Chapter 2

“Yo, Similic, I literally got the coolest idea for Ninzurith’s gift. I know that that’s a big statement, considering how everything I do for people is the coolest, but still. Ready for this?”

I always laugh at the words of this coyote.

Before I met him, I didn’t even know it was possible to consider yourself higher than a mountain.

“I definitely am! It must be something really special if you think it’s cool.” Although I can’t relate to how he acts, I do find it fascinating that I’m friends with someone who can so easily pummel their doubts. I wish I could do that more often. The train methodically rises and lowers lightly as it charges through a valley sprinkled with white and pink flowers and covered by a brown town. We’ve already exited my Core, and now we’re speeding through the Outer Ring. I almost feel like I want to doze off. Do they make these trains in a way to where we’re supposed to sleep?

“Of course I think it’s cool! It’s my idea, after all. But basically what it is, is a gemstone necklace.” I wait for him to explain further. He doesn’t.

“Whaddya mean?”

“I mean gems. As in the kinds of shiny rocks and stuff that people find in the FourEarth and then pretty them up and sell them for too expensive of a price. Those.”

“ So, you’re making a necklace out of those for Ninzurith to wear.”

“Yup! But not just any necklace. You know me, Similic. I gotta do things The Ilius Way. You remember what that entails?”

“Isn’t it something to do with making things unique?”

“Yeah! That's the basic part of it. It’s about making absolutely sure that anything I do and anything I create is equal to my standards. You know how my standards are.”

“Very high. Right?”

“Mhm. That’s an obvious factoid, but you should remember it.” “I do! So how are you gonna make the necklace?” “Well, I thought about having a professional do it. I somehow failed to make my own gems, so I went to this jewelry store to see if I could commission someone to do it.”

I can predict what happens next. “But the thing was, I didn’t want to go through with it. Not only were the necklaces on display not to my standards, but it also would’ve taken a week to get it done. A week! That’s much too long! The party is on Monday.” Today is Friday. “So, I’ve got a better plan. Do you know where this place is?” He sends me an image of him at some kind of beach. He has his back to the sea-themed border wall of Core Sandsonite. From what I can tell, it’s the part of the Core that’s on Long Beach. This Core has two different ‘parts’ to it. Most of it is on a huge beachside and nearby land, while the other is in the middle of the ocean. Some people complain it’s too big in comparison to the rest of the Cores, but that’s a political thing. As for the image, it shows Ilius in a typical seaside get-up. A lazy blue t-shirt with pink sub-starfish plastered all over it, and a pair of dark blue swim shorts. I can hardly remember the last time I saw him wearing anything. Ilius himself is a coyote of light red and bright dripping blue fur. He has the appearance of someone who just got themselves dumped with a tin of blue paint. Half of his body is red, whereas the other half, the top half of every part of his body, is covered with blue fur that ends in a series of melty-looking lumps. Only his hands and feet are truly dominated by the blue. His dark purple eyes are lit with confidence and excitement. The picture is colorized even more by his shining smile.

“I think I’ve been to that Core,” I text. “ Think it was for a scout mission of some kind, can’t really remember xd. But you do look fabulous in that beach gear. Did you go swimming?”

“Yup! I was there on a scout mission, and afterward, the boys and I went into one of the swimming areas in that Sector. Ocean water is cold, man! But you know that I could handle it. One girl said that I was hot, which just proves my point even further.”

“I’m sure, dude.”

“Mhm. That’s where I’m thinking of going to get some cool gems to be made into a necklace.”

“To a pool?”

“What? Of course not! I’m talking about the ‘haunted shack’ that’s located just outside of Sandsonite’s sixth Sector! I heard from someone that they found some nice rocks over there once, so I'm checking it out.”

“Oh, that place. I don’t think you can legally go there, tho. That part of the Outer Ring is off-limits, remember? Murders and construction that took place there recently?”

“Really? Odd that I didn’t already know about those things. Well, it’s fine. I’ll just be in and out. What’ve you got Ninz for her birthday, by the way?”

“I’m going to get some flowers right now.” I sigh with frustration as I realize what I’ve done. I’m not sure if I want to spend time arguing with him right now. “You didn’t get her something already?”

“No. I’m going to, today.”

