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@hannahrenner

FINALS! ARE! OVER!

Smeagol is free!

(Until next semester.)

Yay!! Congratulations on surviving! XD

 

Chantara

Everyone was clustering into groups. A man strode up to the cat-like creature and the lizard-like creature climbed onto his shoulders. I saw his mouth twitch down, his eyebrows furrow. I narrowed my eyes. We all had our masks, and his had just shifted, revealing his true feelings underneath. I felt the anger vibrating off him and I stiffened.

Masks were insecure things. They shifted around, revealing things underneath that nobody was supposed to see. Anyone who saw you beneath the mask had power over you. They made you feel vulnerable, and vulnerability was weakness.

Everyone’s mask was different. Some people had several. I did.

Aydin’s masks were indifference and sarcasm. His dropped more often than mine, and when it did, he was defensive, stammering to defend himself.

I had the weak and shy one, and I had the powerful, invincible one. I kept them on securely. But if those were the masks, who was I beneath it? Who was I really?

I had seen what happened when only the mask was left. They became… hollow.

I tried to think of a moment when I hadn’t been wearing a mask. An unpleasant memory assailed me. I remembered myself, curled up and sobbing, sobbing so hard I thought I would be sick. Often, a particularly hard assignment sparked it, sometimes it was nothing in particular. Was that really me? Then I’d rather wear a mask for the rest of my life.

I sidled up to the group of people that had clumped together. The man had put himself between the furious girl and the pawn. I felt the tension pulsing through the air. I considered backing away and letting them fight it out, that would eliminate one or both of them. But that wouldn’t get me anywhere. For now, I needed to make a good impression. Or rather, a weak one.

“I’m Chantara. Do you know who I’m supposed to be with? Am I supposed to stay with my group?” I asked, shyly.

I’d long since figured out that these three must be Þorunn, Karayan, and Connel. I didn’t know which was which, but I’d hopefully figure that out soon.

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@this-is-not-an-alien @skylarynn