EYES SEE YOU
Chapter 8
"Scarlet"
“So, she’s your girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
Juni agreed with a nod.
Jane was shocked and shook her head.
“Oh no! I’m not his girlfriend!”
“You’re not?” —Red raised his eyebrow.
“I’m a girl… friend! Not a girlfriend!”
“That’s what I said, yes.” —Juni confirmed.
“That’s what I asked.” —Red replied.
“Just making sure! I’m a friend who’s a girl… hmm.”
Jane was blushing when Mr. Clean stopped pacing in front of them.
“Aww look, Alfred! They’re so cute together! That’s why it’s a must to remove this stain! Girls don’t like dirty guys, Juni…”
Dr. Braille seemed to know Jane too as the two were childhood friends. Jane is also aware of Juni’s medical condition.
“Doctor Braille, Juni passed out a while ago, that’s why I brought him here.”
Red’s eyes widened, and he stood up when he heard the news.
“Passed out? Again?!”
Everyone turned their eyes at his reaction, so Red sat down while Mr. Clean successfully removed the stain from Juni’s uniform like magic.
“Oh, it worked! There, it’s clean now. But the hole here, I don’t think cleaning is what that needs…” —Mr. Clean proudly showed Juni’s now stainless uniform with a massive hole in the center.
Red was very stunned by Mr. Clean’s cleaning prowess.
Dr. Braille checked Juni’s arms and body for wounds or cuts but found none.
“Juni, you seemed all fine. But your clothes looked ragged. What happened?”
“I just forgot to sleep last night, Doctor… I think that’s why I passed out.”
Red couldn’t believe what he just heard.
“You can just forget and skip sleep?
Dr. Braille noticed the expression on Juni’s face, suggesting he had more to share once they were alone.
“It was my fault doctor, I brought him to a house…” —Jane confessed.
“What house?” —Red asked Jane out of curiosity.
“There’s this house at Dahlia, Juni and I went there together…” —Jane confessed.
“That’s so adorable that you both are still playing house!” —Mr. Clean chimed in cluelessly about the real deal.
Juni’s condition, analgesia, means he doesn’t feel pain. Hunger and sleepiness don’t come naturally to him and are easy to overlook. Check-ups are more frequent since he doesn’t have pain to tell him when something’s wrong. He can’t feel hot or cold, so he might accidentally put his hand in boiling water without realizing it hurts. Therefore, he needs to remind himself of his routines to take care of his body and not overexert it.
“That’s why I work out my legs and not my head. This is too much for me.”
“Alfred… your nose is bleeding.” —Mr. Clean pointed at Red’s nose, seemingly bleeding from overthinking.
“I’m fine. Juni clearly isn’t.” —Red wiped the blood, gave a side-eye, and left the clinic.
Seeing Red leave, Mr. Clean turned to the Doctor, Juni, and Jane.
“Ahhh he’s so cool, isn’t he? I better follow Alfred to make sure my disciple is fine. Doctor, thank you for the tea. Juni, make sure to show up tomorrow at school, okay? We got a lot to do. And Jane, take care of your boy—friend.” —Mr. Clean headed out closing the door behind him.
“Why are they even here…” —Juni muttered to himself, still confused as to why his friends were present.
Jane can’t hide her blushing face after Mr. Clean referred to Juni as her ‘boyfriend’.
Outside the clinic, Mr. Clean caught up to Red, who was not far ahead.
“Alfred! That’s not the way to your house, is it?”
“I’m heading to that house on Dahlia. Want to check it out?”
“What are you going to do there?”
“I went there to deliver a letter the day Juni passed out the first time. I saw someone at the window but that person didn’t come out. I have to redeliver the letter there again.”
“If what you’re saying is correct, that it’s the same house… I should come with you, Alfred.”
“You know this is my part-time job, right? I can handle this easy task.”
“I used a chemical on Juni’s shirt that’s effective for removing bloodstains.”
“What are you saying, Mr. Clean?”
“You asked how I was able to remove the stain so easily. The stain on his shirt was definitely blood.”
OFFICIAL CLEANERS CLUB
Next day came and a meeting was held for the members of the Cleaners Club in preparation for the much-anticipated Remnant School Fair.
“Good morning, Juni, Mr. Clean and President! We are assigned to booth number five. We need to decide what we will sell on that day.” —Scarlet said, holding a small notebook for notes.
