"Wahh! Mommy! Monster! There's a monster!" the same little girl cried her eyes out, running away.
"Stay away from my daughter, you freak!" the mother said, holding her girl close.
***
"I...I...I l-like you! Please, go out with me!" a boy wearing a middle school uniform yelled, standing with on a field of grass, as he looked down at the ground. He held some chocolates and a flower, extending his hands out.
"...W-what is that?! Get away from me!" in the next moment, he screamed out in terror, stumbling and falling onto the grass, as his jaw and knees shook. Dropping the chocolates and flowers, the boy ran.
***
"Hey, you're really cute. Wanna hang out together sometime? I have a bike, I can take you for a drive," a handsome youth said.
"...W-what the fuck is that? F-freak!" he said, naked, falling off a bed. He quickly picked up his clothes from the floor, before dashing out of the room.
***
"Hey, so you know that hottie, Tom, from Pen High? Right?" a girl could be overheard in the hallway, talking to her girlfriends.
"A friend of mine actually goes to the same school as him, and she told me that he dated her for a little while!"
"Whaat?! Seriously!? Her?!" another girl shouted.
"Yeah, I know, right? But they broke up! And, guess what?..." the first girl could be heard saying back, as her voice suddenly got quiet.
"Huh?! Eww, that's nasty! That's just gotta be made up, right? There's no way that actually happened!"
"It did! He actually said this himself! Serves her right, thinking she's above us just because she's a little pretty!"
***
"Can't you figure something out? For her sake? C'mon, you and I go waaay back, remember?" "We're running out of places to send her to!"
A suspicious-looking man in a cleric hat, wearing all-black, asked another older man in glasses, who was sitting behind a large wooden desk in an office.
"Well then what am I supposed to do with her? She can't just be kicked out!"
"...We can let her stay in the school. But in the future, she'll have to learn how to better control her...Instincts," the other man took off his glasses, sighing and massaging his eyebrows.
***
A loud bang. When Pela came to, she had already punched a hole into the shower tile wall. Bits and pieces of the broken ceramic tiles dropped to the ground, as concrete dust flew out into the air. The drops of water against the porcelain bathtub resounded through the room.
As she finished and got out, Pela wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror — looking at herself. As she did, memories of the boy from earlier that evening came to her out of nowhere.
"...I would like to be friends with you, if that's okay with you!"
She remembered how he said those exact words to her, shooting her a smile that seemed to almost shine — before he comedically hesitated with his proposal, looking away and scratching the back of his head, nervously laughing.
"..." she simply stared at herself in silence. When...
Suddenly, her left eye started twitching rapidly. The pupil jumped around, looking in all directions — as if it possessed its own will. The iris's color changed from grey to a strange yellow, and the pupil from round to a horizontal slit shape.
Pela put her palm on it without wasting a second, her breathing getting heavy and quick. After a few seconds had passed, she took her hand off her eye and looked in the mirror again — to see that the pupil was grey once again.
She steadied her breathing once more, before muttering to herself:
"Freak."
After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Pela went to her room — the walk through the long lightless corridor from the bathroom to her room long and empty as always. The only thing illuminating her house was the moonlight that faintly went through the thin curtains of the windows.
As she got into bed, the girl seemed to have more trouble falling asleep than usual.
She remembered how the boy from earlier tried to protect her from the typical lowlives that she sometimes ran into after sundown, even though he got beat into a pulp moments later.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
She remembered how he winced when she rubbed alcohol on his cut.
"...I mean, what was I supposed to do?"
How he said those words to her when she asked why he helped her.
"...Huh? H-hold on, that doesn't make sense. I know I saw your fists were all bloody-..."
His confused expression as he tried to figure out who knocked the thugs unconscious.
"Whaat?! You're telling me you don't drink soda? And who calls it pop?"
How he had a stupid argument with her about what some drink was called, and how surprised he was when she told him she hadn't tried it.
"Just a single sip, it's really good! Trust me!"
His expression as he tried to convince her to drink the soda.
"...W-well, good thing everything turned out okay, right? Haha!"
How he seemed glad that she wasn't injured from the encounter with the thugs.
"Yeah! My name is Milo, by the way!... Nice to meet you, Pela!"
How he extended his hand out to her as he flashed his blood-stained teeth at her, smiling all the while.
