The hall felt cramped, like stale air trapped in a box. “Let’s go outside and play.” The girl smiled at Little Loli and tugged her small hand, like wind pulling a kite. “What are we playing?” It was the first time a girl outside school had asked her; the novelty fizzed like soda bubbles.

“You’ll see when we get there.” Her voice hitched, like a reed bending under sudden wind; even her smile looked pasted on. “You okay? Feeling off?” Little Loli felt a prickle, like rain before a storm, but she didn’t think dark.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, maybe I ate too much.” The girly girl hurried to explain, voice sweet as syrup. “Speaking of food, I haven’t eaten since I got here.” They reached a slightly open stretch, like a lull in the crowd near the backstage. “Are we here?” Little Loli scanned the sparse guests; the air smelled of work and storage.

“Yeah, close enough.” The sweet girl turned, and pity cooled in her eyes like frost on glass. “Ah!” Two girls sprang from behind, like shadows breaking from a wall, and shoved Little Loli into a hidden room. “Damn it, ambushed!” Little Loli scrambled up, knees stinging like scraped stone.

Seeing their plan land, the two girls slipped in and locked the door, the click sharp as a guillotine. “Xiao Qianxue, do you remember me?” A girl spoke, her hair split red and black like a torn banner. Little Loli turned; three more girls stood in the corner, silent as stakes.

“Who are you?” She sifted old memories like sand through fingers, but found nothing. The girl’s face was pretty, like a porcelain doll, yet the split-dye and swagger screamed trouble; cleaned up, she’d be a model good girl. “So you forgot Qin Shu that fast?” Her smile twisted, a mask curdled. “Qin Shu…?” Little Loli murmured, and a tide of memory surged.

“Xiaoxue, shall we play together?” A black-haired girl of nine squeezed her hand, her smile bright as noon sun. “We promise, when we grow up, we’ll still play.” Two small white hands clasped tight, like doves settling.

“Xiaoxue, don’t leave me!” The view snapped; the black-haired girl was dragged by punkish youths, vultures circling. Little Loli’s vantage pulled away, feet fleeing like wind-snatched leaves, fear hollowing her chest.

“Qin Shu!” She tore free from that deep sea of memory and shouted. “Well? You remember now?” The split-dyed girl watched her golden-haired face shift, voice clipped like knives. “Do you know what I suffered after you abandoned me?” Her words trembled, like a winter branch recalling storms. “I screamed, nobody came, and they… did that. I was nine. Hahaha!” Laughter jerked her face, mascara bleeding like rain.

“It’s all your fault, Xiao Qianxue! You dragged me to that place to play hero, then dumped me. Best friends, huh?” Qin Shu screamed, tears slipping like hot beads down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry…” It wasn’t truly her crime, but seeing her body’s old friend twisted so, Little Loli felt a heavy ache, like dusk settling. “Even if those punks were punished later, it was already too late.” She knew this kind of wound too well.

“Sorry now, are you? I finally got my chance today. You’ll taste my old pain. Tie her up!”

Little Loli’s eyes cooled, mind flashing like blades. If she didn’t transform, this body had no strength to resist. If she did, she’d have to wipe them clean, and that ability-wielders’ organization might come sniffing. Thinking bought her nothing; they had already pinned her, rope biting her wrists like cold vines.

“What’s the point?” Little Loli lifted her chin, calm as a still pond, and looked at Qin Shu. “What’s the point?!” Qin Shu fisted Little Loli’s golden hair and yanked her face close, the pain sharp as a fishhook. “Ah!” Tears sprang like dew from shocked eyes. “Let’s see if you’re so calm when you’re stripped and thrown before everyone!”

They hurled her down again. Qin Shu grabbed her collar with both hands, knuckles white as bone. Rip—white lace split with a harsh whisper, a seam opening to bare that clean collarbone. “Nice dress.” Another savage tear, and the top was half gone; a pink bra flashed in the air like embarrassed dawn.

“You—!” Little Loli started to struggle. “Daughter!” A voice rang at the door, her mother’s voice like thunder cracking. “Crap, we’ve been seen. We’re out.” A hidden door gaped like a fox hole; Qin Shu and the others fled through it, leaving Little Loli wrinkled on the floor.

Bang—the main door slammed open. “My daughter!” A staffer stopped at the threshold, and her mom strode straight in, eyes blazing like storm lamps, to where Little Loli lay. Xiao Qianxue’s wrists were tied behind her back; her golden hair hung tousled, a shredded halo. Her white dress was nearly torn in two; below, puff socks and hem were smeared with dust like fallen ash. “What happened?” Her mom rushed to untie her.

From the crowd outside, Little Loli caught a flicker—the sweet girl who had led her here, a shadow slipping away like a fish. “Was she the one who called them?”

They got Little Loli out, but the party died, fun blown out like a candle in wind. “Trouble sticks to me like burrs; wherever I go, it finds me.” Wrapped in a blanket, she curled into a ball in the Benz’s back seat, a small moon under wool. Up front, her dad kept scolding, voice pounding like a drum. “Why didn’t you take care of our daughter? How did it get this bad?” Her mom sat in the passenger seat, sobbing, shoulders shaking like rain. “How could I know something like this would happen?”

Silence. Speak, or stay quiet? Little Loli folded herself smaller, watching her parents argue through the crack of the blanket. The person she used to be would have sneered; these parents lived in a different world, just a conduit for money. Now it wasn’t like that. These two loved her, simple and fierce. She had no practice with this warmth, so she sat still, golden eyes tight, watching everything like a wary deer.

“Xiaoxue, who tied you up?” her dad asked. “I don’t know… my eyes were covered at the time…” In her mind, that name floated—Qin Shu, this body’s once best friend. “She’s a pitiful girl, too. Tsk. Better not go make trouble for her.” Little Loli rubbed the spot where her hair had been yanked, scalp stinging like nettles. “Ow… strong hands.”

“I’ll get to the bottom of this!” her dad suddenly shouted, voice ringing like a bell.

“Let’s just go home… I’m a little tired.”