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“It’s not happiness, it’s nonsense!”
“To whom? What makes you think Mina cares what people like you think?”
No, stop, Remi. I care. I care. I care. I opened my mouth again, but Angelica acted first.
“Really, Sigrid? What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
“What about you, Bernova?” She seemed pleased by the change in her conversation partner. “Are you having fun by going along with Mina’s games? You just care how to have fun, right? You don’t have to worry about anything!”
“Neither do you, you idiot!” Angelica shouted. “You never even tried to have fun. You always looked down on us. What for? For your stupid image?”
“Stupid image? Our whole lives depend on the network we create at this age!”
“A stupid image,” Angelica repeated, emphasizing the word ‘stupid’. “…is more important than your friends’ feelings?”
Images flashed through Sigrid’s eyes. “I never saw you guys as my friends.”
Angelica gave a mocking smile. “Fuck off, Sigrid, you’ve ruined the mood enough.”
She left without saying another word, and Petar followed her in fear. As they walked away, Angelica turned around, then her gaze dropped.
“I should go too.”
“No, Eli, wait…”
“We’ll see each other at school tomorrow, Mina. Everything is okay, please don’t worry or overthink.”
“Eli…”
Angelica walked away with a forced smile, and I only stared after her. I wanted to beg her not to go, but I was scared. Scared that one day Angelica would think like Sigrid.
That she would be ashamed of me.
As my face fell, Remi pulled me toward himself. He wasn’t usually the one to initiate hugs, I didn’t think he had such a command. But now, he wrapped his arms around me so tightly that my feet were almost off the ground. Unlike our previous hugs, it wasn’t gentle or soft. He seemed to be trying to reach my bones.
So that’s how Remi hugs. So strong. I love it!
“I hate it.” he whispered. “I hate everyone who hurts you. I want to kill everyone.”
“You can’t do that, Remi.” I tried to break free, but he didn’t let go. Finally, I whispered in defeat. “You didn’t even stand up for me. She said she didn’t get how someone like me ended up with someone like you. You heard of it. And you didn’t say anything.”
My conciliatory tone vanished. The moment I realized how genuinely angry this whole situation was making me, I shoved Remi away.
I wanted to hit him. If he wasn’t going to protect me all the time, why was he even by my side?
Remi’s eyes were wide now. “But I told you… we should’ve just said we were dating. But you said it’d be weird. If you’d let me, I would’ve told everyone…”
“What’s the point, Remi? You’re a robot. One day they’ll learn it and they’ll make fun of me even more.”
“That’s the only problem?”
“Don’t make light of this! Everyone’s already ignoring me, if they find out I’m dating a robot…”
“Okay, I got it.”
His face was so furious, so complex, that I couldn’t believe even the latest hyper models could be this realistic. He walked toward the house, but I didn’t take my eyes off him. The first seeds of serious doubt fell at that moment. I had never seriously considered the possibility before, but he…
No way.