“Well - you have time, so I suppose that’s fine. Just make sure it isn’t any kind of really nice flower. You know the deal. She’s my friend, and so are you, and as such, you need to give her something cool but not anything that would challenge what I’m giving her, of course. Remember when she barely thought about my present, last year?”

“Yeah, I do. I still think she wasn’t ‘ignoring’ it, though. She just had a lot going on.”

“We’ve already talked about it, so I won’t say the truth again.”

“Alright. But she’ll like whatever it is, dude. You get good stuff anyway. So no worries.” That is unless Ninzurith hasn’t forgotten what she told me about him and doing dangerous things to make presents.

“Aw. Man, you do nice things too. You’re my friend. Of course, you always do nice things.” My next text is interrupted by the train’s whistle followed by an announcement.
“WE HAVE ARRIVED AT CORE MARCILIN.”

I look out the window to see an endless expanse of broken rainbow-shaded trees. Most of the buildings are lathered with the same disjointed texture, with the only difference being the colors of each company. I text Ilius that I got to go and stand up. I look at the new text sent from Dad before shutting off my Connecto-Panel. Yup, just as I thought. He wants to know what I mean by ‘‘I’m okay.’’ I’ll explain it to him as I leave the train. I hoist my backpack over my shoulders and fumble out of the vehicle along with everyone else. It’s a lot harder to do this while I’m trying to type, but it’s my choice. It doesn’t help that I hate tight spaces filled with other people. Makes me a little anxious. I probably have Dad to thank for that. I manage to survive the crowd and step out onto the jumbled green and pink station platform.

Core Marcilin, also known as Glitch Jungle. An entire land was restored and rewired thanks to the advanced technology of today. It's a style that only originates about fifty years ago, but it’s certainly a spectacle. Nearly every tree is hundreds of feet high, filled to the top with a non-destructive liquid that makes them appear to us as if they’re glitched-out images on a screen. Not only are these trees all sorts of wacky colors, ranging from purple to red to white to blue, but they seem to be totally mismatched and spasmic, appearing as hundreds of small to large squares that are flashing between different sizes. This same effect can be seen on most of the buildings that weave their way throughout the jungle, seeming to be just as ‘messed up’ as the trees they surround. I often find myself touching a structure or plant here just to see if something will happen to me. Nothing ever does; since everything is still solid and has a natural form, it just seems to be that this place is an error in Life’s code. I once heard that the primary founder of this Core, the person who came up with the glitch style idea, had some mental issues that most everyone else was okay with. I guess they got something unique out of it. The branches up above form a natural yet crazy kind of roof over our heads. The glitch style can even be seen on this Core’s surrounding border wall, with it being almost entirely painted in vague and shattered images of scenes and ideas. The sheer amount of glitchy trees and buildings has given quite a few people some serious health issues. I had a classmate two years ago who had to move to my Core shortly after being born in this Core all because his brain couldn’t handle seeing so many sporadic colors all the time. I definitely don’t blame him. Being in any kind of living facility, Ring house, or living building with this kind of style to it is going to be a little nut. I also can’t blame Ninzurith for loving this place. Even though it certainly gives off a very big feeling of insanity, it’s really not. The streets are fairly quiet, and almost everyone I’ve ever talked to here seems to be in a constant state of mediation or something. I remember Drift told me about a week ago that a good number of people advocate for using this Core as a central place to meditate. I can’t see why, to be honest, but that’s my problem. Perhaps I should try meditating here, amongst all the colors. My dad keeps suggesting that I do, but I don’t want to listen to him. I’d rather do something else. I make my way down the steps of the train station and get into the first dash lane of the pixelated white and pink street. There are times when moving through a place like this that I feel like I’m floating through a dream.

As I head for the second Sector, Esparcimiento, I dash past the living building. The huge structure that, for every Core, is meant to be their landmark. It looks like a gigantic glitched-out tree, with thousands of windows, balconies, and room extensions protruding from its sides. A gorgeous bridge designed to look like it’s made out of pixelated vines of broken insanity connects the streets and sidewalks to the front doors and outside public space of the building. Some benches, water fountains, and garbage cans line the grassy mini-park that circles around the base of the structure. I see a child squeal in delight as he retrieves his toy rocketship and sends it flying up into the air again, his parents and sister tiger watching in awe. I almost end up smiling at such a sight. Back when worries didn’t affect me so harshly.

