Chapter Text
“Bro, that was awesome!”
Spiral fist-bumped the air with a giant grin, walking alongside Pac as the two besties entered the busy cafeteria.
Pac felt rather optimistic after Miss Globular praised his fleshed-out answer in History class. Spiral, on the other hand, was ecstatic.
“You totally showed everyone up!” The red jock enthused, sporting a proud and brotherly grin.
“I didn’t mean to,” Pac countered, meekly. “I just answered the question…”
“And singlehandedly beat everyone’s perceptions of you with great flair, might I add,” Spiral beamed. “That’s gotta show them that they should think twice about messing with ya!”
Pac allowed a small, tentative smile to come through.
Alas, he couldn’t stop Spiral’s excited bouts of encouragement. The red jock was many things, but above everything else, he had a big heart. There was no better hype man than his best friend.
A small part of Pac still felt a little anxious over the possibility of the class now seeing him as some nerd who believed in ‘myths’ in addition to the false rumours. But after feeling a surge of upliftment from Spiral’s energy, and after being in a sorrowful mood for so long…
Screw it, he was in need of some positivity for a change, especially after everything that’s been going on.
“I guess you’re right. I didn’t expect Miss Globular to be enthusiastic about ghosts, too. Everyone else just doesn’t want to believe they exist,” Pac said as he and Spiral queued up with a line of students, waiting to get their trays filled with food from the cafeteria’s counter.
He caught a whiff of the food up ahead, and his mouth watered. His stomach grumbled and he momentarily forgot where he was as his starved mind zeroed in on the counter of food ahead. Delicious, precious food, waiting for him to scarf it all down after weeks of holding back his urges for the sake of his own safety.
He’s had to find a few workarounds to evade the cafeteria’s attention during mealtimes, one of those being to sneak in and eat whatever was left of the menu while no one else was looking—which wasn’t always foolproof. Sometimes he was caught taking far more than his fair share, despite actually holding back on his appetite, and all he could do was mumble an apology and make haste for the exit. The last thing he wanted was for everyone to have reason to believe the kitchen rumours were true.
And now, after the rough day he had yesterday and the many days of ignoring his hunger, holding back his appetite now seemed like an impossible task. He was thoroughly starving-
“Hmm, I suppose we can’t really blame them,” Spiral ventured, thoughtfully.
Pac snapped out of it when Spiral kept talking, and the yellow boy focussed on his best friend’s voice as a distraction from his hunger. He nearly didn’t even catch what Spiral was talking about.
“For the last decade, the general public has been trying hard to forget about the wars and everything that’s happened. I trust you know your history, buddy… but I’d lie if I said I believed in ghosts to the extent that you do. My own parents think that they are nothing more than fairy tales meant to scare children into going to bed,” Spiral explained in earnest, oblivious to the fact that Pac had looked about set and ready to pounce into the cafeteria.
“Actually, that last bit is partly true,” Pac perked up, a spark of nerdy excitement welling up at the chance to talk about ghosts, the only thing that could keep his attention away from the gaping hole in his stomach. For now. “Remember when I mentioned in class that there are different kinds of ghosts?”
With a smile, the Yellow One went off on a tangent while they waited in line, and Spiral humoured his best friend by listening attentively.
“The ghosts in fairy tales actually fall into a small category themselves,” Pac explained. “They roamed Pacworld a long time ago, during the medieval era when they were part of ancient events that influenced the creation of classical folktales. These kinds of spirits were elusive and solitary, and you would only ever find them on Pacworld’s surface compared to their Nether counterparts. They were as real as any ghosts of today, but since they existed a long time ago and are only remembered through folktales, they’ve been reduced to myths and legends with no reliable way of proving they ever existed. Sadly, because of this, the average Pacworlder associates those ghosts with the same ghosts from the war, and so everyone believes that ghosts are not real.”
Spiral gave a small hum of thoughtful acknowledgement.
“Sounds legit enough. I guess that would explain why people are hesitant to believe the ones from the war were real... So, what makes the Nether ghosts so different from the old ones?”
“A lot of things, actually…” Pac answered, a grim tone seeping into his voice.
“Nobody really knows how the ghosts in the Netherworld came to be, we just know that they are vengeful spirits who deeply hate Pacworlders. Ordinary ghosts of old could only haunt around and scare people, but the Nether ghosts were capable of doing things that nobody thought possible. The biggest of these is their mind control ability, known as possession-”
“Didn’t Betrayus use them to control his army into doing whatever he wanted them to do?” Spiral suddenly chimed in with widened eyes, recalling some of what they’ve learned in history so far.
“He did,” Pac confirmed, solemnly. “He made them possess his soldiers so that the Resistance wouldn’t suspect that they were really going up against ghosts. Sometimes, he even used them to possess members of the Freedom Fighters to sabotage them from within. It was one of Betrayus’ secret strategies to either spy or get the upper hand on the Resistance.”
“Whoa,” Spiral uttered, his own face growing grim. “That’s… dark. No wonder the Nether ghosts were feared. I can’t imagine getting possessed and being forced to do something against my will, let alone in a war.”
Pac nodded in agreement. “Thankfully, the Resistance realised what was going on before it was too late. It was actually thanks to the Yellow Ones that ghosts were discovered working on Betrayus’ side.”
