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It was a seemingly average day in a certain high school in Kauai. The students were hard at work as usual.
Except for seventeen-year-old Lilo Pelekai.
Throughout the day, she had been in a very dreary mood. She dragged herself out of bed that morning and eating her favorite sugar cereal didn't do much to perk her up. She could barely pay attention in class that day and she didn't talk much unless someone such as a teacher spoke to her first. Her English class had been looking over horror novels lately, but not even that could break her out of her funk. When the class went to the library to choose new books, it was even quieter than it was supposed to be.
When it was lunchtime, pizza was being served in the cafeteria. The students were engaged in conversation with each other as usual. Lilo, however, did not feel like eating or chatting with anyone. She just put her head down and sighed.
On the table behind Lilo, Mertle Edmonds and her posse Elena, Teresa, and Yuki were laughing and talking.
"What's going on with Lilo today, anyway?" asked Teresa. "She's been acting weird."
Mertle snorted. "…er than normal."
She turned around, and sure enough, Lilo still wasn't eating. She just sat there. She was the only one at her table.
"What are you doing?" asked Mertle. "You're the only one in this school who likes the cafeteria's crappy food."
"I'm just not hungry right now, that's all," Lilo droned.
"Let me guess, you lost that ugly Scrump doll, didn't ya?" guessed Mertle. "Whatever, you're too old to still keep that thing around."
Lilo shook her head. She still hadn't lifted her head up.
"Did you wreck your car again?" Mertle guessed again.
"No," Lilo answered monotonously.
"Then what's your problem?!" asked Mertle.
Lilo really didn't want to talk about it, but she knew that Mertle would never shut up if she didn't answer her question. She faced Mertle and grimaced. She bit her lip.
"Today…" she began, though she paused to take a deep breath. "Today's the anniversary of my parents' death."
"Oh, what?" Mertle snorted. "Did you forget to feed that stupid fish that day?"
Lilo's face crumpled. She had indeed forgotten to give him his weekly sandwich, and as a kid, she felt responsible for the rain that led to the car accident that took the lives of her parents. Even though she was old enough to know that Pudge didn't really control the weather, she still felt like something could've prevented the tragedy from happening.
"I guess the weather's been crazy ever since Pudge kicked the bucket, huh?" smirked Mertle.
Lilo exhaled. "Mertle, I grew out of that phase years ago."
"Well, you're stupid for believing that in the first place!" Mertle cackled.
Elena, Teresa, and Yuki were speechless. Though they usually joined in whenever Mertle mocked Lilo, they thought insulting Lilo during a time like this was overstepping it.
"Uh, Mertle, maybe you should stop," Yuki whispered to Mertle.
"Quiet, Yuki," hissed Mertle.
With a groan, Lilo put her head back down and covered her ears, but Mertle wasn't letting up.
"I'm surprised you've never been sent to any special classes!" Mertle taunted.
Lilo tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down.
"You'd get along great with the other people there," continued Mertle, "they're weird like you!"
Lilo's eye twitched. It was getting harder for her to keep her emotions under control.
"Oh, and don't think I forgot about that hula competition we had as kids," Mertle smirked. "Your mom would be so disappointed in you!"
This was more than Lilo could stand. Clenching her fists, she quietly stood up with an impassive expression as Mertle laughed at her. Mertle's smug contempt towards her was cut short when Lilo tackled her to the ground. The two tangled with each other as the students watched in open-mouthed astonishment. A lunchroom monitor caught sight of what was going on and pulled them both apart.
"Principal's office, now!" he ordered.
The girls stormed off. They glared daggers at each other all the way to the office. In the waiting room, they were still scowling at each other until they were called inside. The principal, Mrs. Akamai, was at her desk.
"Ma'am-" Lilo started to say.
"Oh, it was awful!" interrupted Mertle. "I was just trying to enjoy my lunch and she pounced on me for no reason!"
"What?!" Lilo exclaimed.
Mrs. Akamai held her hand up for them to quiet down. "Now, now, I've been told what happened. A lunch lady saw the whole thing. I'm afraid I'll have to send both of you to after-school detention for an hour."
"But…but…" stammered Lilo.
"I know Mertle shouldn't have derided you on this day, and I understand that it was a sensitive topic for you," Mrs. Akamai said gently, "but we still have a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of violence at this school. You will be free to go after the hour has passed."
Just then, the bell for the next period rang. Mertle scowled at Lilo and left. Lilo trudged to her next class. At the end of the day, the girls went to the detention room. By then, Lilo's fury had diminished into a dull, listless mood. Mertle, on the other hand, was still visibly angry. Lilo tried to work on some of her homework to pass the time, but Mertle kept giving her a hard stare, which was very distracting.
After what felt like an eternity, Lilo spoke up. "What is it?"
"Well, this is a nice mess you've gotten us into, Freaklo!" snapped Mertle.
"Just me?" Lilo cocked a brow. "You did something, too; you wouldn't stop ragging on me."
"Only because you just can't be normal!" growled Mertle.
Lilo narrowed her eyes. "You know what, Mertle? I have to be honest. At first, it felt good to give in to my anger and tackle you, but now I just feel hollow. I feel…sorry for you because you must feel like that, too, so very often."
This silenced Mertle. She had no idea how to respond to that.
"I've dealt with a lot of unpleasant people; Gantu, Hämsterviel, you name it. I met you before I met them, though. No matter how often I save you from runaway aliens, you never treat me any differently. It really sucks, but you've made me realize that some people are just like that," continued Lilo. "Like you."
Mertle started to glower again, but her indignant expression went back to one of dumbstruck shock when Lilo made her next statement.
"You should know that what you do doesn't endear you to a lot of people. I'm surprised that your friends still keep you around from the way you boss them around, but it's only a matter of time before your actions catch up with you. And when that happens, I'll come and see you so I can show you that I still have an 'Ohana who isn't alienated from me because of my personality. Then I'll leave and you'll be alone. You'll be just…you."
Mertle simply blinked. Lilo looked up at the clock. Her face immediately brightened.
"Oh, look, time's up!" said Lilo. She got up and began to walk out of the room. "See ya later!"
Mertle, however, remained in her seat, quietly contemplating the choices she had made up to that point. She had no idea what to do.