Today marks the one-month anniversary of when I first became friends with everyone.
“Welcome to my house, Mari-chan!!”
Sierra invited all of us to play games with her. Her house is so big that it’s almost a mansion. It is a 4-story building, and the decoration on the inside looks very wealthy and luxurious. There are giant vases, paintings, statues, and giant chandeliers everywhere. Even the furniture looks very expensive, that probably worth more than my parents’ inheritance. The design on the ceilings, the walls, and the floors looked superb, which really shows who Sierra Pendrago truly is.
I put my hand on my face.
“So, this is your domain, Sierra-san? Impressive! VERY IMPRESSIVE!! I will put my marks all over this place! That way, I can retreat here in case something bad happens during one of my fierce battles!!”
“Eh? Marks? Like dogs do? You’re gonna piss yourself everywhere in my house, Mari-chan?”
“N-NOOOOOOOO!! I AM NOT A DOG!!”
“WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!”
Everyone else laughs at our banter.
“Alright, guys, let’s just head to her room!! Don’t be shy!” said Honda.
“Wow, this girl has no shame.” said Sierra.
“PARDON THE INTRUSION!!”
And then everyone rushed towards Sierra’s room on the second floor, leaving me and Sierra alone.
“Wow, what a bunch of rude people!”
“S-Sierra-san, is it really okay for me to come here?”
*!!!*
Sierra looked towards me and was very surprised. She heard me speaking very normally without any gibberish for the first time.
“Y-y-y-y-yes! YES! Of course! I’ve been inviting you for this whole month, and only now you’ve accepted! Of course, you are very much welcome!”
*!*
I suddenly bowed my head at her, and she was shocked by it.
“I am really sorry for rejecting all of your invitations this whole time! I wasn’t trying to be mean to you or anything, it’s just that. . . I’ve been so alone this whole time. I was very anxious about offending all of my friends, who have been very kind and accepted me for who I am, because I don’t know how to act around you guys! I apologize with all of my heart! Once again, I did not mean to--!!”
Suddenly, I was interrupted mid-talking. Sierra hugs me tightly.
“It’s okay! We will always be your friends! You’re no longer alone, Mari-chan! Please, tell us anything if there’s something that’s been bothering you in your life. All of us will always come to your aid no matter what!! I give you my word for this!!”
“(This girl, truthfully, is so very sincere and gentle. Just because she’s a little weird, everyone leaves her alone, and I was one of them. I am the one who should be sorry, Mari-chan! I should’ve befriended you sooner, back in the first year. I’m sorry, Mari-chan!)”
I was. . . dumbfounded. I almost shed a tear, but I successfully held it back this time. I hug Sierra-san back, and we’re hugging each other tightly for a few seconds in silence. Until she broke the silence.
“Si-chan!”
“H-Huh?”
Sierra lets go of her hug and grabs my shoulder.
“From now on! Please, call me, Si-chan!”
“S-Si. . .chan?”
“Correct!! Mari-chan!!”
“. . .Si-chan.”
“Yup! Mari-chan! Hehehehe!”
Sierra smiles at me, and it warms my heart.
“Oh! That’s right!”
Sierra suddenly runs as she pulls my hand and drags me with her toward her room on the second floor. She barges in towards her own room, where everyone else, already booting up Sierra’s game console and starts without her.
“OOOIIIII!! THAT’S MY GAME YOU LOT!!!”
“AAAHHHH!!!”
Everyone suddenly gets up and gathers in front of her. They all bowed down with their head touching the floor.
“PLEASE FORGIVE US, PENDRAGO-SAMA!!”
“SAMA?”
I was just awkwardly standing behind Sierra, looking at everyone kneeling on the floor. This is such a bizarre situation to look at, and that’s coming from me.
“Alright, alright! Stand up! I have more important things to ask of you!”
*?*
Everyone lifts their heads up and sits on the floor. Sierra also sits down, as she also told me to. We all sat down surrounding a short table in the center of the room.
Now that I take a look at her room, it is very big and spacious. Her bedroom looks as large as my entire house, and I was bamboozled by that fact.
“So, guys! I just realized why we are calling Mari-chan, Mari-chan, but then we call each other by our family names?”
. . . . .
Everyone took a second to process Sierra’s question until they all realized.
“W-Wait a minute! That’s odd! We’ve been friends since our first year! Why aren’t we calling each other by our given names?” said Ryuji.
“Right? I’ve noticed something strange ever since Mari joined our circle. Ah! No offense to you, Mari-chan!” said Hibiki.
“A-Affirmative!! I shall take no damage from my own minions!”
“Then, let us all practice as well!! You too, Mari-chan! Call us by our given names!!” said Honda.
“Uuum. . .”