The yellow boy kept speaking on the topic for as long as Spiral was willing to listen. However, neither of them noticed a figure slowly approaching them from behind…
“At first they thought the ghosts didn’t pose much of a threat, until it was discovered that they can possess and take control of people…they’ll creep up on you and take you by surprise-”
“BOOGA BOOGA!”
A high-pitched scream burst from Pac’s lips, startled out of his wits at the sudden voice behind him. He was so spooked that he jumped several feet into the air, dropping his food tray and drawing the attention of the entire cafeteria.
“You mean like that?”
Heart racing, Pac whirled around to face the perpetrator, just as several onlookers burst out laughing at the scene. Spiral stepped up to Pac’s side, a murderous fire in his green eyes.
“You.”
Skeebo guffawed with no care in the world, joined in chorus by the cafeteria. Students pointed their fingers while laughing at them and Pac felt his esteem drop back down to rock bottom.
“Well, I’ll be damned, lemonball! I knew you were a thief, but now you mean to tell me you believe in propaganda, too?” Skeebo snickered. His grin stretched maniacally over his face upon having new ammo to use against Pac.
“I knew it was too good to be true,” Spiral seethed, just as the cafeteria’s laughter died down. “You can’t go one day without bullying Pac, can you, Skeebs?!”
The blue jock simply shrugged and smirked. “Lighten up, redface. Why you gotta take everything so seriously? It was just a prank.”
Had Pac not stepped in Spiral’s way, then the red jock surely would’ve thrown another punch worthy of the one from that morning.
“Spiral, don’t-“
“Yeah, Spiral, don’t go pulling another one of your stunts, or you’ll upset your sidekick again.”
A tense, cold silence crept into the air.
Spiral’s fists clenched painfully in restraint. It took all of his willpower not to lash out at Skeebo outright, to throw all heed and warning away and beat this jock to a pulp.
But little did he know, that right at his side, a different-coloured hand was clenched into a fist, too.
Pac bit back frustrated tears. He bit back all the hurt, the humiliation, and the anger that’s steadily grown and simmered under the surface for the past few weeks…
Maybe it was the frustration, the starvation, the desperate need to be left alone, or the little bit of encouragement he got from Ms Globular.
But for the first time in a very long time, a bout of courage welled up inside of his chest.
He turned to face Skeebo, resentfully.
“At least I’d make a better sidekick than the dogs you call your friends.”
A collective ‘Oooooh!’ sounded from the crowd.
Spiral gawked at Pac as if he had just grown antlers. Skeebo's brows shot up and a grave grin cracked out on his face.
"Oh-ho! Did I hear that right? Did the lemonhead just grow abackbone?"
Pac’s eyes widened. Hit with the weight of his brave stance, he took a step back in hesitance, but he held Skeebo’s manic gaze despite his drop in courage. The Yellow One opened his mouth to say something, anything to try and diffuse the situation he had just inadvertently escalated. But Skeebo stepped closer, a dark and threatening glare looming in his eyes.
“Why don’t you say that again to my face, Ghost Boy? So I can show you how real dogs are punished when they act out of line-”
“Then pick on someone your own size, Skeebs!”
Proud of his best friend as he was, Spiral was quickly overtaken by the same protective fury from before. Stepping forward, the red jock pushed past Pac to get right in Skeebo’s face. Normally he wouldn’t brush Pac aside like that, but he’s had enough.
The cafeteria zeroed in on the confrontation as Spiral and Skeebo had a stand-off once more.
Confronted with this familiar, insufferable face, Skeebo gritted his teeth in anger.
“This isn’t your fight, Spiral.”
Spiral glared back with all the venom in the world.
“You made this my fight when you decided to put my best friend through hell.”
“Sounds like a you-problem,” Skeebo growled back. “It’s not my job to listen to other people’s problems. My job is to remind people of their place on the food chain. And right now, you and your yellow friend are at rock bottom. Got a problem with that?”
The space around the two grew tense and fiery. Neither of the jocks broke their stance, squaring up to fight once more. Spiral’s fist trembled with restraint.
“If you have a problem with Pac, you have a problem with me,” Spiral seethed in Skeebo’s face.
“Now. Back. OFF.”
This was the only warning he’d give him, the only chance he’d give Skeebo to back down. This wasn’t just going to be a punch in the face like the one from that morning. This was war.
Pac knew this more than anyone else, but before he could make another futile attempt at pulling Spiral out of doing something regrettable, a call echoed from the back of the crowd.
“Fight!”
A horrible sense of dread struck Pac.
“Fight! Fight!”
From one chant to the next, the cafeteria exploded into a cacophony of shouting and cheering.
“FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!”
Pac panicked. No, no, no, not this-
The Yellow One watched helplessly as practically half the school cheered and called for a long-anticipated fight between Spiral and Skeebo. Weeks of gossip and rumours culminated in a chorus of juvenile ignorance and rambunctious voting.
A fight is the last thing that should be happening right now.
Spiral realised this, too, but amidst his blinding anger, a part of him felt fuelled by the cafeteria’s chanting. He cannot back out of this. Not after all that Skeebo has done. He held the blue jock’s glare, fired up and ready to act on the urge to fight.
All while the cunning smile of victory never left Skeebo’s eyes.
“Take a seat, Cylindria, I just need a second to send off these notes.”
Miss Globular typed away on her computer, filling the silence by tapping in some last-minute notes on classes for the day. The last few students had already left, off to get lunch before heading off into the weekend. All except for Cylindria.
