"Ah, oh, okay," I respond to her sudden announcement.

  "Also, you can keep the potato chips."

  "Why did you not buy them for yourself?"

  "No, they're for you. I thought in case you change your mind about not being hungry. If you don't want them, you can give them to your sister."

  And so, Ms. Aline left the table, taking her coffee with her, leaving me sitting alone at the table. Thinking about our conversation, the st part of it felt strange. Why does she care about me walking with Touka? And what was that strange reaction with her bending the spoon? Something just felt off about today, like everything. Grabbing the chocote milk and potato chips, I leave the cafeteria and return to css.

  "Hey, Niko, my friend, come over here; I got to ask ya something."

  Jacob called out to me as I came into the cssroom. Walking up to his desk for the second time, I ask, "What is it?"

  "You know, since Alisha is gone and I've seen you be really close with Touka, why don't you put in a good word for me and let me have her?"

  Hearing that, I sighed. "You know what, Jacob? If you really want something to do with her, why don't you talk to her yourself?"

  "Come on, man, we're friends."

  "No, we're not."

  He was clearly disgruntled by my unwillingness, but I did not care much about it. Maybe one day he will learn how to properly talk to people. Leaving Jacob's desk, I went over to my desk and waited for break time to end. Our st subject for today would be English css. After break time ended, it went by in a breeze. The st minutes of English css went by, and the teacher finally let us go home. Packing my bag and making my way off the school grounds, I spotted a familiar face at the school gate. Leaning against the school gate wall was Touka, with her bag in her hand.

  "Hey, Niko," she called out to me.

  "Hey Touka, are you alright?" I responded.

  "Yeah, I'm alright. Why are you asking?"

  "I mean, you got kind of in trouble back there."

  "Oh, that's fine. The principal apologized on behalf of the teacher, actually, and let me go early."

  "So why are you still here?"

  "Um, well... I was wondering if I could drop by your pce and maybe py some games like the old days."

  "Look, we just met today, and I don't know about my sister."

  "Oh, come on, it will be fine."

  "Fine, but not for long. Today was kind of stressful for me."

  "Yeah, let's go."

  Having agreed to her little visit, we both made our way to my pce. Making our way through the city of Hiko, we arrived at the apartment I live in. Pressing the doorbell, I called out to my sister.

  "Hey, it's me, Niko. Please open the door."

  A couple of moments ter, footsteps could be heard approaching the door. In a fast motion, it opened, and my sister jumped at me and hugged me.

  "Brother, you're back! Welcome home."

  And as she released her grip on me from her hug, the eyes of my sister and Touka beside me met.

  "Ehh, who is that, bro?"

  "That's Touka. You know I used to go to the pyground with her," I responded.

  "Yeah, we just became friends again," Touka added.

  "So what does she want here?"

  "Well, she asked if she could come by, and I agreed," I responded to my sister's question.

  "Hmm, well she can leave in half an hour," my sister replied, and with a pout, she went inside.

  "Don't worry about it," I said to Touka, and we both went inside. The situation that unfolded next was best described as uncomfortable. Since my sister was always very close by when we talked on the sofa, she stared Touka down like a cat out for blood. Touka tried talking to my sister, but to no avail.

  "So, ah, Niko's sister, do you also py games?"

  "Ash is my name, okay? Well, I py games. What does it matter to you?"

  "Well, what do you py?"

  "Hm, like I'm going to tell you that. How about you go home already?"

  Then, with a smile, Touka announced, "I'll take a gss of water out of the kitchen if that's fine."

  "Sure," I said.

  Leaving my sister and me in the living room, I quietly said to my sister, "Why do you always have to do this? Why can't you just be normal once for my guests? Like st time, you chased Mike with a broom. Why?"

  But she did not respond and ignored me. Minutes passed, and Touka hadn't come out of the kitchen, so I decided to check on her. Upon entering the kitchen, I saw Touka holding a gss of water, looking out of the window like a statue.

  "Hey, Touka, you all right there?"

  Being a bit surprised by me, she spilled some of the water she was holding.

  "Yeah... yeah, I'm all right," she said, putting down the gss of water on the counter.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yeah, I think I have to leave now."

  "Ehm, okay, I'm sorry if my sister ruined your vibe."

  "It was okay. See you tomorrow."

  And with that, she just left.

  (Third Person Perspective)

  And so, Touka left Niko's apartment. Leaving the building, she walked out into the dark evening parking lot. Walking towards a red car with tinted windows, Touka approached the vehicle and knocked on it, saying,

  "I know you have been following us."

  As she said that, the window rolled down, revealing the driver, Ms. Aline.

  "Ahahahaha, Touka, you are truly amusing," Ms. Aline said in a lighthearted tone.

  Then, in a colder voice, she added, "You and I aren't so different as I thought."

  "What do you mean?" Touka responded quickly.

  "Oh, Touka, don't py dumb. You know exactly what I mean. No average person would have noticed me this fast."

  "Why are you following us?" Touka asked in a serious tone.

  Ms. Aline's expression darkened, and her eyes turned as cold as the sky.

  "I was just making sure you weren't taking what was mine."

  She continued, "Listen, Touka, I don't care if you're friends with him, but if you come in my way or try to destroy my pn of making him mine and mine only, i will make you dis... a... pear."

  Reaching under her car seat, Ms. Aline pulled out a pistol and pointed it at her with a cold expression. Ms. Aline said, "Just so there are no misunderstandings."

  But Touka just stood there and said with a smile, "I'm not scared of you."

  "I don't care if you are not; you heard me well. I got to go."

  And with that, she rolled up her window and left the parking lot, leaving Touka in an empty parking lot.