I was very nervous, but I steeled myself and started calling everybody’s names.
“H-Honda-chan.”
“Yup! Mari-chan!”
“Hibiki-san.”
“Yes, correct, Mari-chan!”
“Sumire-san.”
“Eeehhhh? I prefer -chan, but yes, Mari-chan!!”
“Nobisuke-kun.”
“Wow, correct, Mari-chan!”
“Ryuji. . .-kun?”
“My pleasure, Mari-chan!”
“Sakura-chan.”
“YAY!! THANK YOU, MARI-CHAN!!”
“Si-chan!”
“Yup, Mari-chan!!”
“EEEEEHHHHH?? WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!! WHY AM I JUST -SAN??” said Hibiki.
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“YEEEAAAHHH!!! ME TOO!!! I AM THE ONLY FEMALE YOU CALL, -SAN, MARI-CHAN!!” said Sumire.
Both of them approached me. They are crying as they hold my hands in front of me.
“I-I-I-I apologize!! Sumire-chan! Hibiki-kun!”
*!!*
Suddenly, they both stop crying and hug me instead.
“Hehehehe, thank you, Mari-chan!” said Sumire.
“Yeah, thank you, Mari-chan!” said Hibiki.
“NOW WAIT A SECOND!!!”
Honda gets up and grabs Hibiki by his shoulder.
“EY, HIBIKI-KUN!! HOW ON EARTH ARE YOU ALLOWED TO HUG, MARI-CHAN?? GET OFF OF HER!!”
“EEEEHHHH? SHE’S MY FRIEND TOO!!!”
“I KNOW YOU BOYS HAVE ULTERIOR MOTIVES!!! GET OFF!!”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
Honda struggles to pull Hibiki away from me, but then the rest of the guys stand up and help Honda out.
“HIBIKI-KUN!!! THERE ARE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN BOYS AND GIRLS!!!” said Ryuji with a menacing tone.
“RYUJI-KUN’S RIGHT!! GET OFF OF MARI-CHAN!!!” said Nobisuke.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” Hibiki struggles to let me go.
I genuinely have no idea what to do in this situation, so I just silently and awkwardly get pulled back and forth by everyone.
*CLAP CLAP*
Sierra stands up and claps her hands on her right side.
“Yes, my lady?”
Suddenly, four butlers, wearing black butler outfits, enter the bedroom.
“Please take that boy with the buzz cut to the interrogation room and teach him some manners between man and woman!”
“Certainly, my lady!”
The four butlers bow their heads at Sierra.
*!!*
And then very swiftly, they took Hibiki from the room and carried him towards the interrogation room as instructed.
“WAIT, NO!!! HELP!! SIERRA-CHAN!! PLEASE, HELP ME!! I APOLOGIZE FOR MY ACTIONS!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
And then his voice gets quieter and quieter, until none of us can hear him anymore.
*CLAK*
Sierra closes the door to her room. She smiles at all of us, and somehow, she looks very disturbing and scary at the same time.
“Alright, let’s play the game together, shall we?”
. . . . .
“Y-YEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!”
The rest of us, including myself, forced ourselves to be hyped and full of oomph, so we shouted in harmony.
“B-By the way, is it okay that we’re being this loud?” asks Sumire.
“It’s all good, everyone! Not only is this room very big, but it’s also sound-resistant!”
“But, what about your parents?” asks Nobisuke.
“Oh, don’t worry about it! It’s just me, my father, and a bunch of my butlers and maids in this house! You won’t disturb anyone!!” said Sierra.
“Ah, what a nice house!” said Honda.
“So, what’s this game again?” said Ryuji.
“It’s the kart racing game that is a global hit. They just released a new entry for their newly released game console.” explains Sierra.
“AH! I KNOW ABOUT THAT GAME!! I’VE BEEN PLAYING THE SMARTPHONE VERSION!! THOUGH SADLY IT WENT OFFLINE LAST MONTH!! BUT THEY’VE SAID THIS NEW ENTRY WILL HAVE IMPROVED MECHANICS FROM THE SMARTPHONE VERSION!! I’VE BEEN VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS GAME!!!”
Everyone was dumbfounded by my excitement, and they all looked towards me with confusion. I realized what I just did, and I immediately put my head down.
“I-I’m sorry. . .”
“PFFTT!! WHAHAHAHAHAHA!! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU SAYING SORRY FOR, MARI-CHAN?” said Ryuji.
“Eh?”
“There’s no need to apologize for being excited about something!” said Sakura.
“Yeah! We were just shocked by how much you seem to love this game.” said Honda.
“We should be the ones to apologize for making you feel out of place by being silent! We’re sorry!” said Nobisuke.