The trepid goth sat down in the seat that was reserved for her, next to Miss Globular’s desk. She fiddled with her hands, nervously.
The silence did nothing to ease the knot in her stomach. Cylindria tried to think of any reasons why she was called back. Or rather, any reason other than the obvious.
She was caught whispering and speaking to Skeebo and Rubix during a test session. The punishment for breaking such a rule was either revoking the offending student’s test or a harsh warning of disciplinary action. Instead, Miss Globular had them switch their seats. Not that it did anything to reverse their actions.
But if that was the only reason, then why was she the only one who was called back? Why not Skeebo and Rubix, too?
Was there something else that she had done? Something that warranted a talk with her teacher?
With a start, she wondered if Miss Globular had heard about the rumours. Not Pac’s rumours, but any rumours that were about her.
Could Skeebo have already started spreading rumours about her without her knowing? Long before this class started? Had he broken the deal long before he even lured her into getting caught speaking in class?
Does the school already believe in lies about me…?
With each passing second, Cylindria’s thoughts raced themselves into a knot, and she absentmindedly fiddled with her fingers to the point of rubbing them raw.
When Miss Globular finished typing and turned to face her, Cylindria couldn’t help herself and blurted out, meekly.
“D-Did I do something wrong…?”
“On the contrary, I’d like to know what is wrong.”
Cylindria blinked, partly in confusion and partly in wariness.
But Miss Globular’s eyes were calm and kind, twinged with worry as she observed the nervous girl.
“I couldn’t help but notice that you haven’t been acting like yourself these past few days,” the teacher started, softly.
“You’re the top student in my class. Usually, you don’t miss a beat in participating in discussions in the classroom, but for some time you’ve been rather quiet. And it’s completely unlike you to talk during a test. That’s the kind of behaviour I’d expect from Rubix or Poly, but not you.”
Cylindria stared at her teacher in surprise, caught off-guard by the kindness in Miss Globular’s eyes. A sight that had gotten far too sparse in the goth’s life.
An unexpected—and unwelcomed—knot sprang up in her throat.
After everything that was going on, she didn’t realise how much she had missed seeing a compassionate face. A rush of relief washed through her system. She wasn’t in any trouble.
But…she also didn’t know how to answer Miss Globular.
“I, um…”
Cylindria averted her eyes, unable to look at Miss Globular while the threat of tears prickled behind her eyelids. Discreetly, she reigned in her emotions and forced herself to think clearly. She forced that knot down.
Just be honest, she told herself as she held her arm.
“…Y-Yeah, I haven’t been feeling well these past few days. There’s just some stuff that I’m dealing with right now. It’s…It’s not a big deal.”
Liar.
The lilac teacher gave her a look of understanding, underlined with a hint of suspicion. “I figured as much. But I also figured that, if it isn’t such a big deal, then I’d be seeing you interacting with the class and being your usual self in my classroom, which isn’t the case.”
Cylindria swallowed, knowing full well that her teacher’s gut feeling was more accurate than the goth was willing to admit aloud. Before she could open her mouth to try and persuade her teacher that everything was alright, Miss Globular spoke ahead.
“Now, it's not my business to interfere with my students’ personal lives, unless circ*mstances call for it. But if something seems out of the ordinary, then I’d rather not turn a blind eye to it, either. So, that being said… is everything truly alright?”
Cylindria’s mouth went dry.
Fighting to keep the dam intact suddenly felt like an all-out war in her mind.
She had a plethora of things to say, things that needed to be talked about. The rumours, the bullying, all of it. She needed to speak up. She needed to get help.
But for some reason, the first thing that came blurting out of her mouth was-
“Skeebo and I broke up.”
And just like that, the dam broke, the flashbacks came, and she relived an experience that she wanted to wipe from her memory completely.
‘…You think you’ve got me caught, but I can very easily turn your reputation upside down too…’
‘…Wouldn’t it be awful if people just suddenly…found out that you’re not the sweet and smart girl they all believed you to be…?’
‘…You’ll be known as a thief, a cheat, and an unfaithful slu*t…’
‘...But I didn’t—'
‘…I know you did not do any of that. But everyone else doesn’t know, nor would they ever. I got everyone to believe in the little rumours I’ve spread around, and they’ve now accepted it all as fact. I made a Yellow One sound like a no-good delinquent; I can make you sound just as bad, too…’
‘…You wouldn’t…’
‘…Try me...’
She didn’t realise she was crying until Miss Globular appeared at her side.
“Oh, dear—I’m so sorry…”
There’s nothing to be sorry for, the goth despaired amidst choking on the lump in her throat.
She didn’t care about Skeebo, not anymore. He hurt her! They were over! She had more important things to worry about!
So why was she battling to get her tears to stop rolling over her face, biting back sobs and furiously wiping at her eyes?
“It’s-it’s nothing—” she sniffled, unable to look Miss Globular in the eye, despite the teacher holding an arm over her shoulders in comfort. It did nothing to lessen the waterworks, not when the teacher’s gentle words of comfort caused a fresh wave of emotions to gather.
All of her suppressed emotions came out in the form of pent-up tears. She couldn’t ignore them any longer.
She couldn’t ignore the pain, the stress, and the heartbreak that was caused by Skeebo’s ill-treatment of her that morning. The switching of their seats and the wristcom incident was the last straw. She’s been suppressing it all for far too long.
