Regine did not show up bright and early the next day. She didn't show up the day after that, or the week after that. For the rest of their senior year of high school, Regine never showed up at all. She stopped appearing altogether, save a single visit to reassure Markus and Josie that she was alive and not wasting away in a murder shrine.
The three of them sat on the rooftop of the school. Each looked out over the awning and tried their best not to say something rude. Markus had been tracking Regine for days before she popped up; nobody seemed to know where she was, or anything about her whereabouts. Not even her parents knew. Then, suddenly, Regine was here? Josie didn't buy her excuses, but Markus wanted to know why.
"I've been accepted into a special program for the gifted and talented," Regine explained. "It's crazy! They're paying for everything; my food, my housing, my college tuition. I'm already guaranteed employment and there's just, so much cool stuff there. You can't imagine the size of their library."
"I could, if you'd take me," Josie snarked. "You keep talking about being in this super awesome program with a pool and hookers. Yet, you won't hook us up with a tour, Regine."
"It's," Regine hesitated. "Sears Tower is off-limits to outsiders. I'm sorry, that's just how it is. How it has to be."
"You could at least promise to see us," Markus murmured. The absence had been felt most strongly by Markus; Josie had her little hive of acquaintances at the skate park, but Markus didn't have anyone except Josie and Regine.
"It's the conditions of the offer," Regine strained, struggling to give a straight answer. "I don't know when the next time I'll get to see you guys is, but…"
"But you're abandoning us like an old pair of smelly socks?" Josie growled. "Dude. We care about you; doing this to us is not okay."
"The world isn't okay, alright?" Regine hissed back. "Global warming, food insecurity around the globe, interplanetary… nuclear, warfare. It's all not fair. Nothing is fair and I'm finally getting a chance to do something about it." Regine took a deep breath, worn fingers rubbing her skull.
"I know you guys won't understand unless I open up, so listen hard. I care about you," Regine insisted. "Or I wouldn't ever be telling you what I'm about to tell you today."
"Hit me," Josie grumbled. "With the oh-so-important backstory."
"Josie," Markus hesitated, reaching an arm out. Markus held Josie's shoulder, looking her in her amber-hued eyes. "Can't we just chill? This means a lot to Regine. Let's hear her out."
"Hear her out? Sure," Josie spat. "But if she thinks I'm about to forgive her because of some sappy garbage, I'm peacing out of this conversation."
"I've got every right to not want to come back!" Regine spat.
"You've got every right to abandon your friends!?" Josie snapped back.
"My dad beats me, okay?" Regine yelled at the top of her lungs, the earth trembling with the force of her shout. Josie drew silent. Markus quietly balled their hands into fists and tried not to feel scared. "He beats me, and mom watches. I can't live at home anymore. There's no… there's no love there. Nobody cares about me. They all take a dump on my hobbies and call me a friendless loser, okay?"
"And that's not true. I have friends, two great friends that I feel terrible about leaving behind. I know it's going to hurt to hear it, but you're my besties," Regine choked through tears. "I know it's gonna sting to be away for this long, but I can't live like this anymore. Wearing hoodies to hide the bruises, reading books to drown out the world? Forget that. I'm taking this ticket out, and I will make any sacrifice to be free of them."
"Regine…" Josie spoke and reached out, struggling to find the words.
Markus, on the other hand, didn't hesitate. The big fellow reached out to pull Regine and Josie into a tight and warm hug against their soft chest. Regine and Josie relaxed into the hug. Regine sobbed against their chest, hugging back tighter.
Markus let out a few tears of their own, unable to hold it together. They sniffled and snorted as Regine squeezed tight. Markus could swear they felt a rib fracture and snap with the force of Regine's hug, making the tears flow faster from their eyes. The pain seemed to ebb and subside as Regine cried against their chest. Regine, for her part, loosened her grip considerably.
"Dang," Josie groaned. "You hug tight, girl."
"Sorry," Regine sniffed, tearing up. "Don't know my own strength."
"You promise you'll talk to us when you can?" Markus sniffled, holding on to both of their friends and not wanting to let go.
"Promise, Markus. And we'll even finish that D&D session with Amanda," Regine chuckled. "It'll only be a couple of years in this boarding school for smart kids like me. I'm sure everything will be fine."
"Dude, don't let those other rich losers kick you around, okay?" Josie broke from the hug, folding her arms defiantly.
"Speaking of the other kids," Regine muttered, watching a limousine pull into West Division's parking lot. A redheaded young woman with a mohawk slipped out of the limousine, leaning against the black exterior. A window rolled down, a bedazzled young woman calling out and waving around her jewelry.
"Gaia!" The bedazzled girl cried, her fake tan visible from a mile away. "Yoo-hoo! We're here— ow!" The tan girl cried out as the redhead smacked her on the noggin. "Code names, right… sorry!"
"Reggie!" the mohawk-wearing girl called out. "You done with those bozos?"
"A minute, you jerks," Regine spat, yelling out towards the parking lot. "Can't I have a minute? These are my best friends."
"You'll see them in like, two years!" Loony yelled, folding her arms. Roma winced, rubbing her pointed ears. The walking jewelry store continued to yell and moan. "Come on! I'm dying of boredom in the car!"
"Holy snap… is that who I think it is?" Josie's jaw dropped. "That's Roma, the rock star. Bright red hair, big mohawk?"
"And, the girl in the limo is Loony Toony. I watch her streams," Markus murmured. "Never thought I'd see her in meat-space…"
"Are you… are you swapping up?" Josie asked Regine incredulously.
"What? No. No, I'm not swapping up. That's ridiculous," Jenny blinked. "They're my classmates. They got into the program at the same time I did. Uh, really talented and passionate people?"
"Oh, dude. Is she a gross streamer?" Josie checked with Markus.
"Really cute," Markus murmured. "She likes dressing up like that character from that old show, Nebula Sailors. Her cosplay is spot-on, too; looks exactly like Nebula Blossom Luna."
"So, a gross streamer. Okay, if you replace me with a weeb, our friendship is officially over," Josie snarked. "Trade me in for Roma at least."
"I'm not a weeb!" Loony squeaked from the car. "I'm the real— mmph! Mm, mmph!" She struggled against the pair of hands shutting her big mouth up.
"She's a really smelly weeb," Roma insisted, covering Loony's mouth. "Look, we have to go soon. I'd like to keep the lights on, if you catch my drift."
"I love you guys, okay? I'm not going to forget you, so…" Regine pulled back. "Just stick tight. Everything's going to get better, alright? I promise."