Red was eating peanuts and throwing the peels into the trash, but he kept missing. Meanwhile, Mr. Clean was sweeping as the shells fell.
“You’re the secretary. You should figure it out.” —Red remarked, not bothering to look at Scarlet as he spoke.
“I thought it might be best to sell dumplings because Juni’s mom sells them in the market and they were a hit. You should try it sometime—”
“Don’t we need a permit for that?”
“Um… I went to Secretary Oswald’s office this morning to apply, and it’s already approved for us, Pres!”
Red gave Scarlet a side-eye.
“Stop calling me that.”
“Sorry. I mean— Red.”
Scarlet fixed her glasses and cleared her throat as she continued.
“For our decor, Juni is on it…”
Scarlet pointed at Juni as he was seen painting a banner.
“How about a gimmick? I heard all clubs have those. The botany club has a marriage booth and is expected to gain a lot of traction. We should come up with something like that…” —Red threw another peanut shell but missed again.
Mr. Clean handed Red the small can so he wouldn’t miss anymore.
“We will have free shoe cleaning for every sold dumpling set! Using Miss Clean Shine and Protect Shoe Polish!” Mr. Clean announced it like a TV commercial.
“Yes! And a free picture with him too!” —Scarlet smiled holding a camera.
“You have answers to everything huh…”
Red’s eye twitched as he failed to make Scarlet quit the club. Scarlet, however, didn’t realize Red’s intentions and was enthusiastic about all her assignments. She accomplished everything with flying colors.
Scarlet opened a picnic basket. In it came out sandwiches she prepared. She offered them to the members, firstly—Red.
“I made them with roast beef. I asked Mr. Clean, and he said you liked meat.”
Red looked at her and kept eating peanuts.
“I don’t eat roast beef.”
Mr. Clean swept the last peanut shells on the floor, then turned to Red.
“How could you forget that you ate all the beef in my ramen, Alfred?”
“Okay, let me rephrase that. I don’t eat roast beef made by a Finch.“
“Oh, it’s okay! I made one more for myself. It’s egg and mayo. You could have mine instead.”
Scarlet offered, leaving it on the desk in front of Red, who showed disinterest. Then she approached Juni and handed a roast beef sandwich to him, who thanked her. Red saw them from a distance and felt a nudge in his chest.
“Pffft. ‘I made one more with egg and mayo… You could have mine instead…” —Red mocked, chewing on more peanuts.
“Wow! This tastes so good, Scarlet! Thank you very much!”
“Thank you, Mr. Clean. I made them this morning.”
Mr. Clean noticed a bandage on Scarlet’s finger.
“Did you cut yourself with a knife? You shouldn’t do this for us, Scarlet. We appreciate your thoughtfulness.”
“I’m okay Mr. Clean! It was my fault because I was rushing.”
Red looked at the wrapper— a patterned sandwich bag with tiny hearts on it.
“Tsss… You’re just showing off your cooking skills to make people like you.”
“Oh, not at all! I really enjoy being part of this club! I’m very grateful to you Pres—I mean Red. In fact, I talked to Coach Lim to excuse you from practice today, so we could prepare the booth! I remember you told us you won’t have time after today because your tournament is coming up…”
Red stopped peeling the peanuts and looked at Scarlet furiously.
“You guys really have a thing for sticking your nose in someone else’s business huh?”
Scarlet was taken aback.
“I thought you would do that anyway. I happened to pass by his office. I did it, so you don’t have to. I’m sorry…”
“Mind your own business, Finch!”
Juni watched the heated moment from a distance but no words came out of him.
Mr. Clean intervened, putting the sandwich in Red’s track jacket pocket to calm him down.
“Ahhh Alfred. Just take this sandwich and go. You’re too grumpy this morning. Go on…”
Red left, headed to his coach to talk to him himself. Scarlet was disappointed with herself that she didn’t earn Red’s approval as a new member of the club.
Red walked to the gym but instead of finding Coach Lim, he met a group of athletes, seemingly from the soccer team because of their uniforms. They were tossing food to each other, trying to catch it with their mouths. When they failed, the food fell on the floor and got dirty. Red couldn’t stand seeing food wasted, so he confronted the boys, holding one by the collar, which scared the rest of the team.
He realized they were holding sandwiches with the exact pattern as the one Scarlet had given earlier, and they were tossing pieces of that roast beef she made.
“Where did you get this?”