She’s fought for Pac and Spiral’s truth to make up for her mistakes, to make sure that Pac was okay. But throughout this whole mess, nobody had once questioned whether or not she was okay. Not her ‘friends’, not Skeebo, nobody. Miss Globular was the first.
“I’m guessing this is your first break-up?” The teacher enquired softly after letting the teen cry silently for a bit.
It’s more than that, Cylindria wanted to say. It’s everything. Everything is wrong.
It wasn’t just the arbitrary fact that it was her first relationship gone to waste.
It was the overwhelming stress that had been piling onto her shoulders for days on end – stemming from her relations with Skeebo. From the shame for blindly trusting her ex and his lies, the shock of discovering the truth about Pac’s rumours, to the guilt for the part she played in Pac’s ostracization.
It was the heartbreak from Skeebo’s betrayal and the pressure of trying to fix her mistakes while avoiding blackmail. It was the fear and helplessness she felt for trying to keep it all together while tiptoeing around the minefield that was Skeebo’s threats. One wrong move and things could get worse—and Pac was still nowhere near to being safe from bullying. Everything was wrong…
But where could she even start?
What was the point of letting her teacher know if things had already gotten so bad, so out of control? There just seemed to be no way out… not when Skeebo had just broken the deal and was starting up rumours about her. She didn’t know what he would do if he found out she ratted him out. She felt well and truly trapped.
All she could do was nod.
Nod and bury all of those emotions under the guise of it just being mere heartbreak from her first break-up.
Miss Globular seemed to understand her silence, opting to give the girl a comforting pat on the shoulder. “I’m sorry that things between you and Skeebo didn’t work out, my dear. Break-ups happen, but the hurt won’t last forever. Just give yourself enough time and space to sort through what you are feeling.”
I don’t think time and space is going to fix this, Cylindria held back the retort, rolling in her own hopelessness. Wordlessly, she nodded again, in no state or position to correct the teacher on her genuine attempts to make her feel better.
“If I may ask, what happened that caused the break-up?” Miss Globular enquired gently, worried over the girl’s mental state. By now, the goth’s tears had dried up and she was staring numbly at her hands, folded on her lap.
The memory of Skeebo’s smirking face echoed loudly as he threatened her into a corner, with no care in the world for how scared and betrayed she had felt.
“He…”
He’s a lying, two-faced, backstabbing waste of space!
“He’s just not someone I want to be with anymore.”
She didn’t have the energy to elaborate. Not when doing so could prompt more tears to gather. Thankfully, the lilac teacher didn’t pry any further, merely nodding in understanding.
“Well then, let’s leave it at that. I can see that you need some time to yourself.”
Miss Globular gave the teen one final pat on the back before returning to her desk. “You are free to go. I will let the incident with the test slide, seeing as you have a good record and you just need some time to get back to your usual self. But promise me one thing, would you?”
Cylindria wiped her tear-stained face dry before lifting her head and looking at her teacher with a sad countenance. “Promise what?”
“Take care of yourself. I expect nothing less from my top student. Now, go on out and get some rest.”
The flicker of optimism on her face was hollow and forced, but she did it for Miss Globular’s sake. Truth be told, she just wanted to get out of there. She managed a small smile, though didn’t reach her eyes.
“Okay…thanks, Miss Globular.”
She slowly eased herself out of her seat. Despite the burden she felt for the mess she was in… she will admit, she did feel a little bit better after that cry. A small weight had lifted off her shoulders, compelling her to keep going, to keep trying.
Be brave.
Miss Globular watched her as she prepared to leave, still with that twinge of worry in her eyes. “If you ever need an outlet, don’t hesitate to stop by after class.”
Cylindria nodded. A small part of her wanted to stay, to talk a little bit more and get some things off her chest. But a pressing urgency prickled at her insides, worried over what Skeebo was up to in her absence.
And so, she bid her teacher farewell and made her way towards the door. She willed life and newfound motivation into her steps, mentally preparing herself to face the monster that was Skeebo and his schemes. She reached the door, ready to head off to find her terrible ex…
But her feet came to a halt in the doorway.
Something held her back, like an invisible thread tied to the classroom.
This was her chance to get help. This was her chance to tell a teacher the truth, of Skeebo bullying Pac and to get help – for both Pac and herself.
But a fearful thought held her back.
Skeebo was already on the cusp of spreading rumours about her. If she rats him out now, then he already has a head start in ruining her life. He already crossed the line with Pac, framing him and physically hurting him… would he dare go to those lengths with her, too?
A memory resurfaced, of cruel laughter and jeering smirks, all directed towards her at a time when she herself had been on the bottom of the social ladder. She never wants to be at the bottom of that ladder ever again.
If she was going to help Pac and herself, then she needed to be smart about this. She needed time.
And to gain that time, she had to know one, crucial detail…
“Um…actually, Miss Globular?”
The goth turned in her step to face the teacher, who had looked up from her desk at her call.
“You wouldn’t happen to have heard about any, um…rumours?” Cylindria stuttered, before quickly following up with an awkward chuckle, “Or, you know…any news amongst the populace?”
“Should I be aware of some?”
“N-No, of course not, I mean…It’s just out of curiosity. The school talks, right? So, there’s bound to be a lot of birdies flying around and sharing gossip, right? I’m just…wondering if you’ve heard some.”
Way to be inconspicuous, she mentally slapped herself.
