ALL NOVEL Chapter 10: I Hate Horror.
Chapter 10: I Hate Horror.
*Victoria’s POV*
I gathered Alice and Kora in my garden for a talk. Erika can clearly tell that we are trying to seduce her but she is trying to ignore us doing so. We need a plan. Otherwise, Erika will end up being annoyed by us. That's the last thing that we want so, instead on stepping on each other’s toes, we should figure out a plan that works for everyone.
Victoria: “Okay, do you two have any ideas?” I ask after taking a sip of my tea.
Kora: “I honestly have no idea at all.” Kora said with a sigh.
Alice: “You two, isn’t it obvious? She is definitely close to falling for one of us but, we keep being cowards and refuse to do anything substantial with her.” Alice said with a serious tone.
Victoria: “What do you mean?” I say with a confused tone.
Alice: “Have any of you two asked her out on a date?” Alice said with a smug expression.
Kora: “I haven’t…” Kora said with a sad tone.
I also haven’t… It’s not like we can go anywhere. I could tell from how she used the entertainment that I gave her. Just like Kora, their original world was far more advanced than ours. Our entertainment can’t really hold their attention for long. I doubt that Erika would find it fun to go on a date in my city…
Alice: “Going by Victoria’s silence, she hasn’t asked her out either. Today, I will ask her out on a date. If she says no, then you two can try.” Alice said with a smile.
Kora: “I’m okay with that.” Kora said with a sigh.
Victoria: “Okay. You’re up first Alice. I just hope she says… motherfucker!!” I say before throwing my teacup away.
Alice: “Victoria? What’s wrong? You’ve never reacted like that before… Holyshit! WHY?!” she said before throwing her teacup onto the ground.
Kora: “What… What happened?” Kora said with a shocked expression…
How?… Why?… Could that girl not sit still for just a few days? Going to a different dimension without notifying us, that’s fine. But this? How the hell am I supposed to react to this!?
Alice: “Kora… Please don’t freak out. Me and Victoria just got a notification from the System about Erika.” Alice said with an angry tone.
Kora: “Oh no… What did it say?” Kora said with a frightened tone.
Victoria: “It said, “User, Erika Ardent, may die. Please prepare a new vessel for her in case she does.” And just that…” I said to Kora with a sad tone.
Kora ended up passing out from what I told her. Not that I blame her. Erika isn’t stupid. Why did she go to a dimension she couldn’t complete?
Alice: “Victoria, I can tell that you seem to think that something is amiss. You’re right. I got a notification that you didn’t get.” Alice said in a serious tone.
Victoria: “And what was it?” I say with an angry tone.
Alice: “The dimension she went to is rogue. No one controls it. It showed up as an option for Erika. According to the System, she wasn’t going to accept it but, the will of that world forcefully accepted it for her.” Alice said with an annoyed tone.
Victoria: “And the System just let that happen?” I say after slamming my hand down on the table.
Alice: “It’s not a normal rouge dimension. It’s taken many Task Pact users before. The Administrators have been trying to destroy it for thousands of years. They’re just as pissed off as we are.” Alice said while biting one of her nails.
Victoria: “And is them being pissed off all that they’re going to do on the matter?” I say with a furious tone.
Alice: “No. They banished an Administrator to that dimension which is why it’s gotten so bad. They will try to help Erika out as much as they can.” Alice said in annoyance.
Victoria: “Erika is pretty strong right now, right? Maybe she will be fine?” I said in doubt.
Alice: “That dimension, it prevents a person from using any of their strength. Right now, Erika has the strength of a normal human woman.” Alice said after trying to calm down with a new cup of tea that a maid gave her.
Victoria: “She… She was a soldier. Maybe she can do it without her Stats?…” I say in denial.
Alice did not reply. We both sunk into a state of silence and were left with our thoughts. The System, did it really have to give us such a scary warning? I thought that it couldn’t get any worst until one of my maids informed me of something…
Sofiel had heard what me and Alice said. Sofiel is an angel, so there is no restriction on her entering dimensions as she pleases. She had most likely gone to the dimension that Erika was in… I can’t… I can’t lose them both… But the stupid fucking System won’t let me go to them… All I can do is wait in horror as to rather or not a woman I am interested in and a woman who is my wife, will live or die…
*Erika’s POV*
Being forcefully dragged into a dimension… This was certainly new. Though, I am beginning to tire of crazy things happening to me. First I was reincarnated, then I was asked to do tasks for a Goddess, and now I’ve been thrown to a random dimension…
I am currently in a courtyard of a huge mansion. The mansion was a Gothic style. It was about the same size as Victoria’s estate. It wasn’t beautiful like hers, though. Calling it run down would be a compliment. It looked more like a mansion you would see in a horror movie or game.
