Sunday, what a lovely day, the official day to chill out without remorse. I have known that some people dislike Sunday because it tends to be a boring day, and I'm not one to argue with those people because Sundays are without doubt boring. But! At the same time, they are perfect for people like me that have loads and loads of work over the week. For me, this day of the week it's a combination of the three other previous.

I smile as a soft breeze rubs my face, scratching my chin ever so tenderly while the sweet smell of spring travels to my no-

“Achuu!”

Right… pollen, I almost forgot that part of spring amidst my relaxation.

‘What a way to break the mood.’

I stretch myself as much as I can, enjoying the solitude in the bench on which I was sitting. If not by that sudden interruption, I would have forgotten that I was resting in the park.

Not too many people were there actually but the sound of children playing and old men’s conversations stood out because of the mostly empty park. Only a young girl and her dog were in my line of vision, the girl has been petting the dog for more time that I could care to acknowledge. The dog seemed overjoyed as its blissful doggie smile made it seem like this was a special treat for him, or at least that was I could perceive from his lost eyes and heavy panting.

I snapped back to reality as I recall that I had been waiting in this place for quite some time. I rest the back of my head on the bench while my mind starts to drift off.

‘How long has been since I got here? She told me that she will be here before midday...’

As I was lost in my thoughts something clouded my vision, I jumped for a moment at the feeling of two soft hands being pressed against my face.

“Long time no see, Anon,” said the owner of those hands, the beauty of her familiar voice only served to enhance my lazy state.

“It does have been too much actually, six months... It felt like an eternity without you, Cat.” I responded before she uncovered my eyes, letting them see her splendor.

Catherine Bright, my childhood friend, a psychologist that worked in the college for more than three years. My eyes glanced at her smile and the cute freckles adorning her cheeks. A trail of long and bright red hair caught my attention seconds after.

“Last time I saw you, your hair wasn’t that long, I know is rude but I have to ask, did you used extensions on your hair?”

She giggled for a moment before showing a dismissing gesture with her hand. She moved in front of me, letting me look upon her figure: her sleeveless turtleneck sweater and her long skirt work wonders to show her slim body.

I rub the back of my neck to ease the slight pain, a cramp was forming for resting my neck on the wood of the bench. As I ease my pain, she sits beside me.

“Don’t worry Anon, I was as shocked as you when I noticed how long my hair was growing up. The diet and juices of the island in which I took my vacation were the responsible for this.” She explained before grabbing the tail of her hair, “I decided that having a change of look will help me too...”

“Yeah... you know… I was really worried about you when you left.”

…

She stood there, looking to the ground while her hands started to grip her hair with more strength.

“I did not read your messages till I got here a couple of weeks ago...” She looked to the side, I watched at the same direction she was looking and found the pond of water in the park. I glanced at her again, noticing how her eyes were shimmering with the reflection of the water.

“When I read the first message, in which you said that those girls got an eye on you… I started panicking…”

She bites her lips, her eyes turning to me, “Then you started telling me about this weirds ‘presents’ that you gave them-”

“I know! I know! It wasn’t professional. But it helped me get along with them. that kind of approach let me discover their true potential and...”

She looked at me, pouting and furrowed brows. I swallowed my words and stood in silence while she tried to compose her next words without releasing the anger boiling inside her.

“I don’t care about that, Anon!”

‘and~ she failed.’

“You knew that those girls are trouble beyond simple bullying, You should have left the principal to do his job. They could have blackmailed you by this point-”

“But they didn’t!” I refuted, “They had their chances and decided to take none of them. Cat, I know where I was getting when they pointed me as their target, that’s why I looked so desperate in my first message.”

She took a seat beside me and looked me again…

‘Those eyes, those deep brown eyes. It feels like she is reading my soul with every passing second.’

“Anon… why are you so determined to help them?” she asked, not leaving me a second to answer when she added, “I couldn’t believe myself, but each one of your letters showed me how your fears were replaced with vigor. The only thing that remained intact where your doubts.”

She got closer to me, her nose slightly rubbing against mine, “What drives you to help those girls?”

I sigh heavily while she gives me more space to think. that question is hard to answer even for me, not even I know the absolute answer after all.

