As the two friends walk down the hallway, some students avert their eyes from looking directly at them. On the contrary, a few others, feeling emboldened, make little effort to censor their true thoughts.
"Hey look, it's that freak over there!"
"Watch it, she can hear you from there, dummy! Don't stare at her for too long or she might eat your homework."
"Hehehe, it's not like I wanted to do it anyway."
The two girls who called out their gossip target mockingly laugh, their lockers fail to conceal them. The girl walking alongside the target of ridicule abruptly halts her travel.
"If you don't leave her alone, then I will chew up your homework right out of your hands myself! And I don't care to be precise either!"
The girl pulls her cheek, baring her jagged canine teeth. Having no intentions of an altercation, the human girls run away in the opposite direction.
"Lelia, you shouldn't scare other students like that, you know."
"Yeah? Well, they shouldn't make fun of my friend! It's okay to stand up for yourself, Aisha."
"It's fine…I'm used to it by now. There hasn't been anything too extreme at this point."
As if that makes anything better.
"Hmph, I'm sure that if you had a boyfriend they would shut-up!"
"Oh, you and your boyfriend craze. Yet here you are with me…"
"Hey, what do you mean by that? I can easily get a boyfriend, I'm just looking out for you!"
"Haha, I'll be sure to let Urick know that. I wonder how he would react…"
"Now you're just teasing me!"
Lelia blushes and puffs her cheeks all the while Aisha chuckles at her expense. A female student runs down the hall towards them.
"Excuse me, you're Aisha, right? I could really use your help!"
"And who are you–"
Aisha puts her hand on Lelia's shoulder, understanding the message, Lelia holds herself back.
"It's fine, I will help you. But only for a few minutes, okay?"
"Aisha, are you…sure about this? Like really really sure?"
"Lelia, please…I've got this. You don't have to be my bodyguard all the time."
"Oh right…sorry. I guess I'll see you at gym class."
"See you then."
The two girls wave their goodbyes at each other–though one of them does it reluctantly.
"Are you ready now? This way, this way!"
Aisha cooperates with the girl, following just behind her.
"Say, it's almost lunch time, isn't it? I wonder what's on the menu today."
"We still have just under an hour to go…not that lunch period matters much to me though."
The girls finally arrive at their designated location: an empty science lab. Aisha's guide gestures for her to go ahead, then she closes the door behind them. Inside the lab, there are a few other students waiting, crossing their arms as though their patience is thinning.
"Welp, you know the drill by now."
"...what is it this time?"
"Doppame, this is the real good stuff–not the crappy version. Unfortunately, there's been a hard crackdown lately and we don't want to get expelled. Get the picture?"
"Just how much more will I have to eat for you? We could all get in deep trouble for this if caught, so wouldn't it be better if–"
"Shut-up! Need I remind you of this photo?"
The girl pulls out a photograph from her uniform jacket, holding it between her two fingers. The photo depicts a scene of Aisha holding various drugs, consuming them.
"If you refuse to comply at any point, then we'll make sure that you take the fall. If you understand that fully, get to chowing. We don't have all day, 4th period is starting soon!"
"...I'll take it."
"I knew you would, smart girl. Here you go, enjoy!"
The girl places the substance in Aisha's open hands. Aisha opens the colored plastic bag, preparing to pour its contents into her mouth.
"The bag needs to go too! Leave no traces behind!"
Obeying her commands with fidelity, Aisha tosses the entire bag into her mouth, swallowing it whole. The other students can't help but to look on in amusement.
"Gulp…There, finished."
"Wow, she really is a human garbage disposal!"
"She swallowed that whole thing like it was candy!"
"Freaky, but cool!"
"All right, calm down girls–we've seen this before. Aisha, you ain't finished yet–that was only mine. Girls, give her your portion. If you don't get rid of what you have now, then the burden is on you alone!"
The remaining girls take out their substances from their pockets, lining up in front of Aisha eagerly awaiting their turn.
"Here's mine–eat up, eat up!"
"Gulp."
