THE MOMENT
"Don't forget your mask, and no matter what...," Janet completed the list of morning reminders with an extra one. The black cat sat on the white, glowing floor as Dara settled into the bed-sized box of soil. From the low angle, Dara could no longer see the red patch of fur on the cat's head. "...you can't tell Quinn anything."
"I know...," Dara said. "...this isn't what I thought magic school would be like, I'm not even going in person," she complained as she wiggled on her back to get comfortable.
"You know, I used to be a god once," Janet replied. Dara sat up with wide eyes.
"What? Really?" Janet nodded.
"But, now I'm here making sure you're safe at school. As long as you're alive.. life happens. The universe has its reasons for putting me here; and I have my reasons for having you log in to school remotely." Dara narrowed her eyes at Janet.
"Were you really a god?" she asked. Dara had a sneaking suspicion that the anecdote was a made-up example. Janet nodded.
"A lot of Celestial Uniques take a shot at it at some point. Ballisea alone has thousands of Earths worshipping her as a God. But, then I met Ms. Sharp," Janet said. Her voice carried obvious fondness for the name.
"You knew her too?" Dara asked as she leaned back again. The surprise of Janet being a god once wore off quickly. "I feel like I'm the only one that doesn't know who she was. She comes up in conversation a lot; which is kind of weird for a dead woman." Janet laughed and shook her small head.
"She's the only Zero that has more name recognition than Ballisea. And her very public death only made her more famous. I worked for Ms. Sharp for several centuries, right up until the multiverse saw her die."
"Yeah.. I heard about the Pineapple Cup,.." Dara said. But, she'd only heard about the incident. She quickly learned that most people didn't like talking about the event, so she had to just get by on whatever vague comments the other students made. But, now she realized she could ask Janet. "I mean, I kind of heard about it. Can you give me the details?" Janet nodded.
"After school, if you like. You could also ask your new friend, Quinn."
"No thanks," Dara shook her head. "If I can't be honest with her; then, she's not my friend. And, you just told me I can't be honest with her."
"You wanted a friend at school, so I found you a friend. Would you like me to tell Quinn not to bother?" Janet asked.
"NO!" Dara said. "No... please." Janet nodded.
"Then, hurry up and log in for school," she said. Dara nodded and closed her eyes. After a moment, she felt her consciousness shift and she opened her eyes. She stood in front of the school with several dozen students walking towards it. Dara heard Janet's reminder in her memory and sighed. She pulled a white facemask out of her pocket and covered her mouth. The mask had a pair of red scissors on the front that Dara learned was the logo of Sharp Development.
"Hey, Dara!" Quinn walked up to Dara as she finished putting the mask on.
[Hi Quinn!] Large red text appeared on Dara's mask as her eyes lit up. Despite her whining, Dara wanted a friend more than anything. She was also glad the mask silenced her; otherwise, she would never be able to keep quiet. Janet explained the mask was a necessity to keep her favorite number a secret. Anytime anyone asked, the mask simply replied: [#01!] for her. Janet offered to give the mask a voice, but Dara did not like hearing her own voice when she didn't say anything. The two new friends fell in step towards the school after the brief greeting. Then, Quinn broke the silence.
"Hey, don't get offended...," Quinn said. "...but do you know anything about the Pineapple Cup? Anytime I ask anyone they avoid the question."
[You can invite her too. - Jnet] Dara felt the Whisper on her ankle, out of sight. Whispers were supposed to be monitored at the school; but, somehow Janet knew a way around that. And, Janet was always listening. Dara shook her head, but turned to Quinn.
[I don't. But,] the text on her mask stayed for a moment to give Quinn time to read it.
[Janet does.] She had to limit her responses to keep the font at a legible size.
[After school?] she asked silently.
Quinn nodded eagerly. "Yeah!"