en	It's hard being a weird goblin that no one has a crush on.

en	I wonder what it's like to be attractive.

en	Like, Diya could be wearing a garbage bag and still look better than I ever will in my entire life.

en	I asked her what she washes her face with, and she said she just splashes water on it. Can you imagine being blessed with genes that good?

en	It's okay, though. I'm over it.

en	Being ugly builds character.

en	It's dead quiet in here.

en	If I farted, you could hear it from a mile away.

en	Please don't.

en	Yell something

en	YAMEROooOoooo!!!

en	Akarsha's shrieking echoes in the empty hall for several seconds.

en	...Wow, the acoustics in here are great.

en	I realize there's nothing I can do to prevent you from doing this, so I will wait outside and pretend not to know you.

en	Noelle leaves the auditorium.

en	SASsssssUKEeeeEEEE!!!!!!

en	*beatboxing* Stressed out!

en	*beatboxing* Stop asking about college!

en	*beatboxing* Stop asking about majors and my career! Stop asking about my future!

en	I DON'T KNOW OKAY!! I DON'T KNOW!!!!

en	I'M NOT GOOD AT ANYTHING!

en	I'M A FRAUD! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING!! I'M NOT THAT SMART!

en	I'M SO AFRAID OF FAILURE THAT EVERYTHING I DO HAS TO BE FUNNY! BECAUSE IF I'M NOT SERIOUS, IT'S NOT LIKE I WAS REALLY TRYING!

en	I'M SO UNHAPPY!! GOOD THING I DISGUISE IT AS A SERIES OF JOKES SO NO ONE NOTICES THE GAPING CHASM OF DARKNESS I LIVE ON THE EDGE OF!!!

en	I WANNA DIE!!! KILL ME!!!!!

en	What're you doing?

en	WaauUGHH!!!!

en	Why're you here?! Weren't you supposed to be going to the bathroom?

en	I was. There's a family bathroom over there.

en	She points to a door at the far end of the auditorium.

en	Okay...?

en	Anyone can use it. It doesn't matter whether you're a boy or girl.

en	...Right.

en	Right.

en	.............

en	Min looks relieved that Akarsha let the topic drop.

en	So where's Diya?

en	How should I know? Isn't she with the rest of you guys?

en	Huh. Never mind, then.

en	Were you serious about that dying stuff?

en	Naw man, I'd never actively try to off myself.

en	It's more like...if I was crossing the street and a car came barreling toward me, I'm not sure I'd get out of the way.

en	Then I'll hit the car out of the way.

en	You'll...hit it? What?

en	With my own car. I'll ram into the one driving toward you.

en	Your car'll get crushed.

en	No, it won't. My car will be stronger.

en	You think I'm gonna own some weak shrimpy-ass car?

en	That other car is as good as dead.

en	kKKhfffft??!!

en	She's serious! She'd deadass try to save me by crashing into another car!

en	Min looks relieved that she made Akarsha laugh.

en	She's holding an emo Linkin Park skateboard under one arm.

en	Wanna learn how to skateboard?

en	Those aren't allowed at school, you know.

en	Rules are made to be broken.

en	Are you a square or a triangle?

en	I'm pretty sure that's not how the saying goes.

en	Min places her skateboard on the floor.

en	Here, I'll show you something cool.

en	Hold on to me.

en	I got you.

en	But don't make this weird.

en	Don't make this weird.

en	*weird shriek* AAAAUGH!!! YAA!

en	WHAT DID I JUST SAY YOU USELESS HOE?!

en	Min manages to stand on the skateboard with Akarsha on her shoulders!

en	WE'RE SOARIN...FLYIN...

en	Something something...breaking free...

en	I haven't watched High School Musical. I don't know the rest of the lyrics.

en	It's okay. Let's just keep repeating that one line.

en	WE'RE SOARIN...FLYIN...

en	WE'RE SOARIN...FLYIN...

en	Feel better now?

en	Yeah, I'm fine.

en	I needed that.

en	Akarsha's eyes are filling up with tears.

en	Time to make a joke.

en	You know what the economy needs?

en	$3 bills. They should put my face on it.

en	Min ribs her in the arm.

en	You suck.

en	Mean!

en	Akarsha ribs her back.

en	Hey!

en	Oops, that was a bit harder than I expected.

en	Min hits her back, harder!

en	Akarsha retaliates by spitting on her own knuckles!

en	My punches inflict poison damage now!!!

en	It turned into a fist fight!

en	Hearing signs of violence, Noelle has run back into the auditorium.

en	Chryssa! Look what they're doing!!!

en	Min, come back to the field with me.

en	Chryssa drags Min off, leaving Akarsha and Noelle behind.

en	We found both of them.

en	Yes.

en	Once again, I'm a hero!

en	YOU'RE NOT A HERO.

en	Let's head back to the field, too.

en	Leave the auditorium

en	Look at fire alarm

en	Check out family bathroom

en	Akarsha goes into the family bathroom.

en	Unlike the regular ones, there's only one stall.

en	It's so clean?!

en	Where's the pee on the toilet seat?? Where's the poo and blood stains like in the girls bathroom?

en	It must be this pristine because no one else knows about it.

en	This is heaven! No wonder Min uses it.

en	Finally! Everyone's here.

en	And no one fell victim to a serial killer...what a relief.

en	[teamName!t], assemble!

en	The other team is warming up on the field.

en	Killer Whale player

en	Two of them break from the rest of the group and rush up to Diya.

en	Diya rears back in fear and hides behind Noelle for a moment before she appears to recognize them.

en	Diya! It's us!

en	......!!!

en	Diya high fives him with a brutally excessive amount of force. Their palms meet with a deafening clap.

en	The victim swears and flaps the affected hand, as if to shake off the stinging.

en	He's trying valiantly to smile, but there are tears of pain in his eyes.

en	We made our team accept the match when we heard you were here.

en	You look different from Min now. Can't believe this.

en	Wouldn't it be more unbelievable if we still looked the same after all this time?

en	Diya raises her hand for another high five.

en	No! No no I don't want it!

en	Diya, you know them?

en	Hayden

en	We know Hayden from elementary school, and Jun's my twin.

en	Jun jolts at the sound of Min's voice, visibly shocked.

en	Min?!

en	What're you doing here??

en	Same thing as you. Baseball.

en	Do Mom and Dad know you're doing this?

en	Do you even need to ask?

en	Jun sighs. He seems really used to this.

en	Now that everyone's here, let's get started.

en	Since we're the home team, we're defending first.

en	Liz hands Min what looks like a tiny white pouch filled with powder.

en	A cloud of dust puffs out when she grabs it.

en	We have rosin! To help improve your grip.

en	Wow! Real rosin!!

en	Min is so excited that she accidentally inhales a bunch of the powder.

en	*cough!!!*{w=0.26} *hack!!!*{w=0.26} *wheeze!!!*

en	...........

en	...........

en	...........

en	Hayden is the lead-off hitter.

en	Min spits on the ground for dramatic effect.

en	Ew!

en	Min, that's gross. Don't do that again.

en	Diya crouches into position.

en	As an afterthought, she points her index finger down at the ground. Min smugly nods back and straightens up on the mound.

en	Since when do you two have signs?

en	Oh, they don't mean anything.

en	We're just doing it because it looks cool.

en	Min winds up and throws.

en	The ball comes in chest high, perfectly spinless. If someone had written a message on it, you could read it.

en	Then it does what looks like a double dip and and drops into Diya's glove.

en	Hayden swings at it, but he's way off.

en	Gyaaah!

en	Was the scream really necessary?

en	Hayden manages to skim the next pitch. It bounces up about an inch above the bat and plops down in front of the plate.

en	Diya pounces on it and throws him out.

en	Nooooo...What was that?

en	A knuckleball. It's like a trick pitch.

en	I don't trust it.

en	Cursed.

en	It's not cursed. It's like that because of physics.

en	...Cursed.

en	Chryssa yells out to [teamName!t] triumphantly.

en	Chryssa yells out to the [teamName!t] triumphantly.

en	See! I told you I wasn't making it up!

en	Sakura and Yuki exchange a look, then turn to Chryssa with skeptical faces.

en	Come on!

en	The next batter swings helplessly at three knucklers and sits down.

en	Jun-seo is up against his twin now.

en	Min winds up and lets another knuckler go.

en	He hit a line drive straight at Akarsha.

en	It's coming toward me!

en	I can't reach it with my hand!

en	Kick it

en	Akarsha kicked the ball!

en	She's now hopping around on one foot in pain.

en	Ow!! Ow!!

en	You fucking dumbass!! Why didn't you just catch it?!

en	Don't mind!

en	What?

en	Don't mind. They say that in sport anime when someone screws up.

en	I'm literally going to throw up. You even said it with a fake Japanese accent.

en	Wait, I think it's a good idea, though. It helps boost morale.

en	We're already called Semes! How much more are we gonna embarrass ourselves?!

en	Don't be rude. We should support our teammates' interests.

en	At what cost?!

en	The ball bounces back toward home plate. Diya scoops up the ball and hurls it to first.

en	Out!

en	What the! That actually worked!

en	Yes!! I'm a certified genius!

en	My Nobel Prize...

en	You're not getting a Nobel Prize for kicking a ball instead of catching it the right way.

en	Aw, we don't have real dugouts? There's just a little bench for each side.

en	What were you expecting? The school doesn't have an official baseball team, so we're lucky to even have this.

en	I never got why dugouts need to be half underground like that.

en	Like, it's not a freakin' bomb shelter. Stop being so dramatic.

en	The team takes a seat on the bench except Diya, who's still taking off the catcher's gear.

en	The [teamName!t] take their seats on the bench except Diya, who's still taking off the catcher's gear.

en	There's not quite enough space for everyone.

en	Left standing, Diya hovers uncertainly beside them.

en	There's not enough room.

en	Then you can sit in my lap.

en	................

en	Shouldn't it be the other way around?

en	Why the hell would it be the other way around?

en	You're the smaller one??

en	OW??!

en	Min kicked Akarsha really hard under the bench!

en	Diya and Noelle both startle at Akarsha's yelp. Neither of them saw the kick.

en	......?

en	What's wrong with you?

en	.............

en	She's glaring at me with a murderous look in her eyes...

en	I, uh...farted.

en	I was trying to cover up the sound.

en	What...?

en	Crap. I don't think she buys it.

en	That's inconsistent with your past behavior.

en	Last week you told me the disgusting and unwanted fact that you had three consecutive farts that formed a D major triad.

en	Why go through such lengths to mask a single fart now?

en	You're hiding something.

en	I should scream now, as a distraction.

en	*bloodcurdling scream*

en	SHUT UP!!! STOP SCREAMING!!!

en	You're screaming too.

en	The bench creaks a bit as Diya nervously lowers herself in Min's lap.

en	Min immediately wraps an arm around Diya's waist.

en	.............

en	I have to do this so we don't lose our balance!

en	Yeah!!!!!!

en	Better watch out, Diya. Min's probably thinking about doing bad things to you.

en	I wanna do bad things to you, Akarsha.

en	Really?? Like what?

en	Like snap your fucking neck.

en	How mean!!!

en	Jun-seo is pitching against [teamName!t].

en	Jun-seo is pitching against the [teamName!t].

en	His throws look a lot faster than Min's. He strikes Ester out with ease.

en	Out!

en	Liz is keeping score with a pencil and paper. She dutifully marks the strikeout with a "K."

en	Why isn't a strikeout S or SO? Why K?

en	K is for Killed.

en	That can't be it.

en	It's because S is already used for sacrifice.

en	The K from the the last letter of "struck."

en	That's a lame reason.

en	Agreed. I like Min's reason better.

en	"Sakura" is up to bat now.

en	She whiffs the first pitch, but pops the second one up.

en	I got it!

en	He chases the ball into foul territory and dives for it.

en	Out!

en	This situation sucks. If we were even able to get to first base, we could steal or do some weird shit, but nope...

en	Actually, I did some research on that. In most cases, attempting to steal has a much higher chance of having a negative result than a positive one.

en	Since most of us aren't that confident in our stealing skills, it would be better for us not to try it.