By the time I reach the Synthesis Dimension Garden, it’s around seventeen-hundred. I’ll probably have to get back to my house floor soon. That’s okay. Drift said she’s here. I step into line to get into the garden. The whole thing is fenced in, with a green sheeting concealing a small world of pure flowery glory. I play a video game on my Panel, one called Delta of the Universe, while I wait. This shouldn’t take longer than a couple of minutes. I remember a time when Drift and I were in this same spot, waiting to get into the Garden, and I was helping her to defeat a difficult boss in the game. She wouldn’t listen to me, so I quit trying to help. Eventually, after many times of failing and cursing the game out, she said that she would listen to me, and I tried again. We beat the jester boss in no time. After about ten more minutes, I pay the entry fee and step through the short black tunnel that leads into the Garden. The aroma swings into my nose. It reminds me of cotton candy and peaches. I got that interpretation from Drift. I’ve gotten a lot of ideas about life from her. I step through the Garden’s purple and pink grass, considering whether or not I should have taken off my hover boots as soon as I entered. Some people do that, leaving their shoes against the fence near the entrance and exit tunnels. I decide not to since I usually don’t, but that doesn’t take away from the scene around me. Dozens of rows of flowers, bushes, cacti, grass, tree saplings, and other species I can’t name that is imbued with an entire spectrum of colors. Metal platings up above the plant rows that help to direct sunlight and feed water to them. Shelf stations where you can get buckets of dirt to carry your chosen plants in. You can take as many display plants as you can pay for. This doesn’t hurt the synthetic revival process, since eighty percent of the plants grown here, inside the large factory settled at the very back of the Garden, is shipped out to be implanted in the local fields and forests and so on outside of the Cores, and even sometimes within them. There are multiple synthetic plant and tree factories dotted throughout the UnitedCores, but this place was the first. They don’t plant that many synthetics in the rest of the world, only having some at a time be put into more important spots out there. That’s how it is so far, anyway.

I walk by the seas of shimmering plants, glancing at other people as they gawk and pick up some to show to someone they’re with. A cougar woman presents to her elderly companion (her mother?) a pair of two blue flowers that makes the yellow feline tear up. Where is Drift? I haven’t seen her yet. I stop and look around again, squinting to see if I can find a brown and black kangaroo girl. That’s when I see her. She’s crying.

Slumped against the fence, knees hugging her chest with her arms wrapped around them, wet face pressed into her forearms. I can hear her exhale painfully and inhale sharply. Every time she tries to stifle a moan, her body jolts. The thing that upsets me almost as much as seeing her like this? The fact that no one else in the entirety of the Garden is doing anything about this. They all just walk past, maybe giving a quick glance or a few murmurs. I can’t stand it when people do nothing to try and help someone who is struggling. How do you live with that? How do you live with not doing anything? But I guess I should let it go. I have a friend to help.

I walk towards her, temporarily forgetting about what flowers I want to get Ninzurith. I stop just before Drift, unsure of what to do. Should I sit down next to her? Should I say something? I hate questioning myself when I’m not the one who needs helping. Drift suddenly looks up slightly, her purple eyes glossy with tears. She stares at me, her mouth covered, so I can’t know her full expression. “ What happened?” I ask. I feel slightly stupid, but I have to start somewhere. She shakes her head and buries her face further in her arms. She says something that I can’t understand. The other people walk behind us, continuing along their day. It’s funny how an ordinary day can so easily be interrupted. Just two or so hours ago, Drift seemed fine, didn’t she? Drift mumbles something. “ I can’t really hear you...” I say. She doesn’t respond. Her long ears are flat against her head.“ Drift.” I settle myself down next to her. The grass hugs me softly. The sun appears to be melting down through the clouds, and the Garden is busy. No one will really hear us in the midst of it all. “ Could you raise your face a little bit and tell me what Katherine did this time? Please?” A second or so later, she does. Her expression stabs my heart.

“I’m paying for my past mistakes.”

“What mistakes?”

“Do you remember Katherine?” “I think so. She’s the one who isn’t always nice, right? ” Drift nods her head sadly.

“Yeah. We had a... discussion after school today. It didn’t...really go so well.”

“Were you arguing over something again?” I feel a surge of anger swell inside me. This isn’t the first time I’m hearing of this girl. I thought they were doing better!