Behind me was a huge gate. Climbing over it would be too hard and unfortunately, it was locked. I tried breaking it but, I could not. My strength wasn’t what it was before coming to this dimension…
Lilith: “Erika! There is no time to explain, it’s coming for you. You need to run!” Lilith said with a scared tone.
I was about to ask her what she meant when I saw “it”… A creature with a big round mushed up head and a lanky body. It was well over 14 feet tall. Each of its limbs were longer than me and it had long thin fingers. Worst of all… It was fucking fast!
*Crash!*
I managed to dodge out of its way and it crashed into the gate with a loud thud. It screamed in pain for a minute before locking onto me once again. Lilith told me to run into the mansion and I did. With that thing in tow.
Closing the door behind me was seemingly pointless as rather than breaking it down, it carefully opened the door which was really creepy. It even closed it carefully as well. Once it closed the door, it looked at me and put one of its fingers on its lips and made a “shh” and then pointed to a door. Then it walked away…
Erika: “Am I safe now?” I ask with a nervous tone.
Lilith: “No! Go through that door! That thing wasn’t the only monster in this place!” Lilith yelled.
Before she could even finish her sentence, another “thing” showed up. This time it was a horrid looking big dog like creature. It barked at me three times before it began chasing me. I went to the door that the lanky creature pointed me to and ran.
It was a straight shot to another door. Opening it, I was greeted by a small prison. There were skeletal remains in each cell, though a few were open and had nothing in them. Lilith told me to run into one of the cells and close the cell door, and I had done just that since, that thing was closing in on me.
Once it realized that I was in a cell, it calmed down and walked away. The doors closed behind it. And my cell door was now locked as well. Apart from me, there was only one person left alive in this place.
It was a woman with long golden hair down to her chest. I could tell that she was taller than me and… Her breasts were also far bigger than mine, even bigger than Kora’s. She was chained up as well.
She was asleep and didn’t look like she would be waking up at any time. I was left with my thoughts. After doing some testing, all of my physical Stat’s were useless but at least I could still use the System.
Erika: “Lilith, how did this happen?” I say in my head.
Lilith: “This dimension was where an Administrator was banished. Their hatred had corrupted this dimension completely. The Administrators have been trying to destroy this dimension for thousands of years since, it’s been known to whisk away not just people with a Task Pact, but really anyone it could.” Lilith said with a serious tone.
Erika: “How do I escape? The only task is to “Survive” it’s far too vague.” I say with a thinking pose.
Lilith: “There is no such task. Dimensions are alive, they decided on what tasks should be completed. They’re equal and don’t try to mettle in anything. They give tasks to each group without showing any one group their favor. This dimension is lying to you. It is against you. Actually, someone might be controlling it.” Lilith explained.
Erika: “So? Am I trapped here forever?” I say with an angry tone.
Lilith: “No. As unfair as it sounds, you must destroy the core of this dimension. Somewhere in this dimension is where it is located. If you succeed in destroying it, I can help you leave.” Lilith said with a calm tone.
Erika: “Fine, I’ll try.” I say with a sigh.
Lilith: “Erika, please do me and the Administrators a favor. They told Alice and Victoria that they would help you but, they actually can’t at all. It would be great it you didn’t tell them about this.” Lilith said with a remorseful tone.
I agreed with what Lilith asked of me, as for the core, it’s not like I have any other choice in the matter… I began to think about how to deal with this situation… All I have is my sword and that stupid kitchen knife and a bunch of Monster Cores. I think… Hm. I think that my sword can cut these bars on the cell. But then what? I should wait for that woman to wake up and ask her what we should do.
She didn’t wake up even after an hour. I was beginning to get worried. Then I heard loud steps coming towards the prison. A woman with bright golden eyes and long silver hair came running. Luckily, her breasts were smaller than mine. Ah, all is right with the world. The woman just stared at me when she saw me.
Erika: “Don’t just stand there! Find an empty cell quickly!” I urge her.