en	What the hell are you saying? Stealing is important.

en	No, it objectively has little value and is often actually detrimental.

en	For steal attempts to be NOT detrimental, you have to succeed around 70 percent of the time. That's the point where you break even.

en	The exact number depends on the situation, but it's always around that range.

en	For instance, for a runner on first with no outs, getting caught stealing will lose a team two-thirds of a run, on average, and a successful steal gains a third of a run.

en	So for every three steal attempts, you need to convert at least two, or the only thing you're stealing is runs from your team.

en	Do you succeed that often? If not, you are actually hurting the team's chances.

en	Min looks like she understood none of that.

en	Shut your hell up, you...lamp post!

en	Shut your hell up...

en	Lamp post...

en	You can't reduce things down to numbers.

en	Yes, I can.

en	She uses a stick to scratch a formula into the dirt: SBP = SB(SB+CS) x 100%%

en	Min quickly stomps out the formula.

en	The evil is defeated.

en	Those equations are just a bunch of word games. They're not real.

en	Look, this isn't even a matter of opinion. I'm right.

en	Numbers don't lie.

en	There are things you can't see!

en	Like what? Your feelings? The power of friendship?

en	Does it not occur to you that perhaps your enemies have those things too?

en	They're on both sides of the equation, so they cancel each other out.

en	Oh my god! This is baseball, not rocket science.

en	But this isn't rocket science. This is basic algebra.

en	Bro, give it up. Noelle hates being wrong.

en	Actually, I wouldn't know. I'm not familiar with the sensation.

en	Liz comes up and taps Akarsha on the shoulder.

en	Hey! You're up to bat now.

en	Akarsha lets out a prolonged croaking sound that lasts for 30 seconds.

en	We're down two outs, so I better not screw this up.

en	Akarsha picks a bat and heads to the plate.

en	Intimidate the enemy with an impressive entrance

en	Use psychological warfare

en	Akarsha slowly does a taichi pose while maintaining eye contact with Jun-seo.

en	This is the form, "Grasp the bird's tail."

en	Akarsha lies on her back and tries to jump onto her feet without using her hands.

en	There's not enough momentum. She just flops back down.

en	Wait for it. I got this.

en	She tries it again. This time she manages to land on the balls of her feet, but doesn't have muscle to pull herself up.

en	Defeated, she lands back on her butt.

en	Akarsha, cut it out.

en	Jun-seo doesn't look intimidated at all. He winds up and throws the ball.

en	You're not invited to my birthday party anymore.

en	...What...?

en	This is my special technique: Verbal Smoke Bomb.

en	My remark brought up so many questions that he's been thrown into confusion.

en	Akarsha, cut it out.

en	Still looking perplexed, Jun-seo pitches the ball.

en	Akarsha isn't experienced enough to distinguish balls from strikes, so she randomly decides whether or not to swing.

en	Unsurprisingly, she racks up three strikes in an instant.

en	No...my special technique...

en	How about you practice more instead of using your special technique?

en	It's time to switch sides now.

en	The batter hits the ball towards Akarsha again.

en	Akarsha fumbles the ball, allowing the runner to safely reach the bag.

en	Thanks for screwing up.

en	I didn't screw up. That was on purpose.

en	The truth is, I'm a double agent.

en	JUST ADMIT YOU MESSED UP ALREADY.

en	The Killer Whales have one out and a runner on first. The runner takes off as Jun-seo bunts the ball.

en	It rolls slowly all the way down the left foul line; Diya follows it closely, hovering over it like a hawk.

en	What's she doing?

en	If Diya can grab it when it's on the left side of the line, it'll count as foul.

en	You can't run on foul balls, so the runner will have to return to first.

en	The ball is still rolling almost exactly down the line.

en	Akarsha runs ahead of the ball and drags her foot in the dirt to make a path curving to the right.

en	Hey!

en	The ball hits the path and rolls foul! Diya quickly grabs it.

en	I'm a triple agent.

en	You can't just change allegiances to match whether or not you messed up.

en	Min throws the next pitch for a strike.

en	Nice work! Time to switch sides again.

en	That was fast.

en	That's good. It means Min's knuckleball is working.

en	We should give it a special name.

en	Like...Knuckles.

en	I'm not calling it a damn Sonic character.

en	It can be butterfly related, since they flutter.

en	Butterfly...butterfly thingy.

en	Butterfly from Hell's Anus.

en	The "anus" part wasn't necessary.

en	Noelle, you're up to bat!

en	Akarsha catcalls Noelle as she walks up to the plate.

en	WAOWW!! IT'S NOELLE!! YOW-WEE-MAMA!!!

en	SHUT UP!!!!!

en	How mean!

en	A swing and a miss.

en	I wonder if Noelle enjoys this?

en	She's having fun.

en	She's scowling as she swings the bat.

en	That's just her personality. If she disliked it, she would've quit by now.

en	Noelle strikes out.

en	Diya, you're next.

en	The catcher gets up and stands far off to the side, away from Diya.

en	Jun throws it into his mitt.

en	It's an intentional walk.

en	Right off the bat? They haven't even seen her hit yet.

en	They're scared of her. Hayden knows how strong she is, from when we were little.

en	They probably figure it's fine to let her have first since no one else on the team can get a hit.

en	That's smart. It'll be hard for us to score without her.

en	Once they've thrown four balls, Diya throws the bat to the side and trots to first.

en	It looks like he made the right call, because after Diya's walk, the team accumulates two more outs in an instant.

en	It looks like he made the right call, because after Diya's walk, the [teamName!t] accumulate two more outs in an instant.

en	Diya is stranded there until they switch sides.

en	Neither team manages to score for the next few innings.

en	Diya is still getting walked at each at-bat, and the others aren't skilled enough to reliably hit the enemy's pitches.

en	Diya is still getting walked at each at-bat, and the other [teamName!t] aren't skilled enough to reliably hit the enemy's pitches.

en	A few people manage to get hits off Min's knuckleball by chance, but no one's made it home yet.

en	By the 7th inning, though, some of Min's luck starts to run out.

en	Min's next pitch comes in high and inside, but instead of dropping, it soars up into the air.

en	Diya has to jump to catch it.

en	That's the fourth ball; the batter throws his bat aside and jogs to first base. The bases are loaded with no outs.

en	This is terrible. They're probably going to score at least one goal.

en	Did you just say "goal"??

en	The next batter is a buff looking fellow.

en	He smashes the pitch straight into right field, where Noelle is.

en	No! That's the worst possible person he could've hit it to!

en	It's so far out that the ball is like a speck in the clouds.

en	Noelle is apprehensively backing up with her glove out, squinting up at sky.

en	She plants her feet firmly shoulders' width apart, reaches up, and claps her free hand decisively over the glove.

en	She caught it?!

en	She caught it!

en	How is that possible?!

en	The runners all skid and scramble to reverse direction. They all need to tag up on their former bases now or they're out.

en	No one thought she would catch it! Here's our chance!

en	Noelle throws to Liz at second base.

en	There's a loud slap noise as Liz covers her glove with her hand, preventing the ball from bouncing out.

en	She easily tags the bag before Hayden can return to it.

en	That's two outs! Just one more!

en	Liz rears up and throws to Akarsha, who's manning first base.

en	...What the hell?

en	There's nothing in Liz's hand. She's throwing nothing at Akarsha.

en	Akarsha pretends to catch it in her glove and tags first base before Jun reaches it.

en	Out!

en	The runners are dejectedly returning to their defensive positions.

en	A triple play?!

en	Jun is looking at Akarsha suspiciously.

en	Wait a minute! She's not holding anything.

en	He saw!

en	What?? Where's the ball, then?

en	Heck if I know.

en	How do you guys not know??

en	I got it.

en	Chryssa plucks the missing ball from the grass in right field, where it's been this entire time.

en	Noelle didn't even catch it in the first place.

en	I knew it!

en	So we're not out after all!

en	No, you're all still out.

en	The rulebook states that if a runner abandons his effort to run the bases, he's out.

en	You all clearly gave up.

en	So it's still a triple play.

en	You son of a bitch...

en	Hey!

en	That was actually a compliment. I think.

en	It was a compliment.

en	This feels kind of like an asshole move, though.

en	On what planet do you guys live on where Noelle isn't an asshole?

en	Is it okay to trick them like that? Isn't it cheating?

en	It's not cheating. You guys deserve a freakin' Academy Award for that performance just now.

en	Especially Noelle. Good job!

en	Shut up. Don't praise me like I'm a little kid.

en	Are you crying?!

en	Ib nob cryig!

en	By the way, when you act like the ball is somewhere it's not, that's called a deke— short for "decoy."

en	Dekes an important part of infield play, like a feint.

en	They're rarely as elaborate as the three-way deke we just pulled off, but it's the same idea.

en	WE THE DEKE SQUAD.

en	Get it?

en	Oh my god. It's like Dick Squad, but Deke.

en	Deke Squad.

en	Deke Squad.

en	*chanting* DEKE SQUAD! DEKE SQUAD!

en	I bet the teachers always separate you two in class.

en	You bring out the worst in each other.

en	It's Akarsha's turn to bat again. There's already two outs and no one on base.

en	The Killer Whales are still winning, [enemyScore!t] to [teamScore!t].

en	The game is still tied, 0 - 0.

en	Suddenly, Jun cries out from the mound.

en	Wait, time out! My contact hurts!

en	Everyone pauses.

en	What's wrong with it?

en	I think I got dust under the lens.

en	Face screwed up in pain, he takes out what appears to be a tiny plunger.

en	What is that??

en	It's for taking out contact lens.

en	You're going to play without it on?? You can't pitch like that.

en	Hayden, didn't you say you wanted to try pitching?

en	Right now?? I've literally never pitched a ball in my life.

en	Why not? There's a first time for everything.

en	Jun-seo takes out the offending contact. He's now effectively blind in one eye.

en	Okay. Here goes nothing!

en	Intimidate him with your baseball expertise

en	Act weak so he goes easy on you

en	I go to baseball games.

en	I eat the baseballs.

en	.................

en	Akarsha takes one step forward and collapses dramatically across the plate.

en	My ankle!

en	Everyone is so used to her antics by now that no one reacts.

en	Akarsha, stop screwing around and get up.

en	Akarsha clutches her heart and gasps for breath.

en	That's so mean! The shock put me into cardiac arrest!

en	AKARSHA!

en	Akarsha winces and puts a hand on her stomach.

en	My appendix burst from the pressure!

en	Fine. Die then.

en	Hayden pitches the ball. Akarsha gets up just in time to take a wild swing at it.

en	I somehow hit it!

en	Through sheer luck, it's heading toward Jun, who's squinting up at it with his good eye.

en	I got it!

en	The ball hits him in the face!

en	Akarsha makes it to second base in the confusion.

en	Nice batting!

en	Finally...for the first time this entire game, someone's on already on base when Diya is up.

en	Even though Hayden is just walking Diya, he looks really scared to be pitching against her.

en	He throws the next pitch.

en	Everyone watches as the ball soars almost straight up into the sky in a high arc.

en	It drops back down about halfway to the plate.

en	HE DID A NOELLE...

en	Don't name errors after me!

en	HAYDEN WHAT'RE YOU DOING??!

en	SHUT UP! IT SLIPPED OUT OF MY HAND!

en	Hayden picks up the ball and tries again.

en	He accidentally throws it straight at Diya's head.

en	Diya ducks.

en	Ack! Sorry!

en	What the fuck is your problem?!

en	How dare you! Diya could've been killed!

en	Min and Noelle have stormed to the mound and are now bashing Hayden together.

en	I'm calling the police.

en	What? No one got hurt.

en	It doesn't matter. That was criminal negligence.

en	I will personally make sure your entire life is ruined.

en	He should be executed.

en	Executed?!

en	Hey! Get back on the bench!

en	Noelle, put the phone down! No one's getting arrested!

en	MIN, WHERE DID YOU GET MORE KNIVES?

en	Diya steps back up to the plate as Min and Noelle are dragged back to the bench.

en	They're both glowering in the corner, darkly muttering to one another...

en	There is no justice in the world.