...Still, no matter how he came across to the girl — she couldn't help but remember about other events from her past, about memories from long ago.
***
I sluggishly woke up to the sound of my blaring alarm, accompanied by an immediate pain that came from all parts of my body — my head especially aching.
What was worse, was the time that my alarm clock showed.
[08:15 AM]
"Shit! The first period's already started!" not wasting any time, I jumped out of bed and made a run to the bathroom. Brushing my teeth, washing my face, taking a leak... As I went through the daily motions, I realized that I'd fallen asleep as soon as I got home yesterday, without taking a shower or anything. Regretting my laziness, I determined I wouldn't have enough time to hop into the shower even to just quickly rinse my body a bit — so I ran back into my room to sloppily put a clean button-up white shirt, a second pair of black pants, and socks on. After that, I grabbed my backpack and ran.
Stumbling downstairs, I put my shoes on and frantically opened the door. Just as I was about to sprint to school, though, I realized I almost forgot a few things: my cell and my walkman. The two things I needed most for the day. Quickly running back to grab them and once again exiting the house, I locked the door and made a beeline to school.
...As per usual, the day was slow and dreary. Yet, that day I was somehow kinda excited. Not just kinda, but really excited. I breezed through classes and breaks, ignoring everybody around me. Maybe I was acting too excited, considering it had only been a few days since her and I exchanged our numbers. All we had done so far was some texting, nothing more. And we hadn't really talked about anything interesting so far, either.
"...Hey, is it just me — or is the autist acting a little different today?" I heard Vova say to his gang, chuckling all the while.
"Yeah, he seems a bit too happy," Ming added.
To be honest, it didn't matter.
After school was over, I steeled myself and sent Pela the message.
[15:52]
[You: Hey! I was wondering if you would want to hang out today?]
Phew...Hope this isn't too soon, I thought.
*Buzz*
I felt a vibration in my pocket. Quickly taking my cell out, I saw a notification.
[1 message received]
[From: Pela]
Feeling my heartbeat accelerate, I nervously opened the text message.
[16:01]
[Pela: sure. where and when?]
"Woo-hoo!" I pumped my fist in the air, jumping around all the while.
[You: How about Cafe Bonita on Salt Street downtown? I'll head over there right now.]
[Pelagia: ok]
I remember how I skipped around the sidewalk as I headed towards my destination. Though, I did tell myself to calm down a bit, of course. I had to play it cool.
***
As I neared the cafe we were supposed to meet at, I stopped myself in front of the window of a tall business building, checking to see if my appearance was alright. I never really buttoned the collar of my shirt, nor did I tuck it into my pants. I almost always pulled my sleeves back — I suppose I just didn't like being seen as some goody two-shoes at school. Well, it's not like most guys at our school ever really followed dress code that strictly, for that matter. I messed around with my hair a bit, making sure it wasn't too greasy or unkempt.
Walking into the cafe, I saw a lot of people, many of whom were couples. College students, high schoolers, adults...People of all ages, really.
Sitting down on one of the tables that had two seats, I anxiously waited for the arrival of Pela.
My head kept racing with thoughts on what to talk about with her, what to ask her, what to tell her about myself. Though, I didn't have much time to dwell on those thoughts — not long after I arrived, Pela showed up as well.
Oh, crap. Okay, here goes... I thought, before waving my arm and calling out to her.
"Pela!" I said, and she quickly saw me after looking around for a brief second. Needless to say, she was just as cute as the first time I saw her the previous day. Wearing her school uniform, she came to the table.
"Hey, Pela!" I greeted her.
"Hey," cool as a cucumber like usual, she said back.
"H-how's your day been so far? Man, this cafe is packed today. It's usually not this bad, hehe..." I laughed as I asked her.
"...My day's been good, and yeah — it is quite crowded in here...How are your injuries?" she quietly asked in her usual deadpan voice, taking brief pauses between her sentences.
I couldn't help but pick up on this strange air around her. Something she had about her. The lack of light in her eyes always seemed to tell others that she just wasn't there. Still, her voice seemed to be the slightest bit more enthusiastic than when I first met her that night.
"I-I'm fine! I'm strong, you know! A punch or two isn't gonna cripple me. In fact, just look at these muscl- Ow! Ouch, ow ow ow!" my attempt at getting into a flexing pose ended up backfiring badly when the area around my lower left ribs felt a bit of pain.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah. Guess I got a bit too carried away, hehe!"
