It was the third afternoon after the School Festival, a Thursday afternoon. It was that special time of the day that everyone... Oh, it was just the end of classes for the day, not really that special.
Annie did a little of her homework until it was almost time for Mother to pick her up. She packed her belongings and made her way out towards the front gate. A quick glance at her handphone revealed that there was still some time before her ride came, though she expected Mother to be giddily late as usual.
Then Annie spotted Saki walking towards the back of the school gym. She still had time. So Annie followed after her classmate, curious as to what the Asian was doing behind the building.
Annie peeked round the corner to see Saki sitting on the concrete base of the building with her back against the wall. The Asian girl was pulling out something from that red pouch attached to her bag.
With a growing curiosity, Annie crept closer. She saw the piece of paper that Saki was examining. It looked like a picture.
Then Saki looked up and saw Annie. With a cry of surprise, she tried to get up but tripped over her bag. The paper slipped from her hand.
"Sorry," Annie apologized as she picked the paper up. The picture on it caught her attention.
She was astonished to see that it was a picture of a small unclothed girl. It was a black-and-white printout and her features were not clear. However, it was unmistakably a naked girl and she appeared to be asleep on the floor. "Saki, is this you?"
No. The girl's black hair was too long...
Annie suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the Asian by the wrist. "This is me, isn't it?" she demanded roughly.
"Yes, yes," Saki admitted.
"But why?" Annie asked, unconsciously tightening her grip.
Saki did not answer. She merely stared at her with frightened eyes.
"This was in your charm, wasn't it?" Annie asked, "What was it? A charm for protection?"
"Yes, yes. It's for protection," Saki sobbed.
"What kind of a charm has this in it?" Annie shoved the picture in front of the other girl. "What's it supposed to protect you from?"
"From YOU!" Saki screamed, "from you..."
What?
Why would Saki need protection from her? Was it something about her cloudy past? Was she really, really not nice, downright nasty or evil? Whatever it was, it must have been really bad for the little Asian to keep such an offensive ward.
Saki took advantage of Annie's momentary distraction to break free. She ran away, tripping once in her haste.
When Annie had finally overcome her shock, she folded the picture and hid it deep in her white handbag. She propped Saki's forgotten bag against the wall. Her classmate would be back for it later.
Annie walked to the front gate, heavy in thought.
***
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