en	Both of you, knock it off!

en	Hayden winds up and throws the ball.

en	It's not far enough outside! Diya lunged out at it and made contact.

en	She got a hit off the intentional walk attempt!

en	She hammers it straight into right field, right at Jun-seo again.

en	I got this! I got this!

en	The ball rolls through his legs.

en	Diya and Akarsha cross home plate to win the game.

en	YEEEEAHHH!!!!!

en	I can't believe it! We won!

en	You don't have to look so blatantly shocked.

en	The Niles team is departing.

en	Min and Noelle glare at Hayden as he goes into the van they arrived in.

en	Are you guys still plotting revenge?

en	I'll help. I love drama.

en	Are you still on your period?

en	Maybe you can touch him with your cursed period blood hand again.

en	Too late, man. The blood's brown now. They might think it's mud.

en	There's 9 of us, though, so there's probably 2.25 other girls on their periods.

en	What if we got all of them to run at the boys' team from different directions? That'd be like a nightmare.

en	I doubt anyone but you would agree to that plan.

en	Honestly, the guys would probably freak out even if you just threw a clean pad at them.

en	Oh my gosh...You're right!

en	Thanks for the idea.

en	No. No!

en	Don't do this. I refuse to be involved in this.

en	This is friendship goals, Frenchman. If we go down, we all go down together.

en	THAT'S JUST A ROUNDABOUT WAY OF SAYING YOU'RE DRAGGING ME DOWN WITH YOU.

en	Akarsha pulls a pad from her backpack and rips the wrapper open with a loud crinkle.

en	I don't get why they make the sound so conspicuous.

en	I know, right? The only way they could make it more obvious is if they added firecrackers.

en	Chryssa is power walking over to them. She has developed a sixth sense when some stupid shit is about to go down.

en	Who's opening a pad out here?

en	....!

en	Noelle quickly moves about 15 feet away and pretends not to know them.

en	We gotta make this quick!

en	We should soak it with something to make it more unknown.

en	I have Gatorade.

en	What flavor?

en	Yellow one. Yellow flavor.

en	YES...

en	I hate that I know you well enough to discern that you want it to look like pee.

en	Pee girl.

en	Akarsha pours a splash of the Gatorade on it.

en	I feel like I'm doing one of those absorbency demonstrations in commercials.

en	Our liquid is the wrong color, though. It's always blue.

en	Those cowards. They should use red like blood.

en	Akarsha holds up their finished creation.

en	I'm gonna throw it now.

en	Should I?

en	NO.

en	Do it!

en	Akarsha flings the pad like a frisbee into the van!

en	It hits Jun-seo in the shoulder.

en	WHAT IS THAT??!

en	AAAAaaaAAAAaAAAA!!!!

en	Jun goes down!

en	Screams fill the van as though a grenade was thrown in.

en	The team desperately scatters away from the deadly object.

en	Someone is climbing out of the window.

en	Akarsha and Min

en	HAHAHAHA!!!!

en	WHAT DID YOU BRATS DO THIS TIME?!

en	...!

en	Run. Run!

en	GET BACK HERE!

en	GYyyAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaAa!!!!!!!!!

en	Ayyyy! I'm here.

en	Hello? Diya? Homie??

en	Diya is examining something on a tree branch.

en	[caterpillar!t] made a cocoon.

en	She points at the chrysalis.

en	He's soup now, inside.

en	Isn't it crazy? Their whole body liquifies and has to rebuild itself.

en	Imagine if growing up was that bad for us.

en	It must be a complicated process.

en	I always worry something will go wrong in there, and they won't ever wake up.

en	What if someone shakes it really hard? It'll stir the soup.

en	Naw man, they're pretty resilient.

en	Did you know its memory survives that?

en	If you teach a caterpillar something, like to fear a certain smell or whatever, after it comes out of its cocoon as a butterfly it'll still remember.

en	Even though the outside's different, it's still the same Caterpilly on the inside, from beginning to end.

en	Will he remember me?

en	Sure, as much as an eating machine can.

en	Believe in [caterpillar!t].

en	.................

en	Akarsha.

en	Ya?

en	I need to tell you something. Noelle wouldn't understand.

en	I...

en	....................less.......

en	.............bean.

en	I like a girl.

en	Oh. Nice.

en	........You're not surprised.

en	I mean, I can tell.

en	I'm bi.

en	??????????????????

en	It's not a secret? I've literally hit on girls in front of you?

en	I've literally hit on you?

en	You...What.

en	But those were all jokes. I thought you were kidding.

en	The kinds of jokes you decide to tell are indicative of your character.

en	I tell gay jokes because I am a gay joke.

en	Also, you should tell Min. She likes you back.

en	I'll help you.

en	2nd grade

en	Min, are you ready to go?

en	Heck no.

en	I still gotta do my hair.

en	Slowpoke.

en	Not my fault.

en	Do you have any idea how long this takes to dry?

en	Oh, come on. It's like 5 minutes.

en	But it builds up! Combined over my lifetime, it adds up to...

en	Uh..........

en	Infinity.

en	If you don't know the answer, just admit it.

en	I read something interesting in the news this morning.

en	Wait, what?

en	I thought you have that thing where you can't read. Dystopia.

en	Dyslexia.

en	Dyslexia.

en	And I CAN read. It just takes me longer.

en	So what's the thing you read?

en	What percent of America do you think is Asian-American?

en	50%

en	80%

en	100%

en	Maybe like half?

en	Probably more. Like 80%%.

en	Maybe like 80%%?

en	100%%.

en	What am I, then?!

en	Your imaginary friend??

en	Oh. I forgot about you.

en	That's even worse! I'm standing right in front of you!

en	What's the actual answer?

en	4%%.

en	4%%?!

en	I knew it. He can't read.

en	I can read! That's what it really said!

en	Yeah, right. That's impossible.

en	Are you sure you read it correctly?

en	Sometimes you read things wrong.

en	I didn't read it wrong. It said right there, 4%%.

en	Then it must've been a misprint.

en	Like, they forgot the zero.

en	And thought the 9 was a 4, so it's really 90%%.

en	Oh, wait, I know! They forgot to include the Indians.

en	It was including Indians.

en	Why don't you guys believe me? It's really 4%%!

en	Because it's not. Hayden, look around you.

en	Do you see any white people?

en	Min gestures at all the other kids on the playground. Indeed, everyone is Asian.

en	You're like an endangered species.

en	But that's just here. The rest of the country isn't like this.

en	Don't you wonder why everyone is white on TV?

en	That's easy. Because their parents won't let them become actors.

en	It's too risky. Only white parents are that dumb.

en	Okay, but what about sports? There aren't Asians there, either.

en	That's the same thing. Being an athlete is too risky for Asian parents to approve of it.

en	The difference can't be that big! I'm going to cut out the newspaper article and show it to you guys.

en	............

en	............

en	Stop looking at me all concerned like that!

en	I can't believe it. Hayden's gone mad...

en	I'm not mad!

en	Gone mad...

en	Hayden, are you feeling lonely or something?

en	It's okay. We still like you even though you're different.

en	Yeah. Every year they show us that video where they go back in time to racism!

en	Racism is over.

en	I give up........forget it................

en	Boy

en	Another boy

en	The playground structure rattles as a bunch of boys climb aboard.

en	Hey, Hayden! Jun!

en	Wanna play baseball?

en	Oh. Uh........

en	He looks like he really doesn't want to.

en	Uneasily, he turns to Hayden, who just shrugs.

en	Aren't you both in Little League?

en	Yeah...but...

en	What about me?

en	Can I play?

en	You??

en	Yeah, why not?

en	There's an uncomfortable silence.

en	The group is nervously exchanging glances amongst themselves. This is clearly the first time a girl has asked to join their ranks.

en	I'm not like other girls. I'm way, way worse.

en	The others look at Min skeptically.

en	What, are you scared you'll lose to a girl?

en	What?! No!

en	Wow, you ARE scared.

en	You little bitch.

en	A hush falls over the group.

en	She said the b-word...

en	She plays video games, too.

en	Oh yeah? Like what?

en	Like Sonic Adventure 2.

en	This instantly wins everyone over!

en	The group has made their way to the field.

en	Jun, your shirt's so girly.

en	How's it girly? It's Arthur.

en	Everyone is scrutinizing Jun's shirt now.

en	Wearing Arthur on your shirt looks gay.

en	I'm not gay!

en	Then why're you wearing that shirt? Haha!

en	Min takes out a box cutter!

en	Hey!

en	What's so funny? You wanna go?

en	The blade glints in the sunlight as she stabs the air in front of the jeering boys.

en	Frightened, everyone abruptly stops laughing.

en	...You...you can't do that!

en	Says who? You? Fight me.

en	The boy shrinks back on the bench as she nears him.

en	That's what I thought.

en	Min successfully asserted dominance over the leader of the group!

en	She clicks the blade back in and sits down.

en	...Thanks...

en	Anytime. It's your noona's job to protect you.

en	It's Min's turn at bat now.

en	She swings ferociously at the incoming pitch!

en	DIEEEE!!!!!!

en	Min hits the ball toward the mound!

en	The pitcher ducks to avoid getting beaned. Min reaches the bag with time to spare.

en	I made it to first.

en	It's Jun's turn at bat.

en	Jun bunted it into the dirt!

en	He's sacrificing himself so I can make it to second.

en	Min dashes for second base. She slides feet first into the bag.

en	Boys

en	Hahaha!!!

en	Suddenly, everyone's laughing at her.

en	Huh?

en	Min, your skirt...

en	He's pointing down at it.

en	Min's skirt has flipped up so everyone can see her underwear.

en	I hate skirts!

en	They're stupid.

en	What?? Don't be silly.

en	You look so cute in them.

en	I don't wanna look cute!

en	I wanna look cool!

en	Well, we already bought them. So you have to wear them.

en	I always say I don't like them but you keep buying them anyway!

en	I'd rather die than wear one.

en	It's embarrassing.

en	How come I have to when Jun doesn't?

en	That'd be crazy! Jun's a boy.

en	Boys don't wear skirts.

en	That's not fair! Then I won't wear skirts either, then.

en	Also, Mom...

en	I don't like this shirt anymore.

en	What're you talking about? That's your favorite shirt.

en	I changed my mind.

en	Why? It's a perfectly good shirt.

en	I just did, alright?

en	I'm not allowed to not like a shirt?

en	Both of you are being ridiculous. You're wearing the clothes we bought you, and that's final.

en	So spoiled. What kind of kids are you?

en	...................

en	...................

en	The car glides up the ramp to the freeway.

en	Jun-seo is mashing the buttons on his Game Boy Advance like his life depends on it.

en	You've been playing that the entire day.

en	It's my turn.

en	Wait. Just 5 more minutes.

en	You said that 20 minutes ago.

en	I have to beat this level.

en	Mom! Jun won't let me play on the Game Boy even though he said he would!

en	Why don't you look outside at all the trees?

en	Why do I have to do that when Jun gets to play Sonic? That's not fair!

en	It's not normal for a girl to like video games that much.

en	None of our friends' daughters play games.

en	There must be something wrong with your hormones. We should go see a doctor.

en	I don't need to see a doctor! There's nothing wrong with liking games!

en	Yes, there is. It's not natural for a girl.

en	It's called a Game Boy, not a Game Girl!

en	Hahaha!

en	Haha! Good one!

en	That's not funny. This isn't fair!

en	It's just a game. Take it easy.

en	Min wrenches the Game Boy out of Jun's hands!

en	Before he can stop her, she rolls down the window and chucks it as hard as she can onto the freeway.

en	MOM!!!!!!

en	LOOK WHAT MIN DID!!!!

en	You did WHAT?!

en	Did you get the Game Boy back?

en	We turned around and got it. The screen was busted, though.

en	Once you turned it on, it'd show all this rainbow shit. You couldn't use it at all.

en	Nooo..........

en	Why're you so angry all the time? Always breaking stuff...

en	Because people are stupid all the time!

en	Just, like, calm down. Try not getting angry.

en	I AM trying!

en	Try harder. You didn't have to do that! Now neither of you can play it.

en	Exactly! Now it's fair.

