Even a Scream Has A Musical Scale - Chapter 13

The hanger hit its mark both times, luckily.

“Hey! Who the hell is that?”

He shot up, scratching his head furiously as he squinted up at Dani. With his scrunched-up face, he looked just like a mischievous hyena. She waved enthusiastically from above.

“Up here! Second floor!”

“Huh? Roderson?”

The moment he recognized her, his tough expression softened into something surprisingly gentle. It seemed like he knew Dani, though she had no memory of him. Still, Dani flashed her best friendly smile.

“Sorry to ask, but could you lend me some clothes? Even just a jacket would be great. The girls hid my uniform. You can toss it up or bring it to the second-floor changing room.”

“Wait… Are you, like, naked right now?”

“Pretty much.”

He let out a low whistle, then without hesitation, started unbuttoning his shirt. Dani quickly waved her hands, flustered.

“Hold on! You don’t have to do all that. Just the jacket is fine—”

“Roderson wearing nothing but my clothes? There’s no way I’m missing out on that.”

With a playful whistle and a twirl, he stripped off his shirt like he was some kind of surf boy showing off in a summer ad. Despite the freezing weather, his lean yet muscular body seemed completely unfazed by the cold. She quickly looked away, embarrassed, which only made his grin even more smug.

“Don’t worry, I get it. You can’t even handle looking at me directly.”

He ran a hand over his well-defined abs with a laugh, clearly enjoying himself. Dani couldn’t help but laugh along, shaking her head at his over-the-top confidence. Dani’s reaction only made him puff up with pride.

“Alright, ready for the toss?”

“Think you can make it up here?”

“Please, this is my specialty.”

He took a stance like a basketball player, bundled up his shirt and jacket like a ball, and, with a perfect arc, tossed it straight through the window. The clothes sailed right into the locker inside. Dani rushed over to pick them up. She wanted to thank him, but by the time she turned back to the window, he was already waving from a distance, walking away like he’d just nailed the winning shot.

“Roderson! Hiding out and crying in there? Come out if you’re gonna cry!”

The locker room door rattled as someone banged on it again. Voices erupted from the other side, laughing and taunting. They were running out of patience.

“Come on out! We’ve got a whole crowd of dads just dying to see you in your birthday suit!”

“Dani, don’t keep us waiting. We’re all dying to know what color your nipples are!”

They pounded on the door, some twisting the knob, while others mimicked my dad’s voice with crude, mocking comments. I clutched the uniform close to my chest. It was time to face the audience.

The borrowed school uniform top from the nameless guy was more than long enough to cover half of Dani’s thighs. As Dani checked her reflection in the mirror, the locker room door rattled once more. She bit her lip and swung it open.

“…….”

Stepping out, Dani was met with a sea of stunned faces. No one had expected her to come out dressed. The kids who had been clinging to the door, holding up their phones to snap pictures, or peeking over their shoulders were now all speechless, their mouths hanging open as they stared at her.

“Sorry to disappoint.”

Dani approached Tully, who had been mimicking her dad’s voice, and said with a smirk, “But if you’re so curious about my body, maybe you should strip down first.”

Tully’s face fell, and he took a step back, his bravado faltering. It was a sight Dani was getting used to, though she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of bitter amusement.

Why do people crave the misery of others? Is it to overshadow their fears?

Dani scanned the crowd, which had parted like the Red Sea, and said, “Try to take even one photo of me, and I’ll make sure Eleanor here can expel all of you, even if she’s not up for it.”

As soon as Dani finished speaking, phones were lowered across the crowd. She hated resorting to threats like this, but sometimes it felt necessary to remind people that she was still Roderson. Even if it was a less-than-graceful version, it was important to assert it.

With the crowd now silent, Dani walked forward resolutely.

At the edge of the crowd were Eleanor and Remington. Behind them, the grand spiral staircase of the central lobby stood majestically. Dani stopped in front of them, pausing to take in their reactions.

“…What’s with the get-up?”

Remington looked up from his phone, his brow furrowing as he took in Dani’s appearance from head to toe. He hadn’t heard about what his close friend had done to her. Dani felt Eleanor’s piercing gaze but chose to address Remington instead.

“Hey, Remington.”

“Why do you look like that?”

“Long story.”

“Looks like a guy’s uniform, and the bottom is…”

“Yeah, not really in the mood to discuss it.”

Remington’s face twisted in confusion and dismay.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Pretty much.”

Dani turned to Eleanor, who was glaring at her with such intensity that her long lashes were trembling with anger. Dani responded with a bright, knowing smile.

“Hey, Eleanor. Any idea who might have stolen my uniform?”

Eleanor responded with a terse, irritated laugh. “How would I know?”

Remington, frowning, glanced back at Eleanor. “El, did you…?”

“…Damn it.”

Eleanor muttered a curse under her breath, clearly taken aback by Dani’s ability to navigate through this mess. It seemed she hadn’t expected someone like Dani to have the smarts to come out on top.

“Eleanor, if you find out who the culprit is, let me know. I’d love to tell them that they can’t embarrass me with just this.”

Dani gave Eleanor one last smile, her face reddening with frustration.

At that moment, Dani began to understand, just vaguely, why her father always told her to “just smile.” Even a simple smile seemed to signal that she didn’t care and that in itself felt like a small victory.

