Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Behold, Theodore the Theatrical!

Crash!

Cherry immediately woke up with a jolt. Still sleepy, she tried to process the scene before her eyes.

First, she saw…a pair of legs? They stuck straight out from behind the table that had toppled over on its sides. Then, she heard a groan from behind, the legs now bent down.

“T-Theodore?!” She got quickly got up from her couch, having to stop momentarily when her legs went numb. The weak youth once again cursed herself for her poor condition. She looked up to see Theodore’s gloved hands twitching on the carpeted floor.

“Theodore?! Are you alright?!” Cherry resisted her static knees and scampered around the table. “What happened?!”

Theodore’s expressionless face slowly turned to face her. “Cherry?” He quietly spoke. “Is…that you?”

“Huh?” She asked. “Yeah, it’s me. Are you okay?”

Theodore was unresponsive, and then, he suddenly cackled.

Cherry stared at him in awe. Just how unpredictable can he get?

“Yes,” He finally answered, slowly getting up. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine at all!” Cherry spoke up. “What exactly happened?!”

“Oh, nothing really,” He straightened his back, brushing off the dust on his coat. “I, uh, I thought it would be funny to draw on your face while you were asleep.”

“You wanted to what?”

“But then, when I got closer to you,” Theodore lifted one of his hands towards his face. “I realized…uh…I realized how incredibly smelly you were!” He then squeezed his masked nose, his pinky scratching his cheek. “Yeah, that’s right! You stink! You smelled so bad I was shocked and fell over!” his hands moved towards his hips, but then he halted, realizing his words had shot through Cherry’s maiden ego.

“I…” Cherry frowned, sniffing her gray sleeves. She didn’t smell anything. “I…smell that awful?”

“Wait, wait, no, I,” He suddenly sounded frantic, “What I meant was…uh…” His voice trailed off. “Nevermind. Sorry. Let’s…uh...let’s get you some new clothes.”

Cherry nodded, trying to disregard his disheartening remarks. “After you.”

The two then passed through the decorative hallways. As if touring in a museum, the new resident gazed around in awe at such a luxurious home. Cherry soon found herself forgetting Theodore's earlier remarks to admire the decorations. The man before her glanced back, spotting her wonderment.

“Fancy place, isn’t it?” Theodore spoke up.

“It certainly is,” Cherry agreed. “All four of you took care of this place alone?”

“Well, more or less,” Theodore sighed. “To be honest with you, it’s been mostly me who took care of the house.”

“Really?”

“Clover and Penelope would shut themselves in their rooms working away with whatever they do, and Dorothy’s always outside, tending the gardens. Which means, I’m left taking care of the whole house.”

“This has always been your daily routine?”

“Correct.”

“This house seems incredibly huge,” Cherry commented, “Surely if you could afford this size, you could’ve hired a few to help you, no?”

“Right?!” Theodore suddenly exclaimed, spinning around and pointing a finger at Cherry. Her shoulders jerked up in surprise.“My thoughts precisely! Here’s the thing, we are rich enough to hire plenty! But nooo!” Theodore shifted his stance, one hand on his hip and the other waving with one finger as if he was imitating his brother’s attitude. “Clover said ‘we’re old enough to take care of ourselves. So, you should stop being so lazy, and actually contribute something to the family!’”

“I mean…he’s not wrong,” The man in blue relaxed his arms, and his shoulders slumped. “I…don’t do anything but read books all day, but…but still! I wish they at least clean up after themselves!”

“I…I see,” Cherry answered. “Then, at least I could help you out as thanks for letting me stay, sir.”

Theodore lifted his head. “Just ‘sir,’ huh?” He scratched his mask yet again. “That sounds…rather boring.”

“Then, what should I call you?”

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“Good question,” He chuckled. “I am…” Cherry looked down to see his feet tiptoeing. Lifting one of his legs, he began to spin dramatically, his ponytail flowing around him.

“I am…the wise witness! The spectacular spectator! The observing onlooker! The mysterious, uh, magnificent! I am…!” He stopped his spin, still tiptoeing on one foot, and struck a pose. “I am…Theodore The Theatrical!”

…

The corridors they were in were entirely soundless with no ticking clock nearby. Neither of the two moved a muscle.