Before she could stutter on to try and make her question sound less ridiculous, Miss Globular answered.
“If by ‘rumours’ you mean from the students themselves, then no, I haven’t. Maze High’s students aren’t really that open to sharing the latest gossip with us teachers. The student body is awfully secretive. The only happenings that I’ve been hearing of is from the catering staff, but that’s a headache for another day.”
“Catering staff?”
“Yes, apparently food went missing from the kitchens some nights ago.”
Cylindria froze, but Miss Globular was unaware of the girl’s rigid form as she was busy piling some papers away on her desk.
“A bothersome thing to be making a ruckus about if you ask me, I am fairly certain that the janitors had just misplaced the food boxes in the staff room yet again. But alas, they insist that it’s been stolen. The principal has ordered an investigation into the missing food, and it ought to be sorted out this weekend, so don’t you worry about it. That being said, what kind of rumours are you referring to-”
“Okaythanksbye!”
The goth broke into a mad dash down the hallway, leaving a confused teacher behind.
Once she got some distance away from the classroom, Cylindria slowed down her sprint. Her heart, on the other hand, kept beating at a rapid pace after the little titbit of information she had just gathered.
So, the teachers don’t know anything yet.
Which was a relief and a surprise all on its own because the halls were littered with rumours.
Then again, she has lived among these students for more than a year now. She cannot deny that Maze High’s students tend to keep social matters a secret from the staff, for blatantly obvious reasons. Why share rumours with a teacher if it meant they could lose their juicy gossip privileges?
But there’s going to be an investigation, soon… and if that investigation starts following leads into what the students have been gossiping about, then they are no doubt going to link the missing food back to Pac.
She can’t let that happen.
At once, she decided to switch her priorities. Ignore Skeebo, find Pac.
If her ex broke his end of the deal, then she’s breaking hers. She’ll head straight for the Yellow One and tell him the truth – the whole truth, of everything that’s happened behind smoke screens and false rumours and warn him of what’s to come. How they will prove Pac’s innocence and Skeebo’s schemes to the whole school, she didn’t know, but making things right with Pac will be the first step. She had to find him.
And she had an inkling of a suspicion that he would be in the cafeteria right now. She just hoped that Skeebo did not make his way there before she could-
“Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Cylindria faltered in her run just as the cafeteria came into view – and with it, came the distant echo of a dreadful sound. The sound of chanting.
All at once, she knew what was happening.
“Oh, for Pacness’ sake!”
Exasperated as she was, the goth sprinted for the cafeteria with everything that she had, filled with dread. Students were piling in the doorway, pushing and shuffling against each other to get a better view of whatever spectacle was taking place within the cafeteria.
She reached the entrance and forced her way through, shoving against crowded bodies and making her way to where the cheering was the loudest.
After what felt like hours, she finally pushed past the rambunctious students and came out on the other side of the crowd.
She froze as she beheld the scene in front of her.
Pac was beside himself with panic.
This day was going nowhere near to what he had hoped it would go – not that he had hoped for much. But this was taking it too far.
Crowds of students surrounded them like an impenetrable wall, chanting and cheering. His ears pulsed from the noise, growing louder than the drumming of his heart. His lungs felt far too small for the rapid intakes of breath he needed to keep his mind afloat. There was nowhere for him to run or hide, not here, in the middle of a student-made arena.
In that arena were two jocks, facing each other and preparing for a duel of fists. A few steps behind Spiral stood Pac, nearest to the wall of students. It was here where the Yellow One was fighting the urge to cower away from the multitude of eyes that were on the three of them – on him, his best friend, and his bully.
Skeebo was luring Spiral into a fight.
And the red teenager was falling for it.
“Well…what are you waiting for?” Skeebo taunted in Spiral’s face. “You want to tussle, then let’s tussle. Can’t disappoint our audience now, can we?”
On and on the crowd chanted. On and on they called for a fight.
For a fleeting moment, Pac and Spiral glanced at each other.
Don’t do it, Pac begged with his eyes. Just turn away. Don’t do this for my sake, please-
But Spiral did not turn away.
The red jock had the opportunity to turn around and walk away, but that was before the crowd trapped them in a circle, before their chanting hounded him on to accept the challenge. For the students, it was a showdown not to be missed. But for Spiral, it was an opportunity to put an end to the cause of his best friend’s suffering.
If he had to do it in front of the whole school, then so be it. He’d give them a show to remember.
And so, instead of walking away, Spiral began to roll up his sleeves.
The crowd went wild in response. Pac’s eyes widened.
“Spiral, no—!"
The protest that came out of Pac’s mouth was quickly overpowered by the crowd’s thunderous chorus.
His best friend didn’t hear him – not that he would’ve listened, as was evident by Spiral’s blind resolve to finally settle the matter for good. And that’s what Pac was panicking about.
Spiral was walking right into Skeebo’s trap, baiting him into making the first move – a move that would surely get the red teenager expelled. One strike and Spiral would face the consequences of starting a physical fight. Couldn’t he see through Skeebo’s plan?
Pac looked around in panic, desperately searching for a way out of this mess. But all he saw were students raving and shoving to get a better look at the impending fight. Time was running out. If Pac had any hair, he would’ve pulled them out of his head by now.
What do I do, what do I do-
That was when he spotted someone on the other side of the crowd.