en	Why should he get to be happy when I can't?

en	That's...one way to think about it...

en	Jun returns to the table with their Happy Meals.

en	Thanks!

en	Hayden digs into his box and pulls out his plastic-wrapped toy.

en	Ooh! Look what I got!

en	It's a futuristic looking Hot Wheels car sporting translucent ice blue windows.

en	Whoa!

en	Jun unwraps his toy, too. His is a monster truck.

en	Whoa!!!

en	That's not bad, either!

en	Uh...I guess?

en	I don't really get why these things are popular.

en	Hayden, are you up to trading for yours?

en	Depends. Whatchu got?

en	Min takes her toy out of her Happy Meal.

en	It's a...Barbie doll.

en	.............

en	I don't want this.

en	I'm gonna ask for a replacement.

en	Look at TV

en	Talk to Hayden

en	Approach the counter

en	T.V.

en	Imagine a world where love is ILLEGAL...

en	The screen shows a man and woman bumping into each other and making eye contact.

en	Breathtakingly original...

en	The man and woman are passionately making out.

en	Yuck.

en	A forbidden romance like you've NEVER seen before...

en	For some reason, the entire cast is comprised of brown haired white people. They look similar enough that they could be siblings.

en	What the heck...

en	See? It's all white people on TV.

en	We've already gone over this.

en	It's because Asian people's parents don't let them become actors.

en	That's can't be it. The difference is way too extreme.

en	Min sadly shakes her head at him.

en	Gone mad...

en	I haven't gone mad!

en	Hayden is trying to cheer Jun up.

en	I just came up with a great joke! Wanna hear it?

en	If Sherlock Holmes owned all the houses in a neighborhood, what would the neighborhood be called?

en	A small, patient smile forms on Jun's face.

en	Sherlock Homes.

en	What! How did you know?

en	You've already told me this joke before.

en	No way? I came up with it just now!

en	But also you told it to me last year. You forgot your own joke and came up with it all over again.

en	What...I seriously don't remember, though?

en	Jun covers his face when he laughs.

en	But you did! It was exactly the same!

en	It's not even that funny, but you were so proud of it both times!

en	Exhaling, he appears to regain his composure, but it's only a moment before he doubles over again.

en	Why were you so proud?

en	Hey, it's a great joke, okay?

en	Hey, wanna hear another joke?

en	Sure!

en	Why couldn't Cinderella play baseball?

en	Why?

en	Because her s, stepmother—

en	Hayden can't keep a straight face! He's stifling his laugh so it sounds like a garbage disposal.

en	—kkkkkKK......kggghh!!!!

en	Jun waits patiently as he takes deep, calming breaths to recollect himself.

en	Because her stepmother wouldn't let her go to the....go to the—

en	Hayden is laughing so hard at his own joke that he can't even finish it!

en	You're hopeless...

en	Looking aghast, Jun pulls a wrapped burger out of his Happy Meal.

en	What's wrong?

en	They gave me a cheeseburger instead of chicken nuggets.

en	Then go complain.

en	No, it's okay!

en	I don't wanna bother the workers.

en	Suit yourself...

en	Jun-seo is sadly eating the burger he doesn't want.

en	Ask for a different toy

en	Walk back to seat

en	Cashier

en	Min approaches the counter.

en	Hey, you!

en	I want a different toy.

en	Sorry, we can't do that.

en	No, I don't mean I'm trying to get a specific one. I want a boy one, but they gave me a girl toy by mistake.

en	But you're such a pretty girl! You don't want Hot Wheels.

en	Yeah, I do!

en	Hand it over or you're getting it.

en	Haha! You're a funny little girl.

en	..................

en	..................

en	..................

en	What were you thinking?! Why did you ruin your hair like that?!

en	That's what you get!

en	And it's not ruined! It's better like this!

en	What's gotten into you?!

en	If you continue like this, no man is ever going to marry you!

en	Who cares!

en	If I have to have long hair to get married, I don't wanna get married!

en	I don't ever want kids!

en	Her parents furrow their brows in concern.

en	You have to have at least two or three.

en	I don't think I'd make a good parent. I don't want my kids to end up hating me.

en	You won't be happy if you don't have kids.

en	You'll get it when you grow up.

en	What's there to get?

en	I'll never wanna kiss a guy anyway. They're smelly and have gross skin like Dad.

en	Well, nobody's perfect.

en	You have to have realistic expectations.

en	I am being realistic!

en	I don't want someone who's nothing special.

en	I'm pretty awesome, so I should get someone who's awesome, too.

en	Prince Charming doesn't exist in real life.

en	If you think like that, you'll never find anyone.

en	Then I'll just stay alone!

en	You can't do that!

en	Why do you get to decide what happens to me?!

en	We're your parents! You have to do what we say!

en	No! It's my life, not yours!

en	What's wrong with you?!

en	What did we ever deserve to get a horrible child like this?!

en	There's something wrong with her brain. She's so disobedient.

en	She's still playing baseball with all those boys.

en	What's wrong with that?!

en	Do you see any other girls doing that?

en	Do you want to be some kind of weirdo?

en	But Jun gets to! How come I don't get to?!

en	Jun is a boy! You're a girl!

en	What part of that don't you understand?! Are you brain damaged?

en	THAT'S STUPID! IT'S NOT FAIR!!

en	That's reality! The world's not fair!

en	This isn't some fairy tale! You have to accept it, or you're stupid!

en	I WON'T ACCEPT IT!

en	I WON'T EVER ACCEPT IT!!

en	{big=20}SO STUPID! WE REALLY DO HAVE TO TAKE YOU TO A DOCTOR NOW!{/big}

en	{big=20}YOU HAVE MENTAL PROBLEMS! BRAIN DAMAGED!{/big}

en	{big=20}RETARDED!{/big}

en	{big=20}YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S RETARDED!{/big}

en	{big=20}I HATE YOU! GO TO HELL!!{/big}

en	There is a small statue sitting on the living room shelf.

en	Min's dad picks it up and hurls it at her.

en	Min!

en	Min dodges. The statue strikes the glass coffee table behind her, shattering the glass into a thousand pieces on the floor.

en	Min was expecting the shards to be all sharp and jagged, but instead, they look like Icee slush.

en	You were asking for it.

en	Jun-seo has started crying.

en	Stop it! She's sorry!

en	She's sorry, stop!

en	Shut up!

en	He grabs Jun's arm.

en	!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

en	Min lunges at her dad and bites down on his wrist.

en	AUGH!!!

en	He lets go of Jun!

en	Min throws a punch, but he catches it with his hand.

en	He's so strong!

en	I hate this! I hate this!

en	I'll kill him if it's the last thing I do!

en	I'll kill him. I'll save all of us.

en	I'll wait until he's asleep and slit his throat.

en	You can't. You'll go to jail.

en	I don't have a choice.

en	I don't want to hurt anyone, but I want to be happy, too.

en	If Dad dies, we won't have enough money to live.

en	Then Mom'll get a new husband.

en	Maybe this time, we'll get a normal one who doesn't go crazy and break everything.

en	Dad only does that when he's mad. You knew he'd lose his temper if you kept saying things like that.

en	You should've just apologized and said you were wrong.

en	But I wasn't wrong.

en	It doesn't matter.

en	Yeah it does! I'm not gonna say I was wrong when I wasn't.

en	You're so stubborn!

en	Don't you get it? There's no way to win against him.

en	The more you argue, the worse you're making things.

en	You have to learn how to pick your battles like me and Mom.

en	Why do I have to be the one who has to be mature?

en	That's not fair! I'm a kid! He's supposed to be the adult!

en	I don't deserve to be treated like that!

en	If he can't control himself, he shouldn't be allowed to have kids.

en	You can think about some other time when he's not about to blow up!

en	Just act like you're sorry.

en	I'd rather die!

en	Look, this is just common sense! Why don't you get it?

en	Just keep your head down and act normal until we're old enough to get out.

en	Screw that!

en	I shouldn't have to worry about any of this in the first place!

en	I'm not letting him treat me that way, like some wimpy sissy.

en	There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity.

en	I'll walk that line.

en	No! You have to learn!

en	{i}I{/i} have to learn?

en	I didn't do anything wrong! He's the one who should learn!

en	We already went over this.

en	You're a coward.

en	You're an idiot.

en	I don't understand you.

en	Good. I don't understand you either.

en	Min sulks on the bleachers as Jun and Hayden's team goes on defense.

en	I hate everyone.

en	How can they stand how unfair everything is? It's so obvious.

en	Are they just dumb? There's something wrong with the world.

en	God! I'm so mad.

en	She takes out a pack of seaweed sheets and aggressively chomps on them as she thinks edgy, rebellious thoughts.

en	I don't need anyone. I'll do everything all by myself.

en	I'll never fall in love. I'll be like a lone wolf.

en	I'll become so happy and successful that everyone who was ever bad to me has to beg on their hands and knees for me to forgive them.

en	That'll show them. They'll regret being so stupid and wrong, while I was right.

en	An enemy batter comes up to the plate.

en	OH MY GOD???????? HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!

en	It's a girl with eyes the color of desert camouflage.

en	The boys seated next to Min are murmuring and pointing at the batter.

en	Pretty girl

en	Hey, look! It's a girl batting!

en	Yes! Our team got lucky!

en	...................

en	The pretty girl is shaking like a leaf as she settles into her batting stance. She looks terrified.

en	DON'T GIVE UP!

en	YOU'RE COOL!!!

en	DO YOU HEAR ME? DON'T GIVE UP!

en	I WON'T GIVE UP IF YOU DON'T GIVE UP!

en	................!

en	At the sound of Min's voice, the batter whirls around to face the stands, her eyes searching the crowd.

en	For some reason, she can't seem to discern what direction it came from. Eventually she gives up and turns back to the diamond.

en	The pitcher winds up and sends a fastball straight down the middle.

en	The batter swings at it with terrifying power.

en	The ball rockets off the bat and flies over the fence on the far end of the field.

en	HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!

en	GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

en	A NATIONAL TREASURE!!!!!

en	The batter hit a walk-off. The game is over because she scored.

en	Everyone comes in from the field. Her teammates have come bounding over, giddy off their victory.

en	They're laughing and chatting amongst themselves.

en	The girl is nervously nodding at them instead of speaking.

en	She's so shy! That's so cute!

en	I wonder what her voice sounds like.

en	Maybe she can't talk? Like Ariel in the Little Mermaid.

en	Min's heart is pounding so fast!

en	Holy shit...Okay...okay!!

en	Min, calm down.

en	Play it cool. Be smooth.

en	Panic flashes in the girl's eyes when Min runs up to her.

en	Hey! Um, you're really cool.

en	What's your name? I'm Min.

en	The girl's face lights up when she recognizes Min's voice.

en	It was you, earlier.

en	You cheered for me.

en	Of course I did. You were badass.

en	The girl startles. Min said a swear word!

en	I mean, you were awesome!

en	I'm Diya.

en	That's so pretty! It sounds like you.

en	......................

en	I have seaweed. Do you want some?

en	Diya looks at Min all wide-eyed, like she can't believe her luck.

en	Min actually spends a fraction of a second trying to think of a way she can casually give her the seaweed and somehow touch her hand in the process.

en	In the end, she just holds the sheet out normally.

en	Diya's fingertips brush Min's as she takes it.

en	A bizzare tingling feeling, impossible to identify, prickles across Min's palms. It feels like being tickled with soda bubbles.

en	Thanks.

en	You're welcome!!!

en	Min stands there with an idiotic smile on her face as Diya eats it.

en	Do you wanna be friends?

en	{nw}

en	Min

en	Help me

en	;;

en	whats wrong??? WHO HURT YOU

en	ill kill them! ill smash their heads in

en	I don't know how to talk to the baseball team

en	They're being

en	.......weird

en	Check the baseball club chat

en	{nw}

en	*pets you*

en	nya :3

en	*purrs and rolls over*

en	WTF

en	ohayou gozaimorning

en	join our rp group

en	*rubs againt min*

en	KICKS YOU OVER A FENCE

en	BE A FURRY FREAK HO SOMEWHERE ELSE

en	SAD NYA

en	hgfHJFDSKFJAD

en	Chryssa has entered the chatroom.