She then went to an empty cell, which was the one to the left of that sleeping woman’s cell. My cell mates only seem to grow and grow… That dog thing once again “graced” us with his gruesome appearance before leaving, since it saw that no one was out of their cell.
???: “Hello, do you happen to be Erika?” The woman said with a smile.
Erika: “That depends on who’s asking.” I say with a raised eyebrow.
???: “My name is Sofiel, I am one of Victoria’s wives.” Sofiel said with a proud tone.
Erika: “And why would I believe that?” I reply with a head tilt.
Sofiel: “Damn… Those two really weren’t lying about how cute your head tilts are.” Sofiel said with a slightly lewd smile on her face.
Shit… She really is one of Victoria’s lovers. Either that, or she is crazy. It wouldn’t be a big surprise that Victoria’s pervertedness rubbed off on her lovers after all.
Erika: “Did Victoria send you?” I ask with a sigh.
Sofiel: “No. I came here of my own violation. I overheard Alice and Victoria talking about how you had gotten trapped in a dimension.” Sofiel said with a mischievous tone.
Erika: “Then why exactly did you come here? This dimension is extremely dangerous.” I ask with a questioning tone.
Sofiel: “Victoria and Alice would never stop talking about you so, of course, I am very interested in you. I felt that it would be a shame if I could never meet you. So I came here to save you.” Sofiel said with a laugh.
Erika: “You do know that you can’t leave this dimension, right? No one can leave until we destroy the core of this dimension.” I say with a sigh.
Sofiel: “Nonsense! I am an angel. Because I am one, I can enter and leave any dimension as I please.” Sofiel said with a proud tone.
Erika: “Okay, then try leaving.” I say with a smug expression.
Sofiel: “Just you watch! Once I prove it, I’ll take you back home.” Sofiel said with a pout.
She then proceeded to try to leave this dimension for eight minutes before she finally gave up. She yelled and stomped onto the ground for a few extra minutes after that. During all of this, that woman never woke up. Is she actually dead or something?
Sofiel: “Erika… I can’t leave this dimension at all. Which means that I can’t take you out of this dimension to save you…” Sofiel said with an embarrassed tone.
Erika: “I know. Otherwise, Victoria or Alice would have saved us by now.” I reply with a sigh.
Sofiel: “Another thing Erika, I’m not usually this childish and well, stupid. My physical Stat’s wasn’t the only thing affected. It seems that my INT Stat was as well. I swear that although I’m slightly cheeky, I’m far more mature than this…” Sofiel said with an annoyed tone.
Erika: “Really? My INT Stat wasn’t affected…” I say with a questioning tone.
Lilith: “She is like this because Angels are born, although as fully grown adults, but without any knowledge. This dimension is constantly reverting both you and her to your base Status’s. Your INT Stat was affect as well, Erika, your natural intelligence is close to your current INT Stat’s rank. That’s why you don’t feel like anything was changed, but it was.” Lilith said with a serious tone.
Erika: “Sofiel, this dimension reverted us to our base Status. Because of that, you have reverted to the INT that you had when you were born. At least, that’s what the System says.” I say to Sofiel with a tone of pity.
Sofiel: “So I’m going to be acting like a child until we leave this dimension?… It’s not like it’s always like this, it’s just I’m constantly flipping between both of my current INT and child INT… Erika, please don’t tell Victoria about this. She won’t ever let me live it down.” Sofiel said with a nervous tone.
Erika: “I won’t, assuming that we can actually make it out of here alive, that is.” I say with a sigh.
???: “You two are so noisy. Can’t I just get some sleep?” She said with an annoyed tone.
Erika: “Oh, good. You’re finally awake. I honestly thought that you might have died.” I say with an amused tone.
???: “Enough pleasantries, look, you two want to escape, right? I’ve tried for a week. It’s not possible alone. My name is Cecelia. From what I hear, silver here is an angel. As for you traffic light, you’re like me, aren’t you?” Cecelia said with a smug tone.
Did she just call me traffic light?… Shit… Only I can make that joke about myself!… She isn’t wrong, though, that’s what pissed me off the most!
Erika: “Ignoring that pun, do you have a Task Pact like me?” I say with a calm tone while trying to hide my annoyance.
Cecelia: “That’s right. Look, I’ve already explored most of this place. I know where the core is, I just couldn’t destroy it alone. Help me out, and then we can finally leave this horrible place.” Cecelia said with a serious tone.