I hoped that the short pain I felt near my ribs probably wasn't a sign of any broken bones, but rather the bruising acting up.
Why am I acting so weird right now? Chill out, dude. Play it cool. Don't creep her out with your antics!
"...Don't be so reckless," she said. And I still couldn't quite tell what emotion she was showing, or if she was feeling anything at all.
"Y-yeah, I won't! But anyway, should we order something? I can buy you a drin-" but, before I could act gentlemanly, Pela quickly rejected my offer.
"No. No need to trouble yourself, I'll pay for myself."
"Excuse me, waiter," Pela raised one hand and called for an employee in a slightly louder voice.
"Hi there, what can I get for you today?"
"I'll just get some black coffee, no sugar or cream. Thank you."
"One black coffee no sugar no cream...And for you?" he turned to me after her order.
...I'll just get the strawberry milksha-," I almost said.
Wait, shit! I gotta change my order to hers! Strawberry shake?! What're you, a nine year old girl or something?! I thought to myself, before speaking to the waiter again.
"Uh! Actually, can I change my order to the black coffee as well?" I asked him.
"Heh, of course," he said, smirking. With that, he left.
...Shit, why can't I act normal right now? Just ask her some good general questions, don't be a weirdo, man!
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
"...Soo, how've you been? Anything interesting happen recently?" I asked her. But I couldn't help but stutter or rush my sentences when I spoke to her while looking her in the eye.
"...I haven't do much," she said, looking at me, blank gaze as per usual.
"Oh, really? I guess haven't done anything interesting myself, either, haha!"
One of the first things I asked her when we started texting was if she had any hobbies. Of course, I should've expected that she didn't have any.
"...I remember you said that you're into music. Do you often go out with those headphones?" she asked suddenly.
"Oh, these?" I said. But, just as I was about to talk about them, the waiter from before arrived with our coffees.
"Two regular black coffees. Anything else I can help you with?"
"Oh, I'm fine! Thank you. Do you want anything, Pela?"
"No, thanks."
As he left, the two of us picked up our drinks. I noticed how hot the cup was, so I clearly had to take small sips. Pela, on the other hand, seemed to be drinking hers without any problem. Having never tried black coffee before, I reluctantly took my first sip.
So bitter...
"Is something the matter?" Pela asked me. My face must've looked sour or something.
"O-oh, nothing. A-anyway, yeah — I take these everywhere with me," I said to her.
"...I've never been much of a music listener," she said with her usual cold tone.
"Oh, actually!" I quickly took off my headphones from my neck.
"Here, you can have my headphones! Try listening to my playlist. I'm sure you'll at least recognize some of these artists, they're the all-time greats!" I replied to her question, practically jumping out of my chair.
I gave her my headphones and walkman, and she put them on over her silky blonde hair. Not long after hearing a bit of the song that was last playing, Pela skipped it. It was 'Not Me' by Shagg.
I guess she must've had some preferences.
"...What's this one?" she asked me after a few more skips, showing me the track that was currently playing.
[Beetle — Let It Be] it read.
"Ah, that's Beetle. 'Let It Be' is one basically their most popular song, maybe tied with 'Yesterday'. They're, like, the most successful music act in history!...Wait, don't tell me you don't know Beetle? There's no way you haven't heard of them! First it was soda, and now this!"
But she only gave me her usual deadpan stare. I could do anything but silently sit back down.
Something about seeing her listen to the music I liked was nice, though. She would occasionally look out the window we were sitting next to, with the sunlight reflected off of her face. Again, I couldn't help but think of how cute this girl was.
After she listened to some songs, she returned me my walkman, and we finished our drinks.
"...Beetle, was it?...I liked them," she said.
"Right? And they're not the only artists in the world, you know. Actually — if you want — I can lend you my walkman and headphones for awhile, seeing how clueless you are about even the most famous groups in the world!...Ah, sorry, that was a joke!"
"...No, no thanks. I couldn't take something so expensive from you-"
"Nah, it's alright! They're not worth that much, anyway! They're an older release, from like three or four years ago, I think. My mom got them for me when they were on sale, as my last year's birthday present!"
"Then, all the more reason you shouldn't lend them to me, no?"