en	Hey Chryssa!

en	yo

en	We should do something to celebrate our win

en	how about going out for lunch?

en	!!!! :D! !!

en	That sounds good

en	Any suggestions for where?

en	Buffet

en	Perfect, I have a coupon for Bombay Garden

en	It's an Indian buffet in the mall

en	if we're really being frugal

en	I bet Min could pass off as under 12 for the Kids price

en	Why stop there?

en	Infants eat for free.

en	DAMN

en	HEY

en	more realistically, Min could actually fit in our equipment bag

en	the giant 3 ft long one

en	we can straight up smuggle her inside and not pay for her at all

en	Won't the waiters find it odd that a tiny Asian kid suddenly materialized at our table?

en	No, they won't see her

en	She'll stay in the bag

en	When no one's looking, we can quickly slip the food inside.

en	what kind of demented fantasy even is this

en	I'm getting scared for your future children, you weirdo

en	that sounds kinda fun actually

en	ill do it

en	WHAT

en	ill be like

en	illegal

en	Alright, let's meet up there at noon tomorrow

en	Be there or be square :)

en	Tomorrow? I won't be able to go.

en	:c

en	Why not?

en	I just had fun 3 months ago. My parents will complain I'm wasting time.

en	i cant go either

en	im still grounded for getting ecxpelled from niles

en	How are you coming to practice, then?

en	i told them i'm going to a tutering group

en	can't u say ur going to a special additional session?

en	bc ur extra dumb and need the help

en	fuck yuo

en	and thats not gonna work

en	they wont be convinced that easily

en	Wait, listen.

en	I have an idea.

en	Min's mom accompanies her to the library.

en	Noelle is seated inside with her mom.

en	Min gestures at her, wrinkling her nose with disgust.

en	This is my private tutor or whatever.

en	Yes. I am receiving extra credit for this.

en	Min's mom eyes the clearly nerdy girl Min would never be friends with.

en	Noelle's mom eyes the clearly stupid girl Noelle would never be friends with.

en	Show us your latest math test.

en	Min takes a crumpled ball of paper out of her pocket. When she smoothes it out, it's marked all over, red with failure.

en	WHAT HAPPENED??

en	I got unlucky. There were so many where I narrowed it down to 2 choices, and guessed wrong.

en	THERE'S ONLY 4 CHOICES. EVEN IF YOU CHOSE EVERY SINGLE ANSWER AT RANDOM, ON AVERAGE YOU WOULD'VE SCORED HIGHER THAN THIS!

en	Yeah?? Says who?

en	...What? Says probability.

en	Noelle teaches Min the concept of probability...

en	Sounds fake.

en	IT'S NOT FAKE.

en	Do you at least understand it now?

en	I guess.

en	Finally convinced that Noelle is legitimately tutoring Min, their moms head home.

en	We fooled them!

en	All we need to do now is walk to the buffet, and remember to come back here later to get picked up.

en	It's so messed up that we even have to do this, just for really basic things. We're not even doing anything bad.

en	I can't comprehend a situation where you don't have to hide most of your life from your parents.

en	Right? A healthy relationship with your parents? What's that?

en	It sucks that due to societal pressures, practically everyone has kids, whether they're well suited for parenting or not.

en	It took me a long time to accept that my mom and dad are decent people who just happen to make horrible parents.

en	I bet mine are worse.

en	My dad taped the times table up to 12x12 to the wall at eye level, and made me stand facing it until I memorized the whole thing in one go.

en	I was only 5, but I remember it clearly because I was there for hours and hours.

en	...I still don't know the 11 and 12 ones.

en	Oh yeah? My dad once threw a porcelain toilet seat at me from upstairs.

en	Why a toilet seat?

en	My dad went to pee in the middle of an argument and suddenly remembered how mad he was at me.

en	So he stormed out of the bathroom with the thing in hand and hurled it at me on sight.

en	Wow. That explains a lot about you.

en	Parents should be required to take a test before they can have kids.

en	I wish that were viable. Maybe in an ideal world, where all vehicle turn signals sync up and blink the same speed.

en	I'd want the test to ask them to explain their motivation for being a parent. Do you want a kid just to elevate your own status?

en	What if your kids don't turn out the way you expected?

en	A bunch of white guys holler at them as they pass by the intersection.

en	White guy

en	Konnichiwa!

en	Min makes an obscene hand gesture at him.

en	This is America! SPEAK ENGLISH, MOTHERFUCKER!!!

en	That's...not the correct way to think of it.

en	It's kinda funny, he had two chances to get it right and got it wrong for both of us.

en	Like you and your math test.

en	Oh, shut up.

en	We're here!

en	Diya and Akarsha are already waiting by the fountain.

en	Diya!

en	........!

en	{font=tamil.ttf}வணக்கம்.{/font}

en	{font=tamil.ttf}நான் குசு விரும்புகிறேன்.{/font}

en	......!!!

en	I love you.

en	{font=korean.ttf}사랑해.{/font}

en	This just added 5 years to my lifespan!!!

en	Diya has moved so that she's standing directly beneath the air conditioning vent. She closes her eyes contentedly as the cool draft blows over her face.

en	You're sweating buckets. Were you exercising or something?

en	Ran 5 miles to here from my house.

en	But your house is only 1 mile away.

en	I know. I just can't read maps.

en	You should cool off in the fountain.

en	No.

en	It doesn't matter that you're not wearing a swimsuit. If you take off your clothes, your bra and underwear will basically be like a bikini.

en	You think the swimsuit is the only issue here??

en	It's called having fun, Frenchman. You should try it sometime.

en	Really? Then why don't YOU jump into the fountain?

en	........Great question!

en	What?

en	It's filled with money people threw in there. It's like a swimming pool but better.

en	She's right! There's nothing stopping us from taking it.

en	You can't be serious. Stop. Stop!

en	How much money have you got so far?

en	Min examines the fistful of dirty coins in her hand.

en	Uh.......

en	A lot.

en	Min holds it out for Akarsha to see.

en	You've got like $1.88.

en	If we find 392 more cents, we can buy Mario Party at GameStop.

en	Hey! What're you doing in there?? Get out!

en	Chryssa is powerwalking toward them.

en	Shit.

en	Akarsha and Min reluctantly climb out of the mall fountain.

en	Why are you two like this???

en	Have you never gone outside before??

en	How dare you. Just last week, I went to Safeway with my mom.

en	Chryssa points at Noelle, who's smugly watching them get scolded from a safe distance.

en	And you!

en	What! I didn't do anything.

en	Exactly. You should've stopped them.

en	Are you the responsible one or not??

en	Alright, I think they get it. Let's just go into the restaurant now.

en	Get in the bag, Min!

en	Liz places the empty equipment bag on the floor and unzips it.

en	Min climbs in and lies on her side in fetal position. There's actually some room to spare.

en	You okay in there?

en	It's kinda like being in sleeping bag, except not padded and shitty.

en	I'm doing a crime. If I stay undercover like this, I'll basically be stealing from the restaurant.

en	That's right, homie. Fight the system.

en	We need to zip this up now, so no one sees you.

en	Everyone wave goodbye to Min.

en	Bye, Min!

en	I can't see a thing now that it's zipped shut.

en	Min feels a tug on the top of the bag.

en	Ugh, I didn't think about carrying the bag in.

en	It's like, a hundred pounds.

en	Diya can lift it. She's the strongest.

en	No, Diya won't work.

en	She'd look too guilty. You can see it on her face.

en	See, Mom! She's already uncomfortable.

en	...Did you just call me Mom?

en	What?! I did not.

en	You totally did.

en	I ABSOLUTELY DID NOT.

en	Alright, I'll carry the bag.

en	Whoa. She's lifting the bag off the ground.

en	I'm suddenly really worried about being dropped.

en	If you drop me, I'll kill you.

en	They've halted inside the restaurant.

en	Waiter

en	How many?

en	Nine. I mean, eight.

en	We don't have any large tables left. Is two separate ones fine?

en	Sure.

en	Come this way.

en	The bag shifts with Chryssa's movements as she follows the waiter.

en	These tables are pretty tall.

en	If Min were sitting at it, she'd need a booster seat.

en	{big=+20}I'M NOT THAT SHORT, YOU BITCH!{/big}

en	................

en	....................

en	....................

en	Shit.

en	Min's life as a fugitive has ended.

en	At least now that you've blown your cover, you can eat normally with us.

en	Yeah.

en	Min crawls out of the bag and takes a seat with Akarsha, Noelle, and Diya.

en	We can get our drinks and food now.

en	As Akarsha reaches for her empty glass, Noelle grabs her arm.

en	Wait. I'll get your water along with mine.

en	You go ahead and get your food.

en	Thanks...?

en	Don't mention it.

en	Do you have a fever or something?

en	You're really docile all of a sudden.

en	I don't have the energy to deal with both you and Min-seo at the same time.

en	I'll get you back for this later.

en	I like how getting her water is something you have to get her back for.

en	Diya pauses, then turns to look at Min. The restaurant is noisy enough that she likely didn't catch what Min said, but she heard her tone of approval.

en	You like Noelle now?

en	Her face is shining with hope. Min is struck with the conviction that saying no would be a crime punishable by death.

en	...She's okay, I guess.

en	Diya beams at her. The blinding exposure temporarily lowers Min's IQ by 50 points.

en	Yeah!! That was so worth it!

en	I don't know what anything is.

en	Surely you at least recognize Tandoori chicken.

en	You're saying it wrong.

en	Wait, really? Tandoori?

en	Tan-due-ri.

en	The "doo" isn't like in "door". It's like..doo-doo head.

en	Are you 5 years old? You could've just said, like the "due" in "due date."

en	Tan-due-ri...

en	Tan-due-ri...

en	I ended up taking a bit of everything.

en	Maybe this will make Diya think I'm cool for trying all of it.

en	The Tando...Tan-due-ri chicken is too salty.

en	Noelle dumps it on Diya's plate. Diya eagerly stuffs the extra food into her mouth.

en	What is she, your garbage disposal?

en	Min jitters her leg so the table is rattling like there's a small earthquake.

en	Stop that.

en	Akarsha joins in at the same frequency, so it resonates.

en	Knowledge is power.

en	Akarsha sips her water. She's downed about half the glass now.

en	Clearly waiting for this moment to arrive, Noelle smugly flips open her cell phone and shows it to her.

en	Akarsha, look at this photo.

en	It's a picture of the restaurant's bathroom stall. In the center of the frame, Noelle is holding a water glass to the toilet.

en	Is that...You filled my cup with toilet water?!

en	What do you think?

en	Seriously?!

en	Akarsha stands. Noelle has a perversely happy look on her face, like a child burning ants with a magnifying glass.

en	Seriously now, are you serious? Come on man, seriously now really are you serious come on man.

en	Now we're even.

en	Ew!! Ew!!!

en	I can't believe you! You meanie!!

en	My stomach hurts now!

en	You're being overdramatic. The bacteria wouldn't affect it that fast.

en	I'm gonna wash my mouth out!

en	Akarsha disappears into the bathroom.

en	Jesus Christ...

en	...........

en	Worried, Diya goes after Akarsha, leaving Min alone with Noelle at the table.

en	Noelle is in a particularly good mood now.

en	Check on Diya and Akarsha

en	Min gets up and hovers awkwardly outside the women's restroom.

en	Peering through the open door from the hallway, she can see Akarsha and Diya at the sink.

en	Akarsha cups her hand under the running faucet, gargles the tap water, and spits it back out.

en	Oh my god! People pooped in the toilet water! And I drank it!

en	Yeah.

en	This WOULD happen to me. Classic.

en	What did I ever do to deserve this?

en	You tied Noelle's braid to a tree.

en	Besides that. That's so minor!

en	And "accidentally" dropped a worm we were dissecting down her shirt.

en	Besides that. That was weeks ago!

en	Yesterday you picked her up, replied "Okay!" when she demanded you put her down, and threw her into the school swimming pool.

en	And when she screeched, "Now I'm all wet," you yelled, "That's what she said."

