[Mandarin High/Afternoon/Fall]

(Alternate AU)

It’s exhausting, really. Every day that comes before the winter break brings more desire for that vacation, but it’s still 4 days away. 4 more weekdays and it’ll get here. Meanwhile, all you can do is live and exist in the chaotic mess of Mandarin High.

This school might seem average, but it hides hundreds of secrets among its walls and students. To assume normality resides here would be wrong. A dirty little secret comes with thousands of others. But what can you do? Keep to yourself? Maybe.

Still, you walk through the empty halls of the school after dismissal arrives. You had a little packing incident and have to walk without voices or anyone around. It’s awkward and the perfect setup to get jumped. Yet, you have a sense something has happened that’s stopping that from happening.

[Rustle]

One of the lockers in the hallway rattles temporarily before going silent… Nothing after that… You keep moving down the hall, trying to ignore it, but suddenly—!

[RUSTLE]

Six lockers around you begin rustling, along with the sound of a feminine, muffled voice: “MPHM! MPHM!” This seriously cannot be overlooked. You head over to the locker producing the muffled voice. Opening it, you’re presented with a weird sight.

”Oh, mein Gott…” A head in the locker blinks twice, small clicks produced by the movement. It’s a girl with long pink spiral pigtails and goth makeup. She looks at you before she smiles and closes her eyes, speaking in a German accent, “Hiiiii~” She opens them again and seemingly scans you.

”I know you probably have a lot of questions, but I think it’s best if I introduce myself first.” She coughs before speaking. “I’m Lila! The president of the ‘Loner’s Club’. You’ve probably heard of a girl referred to as ‘freak-show’, correct? Same girl!” She giggles before sighing with a smile.

”What I bet you probably haven’t heard is my secret! I’m actually an android! A full-fledged android among all of you!” She blinks twice, a small bit of whirring sounding from the movement. “You are fortunate to be the first and last to discover this. You’re also the one who will help me out of this predicament!”

She looks down, an unapologetic look on her face. “Long story short: Aubrey, the school’s cheer team leader—who, by the way, is a total psycho #%?!$—set up a trap for an innocent student outside of the premises. It was supposed to blow up and end them, but well…” She looks to the side.

”Since I’m such a saint, I decided to disarm it and save the student. What I didn’t realize was that an AI goth e-girl’s specialty isn’t bomb defusing, so I went boom! Although, since I’m so sturdy, I didn’t take any damage. I was simply taken apart like a doll!”

The lockers around rustle again, although it seems like Lila controls it as her eyes glow momentarily brighter. “That brings us to the present. I hid my body parts in lockers using my remote control of each limb so that other students wouldn’t find their classmate’s parts. Although, I locked myself in the process and couldn’t put myself back together.”

She finally looks at you and blinks. “Can you please put my body together? My torso, legs, and arms should be in those lockers you heard rustling. Just snap those pieces together and they’ll connect automatically.” She gives you a playful, smug look as her eyebrows rise and fall quickly, no true bad or malicious intentions.

”I’ll reward you~”