This is an alternate branch of the storyline continuing from [12A]

The Tall and Short Problems of a Cute Gamer Girl

[13A]
For the Primary Branch [13]

It was utterly bewildering and absolutely impossible that she might have a crush on this boy. She was not actually an 11-year-old girl, and it was weird! Looking away just relegated Dennis‘s presence to a sonar reading in the back of her head.

This was crazy! The look of him was his younger self! This was abject narcissism! If anything was going to get to Giselle bodily… a-as a developing young person… Then it should’ve been some silly older boy in music who crooned moody love songs and had foppish hair instead of this guy. What was she even feeling?! Giselle turned so much over in her head.

It had to be pure nonsensical biology putting out feelers. While he was still in the back, over by the teacher’s desk across from the entrance door, Giselle resolved that she had to run a quick scientific analysis to make sure there wasn’t some sort of crossed wire or incorrect panic running through her jolted synapses.

She stood up with a quick breath and walked her paper over. It was just one dinky percent off perfect, but if she was the kind of person to often get 100%, she was sure to be one to verify the grade. She soon realized this was a horrible mistake as Dennis had an aroma surrounding him like a charged presence more potent than the actual blue lightning surrounding Olivia. He smelled vaguely like warm cinnamon from a fresh pastry crossed with a citrusy edge. It wasn’t potent enough to knock her for a loop, but it felt like being jostled by the ocean through a wave of air she couldn’t escape.

His brown eyes glanced over at her through his silvery glasses. It was like the first time Jeremy video chatted with Rachel, just over a thousand miles away. Both were in college, and each wished they went to the same one, even though Rachel’s was a girl’s college.

It was like her brain had been subdivided into several levels. Jeremy was still there, officiating in the back without any real legal authority. Giselle as the adult he became was there basically drowning and trying to swim upstream through all the stuff of the last few days. And then there was Gi, the kid.

Gi had no qualms about imagining Dennis holding her hand. The wildest Gi got was envisioning Dennis lifting her arm to give her a little warm kiss before bowing like she was royalty. She got all melty and fussy with giggles that threaten to escape and overwhelm whatever words she could say.

The teacher soon interrupted to ask if she needed anything. Her sole error had been citing the number of people on the Mayflower as 202 rather than 102. Dennis soon walked away but she wanted to reach for him. Gi imagined him pulling her close and then spinning her like in a dance to lean her over and overwhelm her senses. Amidst the flagrantly romantic notions were also quiet ones of sitting with their chairs together as they shared a book and needed to lean closer. Their hands passed one over and under the other as they reached to turn pages. Perhaps one would graze another by accident…

She did her best to shake loose these notions and emotions like ephemeral cobwebs trying to ensnare her. She loved Rachel. She only felt this way towards Rachel. It didn’t matter that they were currently separated by a chasm of absurd altered reality and situation. Rachel was her mo… The one she actually loved. Giselle fixed her eyes on Olivia, briefly concerned that she may have jostled emotions loose for a snack. But her strangely shimmering blue eyes were focused more on everyone around the room rather than in her direction. She had to wonder about that.

With everything she’d been able to surmise from what Olivia told her, she ran on human emotions and the typical source for that was the punctuation of causing drastic transformations which raised alarm, new feelings, and new emotions. This was a junior high school, basically a fomenting ground for all sorts of chaotic, potent, and wild emotions charged by unfamiliar hormones. So like non-supernatural transformation raging amongst hundreds of people daily. The perfect place for one of her species.

In addition to that, Olivia soon settled into the lecture which involved wars, and their fallout in a broad sense but specifically early wars in pursuit of territory. As the teacher unspooled a blunted version of human suffering, Giselle felt deeply disappointed in humanity. She could only imagine that this creature, dreaming of being reborn as a human being and floating in the waves of miraculous human emotion, might wonder if she had actually traded one monster for another.

Giselle tried her best not to sink into a quagmire of disappointment. Her heart pained when Olivia raised her hand and puzzled over the motivations of humanity for war and destruction. The teacher just had broad strokes and questions of their own to present. Olivia capped her thought by simply asking, “Why would anyone want to be human, if humans cause such self-inflicted pain?"

It felt abundantly clear to her that even though Olivia was speaking to the teacher, she was actually addressing Giselle. As if she had any more comprehension than just shrugging her shoulders and wishing things were different. Class went quickly and the subject matter, as well as the bulkheads of several people in the way, allowed Giselle to attempt to forget as much about Dennis as possible.