But there was a difference between her and her father: Dani didn’t want to win. All she wanted was a bit of peace, and she wondered why it was so elusive.

****

After leaving the gym, Dani sat on a park bench behind the library, gazing up at the sky as lunchtime approached. She considered going back to the dorm to change into her uniform, but the thought seemed too exhausting. She felt a bit sad and a bit lonely.

Today was supposed to be her lunch date with Remington. However, the idea of eating with him felt unbearable. Eleanor, who tormented her, was bad enough, but Remington, always found at Eleanor’s side like a package deal, was even worse.

Her stomach rumbled with hunger.

Just as it seemed about to growl again, a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Has Roderson’s luck run out? Why are you wearing someone else’s uniform?”

Dani lowered her head from the sky and saw Benjamin, the facilities manager of Eratum, limping toward her with a hunter-like air. He was carrying a plastic bag filled with pork chops and had an old crutch tucked under his arm.

“Ben! Are you on your way to lunch?”

“Whose idea was this?”

His bear-like eyes quickly scanned Dani from head to toe. Dani raised her hands to show she was okay.

“I’m fine. No injuries. Just borrowing a guy’s uniform.”

“Yes, but it seems you’re only wearing the top.”

“It’s a trend nowadays.”

“Oh? Do you think old folks like me keep up with trends?”

Benjamin took off his large jumper and draped it over Dani’s legs. The gesture almost brought tears to her eyes, so she forced a wider smile.

“Why are you laughing so much?”

“Just happy. The jumper is warm.”

“You’re quite the joker.”

Benjamin muttered gruffly. At that moment, Dani’s stomach rumbled loudly, and she clutched it in embarrassment. Benjamin then shook the bag of pork chops in front of her.

“I can’t eat alone. Would you join me for lunch today?”

The tempting aroma of pork chops wafted toward Dani’s nose, making her smile automatically.

****

“Just follow along. My limp makes me a bit slow.”

“It’s okay. I’m not the fastest walker myself.”

Dani exaggerated her reassuring tone, trying to comfort him.

They crossed the park toward his office. His office was a small, cozy room behind the library, reminiscent of the room Dani used to live in when she was very young.

Benjamin enjoyed his pork chops and listened intently to Dani’s story. He was a great conversationalist, never scolding her like her father would or pitying her like a concerned mother.

Instead, Benjamin had a lot of anger.

“@#$@$@#$#$$!”

As he listened to Dani’s story, he suddenly muttered angrily. Even though Dani couldn’t understand the words, she could instinctively tell they were curses.

“There are so many damned idiots in this world. Pathetic fools!”

Benjamin crumpled the empty pork chop box and tossed it into the trash can.

“I can understand why Eleanor is so full of herself. Her father is the CEO of Fortenji, and her mother is the principal of Eratum. She must think she’s untouchable. The more she believes she’s the best student here, the more she’ll hate it when things don’t go her way.”

“She’ll try to tear me apart before she loses her teeth.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier for you to just tell your father? I’m sure he’d be willing to step in.”

“Yeah, it would be simple.”

Dani bitterly smiled, thinking of Terry’s face. The completely erased traces of Terry, who had never existed, only made her feel more uneasy rather than reassured.

When her father intervened, it meant the problem’s cause was completely removed.

“I’m afraid he might see me as the root of the problem instead of Eleanor. It’s simpler for him to target me than to take on the Lester family with their media empire behind them. It’s more efficient.”

But Dani didn’t want to be removed.

“I want to handle this myself. There must be a way. After all, Eleanor is just a high school student like me.”

“Still, be careful. Cruelty doesn’t age well.”

“You’ve seen a lot of such people, I take it?”

“Absolutely. I remember it clearly. It was a long time ago, back when your father was at this school. There was a boy from the Simmons family. The Simmons family was even more prestigious then than it is now. But that boy was severely bullied and was eventually found unconscious.”

“How did that happen?”

“He was found tied to a rooftop pillar on a cold winter day. Kids can be crueler than adults, you know? It turned out it was some sort of ritual. What kind of ritual could justify leaving a well-off young man tied to a rooftop in minus-20-degree weather? It wasn’t even a devil-worshipping ritual…”

Benjamin licked the pork chop sauce off his fork and accurately tossed it into the trash can.

“Still, it’s a relief that Remington is your buddy. There’s no better ally than him. Right?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“He’s quite something. He’s probably the only one at this school who knows and greets every janitor by name.”

After finishing the pork chops, Benjamin’s face, which had seemed dull before, now shone brightly without the food.

He went on to recount how Remington had given him a 40-year service gift and how, when the janitor Larry was diagnosed with cancer, the school organized a charity event to raise funds.

“He’s such a kind-hearted guy. If Remington continues like this, he might end up becoming a prominent politician like Congressman Roderson,” Benjamin remarked.

“Yeah, he’s a lot like my father,” Dani replied.

She glanced at the clock on the desk. Lunch hour had ended. Remington, who wouldn’t wait around for her, must have had lunch with Eleanor. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“But he dislikes me…”

Just as Dani was about to voice her thoughts about Remington, she noticed Benjamin’s eyes widening in surprise as he looked behind her.

“Why are you here, Remington?”

Dani turned around, her eyes widening in surprise. There stood Remington, panting heavily in front of the creaky iron gate.

He glared at her with an annoyed expression, his breathing ragged.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?” he demanded.