“...When you’re bored into oblivion,” The eccentric calmly stated, remaining still in his flashy position, “you tend to do things you don’t normally do, no?”

Whether it was the cumulative stress or her hidden, subconscious personality, the wide-eyed Cherry, who was speechless at Theodore’s unexpected performance, burst into laughter. She attempted to cover her mouth with her hands, but it did nothing but made her reaction more expressive.

“Hey!” He spoke, still in his pose. “Don’t laugh! I practiced hard on this introduction!”

“S-sorry!” She giggled, feeling her face flushing. “That…that was just so sudden!”

Theodore sighed, finally returning to his composed posture. Watching Cherry laughing carefreely, he too softly chuckled to himself.

“Theo.”

“H-huh?” Cherry looked up, “What was that?”

“Theo,” He repeated himself. “Just call me Theo.”

“Ah, alright, Theo.”

“Now that sounds much better!” Theo turned around, continuing to walk. “Let’s keep going then.”

“Okay,” said Cherry, her spirits lifting.

Their remaining stroll was brief. Before Cherry knew it, the two had already stopped before a door. “And here’s your room. There should be some new clothes for you inside. I’ll wait out here.”

“There’s already a set of clothes arranged for me?” Cherry questioned.

“Yeah,” Theodore confirmed. “This morning Penelope volunteered to prepare them for you.”

“Penelope did?”

“Yep. It’s not a surprise,” He added. “You two do seem to be about the same size.”

“I suppose so. Alright then.” Cherry entered her new bedroom, closing the door behind her. She stopped to scan the room. The first thing Cherry thought was how brightly red the walls and furniture were. The bed was undoubtedly the largest in the room, with the sheets and curtains properly made. She then noted a large closet, some drawers, a body-sized mirror, and then a vanity. It was a simple but rather elaborate bedroom.

Cherry turned towards the bed. There lies a set of clothes, neatly folded. She spread out the folds, analyzing what sort of clothes she was given. It was merely a plain, light pink dress with an apron. At first, Cherry was surprised that it was no formal attire, but she remembered that they had no servants. They wouldn’t have such uniforms to begin with. The curious lady continued to inspect the clothes.

Suddenly, she felt something light landing on her feet. She looked down to see a folded piece of paper. Picking it up, she unfolded it and reviewed its contents. Adding to her curiosity, it was merely a drawn image of a purple cake with red cherries for toppings. There were no words, nor anything else but simply a cake. What’s this? Cherry wondered. Did Penelope forget to empty the pockets? No, that can’t be it. The dress seemed like it was recently washed. The paper would’ve been ruined by then. She thought for a moment before giving up and stuffing it back into one of the apron’s pockets. Perhaps Cherry could return it to Penelope some other time.

With her little outfit examinations concluded, Cherry wasted no more time. She swapped out her dull, itching gray clothes and embraced the soft, freshly cleaned fabric. Now refreshed in her new outfit, she turned to use the floor mirror.

She took a few steps closer, analyzing her unfamiliar face. She was shocked at herself for not remembering her facial features. She inched closer, the red eyes with tints of pink before her inching closer as well. Her dark red bangs were utterly messy and spikey. It somewhat reminded her of Monty’s bangs as well. She turned around to see the back side of her hair, horrified to find how poorly cut it was. Her long hair was cut into a spikey, thin V-shape. Such an unsightly haircut was all she could think about. Cherry pondered on what sort of past she had forgotten that led to such results.

Frowning, she could no longer endure looking at her hair and resumed focusing on her unnaturally pale face. Cherry closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them. She blinked and squinted her eyes. She stretched, squeezed, and rubbed her cheeks. Then, she checked her teeth. Lastly, she lifted her bangs, examining her forehead.

Cherry glared at her reflection in silent disappointment. She had scanned every inch of her face and discovered nothing out of the blue. No matter how much she tried to analyze herself, not a single recollection of her past occurred. She sighed, her eyes still locked on the mirror. Her eyebrows furrowed, her arms crossed, and her eyes narrowed.

Then, something clicked inside Cherry’s ringing mind. Her eyes widened in realization.

Her tired, glaring expression reminded her of Charlie’s. Now that she thought of him, she realized her appearance bear a striking resemblance to the first person she met when she first woke. 

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