Kim leaned forward. “Wait, what was that? You kinda mumbled a bit there.”
Haley threw her a glare but took a deep breath. “A harpy, okay?”
“A harpy?” Kim asked. “You mean, like, a flying bird woman?”
“Yes,” Haley said with a wince, as if just admitting it was painful. It struck Kim as a bit overdramatic.
Sharon shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t sound as bad as a hairy ogre.”
“It’s worse!” Haley snapped. “At least, an ogre has hands. Hands!” She held up said hands, flipping them back and forth to give the other two a good look at both sides. Then, her anger vanished, and she turned away, blinking back tears.
“But lots of people live without hands,” Sharon said. “Sorry, I don’t mean to say it’s not a loss, but you can adjust, right?”
“I saw a snake person yesterday,” Kim put in helpfully. “He- I mean she has to get used to twenty or thirty extra feet of body length, and no legs at that. So, at least you don’t have to deal with that.”
“It’s not the same,” Haley growled. Suddenly, she rounded on Kim, her voice raising almost to a shout. “And YOU don’t get to tell me what I don’t have to deal with! Not you of all people!”
Kim felt her anger rise, burning away her shyness for the moment. It helped that she now stood taller than the other girl. “And why not!? You and Lisa made me suffer for years! That’s what I had to deal with day after day. Just because you couldn’t handle me winning some stupid art contest instead of you!”
“Well, guess what!?” Haley stepped back and threw her arms upward like a condemned criminal before the firing squad. “Now you can win ALL the art contests you want without worrying about me! Dammit, yes, I was jealous! I admit it! I love art, too, and I wanted to be the best. But I wasn’t, no matter how hard I tried. And I hated that! Well, hurray for you, you finally win! Because I’ll NEVER draw again! Don’t you see!?”
Realization finally dawned on Kim. So, that explained the tears earlier. “No hands. Harpies don’t have hands.”
Haley snorted. “You know what? This was a bad idea. I must be losing my mind thinking I could team up with you. Between you and Lisa, I’ve lost everything: no talent, no boyfriend, no friends, no hands. Even my illustration major’s down the toilet! And neither of us has a chance at getting revenge on Lisa. She’s untouchable. The things I’ve seen, you only know the tip of this iceberg. She’s capable of far worse things than you know about. So, I’m giving up, and I suggest you do the same!” With that, she flounced off.
“It was a good try,” Sharon sighed. “But it doesn’t look like that girl’s ready to trust anybody yet.”
“At least I know she won’t rat me out to Lisa,” Kim said. “It’s strange. I still loathe her, but I kinda feel sorry for her, too.” She glanced down at her own hand. What would she have done if she lost both? Learn to draw with her feet? Her mouth? Sure, she could do it, probably after a few years of intense therapy and practice, but how much of her old ability would she regain? It would have been excruciating to know she would have to go back to square one, putting her whole life on hold in the meantime.
Sharon‘s arm around her shoulders interrupted her thoughts. “Sorry for her? After what she did to you? Girl, you’re a whole lot nicer than I am. I’m surprised you even suggested making an alliance.”
“Yeah, but can you blame me? She’s right about Lisa. I don’t know very much about her, and so far, it doesn’t seem like she values anything I could possibly take from her just based on my looks. My first plan of stealing her boyfriend probably wouldn’t do a whole lot, considering what Haley told me about her attitude about cheating. I’m gonna have to think of a new approach, and I need Haley’s insight to come up with a good one.”