“With time, I will know how to respond to that question completely. I know that there is something out of my sight that drives me to help them because even when I have been a teacher who dedicates to give the right path to his students, I knew that this ordeal was out of my league from the very beginning.”

I glance at the pond of water, a couple of duck is floating on it, enjoying the refreshing water, the calm scenery helps me remember how this all started.

“It happened some weeks after you quitted, the teacher's lounge was a mess, you were the best one handling the troublesome students” I complimented, followed by a content huff, “Then the whole group remembered the fact that you and I were best friends. they called me out and I ended being the one to reprimand them.”

“How did those three took your words?”

“Jeje… Well, the thing is… I didn’t follow the protocol in that day. You see, usually, in a situation like that, a professor like me should have put a stern face and told them about the consequences of their actions.“

She nudged me, “Yeah, that’s the usual, but you are not exactly usual in your own terms.”

“Yeah...” I said sheepishly while scratching the back of my head, “I couldn’t look at them seriously from the beginning. I felt so bad for them at the moment that I just asked why they were doing that harm to their lives, I said that they were beautiful girls with a great talent in music and it really hurt me how they were throwing their future reputation like that.”

I breathe heavily, ”Maybe it was how I spelled my words, maybe it was my expressions… maybe they looked through me and saw that I was telling the truth… Either way, they changed after hearing me.”

“Changed?” she asked while getting closer to me.

“When they first saw me, I only could notice hate and disgust in their eyes, they depicted me for no apparent reasons. When I opened up to them whatsoever, they changed, their expression showed hope. Like if they had just found an opportunity, some that would care for them...”

“A prey...” I said amidst in my own explanation, clenching my mouth as soon as the words made echo in my head.

“Sorry, what was that?” Catherine asked confused, she heard my words without trouble, that’s what her body expression showed to me.

“I’m sorry, it just part of the things I wanted to tell you about them in the future. But let me finish first.” I asked, earning a nod from her, “After our first talk, they told me that they would get better on their notes, but in compensation, they wanted me as the only teacher that could watch for them in the detention room, that was the first kind of compensation I gave them.”

“I guess it was at that point they started to flirt with you, right?”

I stretch my arms up-front, an audible pop coming from my joints, “No, they just used the time to create songs and take glances at me from time to time. I wish I could know what were they thinking through those first days,” I explained, my words followed by another pop, “Wow, that felt good.”

“So… when did they start looking at you as more than a teacher?”

“I’m getting to that point, let me give you some context first, remember my third email?” I asked her, a smile making itself present on my face.

“Yes I remember, it was a really long one, you took your time explaining me the potential in those girls-”

Without knowing it, my expression started to turn into glee,”Yes, exactly, that was the turning point. My point of view changed when I discovered the girl's hidden talents.”

“And here we go~” She whispered to herself, I heard her words perfectly, but my mouth was running by its own.

“Adagio is an expert on anything related to patterns and also a natural leader, her notes on chemistry and biology, and her record on the art club led me to that conclusion after some tests,” I said, signaling a one towards the air.

“Aria by the other hand has an expertise with logic problems that no one else has shown in the history of the college, there was even a note in her record showing that she was granted a place in various universities for computer science, but she refused all the offers.” I started hearing some coughs coming from Cat, but paid no mind and kept rambling my discoveries.

“Lastly there is Sonata, unfortunately, rumored as the ‘knucklehead’ of the group. If only they knew how brilliant she is on mat-”

A burst of laughs and giggles interrupted my tirade. Catherine’s face is shading lightly red while a single tear escaped her eyes.

“Oh yeah, I already told you that in the message...” I said before joining her in a chuckle.

“Wow, Anon, I haven’t seen you so happy and determined since you discovered that biology was your destiny. It’s almost like those girls are a new kind of creature for you to study.” she laughed some more before giving me a little nudge in my arm, “Now...”

She got back into her serious tone.

“You told me in that email that after that the director was about to transfer those girls. I suppose that the turning point happened there”

I looked up to the sky, the tender shadow of the tree behind us covered my eyes from the harsh shine of the sun, “When the director called them, I had a hunch that something big was about to happen. My hunch was right, the principal was about to send them off to a special institute… well, it sounded more like a prison to me...”