“Indie gave it to us, Red! We didn’t steal it!”
Indie arrived just in time and witnessed Red’s aggression towards his soccer team members—for the second time.
“Red? You might want to move sport. I keep seeing you here…”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Indie.” —he tightened his grip on the guy’s collar.
The other soccer boys gathered on the side to watch what seemed like the beginning of a fight. Two Rainbow Gang members brawling would be a sight to see.
“I’m not here to fight you, Red. But you’re crossing the line already.”
“I didn’t come here for you, so don’t get too full of yourself.”
“You were messing with my team, so that does involve me.”
Red released the guy he was holding. In the soccer boy’s attempt to run away, Indie caught him and held him by the collar.
“Could you explain why Red was so mad at you?” —Indie’s voice echoed loudly for everyone to hear.
“Red—didn’t want to believe me when I said you gave us the sandwich. He saw us—eating it and got upset because—he thought we were playing with it.”
“I think Red has a point. I didn’t give it to you. I threw it in the trash.”
Red’s eyes narrowed in surprise at Indie’s audacity.
“I’m sorry Indie! It won’t happen again! It was still packed nicely when you threw it, so I assumed you didn’t want it!”
Red recalled seeing Scarlet’s bandaged hand after she cut herself while preparing food for the club members. It turned out she had already made a batch earlier, but Indie took it and threw it away like garbage.
“No one should pick up my trash because it still belongs to me, got it?”
The player nodded to agree with Indie. He ran away after Indie let him go.
“That’s not yours to throw.”
“How do you know it’s not mine? Perhaps, you wanted it?”
Using his foot, he flipped one of the dirty sandwiches and kicked it towards where Red was standing. That’s when he noticed a sandwich wrapper peeking out of Red’s pocket, and it matched the ones on the floor.
“Hahahaha! I get it now…”
“What’s so funny?” —Red clenched his fist.
“She was up until 3 am preparing that stupid roast beef. I should know, cos she was making a lot of noise in the kitchen, and it kept waking me up. I didn’t know she was making that for you. If I had known, I wouldn’t have stolen it and thrown it in the bin.”
Without realizing it, Red was already in front of him, ready to throw a punch. Like the speed of light, he hit Indie’s face. Indie fell on the floor.
Indie’s right cheek had a slight cut and bled. When he realized this, he stood up and tried to punch Red once more, but Red dodged and punched him causing Indie to fall back again.
“I told you, I didn’t come for you.”
Red was about to leave, but Indie tripped him with his leg, causing Red to fall.
“Why do you give a damn about Scarlet?”
Indie kicked Red in the back and Red managed to throw his fist. Now he’s on top of Indie once more.
“Who says I care? I just don’t like you.”
They both gave each other a series of punches. After venting their frustrations, they both stood up, bleeding and bruised. Red dusted off his jacket.
“Did I miss this time?”
Indie spits a little blood out of his mouth.
“I just didn’t dodge it…”
Red started walking away. Indie shouted at Red as he was getting farther.
“I don’t think of her as a sister. So I’m not going to be in between you guys!”
Red paused to look back at Indie.
“She’s still your problem. There’s no us.”
Red continued walking, leaving Indie behind.
SCARLET FINCH
Indie’s mother and father were divorced. When his father remarried, Scarlet was born. Despite being half-siblings, Indie never liked Scarlet, who always wanted to be close to him.
“Look, Indie! I made you fried eggs! I learned how to cook them without breaking the yolk!”
Scarlet proudly presented a plate of perfectly cooked sunny-side-up eggs with rare twin yolks. However, Indie heartlessly poked the yolk with his fork.
“I don’t care about your stupid egg,” before walking away without remorse.
Indie’s parents were always proud of Scarlet’s achievements. She excelled academically, despite being a little sickly. She never got into sports but would always want to join her brother. But Indie was tremendously good at soccer—his chosen sport. He won so many awards. But Indie got even more distant especially when his mom passed away due to cancer.
On Scarlet’s birthday, their father asked Indie to join them for a family photo, but Indie refused.
“I don’t wanna do this photo because this isn’t my family. She is not my mother and she isn’t my sister!”
The dad slapped him and got very mad.
“You apologize to your mother and sister right now!”
Indie stormed out. His father couldn’t follow him because his stepmother stopped his father to give him space.
To vent his anger, Indie kicked a ball in the rain while Scarlet tried to console him.