He was so overwhelmed he almost didn’t see her, but there came Cylindria, appearing out of a sea of students and going rigid at the scene that lay before her. She, too, looked around in abject panic before her eyes landed on him, connecting the dots.
Their eyes met, and Pac found himself on the same level with someone whom he once considered an enemy. Cylindria saw the desperation in his eyes, and he saw shock and helplessness in hers. A silent message passed between them.
What do we do?
Suddenly, Pac was hit with an idea—a memory.
When Spiral and Skeebo nearly got into a fight earlier that morning, it was Cylindria who had thrown herself between the two jocks and de-escalated the tension by convincing them both to back down. It was the only thing that had prevented the fight.
What if…
There was no time to ponder over it.
The two jocks were closing in on each other. Spiral was working up a punch. Skeebo stood waiting and smirking. The chanting around them reached a deafening climax…
Pac’s legs were moving before he realised what he was doing.
“STOP!”
The Yellow One ran up and threw himself between his best friend and his enemy, right before the first punch could be thrown.
All at once, he gained a wave of respect for Cylindria when she pulled the same act earlier that day. Throwing yourself between two giants on the brink of a fistfight? Scary stuff.
He braced himself for a hit, knowing the dangerous risk he was taking for stepping in the line of fire. But in the heat of the moment, he saw Spiral going from blind conviction to immediate shock and horror at seeing his best friend’s face swoop in front of him. Spiral stumbled back, releasing his fist as he did so.
The world grew quieter, and Pac didn’t know whether or not it was the cafeteria going silent in surprise or if he had finally gone deaf from the ringing in his ears, courtesy of his spiked nerves.
He got his answer when amidst the silence, a shout came from somewhere in the crowd.
“Boooo! Get out of the way, loser, we want a REAL fight!”
Pac’s heart jumped into his throat.
All eyes were on him.
His chest tightened at the fact, but he forced himself to breathe, nonetheless.
Breathe, while standing face-to-face with the bully who started it all.
The image of Cylindria’s fearless and level-headed demeanour from that morning sparked in his memory again, and he channelled that memory as a guide to resolving this conflict. If she could break up a fight, so can he.
He swallowed his nerves and forced his voice to work.
“T-This is not going to end well for anyone! Fighting is only going to get us in trouble with the school board, so knock it off!”
Skeebo looked at Pac like he would look at an annoying insect that got in his way. “This again? I thought we already established that whatever comes out of your mouth is meaningless drivel.”
Pac had to reach an arm out to the side to block Spiral from pushing forward with a threat, but the yellow boy kept his stance and continued to stare Skeebo down. “I’m serious! Everyone wants a fight until they have to face the consequences! Just back down—there’s no reason for this to keep going-”
Pac’s valiant attempt at breaking up the fight was brushed off when Skeebo whistled, loudly and haughtily.
“You hear that, everyone? The lemonhead thinks he can point some fingers. I didn’t see you owning up to the consequences of taking all our food. Think you’re too good for us, snitch?”
Boo's and various chants of ‘Yeah!’ and ‘Hypocrite!’ resounded from the crowd. Pac’s tongue suddenly felt like lead in his throat, unable to form a retort with everyone looking at him through accusatory eyes.
But Skeebo held out a hand, calling for everyone’s attention.
“No, no, wait, you know what? Let’s hear him out. Let’s listen to the orb who believes in ghost stories. Whaddya say, everyone? I’m sure we can take the word of someone who believes in conspiracy theories over that of common sense.”
Bursts of laughter echoed in the cafeteria, from more students than what would’ve been expected from a crowd who barely knew the yellow boy. Pac’s stomach gave a sickening drop. It was a gathered effort not to pay heed to the nausea churning in his gut from the mix of emotions. Fear. Indignation. Anger.
While Spiral was glaring hotly at everyone who laughed, Pac kept his eyes on Skeebo. A strange, desperate sort of feeling rose in his chest. The Yellow One’s face creased into a resentful glare.
“What do you want from me?”
His voice was low, just enough for Skeebo to hear. Pac ground out his words, clenching his teeth in a bid to bite back the growing frustration trickling into his tone.
“What do I have to do to get you to leave me alone?!”
Skeebo smirked.
"For you to admit that you are the food thief.”
Pac froze. A horrid, frightful feeling spiked through his system.
But Skeebo persisted with a dark grin. “Right here, right now. In front of the whole school."
Spiral’s head whipped over to them upon overhearing the ultimatum, and the crowd grew silent once more as they listened in.
The blue jock crossed his arms, smiling. He had Pac right where he wanted him.
"A ghost propagandist we can probably forgive, there are plenty of loonies who believe such tales, but stealing food out of our mouths? That we cannot let slide,” Skeebo said.
They stared each other down. The Yellow One’s face was devoid of any emotion, as though he had gone completely numb.
After long, agonising seconds, Pac finally took a deep breath.
“Alright.”
A wave of shocked silence coursed through the cafeteria.
“What?!” Spiral exclaimed, enraged. “No! Pac, you didn’t do ANYTHING wrong—!“
The red teenager was about set and ready to throw himself at Skeebo and fight him for real, but before he could do anything, two pairs of arms grabbed him from behind and pulled him back. These arms belonged to none other than Rubix and Cubo, holding Spiral back so that he wouldn’t intervene in what was undoubtedly Skeebo’s attempt to solidify the false rumours against the yellow boy.