Going with her is probably our best choice… Though, I’m still mad about her comment. Fine… I’ll help her out, but if she even thinks of betraying us, she will regret it. I added both Sofiel and Cecelia to my party. They were confused at first but quickly agreed to join. Because of that I was able to peep at their Status’s.
:General:
Name: Cecelia Rime.
Race: Human
Sex: Female
Physical Age: 22
Real Age: 2586
:Stats:
Available Stat points: 0.
HP: 25,000/25,000 (345/3585)
MP: 12,500/12,500 (157/5820)
INT: S (5/7895)
STR: S+ (587/5800)
AGI: S (54/7560)
MAG: B+ (25/925)
DEF: S (78/5350)
LUCK: F (0/2250)
:Skill list:
Combat Mastery: Level 10.
:Titles:
Veteran Tasker: S+
Cecelia’s Status wasn’t that interesting. The only notable things were that the Stat Points she needs per rank is absurd, and that she is actually really old. Could such an old person really be such a little shit?
Eh, maybe anyone would develop odd quirks if they live that long. Though, it’s not like she means any ill will from it, she is just cheeky. The only other thing is that now that she is awake, I can see her deep blue eyes. They really fit her perfectly.
:General:
Name: Sofiel Lovelace.
Race: Angel
Sex: Female
Physical Age: 25
Real Age: 9585
:Stats:
Available Stat points: 50,000.
HP: 585,000/585,000 (MAX)
MP: 860,000/860,000 (MAX)
INT: SSS+ (MAX)
STR: SSS+ (MAX)
AGI: SSS+ (MAX)
MAG: SSS+ (MAX)
DEF: SSS+ (MAX)
LUCK: F (0/100)
:Skill list:
Combat Mastery: Level 10.
Magic Mastery: Level 10.
Dimensional Travel Master: Level 10.
:Titles:
Demon Goddesses Lover: S+
Holy Archangel: SSS+
*Hidden Titles*
Leader of the Angels: ???+
Erika, Lilith here! Sofiel is secretly the leader of the Angels. That goes for every Angel in existence. Apart from you and her, no one else knows this. Not even Victoria or Alice. This is why even though she is one of Victoria’s lovers, she hasn’t turned into a fallen Angel. Even though she is called an archangel, there is and never will be anyone above her in her group. Like Victoria, she is also a Goddess.
Don’t be alarmed by her. She has the Demon Goddesses Lover title, so she is at the very least loyal to Victoria.
Supreme Seductress: SSS+
Erika, Lilith again! This one is a real doozy! Not even Sofiel knows about this Title. She got it because she became lovers with Victoria. It has no effects so don’t worry about it. Just think it’s like you’ve read her diary.
Ignoring Lilith’s fun extra information, Sofiel… Her Status is absurd! Holyshit… She might even be stronger than Victoria or even Alice… I need to keep this to myself. Since there is no reason to reveal her true identity right now, I should leave it at that. But… How can I ignore the fact that her Stat Ranks, and her HP/MP are maxed out? She has basically reached the pinnacle…
I wonder how vexed she is that her intelligence is being messed with. With her age, surely it must be frustrating. Speaking of her age. Am I just a baby in her eyes? Is that why she thinks that I am cute?…
After I got done peeping at their Status’s and had calmed down from seeing Sofiel’s. I used my rare and oh so powerful kitchen knife, to cut the hinges off of the cell door. Then I carefully laid the door down as to not make any noise. I did the same to Sofiel’s and Cecelia’s cell doors. I had to also cut off the cuffs on Cecelia’s hands.
Erika: “Do you have a weapon, Cecelia?” I ask in a calm tone.
Cecelia: “Yes. Unlike you, the lucky bastard with an inventory, I at least have a bag of infinite storage.” Cecelia said with a laugh before pulling an entire sword out of a small bag.
Erika: “That so? I guess that I’ll only have to give Sofiel a weapon.” I say before taking out my sword before stopping myself from handing it to her.
Sofiel: “Erika, what’s wrong? Aren’t you going to give me that sword?” Sofiel said with a confused tone.
Erika: “This sword is apparently corrupted. You are an angel, right? Can you use really use such a sword?” I ask with an unsure tone.
Sofiel: “Well, let’s find out!” Sofiel said before cheekily nabbing the sword from my hand.
