Book 3: Chapter 2 - Normal Girl Talk
The most persistent mistake I see in adaptations of Violet’s story is her characterization.
It is a common belief that there were only two versions of her.
The monster who was about to kill someone,
and the overly sweet girl that everyone could trust.
Whenever she is shown alone, she is portrayed as cold and lacking emotion.
This is supposed to be unsettling, but...
I find the truth far more upsetting.
That Violet Asher, when she was at her most comfortable, behaved mostly like anyone else.
Because, setting aside her power and the methods she used to earn it...
She was.
—Daisy Whitaker, Cruelty in Color
Violet collapsed face-first on her bed the moment she managed to shamble back into her room. She blindly reached up to her hair and pulled the ribbon free, releasing the tension she tortured herself with every day. The sidetail was remarkably effective at communicating innocence. It made her look younger than she was. But it could also give her the nastiest goddamn headaches.
“Welcome back,” Kiera greeted. “You look like shit.”
Violet groaned and rolled only her head to the side. She looked at the fox through messy purple hair, blowing a few strands out of her eyes as she did. “I take it you’ve forgiven me?” she asked.
Kiera waved her off. “I was never mad, I just wanted to mope a little. Rarely has such a flawless plan gone so poorly,” she admitted.
Violet chuckled, then let out a deep breath. “Yeah, I don’t know how you missed the holes in that idea. It should have gone off without a hitch,” Violet agreed.
Kiera stuck her tongue at the exhausted reaper, then put her table away and shifted in her seat. She let her legs fall from the bed and supported herself with her arms as she leaned forward. “You look like you’ve had a long day. Meeting with Boozy Bouvie?”
“My uncle, too, although that was only a phone call. God, they are both such assholes,” Violet complained.
“Can’t believe the richest man in the city and the head of the child soldier school turned out to be dicks,” Kiera lamented. “Who could have guessed?”
“Hey, rich people can be nice. Look at me,” Violet challenged.
“You kill people, Vi,” Kiera deadpanned. “Only bad people, sure. But still. ‘Nice’ might be a stretch.”
“I’m nice to nice people. And pretty ones,” Violet insisted, still unmoving from her bed.
“You’re not that nice to Guy. I think he’s afraid of you, actually,” Kiera pointed out.
Violet sighed. “We should convince him to grow his hair out,” she responded wistfully.
Kiera’s ears twitched in an approving way she couldn’t hide, so she didn’t bother to try. “I’m on board immediately, of course, but why?” she asked.
Violet shrugged, which was an amusing scene with her prone body still buried in her seemingly endless hair. “I don’t know. He just seems like the kind of man who doesn’t have enough neck pain.”
“See! You're mean to him!” Kiera exclaimed with a traitorous laugh. “I mean, you're right. But it's mean as fuck to say so!”
Violet finally forced herself to sit up, pushing her body from the mattress with her arms and sheer will. She wore her hair like a sheet over her head for a moment, then separated it with both hands. Tired eyes landed on Kiera with an expression not entirely unlike the smell of crude oil.
“I am a delight, and he is blessed to suffer my sense of humor,” she deadpanned.
“Oh, definitely,” Kiera agreed. “But also not at all.”
Violet huffed and leaned back against the wall. “You're just on his side ‘cause he’s prettier than me,” she complained.
“He’s prettier than all of us; it's not his fault,” Kiera dismissed. “I manage to be nice to him anyway.”
“Yeah, because you want to—”
“So how is it out there?” the fox interrupted. “The protests getting worse?”
Violet found the previous conversation more entertaining, truth be told. But she answered anyway. “Getting off campus is growing pretty difficult, yeah. Every public station connecting to an academy stop has at least a few protesters right now. Not always, of course. But you’d be surprised how persistent they are. I’d rather not be recognized by any of them. I may need your help with that soon, actually,” she replied.
“In all fairness, they don't know you like I do,” Kiera said, pausing briefly to blow Violet a kiss. “If they did, they wouldn't be so upset, I’m sure.”
“Well, they should love me anyway. This is frankly immature of them. Unprofessional, even. To fail to recognize how likeable I am,” Violet replied.
“At least you get some peace and quiet on campus, right? It’d be worse if they were investigating all the students, wouldn't it?” Kiera suggested.
