Chatterbox: Chirp at Cricket

Leafpool sighs and turns off her computer, standing up. She looks sadly at the blank screen, thinking of all the people who are leaving the Chatterbox. Then an idea pops into her head. She pulls her favorite blue jacket off a hook, practically stampeding down the stairs as she thrusts her hands into the arms. 

As she steps out the door into the darkness, she takes a deep breath of the cold night air. Blue skies in, grey skies out, She reminds herself. She turns and hurries down the deserted sidewalk.

A small bell tinkles as a shadowy figure pushes her way through a door, into a small room. She pushes her hood off her head and steps forward, into the middle of the room. A table is in the middle, with a glass case on top of it. The girl smiles through her tears at the nameplate, barely visible in the darkness. Abigail's Soapbox, 2016, it read. She gently lifts the top off of the case and reached in, pulling out a battered, crumpled, duck-taped soapbox. She puts it into the pocket of her jacket and leaves the room.

She walks quickly toward the town square, the cold stinging her cheeks. The square is completely deserted as she puts the soapbox down on the pavement and steps onto it, wincing as it makes a small cracking noise. She clears her throat and closes her eyes.

"Hello. I don't know if anyone is listening, but I have something to say."

Silence.

She takes another breath.

"Has anyone noticed that after Mei-xue left the Chatterbox, many other awesome people followed her example, leaving us and going away? How do you think that made me- and many other people- feel? You know how it feels to have your best friend stop wanting to hang out with you? It's worse than that. You know how it feels to have your older siblings move away to another country? It's worse than that.

"I've tried to be strong and bear it, but it's just too much. Why have so many people left? It's breaking my heart." 

She pauses.

"I love you all. You are like my online family, helping me along. I count each and every one of you as a close family member, and when someone leaves- well, it hurts. It really hurts."

She straightens up, her voice becoming stronger.

"And I will never leave you, no matter what, because I have learned what it is to feel pain this August, and I wouldn't want to cause others the same amount of pain.

"You know the Inkwell? Many people think it's too slow. Well, I disagree. When I first came on here, I was really annoyed because every day, there would be more threads that would push the old RPs to the second or third page, making it hard to continue them. With there not being so many threads, there is an opportunity to really work hard on RPs without them dying."

Leafpool looks up at the stars, twinkling brightly in the dark sky.

"I ask for no more people to leave permanently for a while. I don't think anyone here wants that. It's really not fair for all the other people to have to bear all this, over and over again. I ask this on the behalf of not only me, but everyone else on the Chatterbox."

A slight wind picks up, causing her to shiver and pull her jacket closer as she continues.

"This is originally by Rachel Platten. I changed it a bit, and I hope you see how it applies to this situation.

"Like a small boat
On the ocean
Sending big waves
And emotion
Like how a single word
Can make a heart open
I might only have one match
But I can make an explosion

And all those things I didn’t say                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Sadness is inside my brain
I will say it loud tonight
Can you hear my voice this time?

This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I'm alright song
My power's turned on
Starting right now I'll try to be strong
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of spirit left in me

Losing friends and losing sleep
Yet no one’s worried about me
I’m in too deep
Say I'm in too deep (in too deep)
And it's been so long since I started this mess
And the people are getting less and less
Yet I still believe
Yeah, I still believe

And all those things I didn't say
Sadness is inside my brain
I will say it loud tonight
Can you hear my voice this time?

This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I'm alright song
My power's turned on
Starting right now I'll try to be strong
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of spirit left in me

A lot of fight left in me

Like a small boat
On the ocean
Sending big waves
And emotion
Like how a single word
Can make a heart open
I might only have one match
But I can make an explosion

This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I'm alright song
My power's turned on
Starting right now I'll try to be strong  (try to be strong)
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of spirit left in me

Know I've still got a lot of spirit  left in me" 

She steps off the soapbox, casts one last look behind her, and melts quietly into the darkness.