"This bag is nearly empty since I shared some with my boyfriend, so I hope you don't mind tasting mostly plastic."
"Gulp."
"Yeah, I went a little overboard buying four bags of doppame, so I'll need you to take care of all of it for me."
"Gulp."
One by one.
I take, swallow, and repeat.
They cycle keeps going and going, with no end in sight.
Nova, ecta, smush, and now doppame. Who knows what I will have to dispose of for them next?
But it's not all so bad–I get a free meal out of it everyday. I'm sort of infamous, so there is always something unwanted other students want me to eat for them. There's no need in getting my friends or parents involved–it'd be more trouble than it's worth. Why would I ruin my chance to try many exotic foods?
Ding-ding-ding-dong-ding!
"Crap, the bell rang! We have no choice but to stop here for now. Thanks for being our greatest asset–Miss Garbage Disposal."
___________________________________________________________________________
Inside a bedroom most suitable for a teenager, Aisha is working at her desk that's underneath her bunk bed. Despite her best efforts, she cannot ignore her little unwanted guest who is moving about sporadically around the room.
"Come on sis, let's play, let's play!"
"Not right now, Thena. I have to do homework."
"But you always say that you have to do that!"
"Well, it's true."
"I always finish my homework in under 15 minutes! You're older than me, so you should be done in 5 minutes tops!"
"I'm not sure what kind of math you are doing…anyway, older students have to do more homework than students in your grade."
"Ehh? We have to do more homework when we get older?!"
"Yep. It only gets more and more difficult."
"That's not fair! Then I don't want to grow up, never ever!"
"I don't think that you are immortal, so you have no choice but to grow up."
"Then I…then I…I'll quit school and become a treasure hunter like mom and dad!"
"You can't do that, Thena. Education may not be fun all the time, but it's important, you know."
"Tch. You are so boring, sis. I'm going to play with daddy!"
The little toddler, Thena, rushes out of Aisha's bedroom frustrated by her unfulfilled request–not even bothering to close the door.
My little sister is a little menace at times, but she's cute, so I can forgive her. I wish I was still as innocent and naive as her…
"Sigh, better focus on my math homework. Our exam is coming up soon…"
Knock knock
"Aisha, are you there? It's your mother."
"It's okay mom, you can come in. It's not like the door is completely closed anyway."
"Just wanted to make sure I maintain politeness. Coming in."
Aisha's mother steps into her room gracefully. Before she reaches her daughter, she firmly shuts the door behind her and locks it. She then proceeds to steadily walk towards the study desk.
I can tell that by her entrance and the look on her face that she wants to have a serious talk with me. I'm really not in the mood for this…
"Hey mom, what's up–?!"
Her mother suddenly latches onto Aisha, embracing her tightly. Such an unexpected maneuver caused Aisha to flinch a bit.
"Aisha, my oldest girl. Your father and I love you so much! You know that right?"
Settling into the moment, Aisha wrapped her arms around her mother, returning her embrace.
"Yes ma'am, I know."
"That means that I can tell when you are feeling unwell. I love you, so I don't want to see you struggling and I do nothing about it."
"Mom, I'm not sick at all. You can check my temperature, I feel fine!"
"I'm not talking about your physical condition."
"...well, I do have exams coming up. All of this math homework has been really wearing me down lately, so…"
"So?"
"I…um…"
"Sigh, Aisha, you know that I care for you. There is no need to try to conceal your true feelings. It's just you and me right now–I just want to hear you pour your heart out."
"..."
She wants me to pour out my heart to her? Just like that? Where do I even begin? My brain is struggling to come up with a starting sentence…
Forget trying to filter my thoughts–I'll just say whatever comes to mind!
Aisha swiftly swipes a pencil from her desk, then bites it in half like a crunchy candy bar.
"I'm a freak, mom. You and dad gave birth to me, an absolute freak of nature disguised as a human. What kind of person can't eat food without feeling like she's going to die? What kind of person can't eat a piece of bread for nutrition, but can eat plastic toys? Not even an animal would do that! For all of my life, I had to watch you normal people eat all sorts of regular foods, while I had to keep my diet a secret just to not freak people out. Of course, that didn't last long…now I am known as a human garbage disposal–a freak. I didn't ask to be born this way, I just wanted to be normal! Did I make the goddess angry? Did some other deity curse me? Why can't I just be like everyone else?!"
