mine just fine,” Kim said with a shrug. “What about you, Amelia?”

Amelia wasn’t sure how they’d gotten to this topic of conversation. Wasn’t the whole point of this group outing to go shopping for clothes that Gina would wear, that would also reflect the new version of herself that she wanted to be?

She sighed and adjusted her glasses.

“I am not a fan of the outdoors,” she bluntly admitted. “And I believe any other roommate on this island would be preferable to my current assignment.”

Well, she couldn’t get more critical than that.

Mary sighed and shook her head. “I wish I’d had a chance with some of those rooms… still, this stuff happens, you know?”

She glanced over at Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. The girl had gotten very quiet since the topic of conversation had shifted. …Well, she was always quiet. But she’d gotten much less animated in a short period of time.

“What about you, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin?” She asked, trying to be friendly. “Are you enjoying your living situation?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin blinked for a moment, and looked surprised, not expecting Mary to talk to her directly. After taking another moment to process, she nodded.

“Do you get ice cream in your room?” Gina asked curiously. She cracked a smile. “You like ice cream, right? Because I gotta say, being able to pig out on sweets all day from the comfort of your bed sure sounds like paradise!”

Dawn nodded along in agreement, but she immediately stopped when Gina looked at her, and straightened up quickly. She coughed a little as her cheeks flushed, but Gina didn’t say anything, and turned back to Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, who was making a sour face.

“…So it looks like that’s a no on the ice cream, then?” Gina shrugged. “Still. Sounds like it would be a fun room to stay in.”

“Consuming copious amounts of sweets without restraint is not the behavior that a person seeking to become more mature should espouse,” Amelia rightfully pointed out, harshing some of Gina’s good vibes.

She sighed and nodded. “I know, I know… I’m trying, okay? This shit can get really difficult sometimes, geez!”

Amelia was considerate of that. But there wasn’t much she could say to improve the other girl’s mood.

“Well, uh… I actually think that Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin would be a good roommate, actually!” Morgana mentioned, earning surprised looks from a few people, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin most of all.

The slender woman stared at Morgana in utter shock, and with good reason, considering that just that morning she’d pushed the other girl to the ground.

“Morgana! Are you ditching me so suddenly?!” Dawn asked, sounding hurt, but it was clear from her smile that she was just joking around.

Morgana turned red. “N-no, I just… I didn’t mean-!”

“Relax, I’m teasing you,” Dawn said.

Morgana huffed in frustration. “It’s just that she doesn’t snore, right? So that’s gotta be pretty nice I imagine.”

Dawn had to agree. “And I doubt she’d go kicking you around in the middle of the night, either, like a certain somebody,” she noted, glancing pointedly at Gina.

Gina scowled back at her. “Hey! Come on, I get a little wild, it’s not a problem, though! Mary didn’t mind it at all, right Mary?”

Mary blinked. Then she looked away as Gina stared at her.

“…Mary?!”

“Well…”

A few of the girls burst out laughing, including Gina. Even Amelia cracked the smallest of smiles.

“Well, if we’re not going to go clothes shopping, then let’s come up with something else to do!” Kim said. “This is my only day off in a long time, and I want to spend it enjoying myself! Come on, girls!”

Taking charge in a surprising way, the girls actually followed after her. Mostly, anyway.

When Gina moved to join the crowd, Amelia gently took her by the wrist, surprising her.

“Huh? What is it?” The punk girl asked, turning to Amelia with a confused look on her face.

Amelia almost looked guilty, like she’d done something wrong.

“…Do I need to apologize?” She asked.

Gina blinked. “…Huh? Apologize for what?”

“Suggesting that we go shopping for clothes,” she said, glancing at Gina’s current wardrobe, her classic leather jacket and a tight black pencil skirt, along with a pair of ragged fishnet stockings with a couple holes in them.

“Perhaps I was not being sensitive,” the teacher admitted. “Suggesting that you change out of your style.”

Gina’s face brightened. “Oh! Because I was complaining the whole time? Nah, you’re fine!” She laughed, shaking her head. “Really, it’s fine. I do like my clothes, and I’m definitely going to keep wearing this style. But I should really branch out, you know? The punk look is good and all, but like, am I going to wear a studded collar to a job interview?”

Amelia perked up. “Job interview?”

Gina quickly blushed and started to backtrack. “W-well, just supposing, I mean. It could happen in the future, you never know.”

Considering she’d flunked out of school and had never held a steady job, Gina’s resume wasn’t exactly what one would call impressive. But everybody had to start somewhere, right?

“Trust me, Amelia, it’s fine,” she said, trying to assure the other woman. “That was just me trying to procrastinate, that’s all. Because I don’t like doing the things that I have to.”

She shook her head, and scratched her hair.

“But… that’s part of becoming mature, right?” She said. “Doing things not because you want to do them, but because you have to?”

Amelia considered that for a moment and nodded back to her. “Indeed, that is certainly part of it,” she agreed. “Another excellent step.”

“…The tattoos probably aren’t going to be very good for the job prospects though, are they?” Gina admitted with a sheepish laugh. “That’s gonna make things difficult. But I love my ink! I wouldn’t change anything!”

Amelia smiled. “As long as you’re true to yourself, that’s good,” she said. “In my experience, they aren’t much of a hindrance anyhow.”

“Oh, yeah? Then-” Gina cut herself off as she processed what Amelia had just said. “Wait, what?!”

“Hmm?” Amelia looked innocently at her.

“You… no way, you’re messing with me, right?!” Gina exclaimed. “You have a tattoo?! Where!?”

“Nonsense,” Amelia scoffed. She rolled her eyes and walked around the punk girl. “You saw the swimsuit I was wearing yesterday. Of course I don’t have any tattoos anymore.”

“Well, yeah, but- Wait, anymore?!” Gina sputtered, trying to associate what she was hearing with the image of Amelia she’d had her entire life. “Amelia?!”

“We have to go,” the teacher said sternly, picking up the pace. “Or we’ll be left behind.”

“But… but, that… we aren’t done yet! We still need to have a big talk about this!” Gina chased after Amelia, a wild smile on her face as she considered just how crazy what she was hearing really could be.