“I suppose that you stepped in and helped those girls stay, right?”

“I won't lie, I was nervous about it at first,” I started watching at the distance, the girl from before was leaving while holding her dog in her arms, ”But I pleaded to the principal to give them a chance to succeed, unluckily for them they had enough merits to repeat the year.” I sighed, “I promised myself that I would do everything in my power to help those girls with her grades and behavior for this year.”

“That’s when they started with the seductive demeanor? I guess you stopped sending me emails because of this, right?”

I nodded to her question, “Eyup, it felt really weird at first, the lost look on Sonata’s eyes, the sudden gropes of Aria… the threatening aura coming from Adagio… I knew how crazy it sounded, and how dangerous could be if someone else knew about this. that’s why I stopped sending emails until I knew that you arrived.”

I paused for a moment while another refreshing breeze blew past us.

“It took me some time to get used to their antics in order to correct them… but…”

I scratch my back, my head hanging low while another sigh made its way out.

“As for now, I just covered her notes, they are making a huge progress in that department since we started with the ‘compensation’ rewards.”

“Then I suppose here is my entry point?” She asked while getting up from her seat with a jump, “Mind if we get an ice cream? My throat is dry after letting you have all the talk” she laughed.

I smile, feeling comfort in her words, she seems to understand me and I can bet that she is gonna help me through this scrappy road.

"Yeah sure."

Catherine told me about her vacations on an island near Puerto Rico as we made our way back to our comfy bench in the park. The sun was still high in the sky, indicating that this Sunday had still much to offer.

"It was a splendid change of routine for me," Cat said before her tone got lower and more concerned, "The only bad thing is how you ended up..."

I signaled to stop with an open hand, "Now, now Cat, is not that bad, don't you worry, just look at me. I'm fine, even though I have sleep issues from time to-"

"Sleep issues?!" She exclaimed, her hand gripping at my shoulder, "What kind of sleep issues?! Nightmares?! Insomnia?! Did they started after you got involved with that trio?!" she asked with wide eyes. I don't know if it was fear or the effect of light, but she looked more pale at that moment.

"Cat, Cat!" I ease her up with a soft tone, petting his head as I used to do when we were little, "It was just exhaustion, I needed to put extra hours on my schedule in order to find a way to help those girls. More than once I used the teacher's lounge to doze off for one or two hours."

Her grip softened until the point she was just laying her hand on my shoulder. Her eyes lost her shine for a second and I noticed that she was shivering.

She never told me why she quitted her job, but it had to do with the Dazzlings that was for sure.

'What kind of thing did they do to you?'

Her eyes were still lost; As if she was witnessing horrors from the past.

"Cat, Catherine!" I snapped my fingers in front of her, then pulling her until the shine in her eyes returned to normal.

"Uh? uh, Anon. Sorry, I was just..." she seemed lost for words for a moment until her eyes focused on me, "You should let those girls in the hands of a professional in the matter."

"What?"

"You already did what you could, and I have to admit that you make a lot of progress, Anon. But it would be better if you find someone else to help those girls."

"I know," I assured her, noticing now that her ice cream was on the ground, she lost the grip on the cone after her breakdown. I gave her my ice cream and continued, "Look, I know that I'm not certified for this job, but I have been the only one on record that has been able to talk to them and make an impact on their behavior. That's why I asked you to help me; At least until they let someone with better experience do the job."

She glances past me, seemingly staring at nothing. She is drifting off again, maybe she isn't ready to answer to my call for help yet.

"Cat, what if we take the rest of the day to ourselves?" I ask, a shine of light coming from her eyes at the hearing of my words, "You can choose to help me later. For now, I just want to enjoy your company like we used to... " I shrug at her, "so~ you want to hang out? There have been some changes around here while you were gone."

She took my hand as an answer, her expression turning once again into joy, "Lead the way then. Let's see what this town did in my absence."

From that point we forgot anything related to our problems and enjoyed the rest of the Sunday, I know that I have a long way to go until the Dazzlings change their ways, but as for now, I'll take my well-earned rest with the company of my best friend. Otherwise, I will only get more exhausted.

Author's Note

Thanks again to Nightmare Darkness for being my proofreader/editor