“ Sort of.” Drift wipes her face and sniffles.

“She uh, finally gave in, I guess you could say.” I wait for her to continue.

“What I mean is she’s done with me.”

“Is it okay if I ask you to explain?”

“Remember what happened during middle school?”

I think for a minute. We met in fifth grade, so we did talk fairly often throughout middle school. There are a lot of memories to remember involving my friends. Some are nice.

“Is it something to do with Atlas?”

“Yes.” The very name makes us cringe. “It has to do with him. It has to do with when I first left Ralia and Katherine, for him.” She lets out an aggravated sigh. “When I was so ‘ in love with that stupid kangaroo that I figured I wouldn’t need any other friends,”

I remember those years. She barely even spoke online to me, which hurt. I tried to understand, but Katherine?

“The idea that Katherine really didn’t like. The idea she stopped talking to me over.”

“Ralia would still talk to you.”

“For some stupid reason.”

“Because she’s a good friend.”

“ I...Yeah, she is.” Drift scans the grass blades. They sway carelessly in the wind, without any worries. “ She’s too good of a friend. Like you are.” I feel myself blush. No one can even see it, so what’s the point?

“But what happened today, exactly?” My Connecto-Panel goes off again, but I ignore it.

“It’s so stupid.”

“Drift. Please tell me.” “Why? It’s better if I just let her go.”

“I guess, but I’d still like to know. If you’re willing to say.” A few seconds go by. Some snakes and hyenas look at us as they pass. “What did Katherine say?”

“She said she didn’t want to be friends anymore. Just like back then with Atlas, she said she couldn’t stand me anymore. It’s worse now.” Silence.

“Why worse?” Drift turns to look at me, the emotion boiling up in her face.

“Because now it’s permanent! I know it is! She’s tired of me! She’s tired of how introverted and quiet I am. How anxious and overly hesitant I am. How much I distance myself from other people only to try and get something from them later when it suits me. She judges every move I make and everything I spend too much time thinking about! She knows the truth, which is that how I am and how I like to act are dumb and ridiculous. She can’t dare to be my good friend anymore because of how much I apparently annoy her and because of how likely it is that I’ll forget about her again. I’ve tried reasoning with her, but you know how she is. Katherine chooses her opinion, and it sticks with her. She lets it out hard, and it...it...it hurts me.” Tears were again streaming down her face. “ It hurts because I feel like it’s true.” I look at her for a couple of seconds more, waiting to see if there is anything else that she wants to say. “ She’s not my friend anymore. Never again.”

“Drift…” I have an urge to do something, but I’m not sure if I should since we’re in public. Does it matter? Some people might judge us. Does that matter? I sigh with anxiety-ripe empathy. “ What I’m about to say and do are entirely honest.”

“Ok...” I lean forward and gently hug her. Drift freezes before awkwardly hugging back. This is nothing new for us. Why should it be? A soft warmth shifts between us.

“Katherine is wrong.”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t lie. I know you, and I’ve seen and heard enough about her. She just has issues. You don’t.” I release the hug. We both wipe the stains off of our faces. “ It’s like I’ve told you, and I think you’ve told me,” I stand up. I offer her my hand. “ There are people out there who will find problems with who you are. It’s up to you to decide if they’re right or not. You already know for a fact that I don’t agree with her. Not at all.” She stares at me with a face that’s exhausted and upset. I know the feeling. She slumps lower to the ground, resuming her watch of the grass. She picks at it lightly.

“ I guess. I don’t want to have anything to do with her anymore.”

“Then don’t. It would make sense to me.” Silence. She glances up.

“Oh. Sorry.” She takes my hand, and I help her up. We both laugh a little.

“I’m kind of distracted right now.”

“I know, and it’s fine! I uh, haven’t decided which flowers to get for Ninzurith’s birthday yet.”

“That’s okay. I haven’t either.” Her voice is flat. I hate it.

“I mean, we still have time before this place closes for the night. You still wanna pick out some flowers together?” One of her ears jerks upwards. “Even though I feel like poop?”

“You don’t have to. I’d just like to hang out with you more.” Drift shifts her backpack on her shoulders a little bit, causing me to do the same. She does a quick glance around the garden. The sky is slowly becoming more and more dominated by a shimmering orange glow. I’m so glad they removed the tarp roof last year.