en	Besides that! None of these count!

en	..............

en	Such a cruel world we live in.

en	...Right.

en	Diya clearly has no idea what to say.

en	Even though she's mostly just standing there listening, though, Akarsha seems to appreciate her presence.

en	It looks like they're doing okay.

en	Min returns to the table.

en	They're taking a long time in there.

en	She's not crying, is she?

en	No, she's just being a drama queen like usual.

en	What, are you worried?

en	What?? No.

en	I was just curious.

en	Whatever you say, Satan.

en	Was it really toilet water?

en	What? Of course not. That would've been unsanitary.

en	What kind of person do you think I am?

en	What the fuck...That somehow makes it even worse.

en	You lied to her.

en	I never lied.

en	I purposefully led her to the wrong conclusion, that's all.

en	Um...It pisses me off to admit it, but you're less boring than I originally thought.

en	I used to think you were the bland goody-two-shoes type.

en	But you're actually this sadistic, manipulative weirdo.

en	I can respect that.

en	...Thanks...?

en	Sorry I've been a jerk to you.

en	If I'd given you a chance, we might've gotten along.

en	What?!

en	J-just kidding! I hate you.

en	Noelle nods with relief.

en	Good. I hate you, too.

en	None of this Disney shit.

en	Right.

en	The workers are refilling the iced tea keg now.

en	That looks good.

en	Min fetches a glass of iced tea and returns to the table.

en	What is that?

en	Iced tea.

en	What? Where was it?

en	Min points at the glass keg in the corner of the buffet.

en	Why is it all by itself, away from the other beverages?

en	Uh...Maybe they didn't have room by the soda machine?

en	Now that she looks, though, there is room by the soda machine.

en	Shit. You're right.

en	What the hell is this then?

en	How should I know?

en	Min sniffs it.

en	I can't tell what it is.

en	You try.

en	Noelle brings the bowl to her face and inhales.

en	I don't know. It doesn't smell like a tea.

en	Min pours half of it into another glass and slides it over to Noelle.

en	I don't want this!

en	It's a symbol of our not being enemies anymore.

en	I don't even know what it is!

en	Then try it.

en	YOU try it.

en	What, are you scared it'll taste bad?

en	What if it's a condiment? Or a sauce?

en	It would be like eating mustard.

en	We should just wait for Diya and Akarsha to come back and ask them.

en	I don't want to be sitting here with matching cups with you!

en	It'll look stupid!

en	You should've thought about that before taking a glass of mystery liquid!

en	I thought I knew what it was!

en	Noelle glares down at her glass of orangey-yellow liquid. After a long moment, takes a sip of it.

en	Well? What is it?

en	It's spicy, not sweet.

en	It's...weird for a beverage. I don't like it.

en	What're you, racist?

en	I'm not racist!

en	You're like one of those wimps who're afraid of durian.

en	Closed-minded.

en	I'm not! Look, I'll finish it!

en	It's probably an acquired taste, like durian.

en	Min begins drinking her glass of the liquid too.

en	...It does taste weird for a drink.

en	I don't like it. But I'm better than her! I'll never admit it!

en	Grimacing, they continue drinking the mystery liquid in silence.

en	...Hey, you're like a Diya expert, right?

en	More or less.

en	Can I ask for your opinion on something, then?

en	Yes?

en	Where would be the best possible place to take Diya on a date?

en	A dog park.

en	I already-

en	I mean, besides a dog park.

en	Then the Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios.

en	But I don't have the money to-

en	I mean, the budget in this situation is small.

en	...In this hypothetical situation.

en	Right. In this hypothetical situation.

en	I'm testing your Diya knowledge.

en	.................

en	.................

en	She also likes eating.

en	Why don't you take her to a dessert place instead?

en	There's one she wants to try called Snowcastle. They have shaved ice and boba.

en	It's within walking distance from school. Students often visit it during the lunch hour.

en	Perfect! Thanks.

en	...I mean, you pass.

en	Because I was testing you.

en	.................

en	Just as a reminder, I hate you.

en	I'm only helping you to make sure Diya doesn't have a terrible time.

en	Yeah, of course. I hate you, too.

en	Akarsha and Diya have returned from the bathroom.

en	Akarsha's eyes widen as she sees Min gulp another mouthful of the mystery liquid.

en	Are you guys drinking pani?!

en	Diya, look! Look, they're drinking pani!!

en	!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

en	What?? What's pani?

en	You're supposed to use it to fill puri, the fried dough ball things.

en	You don't drink it all by itself.

en	Noelle glares at Min.

en	I told you it wasn't a beverage! I was right!

en	Don't pin it on me!

en	You drank it all on your own!

en	Do you guys squirt ketchup directly into your mouths too??

en	Shut up.

en	Ketchup Man...

en	Both Diya and Akarsha are gleefully taking out their phones.

en	DON'T TAKE PHOTOS!

en	Look what I got!!!

en	It's a photo of a blurred, scowling Noelle trying to shove the shameful cup away from her.

en	!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

en	Send it to me.

en	You're never gonna let us live this down, are you?

en	You guessed it, Ketchup Man 2.

en	Whatever, Pee Girl.

en	Noelle storms off to the buffet area to escape Akarsha's photos.

en	Akarsha gets up and chases after her.

en	...Noelle's making things even worse. There's gonna be action shots of her running around the salad bar now.

en	And of her tripping.

en	Huh? But she hasn't tripped.

en	As if on cue, Noelle stumbles over nothing and trips.

en	Hey! This isn't a jungle gym!

en	...........

en	Wow, you're good.

en	We're alone at the table now...

en	Here's my chance to ask her out!!!

en	We should go out and eat sometime.

en	We're...already eating right now.

en	I mean, some other time. Just the two of us.

en	The next day

en	Snowcastle

en	We're here!!! On a date!!!

en	It's lunchtime at school right now. We ate really fast and sprinted here.

en	How much time do we have?

en	About 30 minutes before we gotta run back to campus.

en	Thanks for bringing me here.

en	I've always wanted to try their shaved ice.

en	I'm the one who should be thankful! Don't mention it!!

en	Min receives a chat message. She quickly checks her phone.

en	{nw}

en	I have prepared a Diya cheat sheet for your reference.

en	Top desserts/drinks Diya likes: - Any food artificially colored to look blue. The flavor is irrelevant (e.g. Blue Raspberry, Baja Blast, etc.). Diya cannot tell the difference and will refer to it as "blue flavor". - Peanut butter. She is neutral toward actual peanuts. - Mango. - Food with a circle in the center (e.g. bagels, bundt cakes, peach gummy rings).

en	If you are in a situation where multiple food items have these features (e.g. both a blue colored cake and a mango mousse cake are available), the hierarchy is as follows: "Blue flavor" > Peanut butter > Mango > Circle in the center

en	Suggested conversation topics - Owl City - Dogs who have different colored fur above their eyes so it looks like they have eyebrows - The Most Extreme (Animal Planet series)

en	k

en	ill text you if i run into trouble

en	Understood.

en	Min and Diya take their place in line and gaze up at the menu.

en	These shaved ice desserts look massive.

en	Maybe we can share one.

en	Diya nods eagerly.

en	It's on purpose. They're made for couples to eat togeth-

en	{big=+20}WE'RE SHARING ONE.{/big}

en	It's Diya and Min's turn in line now.

en	Welcome to Snowcastle. Can I take your order?

en	Diya looks anxiously at Min. Min's heart skips a beat seeing the helplessness in her eyes.

en	She's relying on me!

en	I've got you!

en	We'll have the Mt. Fuji.

en	That one is blue.

en	One Mt. Fuji, coming right up!

en	Diya and Min find a table and wait for their order.

en	I'll pay you back.

en	No, it's on me! Don't worry about it.

en	I still have the money from the mall fountain.

en	...Thanks.

en	You're welcome. I'd kill someone if you asked me to.

en	I'm pretty sure you'd kill someone even if I didn't ask you to.

en	The orders are being prepared on the counter. An employee is drizzling syrup atop another customer's mountain of shaved ice.

en	Hey, we can watch them making it.

en	Don't wanna see.

en	Food tastes better if you don't know what's in it.

en	That way it's like magic.

en	Huh. Never thought of it like that.

en	Do you know how to cook?

en	I can make microwaved popcorn.

en	That's not cooking.

en	What, can {i}you{/i} cook?

en	...Not really.

en	Once, I tried to make a pancake. When I was nine.

en	But it burned to a total crisp. Like a rock.

en	Couldn't even scrape it out of the pan.

en	I was so embarrassed that I dug a big hole in the backyard and buried it.

en	Including the pan?!

en	I was desperate. Didn't know what else to do.

en	That's so cute. Like a little puppy.

en	Are you making fun of me?

en	No! It's a good thing.

en	You're so cute sometimes that I almost can't stand it.

en	.................

en	I-I have to go to the bathroom.

en	Diya staggers to her feet and makes for the restroom.

en	She misses the door and slams straight into the wall.

en	Diya!

en	Min rushes to her side as she staggers back and grabs ahold of her, worried she might fall.

en	What's wrong? Are you hurt?

en	Diya just shakes her head, face red. She seems to be struggling with the limits of spoken language.

en	You sure?

en	Diya nods frantically.

en	Min tentatively lets her go. She watches Diya scramble into the restroom (correctly this time).

en	As Min returns to the table, her phone screen lights up with a message.

en	{nw}

en	IM GDSO FDUCKING DFONE

en	THE WAY U GRABED HER I THOIUGHT U WERE GONNNA START DRY HUMPGIN HER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RESTAURNAT

en	Akarsha, I'm convinced those sunglasses are actually impeding your mental processes.

en	I am embarrassed to be seen with you.

en	well i cant take them off

en	my coverll be blown

en	YOU SHOULD HAVE CHOSEN A BETTER DISGUISE IN THE FIRST PLACE, THEN.

en	what

en	turn around

en	..................

en	{nw}

en	WTF

en	diya's been texting me for advice on u

en	thats why she went to the bathroom

en	WHAT

en	Honestly, I'm annoyed she goes to you and not me.

en	why would she go to u? u never talk about feelings and gay stuff

en	and i also have master seduction skills

en	What master seduction skills?

en	my Tactics

en	If you're so knowledgable on these matters, why are you single?

en	excuse u im single bc i want to be??

en	some people like being sad and alone

en	on purpose

en	On purpose.

en	rigHT, ON PURPOSE

en	not bc no one ever likes me back or anything

en	dont attack me like this wtf???

en	wait guys hold on

en	how long has this been going on????

en	was the whole thing at the buffet a setup?? when yuo two left the table??

en	Take a wild guess, Sherlock.

en	you know nolle im starting to realize you do have a sense of humor

en	but your so emotionally constipated that youre style of humor is just being extremely mean

en	omg wait??

en	do u and noelle get along now??

en	We don't get along.

en	but we used to not get along much worse

en	Diya returns to the table.

en	Are you feeling better?

en	Diya nods sheepishly, and then stiffens up in fear as a waitress approaches with their dessert on a tray.

en	Waitress

en	One Mt. Fuji?

en	Diya responds with frenzied nodding as the waitress slides the dessert onto the table.

en	It's a mound of shaved ice, sculpted and saturated with blue raspberry syrup and condensed milk to look like a mountain.

en	...!!!!!!!

en	The blue flavor looks good.

en	Noelle was spot on!

en	What're the pink things?

en	It's mochi. They're supposed to look like cherry blossoms.

en	Min stabs her spoon into the shaved ice and shovels it into her mouth.

en	The shaved ice is so cold that her gums are growing numb.

en	I think I'm getting brainfreeze.

en	Me too.

en	A drop of cream is trickling down Diya's finger. She quickly licks it clean before it can reach her palm.

en	Min is so focused watching, she doesn't realize her own mouth is hanging open until she feels a trail of spit about to drop down from it.

en	Min accidentally drooled onto the table.

en	FUCK!! SHIT!!!!

en	................

en	................

en	Diya is staring determinedly into the Mt. Fuji. She's probably pretending not to have seen.

en	{nw}

en	HELP ME

en	pretend to drown so she has to give you mouth-to-mouth

en	wtf kind of plan is that

en	what would i even be drowning on??

