Empty Wallets, Empty Purses (Brittany)

She didn't expect this. But then again, she did at this point. Maria gained a recent understanding of the kind of person Brittany was. Nevertheless, she still found herself wincing at the shrill noise of her peer's satisfaction and excitement. But the one thing she could never understand was how fast Brittany came from Point A to Point B in order to ensnare Maria for the dreaded selfie. If there was one thing that the Cadet felt, it was a feeling of gradually growing confidence in herself despite her face turning a bright red. She struggled to retain her composure.


She braced herself for the inevitable flash of light into her eyes. To Maria it affected her more than most people due to her enhancements. She saw better than others, but at the cost of over-sensitivity. It would be blinding. But for Brittany, she didn't mind and was willing to go along with her whims. After all, they were friends, right?

She was thankful that her eyes wouldn't have to experience excruciating blindness. It actually would've been rather awkward to go about the entire store while blind. And perhaps even scarier too as this was a completely unknown territory for Maria. The glee apparent on Brittany's face didn't do much favor for her. But she found herself curious about what she was doing. Soon, the Cadet was feeling rather unsure on how to feel about this posting. The Church usually doesn't care very much about social media. Surely Father Jorge didn't have an Instagram or whatever it's called, right?

"Maybe one more. I think it wouldn't hurt to try something else too..." Maria slowly began to say. The hesitation was there, but slowly she was beginning to open up to this new world that the nun could only look afar from curiosity and possibly envy.

"It sounds like you learned the hard way with money. The Church has a lot of parishioners who had trouble with their finances. So I know where you're coming from." Maria wryly observed and chuckled gently. It was evident at first that she was relatively surprised by Brittany's admission that she had more than enough clothes than necessary. For someone who made a living off of her appearance, it wouldn't be surprising that Brittany was rolling in fashionable clothes and would keep obtaining more for her job. It was nice to hear that her friend was more responsible than she appeared. The Cadet had to admit, she underestimated Brittany.

Maria looked up at the ceiling in thought. This was a relatively good question to ask. And not a lot of people cared enough about how anything about the diocese worked. It took her a while to come up with something close to acceptable, however. The Cadet slowly began to reply. "It depends... really. Some parishes don't need their nuns to have it since we live off of donations and the Church's stipends. There are others that do since they handle other kinds of functions that allows them more leeway... They let me have one since I handle chores like getting groceries and supplies around here in Endymion... and other jobs."

She had a brief grimace, as if remembering something, but quickly decided against it. Not that it was completely her choice, since the abrupt suggestion of a party caused her a moment of confusion before becoming flustered with a light flush of pink on her cheeks.


Maria struggled to find the right words with her hands slowly clenching into tense fists to her sides. She never liked the never-ending feeling of solitude in the Church after the Eternal Divide. The situation was too awkward for her and she never was used to deserving any kind of reward thanks to the Church's strict regimen.

A small sigh of relief escaped Maria's lips when she heard Brittany wasn't serious about throwing a party over something mundane as buying clothes. Parties are meant to be celebrations for something special, weren't they? While solace was just about to rest in her heart, she felt anguish fall through her stomach. Right, that guitar. She cracked an uneasy smile, still feeling the guilt rumbling inside her. It was beginning to feel like her little masquerade wasn't going to last for much longer. What to do?

"They're fine with me going to parties as long as I don't do anything... bad. I didn't take my vows yet. So I don't have the usual daily schedule like everyone else there," she replied uneasily and unconvinced of Brittany at the same time. Maria was innocent in many respects, but she wasn't a total idiot. The Cadet had a sinking filling that somewhere in Brittany's pretty head, there was plans of a celebration brewing inside. The prospects of interacting more people didn't really bode well for her. Who would even want to talk to someone with a coffin on her back?


There was a kind of 'respect' when she uttered that name. Maria began to realize she was out of the changing room for a little while now with the rest of her clothing back inside. She began to walk back towards its direction to change back. But not before finishing with a wry remark. "And besides, not a lot of people are used to talking to weirdos with a heavy weight on their back like you do. I probably might... scare them off."

"Well... Um..." Just as she was content to return back to the changing room, the hurried steps and Brittany's voice behind her warranted her attention. And when she turned, Brittany was inside her personal space, again. But Maria at this time didn't seem to care as much about being this close. Brit saying all these things made her feel lighter. It was too long that Maria got used to what she said earlier. This weight and this burden, she really envied the other Cadets. At least they could maintain normalcy. At least they didn't have to go through what she did to become a Cadet. But with the cheerleader maybe she could get close like them. In hindsight, was that what Claire really meant back when they were raiding Alice's Domain?

In spite of Brittany pushing up her cheeks, she would've smiled anyway. But it made her look awkward as the Cadet's cheeks instinctively rose higher. While Maria allowed her to hold that smile for a moment, it got to the point that it was getting even more awkward. "Brit... I get it. Thank you. I'll stay positive. But, you can stop making me smile now..."

She gently pulled Brittany's hands from her face. In spite of it, Maria still had a gentle smile.


Maybe it wasn't so bad to get actual friends. Perhaps it was really okay to pursue a normal life. She began to return back to the changing room this time, to change. When the postulant did, she came back out with an apologetic expression in her religious garb. "I'm sorry. I know it's supposed to be our time today. But the Church sent me a message that they need me to help set up a local event. Do you... do you want to hang out at another time? I'll make it up for it."

Maria, at first, seemed anxious as Brittany seemed a little hurt. This was her first real kind of friend. Not just a fellow employee among the Cadets or the Church. Outside of all that nebulous web of obligations, she was feeling like a normal person again. But when it was just a playful ploy, she paused then snorted a small giggle. Typical her. What else did the nun expect? Maybe Queen Bee was right, she needed to relax.

Though it was one thing for Brittany to follow up with some crass words and more "jokes". At least most of it could be easily shrugged off to a large extent. It was totally another thing when mentioning Father Jorge and her relationship. Maria seemed remarkably confused, maybe even slightly appalled. But then she sighed looking a little annoyed. Not so much at Brittany, but at the person that was the subject of their conversation, "Father Jorge is like a dad to me. That would be really weird. He took me in when my family--"

The nun froze for a moment and began to adopt a rather pained look for a moment. But in the next half-second she was out of her reverie. She tried to smile again, a small chink in her exterior. Maria tried to pick up the pieces and more or less cramming them together in hopes Brittany wouldn't notice. But nevertheless continuing, she spoke.

Maria almost rolled her eyes about confessing. The mood quickly changed to her relief. Did Brittany figure something out? It was hard to tell with that bright and cheery demeanor. If she did, the Cadet was glad she didn't pursue any further on the topic. Despite her earlier unsettling feelings, she smiled brightly back at Brittany.     "Oh! Y-yeah! I wouldn't have it any other way, Brit. Like I said, I'll try to make it up to you!"

She found herself giggling at the girl's last statement and shook her head while still retaining that smile. It was a good day that was unfortunately cut short. But it was pleasant nevertheless and she couldn't ask for anything better.


She happily trotted off with her new friend. It was a farewell, but it was transient. There was still another day to be had. And another time for Maria to enjoy life.