Teardrops rain down from Aisha's eyes, dripping onto her homework and mother. Despite doing her best to restrain them, more tears pour out in defiance.
"..."
For only but a moment, the room went completely silent, only the sound of ambience remained. After what felt like an eternity, Aisha's mother took an audible breath.
"Daughter, what does the word 'normal' mean?"
"Sniffle..what…what do you mean? Normal is…normal. You know, the things that nobody finds weird."
"Your father's body becomes light as air when drenched. Do you think that's normal?"
"...um…"
"Your baby sister's body secretes slime instead of sweat based on what she drinks. Do you think that's normal?"
"..."
"I, your mother, have spit that can make people feel numb. Do you think that's normal?"
"...not really…"
"Well, I certainly hope not! As you can see, in our family alone there is no one who is 'normal'. I can't think of one person who I've ever met that fits your definition of normal. In fact, since everyone has something abnormal about them, doesn't that make us all normal in a sense?"
"But it's not the same! Mom, my peers think I'm a weirdo. They make a mockery of me using me as a living garbage disposal to dispose of the crappy things that they want to get rid of! If we are all abnormal, which makes us normal, then why would they pick on me if they thought I was normal like them?!"
"The truth is…everyone has their own view of what's normal or not. In your case, some people find your diet curse to be strange. Did you know that I used to get teased too?"
"You used to? Then when did it stop?"
"I…honestly have no idea. Perhaps it never stopped at all. But it's not that other people changed, it was that I stopped caring."
"I wish it were that easy…"
"Oh, I'm not saying it was easy, don't get me wrong. I realized that of all people, it was I who thought myself to be abnormal. Once I embraced my curse, the curse that made me seem worth making fun of, I couldn't care less about what others thought. Eventually, it's like the people with prejudices against me vanished. Aisha, listen carefully to what I am saying."
"..."
"Learn to embrace your curse. If you think it's not only normal but extraordinary, then nothing anyone else thinks matters. Think about all the things you can do that most people can't!"
"I can't even eat berries."
"But you can eat poisonous wild fruits that would kill so-called normal people."
"I can't even drink plain water without feeling nauseous."
"But you can try all sorts of liquids that would be too much for the average person's body to handle. Though you would have to wait until you're older for some of those!"
"I can't–"
"Every time you think of something that you can't do, think about the opposite–that way you will know what you can do."
"Think of the opposite…then, what about being a treasure hunter? How would any of this help?"
"Hmm, why don't you tell me?"
"What?! How would I know? I'm not a professional treasure hunter like you are!"
"Think about it, Aisha. Think very carefully."
"Okay…"
How could the inability to eat regular foods be useful for treasure hunting? Maybe it's better to think of my curse as the ability to eat anything nonedible without consequence. Still, how would that be useful…!
"Mom, treasure hunters sometimes encounter dangerous beasts on their hunts, right? Maybe I can use my curse to eat their attacks, protecting my party!"
"Exactly! You have a unique power that can give you an advantage that none of us ever had. Tell you what, this weekend, I'm going on a mini expedition. Want to come?"
"Yes!"
"I thought so! But don't get too excited, you need to make sure to take care of your studies for the rest of the week first."
"...yes ma'am."
"Mwah! That's my girl. I'll call you for dinner soon. Do you want the usual?"
"Hmm, would you happen to have some invaluable treasure that you want to get rid of?"
"You know what, I think I just might. I'll go check. See you and your beautiful smile later!"
Aisha's mother gives her one last hug, albeit for a much shorter duration, then leaves the bedroom. Aisha remains alone, reclining in her chair and staring at the ceiling.
"Embrace my curse, huh…"
Aisha looks at her half-eaten pencil, smiling pleasantly.
She then tosses it up into the air and catches it.
"Gulp…mmmm!"