"I'm telling you, it's fine! It hurts me much more to know that you've never heard of Beetle, compared to losing these headphones!"
"...Alright. Thank you," she accepted after a brief pause.
"Oh, you have a computer at your home, right? Maybe you could install songs that I don't know and you do! Be careful of the shady websites online, though!" I said.
"...Alright," she said, with the slightest hint of a smile showing. That was the first time I'd seen her do that, I think.
The two of us sat in silence some more. It was becoming clear to me that this girl wasn't really the type to lead conversations that well. But then I had another idea come to mind:
"Hey, do you wanna maybe hit up the arcade? I know this really great one downtown!"
"...What is there to do there again?" she asked.
"What do you mean? The arcade is home to all the best video games around! Maybe those cutting-edge consoles have some amazing games on them, but the arcade is in no way inferior to consoles! Plus, there's plenty of other fun non-video games there as well! I think you'll like it!" I said.
"...Hm, alright."
We called our waiter over to pay for our orders, which was when I realized a massive problem: I had no money. I had spent all of my remaining pocket money on the hotdog and coke last Thursday. I might've had a couple coins on me.
"That comes to fifty bon for each order," our waiter said.
"U-uhh, hold on. Let me check my wallet," I said, looking for my made-up wallet. I didn't even have a wallet, I kept all my cash in my pockets. It shamed me to remember myself offering to pay for Pela's drink earlier when I couldn't even pay for myself. Repeatedly and frantically checking my pockets, I still couldn't find any money.
"...I'll pay for him," Pela said abruptly.
"Huh? No, no, no, it's fine. I must've put my wallet in my backpack or somethin-" but before I could finish...
"Thank you. Please come again soon," he said to Pela, as he handed her a receipt and went to check on another table.
...Dang... I thought.
***
"You didn't have to pay for me, you know," I said to her.
"Is that how you thank someone?" she said. I couldn't tell if she was reprimanding me or being playful.
"No, no, thank you! Of course, but you didn't have to-"
"It was only fifty. I don't go out that much, so I have money to spare. Think of it as me repaying your kindness for lending me your walkman," she said, not looking at me as we walked side by side.
"...Right. Thanks a lot, Pela," was all I could say in response.
As we kept walking, it came to me that I wouldn't be able to pay for myself at the arcade either.
"Hey, sorry, but-"
"....Where's this arcade we're headed to?" she cut me off before I could say anything.
"...R-right, about that. Hey, Pela, I'm really sorry — but I think I actually left my wallet back home... So maybe we should go there some other time?" I asked her.
Damn, dude, did you just ask her out on another hangout? Look at you...
"...That's fine. Even I know a little bit about them — all you need to do is insert a couple coins into the game machines you wanna play on, right? I can pay," she said to me.
Having a girl cover for my expenses, even if this was just a hangout and not a date — even if we weren't a couple — it still felt wrong.
"No, I couldn't-"
"Don't worry. I'm sure it doesn't cost that much. Like I said, it's fine," she said to me.
In short, we ended up going to the arcade, not really having much to talk about on the way. She was a naturally quiet person, and I felt I had lost confidence in myself after the money thing.
We were at the arcade by the time the sun was setting. When the two of us entered, the place reeked of its usual smell — teenager sweat.
Maybe I shouldn't have brought her to such a stinky place for our first hangout. Great going, Milo.
Almost everybody coming here was a kid just having fun after school. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't just boys either. And, of course, it was quite loud. No nice jazz music playing in the background like with the cafe we were at earlier. It was filled with screaming kids, raging at their losses or being ecstatic over a new high score.
"Well, what're we waiting for?" she asked, as she walked ahead of me. I guess she didn't really mind the environment.
***
"Hi, welcome to Jinn Arcade! How can I help you?"
"Hi, can we exchange..." I suddenly had to pause.
"...Yes?" the girl behind the register said, looking at me.
"Uhh..." couldn't compute.
"We'll exchange three hundred for coins," Pela suddenly said as I was thinking, casually sliding four bills under the glass wall.
"Huh?! Three hundred?! No, no, that's too much!" I panicked.
"Alright, just a second," the employee said, counting a bunch of coins and putting them in a paper cup for us.
***
"I'm sorry for making you pay for me. Again," I said to Pela as we headed towards the game machines.
"...I already said it's fine. You don't need to apologize so much."