Pac could only spare a quick, worried glance at the sound of his best friend struggling and cursing against his captors.
“Well, then? Out with it, snitch.”
When Pac faced Skeebo again, he was met with a cruel smile. The blue jock was revelling in the victory of this moment. Pac glared back at him, in something between resentment and resignation. For a moment, it was just the two of them, the defeated outcast and the victorious perpetrator. It seemed as though Skeebo was finally celebrating the success of his schemes to get rid of Pac for good…
…until the yellow boy promptly turned around, his back to Skeebo, and faced the crowd.
“Everyone…there’s something you need to know.”
The students went quiet upon being addressed by the only Yellow One in the school, and Skeebo raised a suspicious eyebrow upon being ignored by his target. But Pac kept his back turned against him, calmly and with little fear.
His focus was entirely on the crowd in front of him. He took a deep breath.
“My name is Pac. You…may have heard a few things about me by now.”
“You can say that again,” someone spoke up from the crowd. “People are saying you’re either a thief or an enigma. So which is it?”
“Neither,” Pac answered as calmly as he could despite the tension in his throat. “And if you only give me a minute of your time, I’ll explain.”
He was acutely aware of Skeebo’s razor-sharp stare at his back. He paid him no heed.
He had the cafeteria’s attention all for himself now.
“There was a rumour going around that someone stole food from the kitchens, and that I’m the one who did it. That isn’t true,” Pac spoke, earnestly and with as much resolution as he could without losing his voice in front of so many eyes. “I don’t know who stole food out of the school’s storages, but I swear it wasn’t me. That being said… there is a bit of truth to how much I tend to eat…”
Pac took a breath, gathering his thoughts and gaining some confidence. He knew this was not the kind of admission Skeebo was looking for, but if he could keep the crowd’s attention for just a little longer, then maybe he could turn their perception of him around. By telling the truth as it is.
And so, he swallowed his nerves and spoke from the heart.
“I do eat a lot. It is true that I’ve been taking a lot of food for myself…food from the cafeteria, specifically. I am constantly hungry, so when it is time to eat, I do go a little bit overboard… so much so that there’s barely any left for everyone else at mealtimes.”
A pang of guilt rang in his chest in acknowledging the uncomfortable truth about his appetite, something he had been running from for all his life, now coming to bite him in the rear like this. He never dreamed of ending up in this situation, where his ostentatious appetite was the prime suspect for missing food from the school’s kitchens – the only reason he could think of for being suspected in the first place. Still, he held out his hands in a sincere appeal for the crowd’s pacmanity.
“I know that it can be frustrating to have food eaten before you even have a chance to get any. I have been taking more than my fair share. That story is true. But the stories you’ve been hearing about me breaking into the kitchens to steal food? Those aren’t true. I swear, I’ve never set foot in the kitchens before. I don’t even know where they are.”
That last line he added in a lighter and slightly comedic tone, trying to make light of a dire situation, even if just for his sake.
But it seemed like he needed to do no such thing.
As he spoke, the crowd latched onto his every word. Many still looked at him with distrust in their eyes, but some of them were now looking at him more neutrally. Curiously, convincingly, maybe even sympathetically. His honesty had their rapt attention.
He took that as a good sign as any to finish what he wanted to say. His shoulders sagged faintly, offering everyone a look of apology. “I’ve never stolen any food. I’ve never meant any ill-will towards anyone. But…I have taken far more than my fair share of food during mealtimes, food that should’ve been reserved for you. For that, I am truly sorry.”
Murmurs slowly broke out among the crowd.
It was a strange shift. They had listened in attentive silence as the yellow boy spoke, and now that silence was swathed in an air of confused whispers and surprised mutterings. This speech was nowhere near what they had expected from a boy who, among other things, was also rumoured to be a dishonest delinquent.
Yet here he was, going out of his way to apologise for something that didn’t even cross their minds. Everyone was taken aback.
But they were swayed, nonetheless.
Pac didn’t expect them all to believe him wholesale, judging from the few who still stuck their noses up at him, like what Poly and Tetrah were doing. But he was surprised – and incredibly relieved – to find that some students were no longer looking at him through accusatory eyes. They were now looking at him through a new lens after this heartfelt apology.
Despite still being held back by the arms, Spiral was practically beaming at Pac in pride, his eyes a mix of awe and surprise at the way his best friend had bravely chosen to handle this matter.
And among the crowd, to his left, Pac briefly spotted a pair of familiar pink eyes, looking strangely at him… as though she was holding back tears. She was looking at him as though she was meeting him for the very first time again, back when they had first run into each other, recognising the boy whom her instincts were right about all along.
When Pac turned around to face Skeebo again, he didn’t feel so scared anymore.
“There. I said it.”
Skeebo’s ultimatum was for Pac to admit to taking all the food. He didn’t say how he had to admit it.
And so, while the crowd were still muttering to each other, Pac faced Skeebo with a hard stare. "You can ask me to do anything for you to go away, and I'll do it. But I won't entertain a lie about myself."
Skeebo was turning pale with rage.
Rage for how Pac had used sincerity to flip the ultimatum on its head - and utterly succeeded in doing so.
On the surface, he seemed deeply annoyed at Pac’s speech. But deep inside those violet eyes, a burning anger was barely simmering into view.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. This trepid outcast was supposed to cower and break under the pressure of the trap Skeebo had orchestrated for him. He was supposed to accept the rumours so that the school could suspend him. He was supposed to crack. He was supposed to give in.