en	the shaved ice

en	no

en	the toilet

en	NO

en	trust me im a love expert

en	there's no way this could possibly go wrong

en	Rather than potentially causing confusion like that, why don't you be open and tell her how you feel?

en	your the LAST person on the planet qualified to tell me to be open

en	I don't know what you're talking about. I'm perfectly open about my feelings.

en	SINCE WHEN XD

en	hey frenchman u enjoy our company right?

en	I'm not sure how you deluded yourself into believing that.

en	SEE

en	LMAO

en	proved us right

en	you cant even argue it

en	...........

en	SHES TRAPPED

en	SHE HATES BEING WRONG BUT CANT ADMIT SHE LIKES US

en	I like you.

en	O__O

en	HOWEVER, you're immature and relentlessly annoying. Everything about you fills me with indescribable rage. From the way you wear a windbreaker with flip-flops, to your idiotic looking hairstyle, to how you're smart yet do things like call forks "food rakes", etc.

en	And Min, you're volatile and stupid. I already hardly tolerate you, so if you hurt Diya in any way, I won't hesitate to destroy you.

en	WHY DO YOU HAVE TO IMMEDIATLY DRAG US TO DEFUSE THE SITUATION??

en	baby steps, frenchman! very good

en	SHUT UP.

en	Now that I'm right, as always, about being open, Min has no valid excuse.

en	what if diya rejects me??

en	then that's her own personal problem for having bad taste

en	her loss not urs

en	what should i say??

en	lemme think

en	shit bitch u iz fine

en	WTH NO

en	hey girl rat piss

en	What??

en	{image=ratpiss.png}

en	WHO TF WOULD SAY THAT

en	DO IT

en	HEY GIRL RAT PISS

en	N O

en	IF U DONT MAKE A MOVE WITHIN THE NEXT 5 MINUTES

en	IMMA BELT THE CRAZY FROG SONG AND RUIN UR WHOLE DATE!!

en	IVE PRACTICED

en	Unfortunately, I can confirm that she's practiced.

en	Okay. I can do this.

en	My mouth is so cold.

en	Want me to warm it up for you?

en	Diya freezes.

en	OH MY GOD?? I FUCKED UP!!! I FUCKED UP!!

en	Diya gives her a nervous, very small nod.

en	WHAT???????!

en	Kiss her

en	Min crawls onto the table on all fours with a loud clatter.

en	Diya gasps as Min cups her face in her palms and catches her lips with hers.

en	Her mouth is cold, as advertised, and blue flavor.

en	Diya doesn't push her away, but she doesn't kiss back, either. Min can feel her trembling in her arms like a frightened rabbit.

en	Anxious, Min pulls back over the sounds of Akarsha's whooping and yodeling in the background.

en	Diya is clinging desperately to Min's jacket sleeves, a vivid blush coloring her cheeks.

en	Is this good?

en	Diya frantically nods in response, looking embarrassed.

en	I don't know what to do.

en	I've never done this before.

en	Me neither, but don't worry. I looked it up on Yahoo Answers.

en	Unless you wanna start smaller?

en	I...

en	I want to hold hands with you and cuddle.

en	We can do that.

en	Min takes Diya's hand.

en	I'm happy you kissed me.

en	I like you a lot.

en	Me too.

en	Min lightly brushes Diya's lips with her thumb; Diya shivers at the touch as Min gently pulls her closer.

en	Do you like this?

en	Diya nods, then closes her eyes and leans in.

en	She nuzzles against Min, peppering her cheek with soft, little kisses.

en	OH MY GOD!!! DIYA IS KISSING ME!!!

en	The table. It's-

en	Noelle stands up and is approaching them.

en	What the fuck?! Go away Noelle!

en	You think I {i}want{/i} to be here watching this disgusting display?

en	The table is-

en	A leg of the table gives way under Min's weight!

en	I can't believe we're banned from Snowcastle now.

en	I can't believe Min BROKE THEIR TABLE.

en	No choice.

en	You could have held off on making out for 10 seconds and walked around it.

en	Like I said, no choice.

en	That was even better than you guys drinking pani at the buffet.

en	Shut up.

en	Yeah, shut your fuck up.

en	Shut your fuck up...

en	I hate you all. I'm going home.

en	Okay. See you at practice tomorrow.

en	No wait! Stay!!!

en	Change my mind, then.

en	You have approximately 10 seconds.

en	Friendship is like peeing on yourself.

en	Everyone can see it but only you get the warm feeling it brings.

en	What the fuck...

en	.............

en	Goodbye.

en	NO!!!

en	WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING AFTER THAT YOU NASTY FREAK HO???

en	PEE GIRL AGAIN??

en	!!!!!!!!!!

en	MEANIE!!!

en	You...YOU DUNG ELF.

en	WHAT???

en	You know how during metamorphosis, inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar turns to soup?

en	It melts into this disgusting muddled goo slushie.

en	Everyone is a mess when they're growing up. Some people are just better at hiding it than others.

en	It's okay to be a flaming dumpster fire.

en	It's okay if you're not what your parents wanted you to be.

en	It's okay to change your mind.

en	If you want to be a butterfly, you have to be butterfly soup first.

en	If you think about it like that, we're all doing pretty good right now. We just don't know it yet.

en	Just keep going.

en	Keep trying and eventually, you'll find people who like you for the weird fuck-up that you are.

en	You deserve to be happy.

en	So don't give up.

en	I won't give up if you don't give up.

en	...And if an alligator attacks you, go for the eyes.

en	What?

en	That's what I told Min last time she said that line. The not giving up.

en	I have trivia like that, too!

en	If you're walking on the sidewalk and see a car coming toward you...

en	Instead of moving forward or backwards, go directly left or right toward the nearest obstacle you see.

en	Why left or right? I don't get it.

en	There's normally too little time to judge the car's direction. Moving directly perpendicular to how you're facing is your best bet.

en	I was looking up how to survive if a car drives into you as a pedestrian.

en	I already told you, I'll just hit the car out of the way.

en	This turned into a random advice session.

en	End this conversation. Otherwise we'll be standing here forever.

en	Okay, I'm ending it now. Bye.

en	Created by {blue}Brianna{/blue}{pink} Lei{/pink}

en	{white}Music by{/white} miltata {white}and{/white} {blue}Ketsa{/blue}

en	{white}Additional songs{/white} {blue}Bloodgod{/blue} YOSHI {blue}.que{/blue} Matt Mulholland {blue}Tatsuya Kato{/blue}

en	{white}Sounds{/white} {blue}Cutie Keys{/blue} LittleRobotSoundFactory {blue}CGEffex{/blue} Peacewaves

en	{white}{size=+25}Beta testers{/size}{/white} K Turner{space=55}{blue}Keelin{/blue}{space=55}Jun Anita{space=55}{blue}Luke_SuperNova{/blue}{space=55}Rin Jiedi Chen{space=55}{blue}Jocelyn Kim{/blue}{space=55}gently Aino{space=55}{blue}Infiniton{/blue}{space=55}emu Lyla Lee

en	{white}{size=+25}Beta testers{/size}{/white} AJ Sohrabi{space=55}{blue}ynri{/blue}{space=55}Kiuu Karen Steele{space=55}{blue}paintmemelons{/blue}{space=55}eurdude974 steph{space=55}{blue}ghost!{/blue}{space=55}Bagnarsi juliet & sam{space=55}{blue}Elsie{/blue}{space=55}Brigita Kuimet Sirius Machelton{space=55}{blue}Cen U{/blue}{space=55}tatertonks Max{space=55}{blue}sanix the edgehogg{/blue}{space=55}Savannah

en	{white}{size=+25}Beta testers{/size}{/white} jjunebug{space=55}{blue}Monty{/blue}{space=55}Li Taki{space=55}{blue}Wren King{/blue}{space=55}capefurry chip undertale{space=55}{blue}yeller{/blue}{space=55}radicalslime combopoints{space=55}{blue}DevilDallas63{/blue}{space=55}asliceofcolor Jae W. {space=55}{blue}c fuenzalida{/blue}{space=55}eris mar{space=55}{blue}Melo{/blue}{space=55}Ripley

en	{white}{size=+25}French localization{/size}{/white} Queerscriptors from {blue}Next Gaymer{/blue} Phoross{space=55}{blue}L'Unix Benoit{/blue}{space=55}Ven Brom{space=55}{blue}Tlaloc{/blue}{space=55}Seb_Ash Torli{space=55}{blue}MandyLane{/blue}{space=55}Tashousse Destryl{space=55}{blue}Giovanni{/blue}{space=55}Batwoman NinaDelPepito{space=55}{blue}Blaxis{/blue}{space=55}IannaFOX

en	{white}{size=+25}Special Thanks{/size}{/white} {blue}Additional scripting: Arazati{/blue} Japanese localization: KINSHA Co., Ltd {blue}Chinese localization: {font=traditional_chinese.ttf}鬼怒川{/font}(KINUKUROletsplay){/blue} Brazilian Portuguese localization: Jean Araujo {blue}Czech localization: scie{/blue} Korean localization: KyleHeren {blue}Polish localization: ymzu{/blue} Farsi localization: Kasbarg {blue}Indonesian localization: Konberrii{/blue}

en	{white}{size=+25}Special Thanks{/size}{/white} {blue}Additional scripting: Arazati{/blue} Japanese localization: KINSHA Co., Ltd {blue}Chinese localization: {font=traditional_chinese.ttf}鬼怒川{/font}(KINUKUROletsplay){/blue} Brazilian Portuguese localization: Jean Araujo {blue}Czech localization: scie{/blue} Korean localization: KyleHeren {blue}Polish localization: ymzu{/blue} Farsi localization: Kasbarg {blue}Indonesian localization: Konberrii{/blue} And You

en	I really miss high school

en	The future

en	So which one do you want?

en	Don't know.

en	Which dog friend do you want, Shibe.

en	Hearing his name, Shibe turns brightly to Diya, tongue lolling out.

en	His frog raincoat makes a crinkling sound against Min's arms as he wags his tail.

en	He's too nice. He likes all of them.

en	Diya peers down at a pomeranian in the enclosure.

en	....!

en	This one. Reminds me of you.

en	How?

en	Small, but thinks she's invincible.

en	Hey...

en	It's a charm point. I love you for it.

en	Diya picks the little pomeranian up and gazes into her black, soulless eyes.

en	Your name is Pom.

en	Butterfly Soup

en	Save

en	Skip

en	Prefs

en	New Game

en	History

en	Load Game

en	Settings

en	About

en	End Replay

en	Main Menu

en	Quit

en	Return

en	[config.name!t] Version [config.version!t]

en	Game by {a=http://me-patra.tumblr.com/}Brianna Lei{/a} Made with {a=https://www.renpy.org/}Ren'Py{/a} [renpy.version_only].

en	Music:

en	Thought Projection, Holding Your Breath, and Thoughts of You by {a=http://ketsamusic.com/}Ketsa{/a} are licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

en	Romaras, Blooming, and Side by Side by Miltata are licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0

en	{a=https://miltata.bandcamp.com/}This artist has songs available for purchase! Please support him here!{/a}

en	{a=http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Bloodgod/Catharsis/}Valar Morghulis{/a} by {b}Bloodgod{/b} is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

en	{a=http://www.hurtrecord.com/bgm/24/the-flame-of-love.html}Flame of Love{/a} by {b}YOSHI{/b} is licensed under CC

en	Overflowing by {b}Tatsuya Kato{/b}

en	My Heart Will Go On - Recorder By Candlelight by {b}Matt Mulholland{/b}

en	{a=https://mattmulholland.bandcamp.com/album/matt-mulholland-sings-covers}This song is available for purchase! Please support the artist!{/a}

en	Title song: Miyauchi Yuri/110515 (miltata remix) by {b}Miltata{/b}

en	Credits song: Calling Project 2 by {b}{a=http://que-music.net/}.que{/a}{/b}

en	Sound:

en	{a=https://github.com/NormalVR/CutieKeys}Cutie Keys{/a}

en	{a=http://freesound.org/people/LittleRobotSoundFactory/packs/16881/}Electric Sound Effects Library{/a} by LittleRobotSoundFactory is licensed under CC BY 3.0

en	{a=http://freesound.org/people/CGEffex/sounds/92634/}Clipping with Scissors{/a} by CGEffex is licensed under CC BY 3.0

en	{a=http://freesound.org/people/Peacewaves/sounds/317334/}Metal Locker{/a} by Peacewaves is licensed under CC BY 3.0

en	Additional scripting help:

en	{a=https://twitter.com/ArazatiTea}Arazati{/a}

en	Chinese localization by:

en	{a=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs-An_9qMz_Q6IeIht_pRUw?}{font=traditional_chinese.ttf}鬼怒川{/font}(KINUKUROletsplay){/a}

en	Japanese localization by:

en	KINSHA Co., Ltd.