Once she took the sword, it shined a bright light all around us. It now had a pure and shiny silver blade with a golden handle. The blue shine was also gone. Maybe that was the part that was corrupted?… Sofiel and Cecelia were interested in the sword so I had used inspect on it.
Angel Sofiel’s Holy Short Blade: SSS+
A supreme quality and ultra rare short sword. It was once owned by an expert mage that had gone crazy. Because of that, his sword was corrupted. Once touched by the Angel Sofiel, the blade was changed into a holy sword. It only accepts Sofiel as its user.
Did I just lose an S Rank sword?… Now all I am left with is a kitchen knife… Maybe… Maybe I could still use it? Nope! I asked Sofiel to lend it for a second and it just straight up disappeared from my hand and showed back up in her hand…
Sofiel: “I’m sorry… This has happened before, I just… forgot… Erika, I have many other weapons that you would like. I’ll give you one as an apology when we get back.” Sofiel said with a remorseful tone.
Erika: “It’s… It’s fine Sofiel, let’s just get out of this place. We can talk about a replacement once we’re safe, and not in this creepy dimension.” I say while rubbing my head.
Cecelia: “Erika… please do not tell me that the only other weapon that you have is that kitchen knife…” Cecelia asked with a tone of pity.
Erika: “It’s not that bad of a weapon.” I say with a shrug.
Cecelia: “You have to be joking, it’s a fucking cooking utensil!” Cecelia said with a loud laugh.
Erika: “Guess it’s Rank.” I say with a smile.
Cecelia: “Maybe E? Or something like that.” Cecelia said while holding her stomach from the laughter.
Erika: “It’s an S+ Rank knife.” I say with a smug tone.
Cecelia: “You’re fucking with me… I swear to God, if you make me waste an inspect scroll for this stupid kitchen “knife” as a joke, I’ll be really pissed off!” Cecelia said with an annoyed tone before taking out and ripping apart a piece of paper from her small bag.
She did not reply and just went silent for a few minutes before walking out of the prison and telling us to follow her. That dog thing did not show back up at all. Cecelia said that this place is like a horror game. With scripted events and everything. That lanky monster from earlier and the dog thing as well won’t show up again. Assuming no one else shows up in this dimension.
Erika: “So, are there any active threats?” I ask with a serious tone.
Cecelia: “Just some weak ass skeletons. If you see a lone monster and it looks like a boss or something like that, you can’t kill it. You have to run until you reach the end of its script.” Cecelia answered.
Sofiel: “And with your help, we can figure out how to safely get to the core?” Sofiel asked with a questioning tone.
Cecelia: “No. That was a lie to get your help. Although I’ve gotten close to the core before, each time I’ve tried, this place is in a completely different and new arrangement. Even the monsters are different each time.” Cecelia replied with a sigh.
Erika: “And what if you betray us? I mean, you just admitted to lying.” I ask while pointing my knife at her.
Cecelia: “Wow, you should only use that knife for cooking, and maybe on some monsters. As for why you should trust me, I need you two alive and you also need me. On top of that, if I do anything negative to a fellow Task Pacter, I’ll lose my ability to do tasks.” Cecelia answered with a serious tone.
After confirming this with Lilith, I decided that it was fine to let her join us. Walking around the mansion took five hours to do. We had to kill over 1000 skeletons and run away from twelve different monsters.
Sofiel, even with her Stat’s messed up, she could still kill the skeletons in one hit. Or maybe it was because of her sword? My knife also only needed a few hits to kill them as well. Cecelia needed like around like, twelve hits with her sword just to kill one.
Erika: “Is that the core?” I ask with a serious tone.
We came to the main chamber of the mansion. It was a huge throne room. There were no scripted monsters, but over a hundred skeletons. Taking them out was easy. Upon the throne was a spinning and glowing purple crystal. Which is what I was asking about.
Cecelia: “It’s not.” Cecelia said with a sigh.
Sofiel: “Then what is it?” Sofiel said with a sigh of her own.
Cecelia: “Erika, just destroy it. It’ll transport us to the next part of the dimension. I know that it’s confusing but, this dimension has multiple parts.” Cecelia said prompting me to shatter the crystal.
After striking the crystal with my knife, there was a flash of purple light. Now we were in a cornfield maze. At a fork in the maze to be specific. Three paths… Which one should we even take?