“Well, then, now that we know that you’re good at the game, WE WON’T BE SHOWING YOU ANY MERCY, MARI-CHAAANNN!!” said Sumire.
“YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” shouts Sierra.
Everyone playfully taunted me at the same time. On the inside, I feel very happy now that I have people that I can be completely honest with. I place my hand on my face once again and stand up.
“KHU KHU KHU KHU!!! VERY WELL, MY DEAR SERVANTS!!! I WILL SHOW NO MERCY TO ANY OF YOU AS WELL!! DON’T YOU GO CRY YOUR HEARTS OUT IF YOU CAN’T BEAT ME!!!”
“WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NICE TAUNT, MARI-CHAN!!!”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! LET’S GO THEN!!”
“START THE GAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”
We started the game, and Si-chan immediately picked the multiplayer versus mode with some CPUs to fill in the rest of the racers. There are 24 racers available to race all at the same time, and this time, the race tracks are much larger to be able to fit all 24 racers.
“READY?! GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
We all shouted at the same time as the race started. In the first race, Honda-chan accidentally found a secret shortcut, and that made her stay in 1st place the whole race. Meanwhile, the rest of us are fighting for our lives for 2nd place.
“Y’ALL!!! STOP BUMPING INTO MEEEEEE!!” said Sierra.
“BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! SORRY, SIERRA-CHAN, YOU’RE IN MY WAY!!!” said Nobisuke.
“RYUJI-KUN!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?? YOU BUMPED ME AND I FELL INTO A PIT!!!” said Sakura.
“SORRRYYYY!!!! I DIDN’T MEAN TO USE THE DASH ITEM AS SOON AS YOU APPEARED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, SAKURA-CHAN!!!” said Ryuji.
“MARI-CHAN!! PLEASE DON’T USE THAT INVINCIBILITY NEAR ME!!!” said Sumire.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YOUR PLEADING IS USELESS, MY DEAR SERVANT!!! I WILL STRIKE FEAR INTO YOUR HEART SO THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER MY DOMINATING PRESENCE IN YOUR CROOKED LIFE!!!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”
We all shouted so loud because of how much fun we’re having playing the game, and we barely even started; this is just race one after all.
“YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I WOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!!” said Honda.
“I’M SECOOONNNDDDD!!!” said Sumire.
“I’M THIIIIRRRDDDDD!!!” said Nobisuke.
“Tch! 4th place! I WILL UNLEASH MY SECRET TECHNIQUE ON THE NEXT RACE!!”
“I am 6th. . .” said Ryuji.
And then our last two friends put their controllers down as they knelt with their heads down, staring at the floor.
“10th. . .“ said Sakura.
“16th. . . Out of 24 racers. . . I am in 16th place. . . I even lost to a lot of CPUs. . .” said Sierra.
“WOHOOOOOOO!!!!”
The top three winners are dancing, celebrating their victories.
“YAYAYAYAYAYA!!!”
“AAAHHHH!!! HOW FUUUUNNN!!!”
“N-NEEEXXXTTTT RACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!” shouts Sierra.
“BRING IT OOOONNNNN!!!!”
We all shouted in harmony.
The next race is on a desert track. This time, Honda-chan couldn’t find any shortcuts, and she struggles to even stay in 10th place.
“WAIT FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!” shouts Honda.
“WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! AS I’VE EXPECTED, YOUR FIRST VICTORY WAS MERELY A FLUKE!!! GOOD LUCK PLACING BETWEEN 10th and 20th!!!” said Sierra, who’s currently in 4th place.
“OIIII!!! MARI-CHAN!!! STOP BUMPING INTO MEEEEEE!!!” said Sakura, who’s in 2nd place.
“NEGATIVE!!! YOU ARE OBSTRUCTING MY PATH!! I HAVE TO ELIMINATE YOU BEFORE THE OTHERS CATCH UP TO US!!!” said me, who’s in 3rd place.
“NOBISUKE-KUN!!! SUMIRE-CHAN!! GET OUT OF MY WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!” shouts Ryuji, who’s in 9th place.
“NEVEEEERRRRRRR!!!!” shout Nobisuke and Sumire, who are ahead of Ryuji in 8th and 7th place, respectively.
And then somehow, Honda got an item that allows her to blitz through the entire map, and she finished in 2nd place at the very last second.
“YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! 2ND PLACE FROM 15tH!!! Y’ALL SEE THAT? AREN’T I INSANE?” said Honda.
“GRRRRRR!!! THANKS TO YOU, I WENT FROM 2ND PLACE TO 11TH!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! said Sierra.
“MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! THIRD PLACE!!! I SHALL USE HALF OF MY FULL POWER ON THE NEXT RACE!!!”
“. . . .”