“Indie… Please come inside. You might get sick.”
“Leave me alone! You’re the one that’s making me sick when I’m around you!”
Indie kicked a rock on the floor and looked back at where Scarlet was standing. He saw that she left the umbrella there for him and she walked back in the rain.
Their relationship never improved no matter how Scarlet tried to reach out to her brother.
When Indie won his last championship, Scarlet tried to celebrate by giving him a photograph in a frame. On it was a candid shot of him raising a trophy.
“Congratulations Indie! Here, I took this for you!”
Indie just threw the frame in the trash and walked away. Scarlet questioned him with tears in her eyes.
“Why do you hate me so much? I’m your sister…”
“I don’t have a sister. So leave me alone.”
The cracked glass of the picture frame mirrored the shattered state of Scarlet’s heart.
As these memories flooded back, including Red’s rejection of her friendship, Scarlet found herself in her favorite spot at Remnant University. She leaned by the pond, hoping to feed Dash the turtle, but it was nowhere to be found.
“Dash, I’m here! I have apples for you!”
Despite Scarlet’s calls, the turtle didn’t show up. She kept calling him but nothing moved. Worried about the turtle, she decided to check the pond area herself. Removing her shoes and socks, she lifted her skirt and approached the water. Although it was shallow, the darkness of the water prevented her from seeing her feet.
“Dash? Where are you? It’s Scarlet! Please come out!”
Near the rocky area, she spotted Dash’s shell. Recognizing the deformity, she called out to him, but he remained withdrawn in his shell, causing Scarlet to worry. She approached and lifted him up, but he remained hiding in his shell.
“Dash, it’s me. Don’t be afraid, come on out…”
As she looked around, she noticed ripples in the water getting closer and closer to her.
SCHOOL EMERGENCY
An announcement rang out in the middle of the day at Remnant University for all students.
“Due to the unexpected appearance of a sinkhole in the south wing of our school, classes will be cut short. We advise all students to calmly exit your classrooms and gather with your homeroom teachers at the school quadrangle. Thank you.”
“A sinkhole? That’s creepy. What if the whole school crumbles?” —One student said to their classmate.
“I wanna see it! I’ve never seen a sinkhole before!” —Another student replied, appearing more excited than scared.
The size of the sinkhole was still unknown and potentially hazardous to the students of R.U. Everyone gathered at the quadrangle before they could be safely escorted off the premises.
During this time, Juni was with Mr. Clean inside the maintenance room, organizing materials for the school’s fair. When they heard the announcement, they headed to the quadrangle.
Then suddenly…
“Help! Somebody help the girl! I saw a girl by the pond where the sinkhole is! When I checked, she’s about to fall!”
A terrified girl screamed for help.
“Juni, have you seen Scarlet?” Mr. Clean asked, realizing they had left the room without her.
Juni quickly realized where she might have gone and ran off, prompting Mr. Clean to follow him. The pond was located in the south wing where the sinkhole was discovered.
Remnant University is a huge place. While it would take an untrained person 10 minutes to reach where Scarlet was from the quadrangle, Red is the only one who could get there in just 2 minutes.
“Alfred, where are you…”
“Hang on, Scarlet…”
THE DARK PIT
Sure enough, the student about to fall was Scarlet.
When the sinkhole appeared, she was stranded in the middle of the water. It was about 25 meters in diameter, or as big as a tennis court, and its depth was unknown. Water started to be swallowed too. Scarlet held onto the small turtle, Dash, with one arm and clung to whatever she could to prevent herself from falling.
Crying, Scarlet managed to hold onto a rock while some rocks and vines attached to the ground slowly eroded and fell into the pit. She tried desperately not to slip, but the moss-covered surface was very hard to hold on to.
While she clung on, her mind was inundated with thoughts…
“Mom, Dad… I apologize if I’ve caused you both heartache. I’m sorry if my brother still resents me. I’m sorry for the immense disappointment I’ve brought upon our family. For all the secrets and lies… For everything…”
After ten minutes, she looked at Dash, realizing she might not make it.
“Dash, I’m losing my grip. I don’t think I could hold on any longer. I will have to throw you up, okay? Please walk on safer land…”
Accepting her fate, Scarlet mustered her last bit of strength to throw Dash to safety. But in doing so, she lost her balance, and her grip finally slipped.
With tears in her eyes, she accepted her fate as she fell into the sinkhole.