"But...Three hundred bon! You could get two...No, three hot dogs for that at Manna's Food Truck!" I said.
"...It's my money, no?" she calmly asked back.
"...Right."
"...I want to see what the arcade is like. So, we're not here only on your idea," Pela continued.
"...Yeah, you're right. Let's play!" I said, slapping myself with both hands.
Over the next couple of hours, the two of us tried a lot of different games. The brand new release of Dance to the Rhythm! — Dance to the Rhythm 2005!, Plumber Kart, that dumb light-gun game Xeno Shooter 3D, Whack-a-Mole, Ring Toss, basketball, Tip-To-Win...You name it.
...Thing was, I hadn't expected Pela to be so good at arcade games. Did she have a natural talent for games?
I remember the punching machine particularly clearly. I was going first, and so I took my first shot at the bag...
[BRRR...YOUR SCORE IS...]
Said the announcer voice after a very fast digital counting sound played...
[147!!]
Wow, I'm really weak...
"Gah! I-I kinda slipped on that one! I forgot to really step in for that punch, I promise!" I said to Pela, who didn't really react.
I wound up for my second attempt, only to feel a similarly weak hit on the bag.
[BRRR...YOUR SCORE IS...139!!]
How did I do even worse than last time?!
"Uh, this dumb bag is making my hand slip from all the sweat on it! Hold on, I'll really show it something this time!" I reassured the girl next to me, who still seemed unfazed.
I took a step back, before swiftly walking up to the machine one more time. I drove my hips in, throwing my hitting shoulder forward, and keeping my wrist straight and true for the hit.
[BRRR...] the machine counted...
"...You seem to be rusty," Pela told me. Again, really couldn't tell when she was joking or being serious with that monotonous voice.
"...One hundred twenty-one...No wonder I got my butt kicked by those thugs the other day..." I said, hanging my head.
"Hah, what a wimp! What's such a pretty girl like her doing, hanging out with him, anyway?" I think I heard some guy whispering something like that.
Well, Pela might be a martial artist or something, but she's still a bit shorter than me — and I don't think she's that beefy either. Hopefully her score is at least around the same as min-
Just as I was thinking that, I saw the punching bag almost spasm back-and-forth, as a sound resembling a lightning strike resounded throughout the entire building.
[BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...] the sound effect seemed to go on for a solid ten seconds.
[...NEW HIGH SCORE! YOUR SCORE IS...995!!]
My jaw dropped. Meanwhile, the one responsible for that just now didn't seem moved by her score in the slightest. Though, it felt like she was actually a little angry, for some reason?
When I looked around, I saw how the other kids had their mouths hanging open, just like I did.
I wasn't even paying attention to her windup. It was super quick.
Just who is this girl?!
Her next two attempts were also amazing.
[...950!!]
[...957!!]
At that point, there was a small crowd around us, watching Pela. I will never forget the words she muttered to herself after that.
"Why did it get lower?"
Uh, I don't think you have the right to be so casually acting disappointed in yourself after hitting over nine hundred on all three of your attempts! Also, what's with you?! You didn't even take any run-ups to the machine! All three of those punches were done while standing in the same spot!
The other ten or so games the two of us played had similar results. She seemed to dance effortlessly on Dance to the Rhythm!, getting a near-perfect score on that machine as well. Tip-to-Win, Whack-a-Mole, basketball...Almost all of them. The only game I actually beat her in was Boulevard Brawler, which required extensive knowledge of various frame data. Still, I was starting to feel pretty down.
"Hey, Pela?"
"...Yes?"
"Are you sure this is your first time at the arcade?" I asked.
"...Yes, is something wrong?" she said.
"O-oh, no, no! Everything's fine! It's just — you've been totally kicking my butt at every game we've played so far..."
"..." she stayed silent for a moment.
***
Eventually, our coins had run out. And so, I thought it was about time to call it a day...
"Hey, what's that one?" she asked, pointing to the shooting gallery in the corner.
"O-oh, that one! Uh, it's called the shooting gallery. After you pay, the employee gives you a toy gun, which is loaded with a set number of plastic bullets — and you're given a time limit to shoot as many targets as you can with those bullets. The more targets you take down, the better the prize you can choose to get when your attempt is over."
"...Let's try that one."
"H-huh, But we're out of coins..."