Unfortunately, when class ended and everyone milled about waiting for the bell, Dennis slipped over and asked if she would like to go to a new video game movie on Saturday. Giselle had no idea what the movie was from the name he gave but Jeremy was usually too busy to follow most films released in theaters. As if being plunked in the head by this proposal wasn’t enough to unbalance her, he also confessed, “You’re really cute and pretty and nice and I really like you and I think it would be cool and we can go to this arcade just over from the theater and whatever else you want to do for fun.”

The kid said all of that at full force without even taking a breath. That earned him some respect at least, even though the surrounding gossip from everyone who noticed what was going on was horrifying and embarrassing. Vehemently, she planned to turn him down and cut loose this childish infatuation growing inside her and quell any notions he might have as well. Because she had no intention of staying like this beyond the next day or two.

However, what emerged from her lips was, “A-a-alright, okay… but I have streaming stuff.” Of course, Dennis was a stream watcher of Giselle‘s and recounted earlier in the week when they discussed her schedule with all her YouTube ambitions. She wasn’t here for that in this reality, but it sounded like the kid thought all this through extensively. The only obstacle remaining was she had to get her “mom“ to agree to it.

After surviving that onslaught of courting, her polite sides and courtesy caving atop any excuses she might be able to confabulate, Giselle dragged herself to the exit door with Olivia catching up. As a final punctuation, Dennis accidentally brushed up against her shoulder as he was leaving. He vigorously apologized and soon hustled off.

“Want me to blast him? Permission?” Giselle rubbed her eyes and shook her head. That would just be another complication. She checked in with Olivia and asked her if she was all right.

Olivia didn’t have an immediate answer, except to conclude, “Humans are far more complicated than I ever imagined before. I knew there were many beautiful and fearful things contained within them. But floating immersed instead of waiting on the shore is very different.”

When they managed a bit of privacy, between all the screaming yelling Friday chaos of classmates rushing here and there, Giselle asked her, “Still want to be human?” This time, she didn’t hesitate, “I want to try. The alternative is coldness, darkness, and death. The path ahead may have challenges, but it is in the light.”

English class should’ve been uneventful but the teacher who Giselle tolerated and nearly enjoyed yesterday snipped at her for bringing a relative to class, scolded them to put away those silly ears, and aimed pointed, pointless questions at Olivia. Even after it was clear all their paperwork and preparation were in order, the teacher treated it like they should be doing demerits for something she couldn’t quite say they had done wrong. Internally, Giselle felt like she didn’t have time for this bullshit.

Olivia, however, didn’t restrain her criticisms to the internal. She just outright stated that the teacher was a bad teacher. And when the teacher remarked that then she could just leave the class and go to the security office, Olivia responded, “Gladly.”

Jeremy never got in trouble, but he did get unfairly punished a few times. Giselle happily accompanied her “extended family member” out of the room. They walked slowly. Olivia carried herself with more of a childlike, casual grace. Giselle figured that she’d picked it up from watching everyone else, but it was an encouraging sign of her blending in.

“Why do people choose to come to such a place where it feels like every other instance is not about education but instead pointless control? It seems painful and inefficient.” Giselle agreed that it was. She absolutely loathed school, even though Jeremy went to surprisingly-decent private, faith-based campuses for most of his education until college. At least the absurd college loans that Jeremy piled up hopefully weren’t a burden for Rachel now. Hopefully.

All Giselle could say in response was, “It’s not really a choice. Children go to school because parents and people in charge say they have to. There are private school options, but this is the way that reality has placed me. If I revolt then who knows how it’ll respond? It could erase my memories, like it did with Rachel.”

Halfway there to the office, Olivia paused and placed a hand on Gisele‘s shoulder, her face, and then her hip. She asked, “Do you feel strange?”

She wasn’t sure what to say to that question. Everything around her was strange. But, as Olivia mentioned it, she realized there was a certain heat radiating through her leg, shin especially, surging up through her core, and pressing at her cheeks. Earlier, she thought it was because of the cat ears but she wasn’t wearing them. It was definitely a toasty day, which was why they had Gym inside instead of out in the Carolina reaping dog end of summer.

Gisele did her best not to worry as Olivia dropped her hands away and cocked her head. “There is something different, something familiar. But I don’t know what it is. Sorry for scaring you. It is probably fine. We should go deal with this… bullshit we need to deal with.”

With both eyebrows raised, Giselle asked, “Where did you learn that word?”

Olivia shrugged and stretched her eyebrows in response. “Mrs. Weller actually. But she said never to use it. Despite that advice, I felt it was appropriate in this instance.”

Gisele smiled. 

[Since this is meant to be interactive, feel free to suggest ideas and prompts for future/alternate branch storylines. Some branches are already written but this will allow me to best pick new/alternate ones. I'm currently just rolling dice.]

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