“Honestly? No,” Violet denied. “I don't know what Bouvier is trying to gain by delaying them, but I was kind of counting on the investigation being centered on Chromatic for a while. In a way, Bouvier protecting the campus for so long will ensure that happens in the long run, I guess. But for now? The city where I need to be active is crawling with cops and concerned citizens alike. My home—where I never break any laws—is safe, but the city isn't. It’s sort of the opposite of what I need. At least, if I want to survive into adulthood.”
Violet was sure to remind Kiera of the lie. The consequence she’d baked into the false calling she’d given the fox. It was true that her friend never read the bulletins about the Cruel Ivy Killer anymore. And it was true that Kiera would just gaslight herself on Violet’s behalf when she heard rumors anyway. But it was important that Kiera believed Violet had no choice. That she wasn’t just taking justice into her own hands and saving people like Kiera, but that she would die if she didn’t. It wouldn’t be the first calling with severe drawbacks, and it helped lock Kiera in place. So when Violet complained about Bouvier’s so-called protection limiting her, it would make sense why she was eager to kill more frequently.
Kiera winced at the reminder and picked her tablet back up. She didn't seem to have any particular interest in whatever she found on the screen, but the search for something to look at was familiar. Any mention of the supposed danger Violet was in always made the fox uncomfortable.
“Anyway, things kind of suck off campus at the moment. At least for me,” Violet finished.
Kiera’s tail twitched nervously as she seemed to search for a change of subject. While the kitsune was eager to help Violet as often as possible, she obviously hated long conversations about Violet’s activities. Kiera was used to handling difficult subjects by putting on blinders. Violet didn't mind, though. It was easier than convincing her friend of the same thing over and over.
“Well, at least we haven't had another fucked up field trip, right?” Kiera pointed out.
Violet had mixed feelings about that, actually. On one hand, it was funny that Bouvier obviously wanted to send Violet out in the mist again. And he wanted to do it regularly. Especially since it had supposedly been used as a punishment of sorts the last time. On the other hand, trips to the mist would be the easiest way to dispose of troublesome students in her class, which she was feeling an increasing urgency to do.
She also couldn't pretend her degree was advancing at all, since she'd sold everyone the lie that she needed the mist to do so. And since she couldn't maintain heroic deeds and rapid advancement, her legend around campus had largely died down. She was still above reproach to most students, but they were growing to think of her as... just one of them. A talented but normal student who’d done something impressive once.
If that kept up for too long, her leash on Chase would loosen, and she'd have to kill him. Worse, she’d still only managed to keep a couple of districts in actual fear of her. Despite her most famous kill being a green, that district didn't believe she was a threat. She simply hadn’t managed to repeat the feat a second time yet. Aside from the exponential clarity requirements, she wasn't expanding her control as she'd hoped in either arena. Which was why she was stalling out.
And the headmaster was the cause. He had to pick between forcing his students into the mist again or keeping the police off campus. The public pushback was too strong on both issues to get everything he wanted. She wished he'd just switch his choice already.
“He just wants to push me to yellow so I can learn my family’s secrets. It’s a stupid plan, to be honest. But it's what he wants regardless,” Violet huffed.
“Bet he’d shit his pants if he knew you were already there,” Kiera laughed.
Violet tensed at the words. It was one of a few things she didn't want being discussed while they were protected by only green walls. Bouvier was blue and could hear right through them if he was close enough. He wasn't actually allowed in the green dorms, of course. But Violet knew better than anyone how unreliable such rules were. She'd say something, but her alliance with Kiera was solid, and she didn't want to rock the boat.
“Maybe he should send Kassie after Cyan if he needs an impressive lancer so much,” Violet grumbled.
“How the fuck is she climbing so fast, anyway?” Kiera asked.
It was a question Violet lacked the answer to. She'd been hoping her own rapid climb through the categories would keep her high in the other students’ regard. Ideally, without another grueling fight with a giant snake.
Kassie was ruining that, as she was scraping yellow herself. All while Violet had to pretend she was stuck at early orange. Healing was obviously responsible for some of it, but something else was at play. The Druid was growing faster than anyone Violet had ever heard of, save for herself. Kassie had some method that she wasn't being open about. It was the only explanation.
And Violet did not want to be in the same category as Kassie again.
