Tuesday's Story #8

Author's Note: Please forgive me for the long hiatus from writing short stories. Life as a CPU Monster took me on new, unexplored paths. =D

One final chance, that's all it took for Bianca to decide. Irritate me, she thought, or ignore me again, and I'll make sure you'd understand that I am made of fire.
    That was what she imagined declaring to everyone and especially to those who treated her as an invisible ghost but as much as she wanted to, she was never able to summon the courage to do just that. In her deck of cards, she knew that it was a matter of time and emotions before she actually threw her final card into the fire. But opposite her was her friend, Casey, babbling about being given the silent treatment through no fault of his and it made him boiling mad that he wanted to screw his longtime friend.
    Noticing her blank expression, Casey folded his arms.
    "Did you catch what I was saying?" he asked.
    "Yes. It kind of stinks, don't you think?"
    "Hell yeah, especially when the person says that he or she doesn't have the slightest memory of you!"
    "Exactly, and there's nothing we can do about it. Don't talk about you; I'm in the same boat."
    "What's up?"
    "Being ignored by friends." She sighed. "I remember that as a young child, I used to be so sociable. I'd always approach strangers and introduce myself before gently nudging them to do the same and not long after, we'd be chasing each other in a game around, being happy and carefree."
    "I'm sorry to hear that, Bianca."
    She rested her chin on the table, obviously exhausted. "Don't be Casey. I've grown out of that period, although it took me a decade in Melbourne to bury the hatchet and move on from there. I personally don't give a crap anymore. Whether they choose to be a part of my circle or not, that's their problem, not mine."
    She hadn't planned on being straight with Casey but speaking to him about friends somehow allowed the space to.
    "If they want to maintain communication with me, fine, I'm glad but if they chose to do the opposite, be my guest. It's not like losing them will mean the end of the world. I can't allow their presence to bleed my emotions any longer." She straightened her spine. "I had this friend. Back in elementary school, we were pretty good friends. When he was involved with another male classmate over a fist fight that resulted in a chipped tooth, both swore me to secrecy, said that it was an accident that the form teacher should never hear of."
    "What happened?"
    "I kept to my word. Fast forward fifteen years, there was not a slightest memory of me in his eyes!"
    He shook his head. "Gee, that's mean of him."
    "What's left is mere disappointment." She heaved a breath. "And it'll be too late for apologies and forgiveness."