Actually... I thought. Checking my back pockets again, I remembered the two coins I had on me. Taking them out, I saw twenty bon. Just enough for two people, one game each.
"Nevermind! I found some lucky spare change. Let's go!"
***
After we paid, Pela said something strange.
"I'll go first."
It was weird, because she'd always gone after me for all the games we'd played so far. After she got in position with the rifle, the employee started the machine. Targets began springing out of nowhere, moving frantically all over the rows. Some would go left to right, some the other way. Some would rear their heads out very quickly, before going back down.
After waiting a few seconds, Pela shot at a very fast target.
"That's one," the unenthusiastic acne-ridden young employee said.
She then took down another target that popped out of nowhere, in the very far corner of the range.
"That's two."
Jeez, she's not even going for the slower ones. Welp, I guess I won't be winning this one either...
But just as I was thinking that, Pela suddenly missed a target. It was real slow, yet she missed.
...That's weird. She should've gotten that one easy.
For the rest of her shots, she missed all the targets. They were definitely easier than the first two that she got effortlessly.
Is she off her game? Maybe something got in her eye...
"...You took down two targets out of your ten bullets. You can get a piece of candy for two hits," the employee told Pela, as he extended a bag of skittles to her. She took one, before putting the gun down and backing away from the counter.
I didn't know why, but it seemed she wasn't suddenly the arcade game one-in-a-million talent I thought she was.
"Your turn," she said to me, with her usual deadpan voice.
"...Huh? Oh, right..."
...Calm down, Milo. This is your one chance to beat Pela at something! For some reason, Pela absolutely flopped on this game! Either you get a perfect ten out of ten, right here, right now — or you go home the loser you always have been! You can do this! Just go for the easy targets!
Grabbing the loaded gun, I took my time preparing. I had given this game a few tries before, but I was honestly pretty average at it, all in all.
*Bang*
"That's one," said the employee.
*Bang*
"Two."
*Bang*
"Three."
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
"...Uh, out of ten shots, you got one, two...Five targets," the employee counted in his tired voice.
"...W-wow! Awesome!" I leapt for joy.
"Uh-huh..." he groaned.
"Did you see that?" I turned to Pela and asked.
"Very impressive," she said. It might've been just me, but it sounded like her tone had gotten just a slight bit brighter at that moment.
"Please pick any prize you like, up to...This shelf..." the employee said to me, pointing at the cupboard with all sorts of prizes.
"Hmm...What should I pick?" I said to myself. With five six hits, the choice of rewards I had still wasn't anything too special. But, nonetheless...
"...This one." I pointed at a plushie. It was a small and shabby-looking octopus plushie, a tired-looking one with droopy eyes. An octopus wasn't as cute as a cat or dog, but it was the only plushie I could get.
"Oh-kay..." the employee said, grabbing a set of keys out of his pocket and opening the glass case, as he took the octopus out and handed it to me.
***
The two of us decided to finally leave. By that time, the sun had long since set. Though, downtown was still brimming with young couples, teenage idiots, as well as tired wagies and office workers walking around the streets.
"Hey, Pela. I had a lot of fun today," I said to her, as the two of us stood next to the arcade entrance, amidst the bright yellow street lights filling the atmosphere of the city.
"Yeah, me too," she said, still kinda unexpressive.
"And, actually, I wanted to give you this!" I said, taking the octopus I won earlier out of my backpack and extending it to her.
"...You got it for...Me?" she asked. Her eyes seemed to ever so subtly widen at that moment.
"Yeah. I actually was planning to show off my skills to you at the arcade today, and get a nice prize for you at the end...I guess it was you that ended up showing off, hehe..."
"I couldn't really find out what kind of things you liked, so I figured a cute plushie would at least be a decent gift! Then again, I guess this octopus is kinda ugly, huh?" I laughed. She only stayed silent.
"...Anyway, I'm not that good when it comes to talking with people, unfortunately. Still, I hope I didn't annoy you too much! Hopefully this can be a good note to end things on for our first hangout today!" I said to her.
"..."
"...Uh, I guess the plushie isn't really that charming after all, huh?"
"...No, no, it's fine. Thank you," she said to me, showing the sweetest smile I'd ever seen a girl wear on her face, ever.
It felt like my heart was about to burst out of my chest at that moment.
[Chapter END]