“Why not? Sure.”

“Alright. Cool.” I begin to turn around so I can start inspecting some flowers. I stop at the sound of her voice.“ Um. Thanks, Similic.” I let out a small chuckle.

“Of course! I’m only doing what makes sense to me.” I think I see her crack a smirk.

“This is paying me back for when I helped you get over that little situation in chemistry, isn’t it?”

“You mean when my partner decided to not sit with me anymore? I wasn’t upset over that.’’ “ I spent nearly two hours with you on Comcord that night.” Drift laughs a little. I feel a tad embarrassed, but at least she’s laughing. “Ok fine. Maybe I felt a little bad about that.” I find myself smiling.

‘‘You’re silly again.’’

‘‘Is that okay?’’

‘‘Of course. I appreciate it.’’

‘‘And I appreciate you!’’

We spend the next twenty-five minutes picking out what flowers we want to give Ninzurith. While we searched, I thought about writing her a little poem. She’d probably like that. Ninzurith seems to have a liking towards me. Nothing weird, just a closeness that she doesn’t seem to have with anyone else besides one other person. I still can’t figure out why. I mean, we do talk a decent amount, and we get pretty deep when we talk, and we play video games together, but that’s about it. We haven’t met in person too often at all. It might just be her more motherly side. The side he knows all too well about.

Once Drift and I have made our gift choices, consisting of a group of four purple and blue Violish flowers from me and four red and orange Nara flowers from Drift, we head over to the exit tunnel where a line is waiting to pay the exit guard. As the seemingly useless seconds drip by, Drift begins to talk about a video game she’s been playing recently. At some point in her ramblings, she mentions a time when she and Katherine had played it together, which seems to bring back some sadness. “Hey,” I say to her as the line moves up. “ Don’t think about her. She’s not fair, and you know it.” Silence. A bit of panic rises in me. “You know, I remember how much she sucks at video games �" specifically, Paths of Infinity.”

I feel like this attempt is stupid. She laughs at the thought and begins to recite her own experiences with the subject. I notice the change in her eyes as her mood changes. It’s more gorgeous than a sunset.

Five minutes later, we step out of the Synthesis Dimension Garden, clutching our newly bought flowers. “ I need to get these home soon so I can change their living quarters,” Drift says while staring at her flowers’ current clay vase with disgust. These makeshift containers the Garden guard gives out are very dirty and easy to break. I don’t understand why they won’t get better ones.

“Fair. I’ll do the same. I think my parents might have something to use,” I say.

“I hope so. These are just disgusting.” “Everything in our society is disgusting,” A new voice says. We both look to our side, scared by the closeness of it. It’s a dragon. He is mostly blue-scaled, with his whole arms, feet, torso, and tail being a dark purple. His tucked-in wings are coated in a fiery orange that stretches across the whole length of them. His eyes are red with orange pupils, and his expression is angry and tired, yet also intrigued and happy. He emanates a terrible feeling. “ Well, most everything is. You two appear different.” He looks between us. “You’re friends, yes? I suppose I’ll find out for sure later.”

“Who’re you?” Drift asks.

“Clous is my name. I come from my mechanics shop in Core Oracus. I was in the garden for an errand, and I just happened to see you two against the fence. I wanted to meet you.” I try to remember if I saw him. I can’t.

“Oh. Uh...Ok,” I say. I feel beads of sweat drip down my back. Drift is slightly shaking. We’re both readying ourselves internally to fight.

“You two are nice. You’re sensitive and full of thoughts. You have the potential to be the ones.” The desperation in his eyes makes me wish I had my scouting armor.

“Ok, then. We actually have some stuff to do, so we’re gonna go. Have a nice...day.” I tug on Drift’s arm as I quickly walk away. She doesn’t hesitate to follow. I glance back twice, and each time he’s still watching us. We keep moving until we’re a good few streets away from the Garden. We stop in front of a DollarBucks coffee shop. We look around for the dragon. We don’t see him. Neither of us feels safe yet. His eyes and voice swirl around in my head.

“Do you wanna get some coffee?” Drift asks.

“Why not.” We quickly walk up the grey steps and enter the restaurant. Glancing back, I think I see him again. It’s hard to act calm when you’re not.