Ryuji, Nobisuke, and Sumire were all fighting for their lives in the back line, and they finished in 19th, 18th, and 17th, respectively.
“I have no words. . .” said the three of them together.
And then we immediately went on to the next race. Next is a snowy race track. This time, I got a lead for almost the entire race.
“I HAVE BAD NEWS FOR ALL OF YOU, DEAR SERVANTS, THIS SPECIFIC RACE TRACK IS VERY SIMILAR TO ONE OF THE TRACKS IN THE SMARTPHONE VERSION!!! I KNOW ALMOST EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS ONE!! EAT MY DIRT, MY DEAR SERVANTS!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” said me, with a smug face.
“THAT’S CHEATING!!!” shout all of them.
“Wait, shouldn’t you have said, ‘Eat my snow’ instead of dirt?” asks Sumire.
“THAT’S NOT IMPORTANT!! THAT LITTLE DEVIL IS IN 1ST PLACE THIS WHOLE TIME, SUMIRE-CHAN!!!”
Everyone except me shouted at Sumire.
“I’M SORRRRYYYYYYY!!!” said Sumire.
And so, I finished in 1st place without breaking a sweat. I pose myself as I lift my controller high above my head with my right hand.
“I apologize, my servants! I am just the best in all the world!”
In that race, Sierra got 2nd place, Honda got 3rd place, Ryuji is in 10th place, Sakura is in 17th place, Sumire is in 18th place, and Nobisuke got 19th place.
“GRRRRRR!!! UNTO THE NEXT RACEEEEEEEEE!!!!” shouts Nobisuke, Sumire, and Sakura at the same time.
*SLAM*
*!!*
But then the door to Sierra’s room was slammed open. It was Hibiki, he has returned from the interrogation room.
“Good afternoon, everybody! I’ve learned my lessons! Now, let us all play video games peacefully in harmony, together!”
“HIBIKI-KUUNN!!!”
We all immediately welcomed him back. Sierra gives him another controller, and we’re all finally playing games together.
The next race track is a water level.
“Normally, I really hate water levels in video games, but this game made water levels fun, SO I’M EXCITEDTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDD!!!” said Hibiki.
“YAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
In this race, all of us struggle because the CPUs, for some reason, are especially brutal in this race. We were all consistently ranked between 10th and 3rd place, for almost half of the entire race, but then suddenly, the CPUs are bombarding us with bombs and rockets, leaving us all at the very back lines at the same time, from 24th until 17th place.
“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
“WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”
“OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!”
We were all laughing so openly and freely about our circumstances and about how brutal these CPUs suddenly became. We laugh so much that we all even put our controllers down. Some of us are lying on the floor while some are resting their head on their knees, hiding their faces as we all continue to laugh.
Ah. . . This is my first time playing video games with people I actually care about. I may not know much about them as of yet, but I will find out soon enough. This atmosphere, this laughter, this joy, these people, I love all of them. I really wanna treasure all of them. I love them all wholeheartedly.
.
.
.
One month later. . .
For the first time in forever, I am walking to school with such a huge smile on my face. I speed up my walking pace, and I am suddenly running without realizing it. When I reached the school gate, I soon blitzed everyone and climbed to the third floor, where my classroom is. I walk into the classroom with such joy that everyone now notices my presence.
“GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!!! PROTECTOR OF THE PLANET HAS ARRIVED!!!”
*!!!*
“GOOD MORNING, MARI-CHAN!!!”
Everyone in the class now greets me and talks to me. They no longer see me as a weird and unapproachable girl. They no longer find my gibberish vocabulary to be annoying, but rather, as a very adorable quirk that is special to me.
I happily walk towards all of my closest friends, whose seats are all close to mine.
“GOOD MORNING, NOBI-KUN, RYU-KUN, HIBIKI-KUN, SAKURA-CHAN, SUMIRE-CHAN, HONDA-CHAN, SI-CHAN!!!”
“GOOD MORNING, MARI-CHAN!!”
“Hey, ain’t that a mouthful to always call everyone’s name every morning? You can just say, ‘Good morning, everyone!’”
“It’s okay, I love saying everyone’s name!” said me with a smile.
“Aaaaaawwwwww!!”
All of my closest friends suddenly gather around me and hug me.
“Hehehe! Thank you!” said me.
And then they all let go of their hug. I finally put my bag down and sat down at my desk. I turned around to see all of my closest friends to chat with them.
*!*
“Huh? Where’s Si-chan?”
Suddenly, their mood goes down slightly.
“Uum, Mari-chan, we were just informed, but Sierra-chan’s father got into an accident and is currently hospitalized. She skips school to be with him.” said Honda.
*!!!!*
“(Si-chan. . .)”
I couldn’t believe what I just heard. I am at a loss for words.
