This choice: Tina has a friend over, and they find the bottle in Catherine's bag and chug it • Go Back...Chapter #5Peer Pressure.. by: MadJack   Despite her best intentions, Catherine hadn’t resolved her ethical struggle when she arrived at la casa de Canaris, and was still distracted by the dilemma while she received brief instructions from the departing Mrs. Canaris. At the end of the route babysitting speech, Tina’s mother handed Catherine a fifty-dollar bill and advised her to order out for dinner.
As the woman departed, Catherine groaned to herself. This seemingly-benevolent act was actually a huge chore in disguise: Tina’s specially-selected diet made ordering any outside food a daunting task. Heading into the kitchen to review the list of requirements and off-limit ingredients the Canaris‘ helpfully affixed to their refrigerator, Catherine causally let her backpack slide off of her shoulder and into a chair in the living room. Best to get this out of the way as quickly as possible rather than leave it looming until Tina was actually hungry. She could greet the brat when she was done.
—-
Mrs. Canaris had inadvertently left out a single detail of the current situation in her home: Tina wasn’t alone. Rather, she was entertaining her best friend and classmate Emiko Arikawa. The Marcy to Tina’s Peppermint Patty, Emiko was a shy, slightly chubby girl whom Tina had taken it upon herself to adopt like a lost kitten when the Japanese-born girl first joined their class.
Their friendship was clearly dominated by Tina’s confident and egotistical personality, with the naturally submissive Emiko bending to her will with an almost unsettling devotion. It was no wonder Mrs. Canaris had forgotten to mention the girl was a guest in their home; Emiko was more an extension of Tina’s person than an individual of her own.
Having heard her mother depart, Tina and her friend/shadow came downstairs to ‘greet’ Catherine; Tina’s tone when she advised this was what they were to do left little doubt to Emiko that this was to be more bullying that welcoming, but she was more than happy to come along. It was nice for Tina to make comments on someone else’s figure for a change.
Tina paused in the hallway when she saw Catherine’s dropped backpack, and wasted no time in opening it.
“That…won’t she get mad?” Emiko posited.
Tina shrugged. “Then she can be mad. My mom’s paying her enough to put up with a little hazing.”
Most of the contents were of no interest to either girl, but Emiko frowned slightly when she pulled out a medium-sized plastic bottle. The label had been torn off, so neither could tell what it was.
“Is this medicine? Or maybe some kind of flavoring?” Emiko opened the bottle and took a sniff. “It doesn’t smell like either…”
Tina grinned, eyes alight with mischief. “Then take a taste, Emi,” she teased. “Maybe it’s a weight-loss supplement.”
Emiko frowned at that; she was used to Tina’s jabs at her weight, but what she was suggesting seemed invasive.
“I don’t know…”
“Just do it,” Tina said, in a tone that wasn’t unfriendly, but offered no opportunity for debate or refusal.
Shrugging after a moment, Emiko sighed and cautiously brought the bottle towards her lips…   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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