Cecelia: “All paths except the one behind us is correct. Listen, a huge man with a chainsaw will be chasing us soon. Once it is, just keep running straight. This section is very linear and short. Just do not get caught.” Cecelia said after stretching her body.
Sofiel: “Of course, we won’t let ourselves get caught. We don’t want to die!” Sofiel said with a fed-up tone.
Cecelia: “You won’t die. You’ll just end up back at the prison. I need you both with me otherwise, escaping this dimension is impossible.” Cecelia said with a demanding tone.
I didn’t feel the need to comment so, I just went ahead with Cecelia’s words. After walking for an hour, we heard a chainsaw. Sofiel seemingly had no idea what a chainsaw was, so she was confused.
Isn’t she a dimension traveler? I find it funny that she has never been to a modern dimension before… Anyway, Cecelia told us to run, so we did. Sofiel got too tired to run any further so I had to pick her up in a princess carry.
She was reluctant at first and wanted me to put her down, but that man thing was on our tail, so Sofiel eventually stopped complaining. We ran for another five hours before finding a red crystal on top of a barn. Rather than climb up the barn, Cecelia just threw a small knife at it, and then it shattered. A red light beamed around us before we were in a new place once again.
Sofiel: “What kind of place is this? There are a lot of shops and look, there are people here. What kind of horror theme is this one?” Sofiel said with a smile.
Erika: “Those aren’t real people and Sofiel… The theme is clearly embarrassment.” I say with an embarrassed tone while hiding my breasts with one of my arms.
Cecelia: “She’s right. This dimension doesn’t just put you through physical and classic horror, it’s also physiological horror. I assume this place’s theme is “You went to the mall but you forgot to put on clothes.” Or something stupid like that.” Cecelia said completely in the nude without even bothering to cover herself.
Sofiel: “Eep! How are you two fine with being naked?! And what's a mall?!” Sofiel ask after squatting down and covering her sensitive parts.
Cecelia: “Calm down. We aren’t actually naked. It’s just an illusion.” Cecelia said with a calm tone.
I stole a peek at Cecelia’s breasts. I was right, there were significantly bigger than mine… It took me looking at Sofiels small breasts to calm my fury down. Speaking of Sofiel, it took a solid ten minutes to get her to move once again.
I had to constantly talk to her to keep her moving. I told her what a mall was and she was interested in it highly. I did have some clothes in my inventory, but whenever we tried to put them on, they would just vanish… I’ll never tell Victoria or Alice about what happened here but, seeing such a cute side of Sofiel has made me very interested in her.
The crystal this time was blue and was located at the only clothing store in the mall.
After the blue light went away after I smashed the crystal, we were still in a modern setting. This time a rustic cafe. How… how is this supposed to be scary? Are we supposed to be too afraid to order or something? Sofiel and I looked at each other with confusion. At least we aren’t still nude.
Cecelia: “I understand you two’s confusion. We have to wait in this cafe for an entire week. That’s the horror theme this time, “waiting” real funny isn’t?” Cecelia said after sitting down on a vacant chair.
Erika: “Didn’t you say that you have only been trying to escape for a week?” I say with a questioning tone after sitting down on the seat in front of Cecelia.
Cecelia: “Time flows differently in this part of the dimension. I’ve timed it, and it only takes us an hour to complete, but it will feel like an entire week. A yellow crystal will show up once a week has passed.” Cecelia answered after taking a sip of her coffee.
Wait, coffee? She didn’t order anything, though... Cecelia said that this place will give you your preferred drink and give you infinite refills as well. She wasn’t lying, I didn’t notice it show up but there was now a cup of tea in front of me.
Sofiel had some juice. As for why it’s juice, it was because of this dimension messing with her Stat’s or maybe its because she liked juice. Well, it was obviously because this place was messing with her, since she refused to drink the juice and asked me to share my tea with her.
We had nothing else to do but talk so, we did just that. Cecelia has been doing tasks for a very long time. Practically all her life. Like me, she was given the choice of this dimension but refused since it was all errors.
But also like me, the dimension forcefully dragged us here. Sofiel didn’t talk much and just sat there quietly the entire time. I asked her why she wasn’t talking, and she said that it was because she didn’t want to sound like a child if she didn’t have to. And like that, a “week” passed. I am honestly not looking forward to the next few things that we have to go through…