“Who knows. Maybe she stores clarity in the same place as her boundless positivity,” Violet shrugged.
“I think she keeps that in a fanny pack,” Kiera intoned. “The one she wears for practical training. With all the stars on it.”
“Pretty sure she just stores snacks for Guy and AJ in there,” Violet responded. “She single-handedly keeps those two on task.”
“Devious,” Kiera answered.
There was a moment of quiet after that, and Violet nearly began undressing for bed. But Kiera was terrible at sleeping and great at talking shit, so Violet’s plans for rest were quickly interrupted again.
“So what do you think the next plan will be? To push us up the categories while totally not making us look like child soldiers?” Kiera asked, changing the subject.
“Who knows,” Violet answered. “Maybe they'll actually give us guns and have us shoot at each other. That's always a good way to ensure the public that we’re happy, healthy, and well-adjusted kids.”
“Well, the orange skirts aren't working, so yeah, semi-automatic rifles do seem like a logical next step,” Kiera agreed.
“To be fair, Aubrey never wears the skirt. Maybe it's just a lack of team effort,” Violet mused.
“Neither does Guy, actually. So I think we can blame both of them if we’re asked to shoot each other in class next week,” Kiera added.
“He would if you asked him to. He likes the look on AJ, after all,” Violet pointed out.
“We’ll buy him one when we pitch the thigh-length hair idea,” Kiera suggested. “The Violet Asher method. Less sweat on your balls, more on your neck. He’ll love that.”
Violet snorted at that and threw one of her pillows across the room. “Please stop talking about my suspiciously dry balls. You know I’m self-conscious about those,” she protested.
“My bad,” Kiera apologized. “You're right, we shouldn’t be discussing your most suspicious features.”
“‘The so-called ‘Cruel’ Ivy Killer. Evaded authorities until rumors of sweatless testicles began to circulate. Today, we’ll be interviewing local sweat expert Guy Turner for more information on how this led to the arrest of the most heinous teen girl in Prism City history. Please observe his glorious mane as evidence of his credentials,’” Violet mocked.
“Wait, no. I’m getting too attached to this version of Guy. We need to change the bit,” Kiera interrupted.
“God, you have such a weird type,” Violet teased. “Please keep in mind that no one in this scenario actually has balls. Not at any sweat level.”
“You are so mean to him!” Kiera complained again. “I am hereby holding a protest against the unfair treatment of Guys by all flower-related roommates I have.”
“That man has never been unfairly treated by a flower in his life. Why does he smell good even after a twelve-hour day of training?” Violet countered.
“Baby powder, I bet,” Kiera answered easily. “Keeps his balls dry. Neck too, probably.”
“Yeah, that's gotta be it. Don't tell the cops, though, don't want someone else going down for my crimes,” Violet agreed.
“You’re right. It is pretty suspicious. We’ll keep it between us for now,” Kiera nodded.
“Alright. We had our nightly chat about boys. It was normal and just like everyone else in the dorms. We discussed men the regular way. We are doing the teenage girl thing right; I’ve never been more certain of anything,” Violet said. “But I really need to get to sleep, sorry.” She was always especially tired after her check-ins with the men who thought they were her handlers. They were nothing more than unfinished tarot cards, but she had to play along for the time being. That took way too much energy. And she needed a plan to end this stupid stalemate Bouvier had created. It was delaying her plans more than protecting her. Although, considering his death was one of her plans, she couldn’t exactly call him stupid for doing it. She just needed to end it.
“Oh, alright, fair enough,” Kiera allowed. “But let the record show, we only talked about the boy I liked in a normal way, and you owe me gossip about boys you like in a normal way.”
Violet waved her off as she stood and shambled toward the bathroom to brush her teeth. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll tell you my tales of romance later. I met a boy named Stevie, and he was a little prick. And thus I remain single. I promise I’ll share if that changes,” Violet promised. She didn’t have many stories to tell. Her most interesting and vulnerable moments with other people were usually just before they died.
“I don’t know if I want to hear that story,” Kiera admitted. That was fair. Stevie hadn’t liked it, either.
“In that case, I am going to burn this sweat rag called a uniform and surrender to sleep,” Violet said. She caught Kiera giving her a concerned look at the declaration, but she was too tired to care why.