But he didn’t.
“Tsk.” Skeebo scoffed. “Big deal. So you sweet-talked your way out of your crimes. What do you have to say about all the other accusations about yourself then, hm?”
“Name them.”
Skeebo blinked. “What?”
“Name the accusations.”
Caught off-guard by the lack of fear in the yellow boy’s eyes, Skeebo straightened up and spoke loudly for all to hear. “Oh, um—gladly! Let’s start with you being a liar!”
“Didn’t I just prove the opposite?” Pac countered, a hand gesturing faintly to the students behind him. “Why would I go out of my way to explain myself to everybody if I was just going to be dishonest from the start?”
“That sounds like something a liar would say to fake his innocence—which leads me to the other accusation, that you’re a delinquent who only causes trouble!”
Pac’s mouth drew into a thin line. His stare hardened. “Well, if that’s true, then people would have seen me causing trouble at least once, wouldn’t they?”
Before Skeebo could open his mouth again, Pac turned once more to the crowd. “Can anyone name at least one instance where I was a delinquent?”
Students looked at each other, muttering and questioning.
“…Not me, no.”
“I…can’t say I have. He doesn’t really talk all that much.”
“Yeah, he mostly just keeps to himself.”
“What about you, Loop, didn’t you once say that he tried to steal your lunchbox or something?”
“Hey, don’t bring me into this, I don’t even know who the true offender in that situation was anymore…”
The crowd grew louder as they contemplated among themselves. Yet, no one came forward with a good enough example of bad behaviour on Pac’s part – aside from the already-addressed matter of his overindulgence of food from the cafeteria.
Skeebo’s eyes darted left and right at the crowd’s swaying convictions. The tables were turning. His scheme was falling apart at the seams.
“You…you-!” Skeebo struggled in growing agitation, grasping at whatever rumours he could still use against his target. “Y-You smell like lemons—“
This time, Pac felt calm enough to simply raise a brow. “Okay I know us teenagers are not the cleanest creatures on Pacworld, but smelling like a very specific fruit? That’s a stretch, even for me.”
To both of their surprise, a few students in the crowd actually chuckled.
“Yeah, where did that one even come from?” A dark green girl chirped up. “Look at me! I’m, like, the greenest out of everyone here. Should I be smiling like a lime now?”
More students joined together in laughter, poking similar jokes at themselves.
In a moment of reprieve, Pac stared at the crowd in astonishment at how quickly they took to his side. Well, perhaps not fully on his side yet. They still barely knew him, but the fact that the atmosphere had gone from a tense silence to one of laidback laughter had lifted the weight on his shoulders considerably. A tiny, relieved smile slowly graced his features.
But Skeebo was seething through his teeth.
“Oh, you think this is a victory?”
Pac snapped his attention back to the blue jock, who barely kept his angry words below the volume of the crowd’s chatter. He was glaring fresh hatred at the Yellow One - the kind that made Pac’s courage falter.
“You think this is over? You think that buying everyone’s pity is going to save you?!”
Something dangerous and off-kilter was coming upon the blue jock’s frame. The tables have turned against him, his pride was hurt, and the one responsible for this humiliating turn of events was just within grabbing distance…
“This doesn’t mean anything! You’re still a yellow eyesore!”
Skeebo was quickly advancing on him. Pac suddenly felt a nervous chill go down his spine at the familiar threat of harm in those eyes.
“You’re still nothing but a freak in a lemon suit!”
Skeebo spat, his voice climbing in octaves as he took threatening steps forward, blinded by fury and completely oblivious to how his true colours were coming through for all to see.
Pac immediately backed up, trying to create distance between them. “H-Hey-“
“You’re still a gnat that will never amount to anything! You’re still an attention-hogging loser! You’re a NOBODY! And nobody in this school gets to rise past ME!”
A blue fist was clenched and ready to be thrown. Shocked and confused shouts of shock came from the crowd.
“Pac, watch out!”
Pac barely registered Spiral’s shout of warning, still restrained by Rubix and Cubo.
Try as he might, Pac’s legs didn’t move quickly enough against the speed at which Skeebo was coming for him. And so they went numb.
The Yellow One felt a surge of fear race down his spine at the memory of Skeebo hitting him in the courtyard. Out of reflex, Pac froze and braced himself for another painful punch…
But then something incredible happened.
Out of the corner of Pac’s eye, he saw something small and mottled slide into view. It was a banana peel.
Said banana peel came sliding towards them on the floor, as though somebody had kicked it in their direction.
And before Pac could fathom what was happening, the banana peel slid right under Skeebo’s footway, and the blue jock’s advancing steps struck home.
“Oh, when I’m through with you I’m gon—AAAAHH!”
With a yell, Skeebo stepped on the peel and went flying.
Pac’s legs finally seemed to wake up and the Yellow One jumped to the side just in time to avoid being crashed into by a runaway jock slipping on the floor.
Everyone else in Skeebo’s way gave cries of surprise and warning as they, too, jumped and shuffled out of the way. Skeebo kept sliding across the floor uncontrollably, screaming and flailing his arms in vain as the banana peel carried him across the cafeteria…
Until, with a comedically loud bang, the blue jock went crashing head-first into one of the cafeteria’s soft-serve machines.
And had a swirl of brown ice cream drizzled onto his head.