en	Brazilian Portuguese localization by:

en	{a=https://twitter.com/_jaraujo_}Jean Araujo{/a}

en	Korean localization by:

en	KyleHeren

en	Czech localization by:

en	{a=https://twitter.com/reapersofficial}scie{/a}

en	Polish localization by:

en	{a=https://twitter.com/ymzuu}ymzu{/a}

en	Farsi localization by:

en	Kasbarg

en	Indonesian localization by:

en	{a=https://twitter.com/strawberiisodaa}Konberrii{/a}

en	French localization by :

en	{a=https://queerscriptors.org}Queerscriptors{/a}, and people from {a=https://nextgaymer.com/}Next Gaymer{/a}

en	(Phoross, L'Unix Benoit, Ven, Brom, Seb_Ash, Torli, MandyLane, Tashousse Destryl, Giovanni, Batwoman, NinaDelPepito, Blaxis & IannaFOX)

en	Spanish localization by:

en	Martín "SevenFalcons" Eyheralde, Abraham "KD4bra" Romero, Kevin "taeflavour" Fernández Centell, Roro, Alexandra Hernandez, holly, Sol Rubio

en	Page {}

en	Automatic saves

en	Quick saves

en	%B %d %Y, %H:%M

en	empty slot

en	<

en	{#auto_page}A

en	{#quick_page}Q

en	>

en	Display

en	Window

en	Fullscreen

en	Unseen Text

en	After Choices

en	Screen Motion

en	Background Pan

en	Screenshake

en	Music Volume

en	Sound Volume

en	Test

en	Voice Volume

en	Mute All

en	Text Speed

en	Language

en	{font=traditional_chinese.ttf}{size=30}中文{/size}{/font}

en	{font=japanese.ttc}{size=30}日本語{/size}{/font}

en	{font=Binggrae.otf}{size=30}한국어{/size}{/font}

en	{font=myriad.OTF}{size=30}Português{/size}{/font}

en	{font=myriad.OTF}{size=30}Česky{/size}{/font}

en	{font=myriad.OTF}{size=30}Polski{/size}{/font}

en	{font=times.ttf}{size=30}فارسی{/size}{/font}

en	bahasa Indonesia

en	{font=YunusH.ttf}Français{/font}

en	{font=myriad.OTF}{size=30}Español{/size}{/font}

en	The dialogue history is empty.

en	Help

en	Keyboard

en	Mouse

en	Gamepad

en	Enter

en	Advances dialogue and activates the interface.

en	Space

en	Advances dialogue without selecting choices.

en	Arrow Keys

en	Navigate the interface.

en	Escape

en	Accesses the game menu.

en	Ctrl

en	Skips dialogue while held down.

en	Tab

en	Toggles dialogue skipping.

en	Page Up

en	Rolls back to earlier dialogue.

en	Page Down

en	Rolls forward to later dialogue.

en	Takes a screenshot.

en	Toggles assistive {a=https://www.renpy.org/l/voicing}self-voicing{/a}.

en	Left Click

en	Middle Click

en	Hides the user interface.

en	Right Click

en	Mouse Wheel Up Click Rollback Side

en	Mouse Wheel Down

en	Right Trigger A/Bottom Button

en	Left Trigger Left Shoulder

en	Right Shoulder

en	D-Pad, Sticks

en	Start, Guide

en	Y/Top Button

en	Calibrate

en	Yes

en	No

en	Skipping. To stop skipping, press the CTRL key on your keyboard!

en	Back

en	Auto

en	Menu

en	English

en	{font=traditional_chinese.ttf}中文{/font}

en	{font=myriad.OTF}Português{/font}

en	{font=myriad.OTF}Česky{/font}

en	{font=japanese.ttc}日本語{/font}

en	{font=Binggrae.otf}한국어{/font}

en	{font=myriad.OTF}Polski{/font}

en	{font=times.ttf}فارسی{/font}

en	{font=myriad.OTF}bahasa Indonesia{/font}

en	{font=YunusH.ttf}{size=36}Français{/size}{/font}

en	{font=myriad.OTF}Español{/font}

en	Diya

en	Min

en	Noelle

en	YAOI SEME

en	NOELLEFUCKER69

en	albret einstong

en	Yuki

en	Sakura

en	Chryssa

en	Liz

en	Greetings. We have a special announcement.

en	The official Butterfly Soup online shop is open for business.

en	What the fuck are these...

en	These are double-sided acrylic charms.

en	And not the cheap sort from China.

en	Ours are professionally crafted, will never scratch off or fade, and are even waterproof.

en	Seriously, they're legit!

en	If you hold it in your hand and compare it with the Vograce-made one I got at Yaoi Con, you can actually feel the difference.

en	That was slightly too much information.

en	Also, these are pretty decently sized. They're not tiny 1.5 inch ones!

en	Min's are the same size as mine. I bet she's happy with that.

en	Wouldn't it be funny if all our charms were normal sized, except only Min's was the dinky 1.5 inch size?

en	Wouldn't it be funny if mine had a blade that came out and stabbed yours?

en	Just to clarify to our viewers, all the charms are the same size and none of them have blades that come out and stab the others.

en	There's also a discount if you buy all four as a set.

en	That sounds like a scam.

en	How is it a scam?!

en	Diya, is the camera on?

en	Camera's on.

en	Take 27.{w=0.35} Action.

en	The game Butterfly Soup—

en	Sucks.

en	Sucks?!

en	You can't kill anyone!

en	How about we kill YOU?! Stop interrupting me!

en	We could have been finished an HOUR ago!{w=0.35} Just follow the script!

en	Your script is boring.{w=0.35} No one's gonna play the game.

en	We gotta appeal to the Gamers to sell our Good Content.

en	What do you mean?

en	Like this:

en	HEWWO???!!?

en	WHAT'S UP GAMERS, WELCOME TO MY MINECRAFT VIDEO.

en	"This game is like Overwatch meets Undertale." —Yoko Taro.

en	THAT'S JUST FALSE ADVERTISING.

en	How about this?

en	Hey, gamers.{w=0.35} Play this game or else I'll kill your entire family!!

en	DON'T THREATEN THE AUDIENCE!

en	One of the game's main selling points is that it's gay.{w=0.35} How about I kiss Diya on camera?

en	Don't wanna go on camera.

en	I'll kiss you later.

en	We're left with no choice, then.{w=0.35} Noelle, we gotta kiss.

en	NO.

en	Playing hard to get, are we?

en	I'M NOT PLAYING HARD TO GET.

en	This is biphobia!

en	How—{w=0.35} What—{w=0.35} HOW IS THIS BIPHOBIA??

en	You know what?!{w=0.35} Forget this!{w=0.35} I give up.

en	We're done!{w=0.35} Turn off the camera, Diya.

en	Okay.

en	Self-voicing disabled.

en	Clipboard voicing enabled.

en	Self-voicing enabled.

en	bar

en	selected

en	viewport

en	horizontal scroll

en	vertical scroll

en	activate

en	deactivate

en	increase

en	decrease

en	Font Override

en	Default

en	DejaVu Sans

en	Opendyslexic

en	Text Size Scaling

en	Reset

en	Line Spacing Scaling

en	High Contrast Text

en	Enable

en	Disable

en	Self-Voicing

en	Off

en	Text-to-speech

en	Clipboard

en	Debug

en	Self-Voicing Volume Drop

en	The options on this menu are intended to improve accessibility. They may not work with all games, and some combinations of options may render the game unplayable. This is not an issue with the game or engine. For the best results when changing fonts, try to keep the text size the same as it originally was.

en	{#weekday}Monday

en	{#weekday}Tuesday

en	{#weekday}Wednesday

en	{#weekday}Thursday

en	{#weekday}Friday

en	{#weekday}Saturday

en	{#weekday}Sunday

en	{#weekday_short}Mon

en	{#weekday_short}Tue

en	{#weekday_short}Wed

en	{#weekday_short}Thu

en	{#weekday_short}Fri

en	{#weekday_short}Sat

en	{#weekday_short}Sun

en	{#month}January

en	{#month}February

en	{#month}March

en	{#month}April

en	{#month}May

en	{#month}June

en	{#month}July

en	{#month}August

en	{#month}September

en	{#month}October

en	{#month}November

en	{#month}December

en	{#month_short}Jan

en	{#month_short}Feb

en	{#month_short}Mar

en	{#month_short}Apr

en	{#month_short}May

en	{#month_short}Jun

en	{#month_short}Jul

en	{#month_short}Aug

en	{#month_short}Sep

en	{#month_short}Oct

en	{#month_short}Nov

en	{#month_short}Dec

en	%b %d, %H:%M

en	Save slot %s: [text]

en	Load slot %s: [text]

en	Delete slot [text]

en	File page auto

en	File page quick

en	File page [text]

en	Next file page.

en	Previous file page.

en	Quick save complete.

en	Quick save.

en	Quick load.

en	Language [text]

en	Open [text] directory.

en	The interactive director is not enabled here.

en	⬆

en	⬇

en	Done

en	(statement)

en	(tag)

en	(attributes)

en	(transform)

en	(transition)

en	(channel)

en	(filename)

en	Change

en	Add

en	Cancel

en	Remove

en	Statement:

en	Tag:

en	Attributes:

en	Transforms:

en	Behind:

en	Transition:

en	Channel:

en	Audio Filename:

en	Image [index] of [count] locked.

en	prev

en	next

en	slideshow

en	return

en	Select Gamepad to Calibrate

en	No Gamepads Available

en	Calibrating [name] ([i]/[total])

en	Press or move the '[control!s]' [kind].

en	Skip (A)

en	Back (B)

en	Renderer

en	Automatically Choose

en	Force GL Renderer

en	Force ANGLE Renderer

en	Force GLES Renderer

en	Force GL2 Renderer

en	Force ANGLE2 Renderer

en	Force GLES2 Renderer

en	Enable (No Blocklist)

en	Powersave

en	Framerate

en	Screen

en	60

en	30

en	Tearing

en	Changes will take effect the next time this program is run.

en	Performance Warning

en	This computer is using software rendering.

en	This game requires use of GL2 that can't be initialised.

en	This computer has a problem displaying graphics: [problem].

en	Its graphics drivers may be out of date or not operating correctly. This can lead to slow or incorrect graphics display.

en	The {a=edit:1:log.txt}log.txt{/a} file may contain information to help you determine what is wrong with your computer.

en	More details on how to fix this can be found in the {a=[url]}documentation{/a}.

en	Continue, Show this warning again

en	Continue, Don't show warning again

en	Change render options

en	Are you sure?

en	Are you sure you want to delete this save?

en	Are you sure you want to overwrite your save?

en	Loading will lose unsaved progress. Are you sure you want to do this?

en	Are you sure you want to quit?

en	Are you sure you want to return to the main menu? This will lose unsaved progress.

en	Are you sure you want to end the replay?

en	Are you sure you want to begin skipping?

en	Are you sure you want to skip to the next choice?

en	Are you sure you want to skip unseen dialogue to the next choice?

en	Contacting App Store Please Wait...

en	Failed to save screenshot as %s.

en	Saved screenshot as %s.

en	Skip Mode

en	This program contains free software under a number of licenses, including the MIT License and GNU Lesser General Public License. A complete list of software, including links to full source code, can be found {a=https://www.renpy.org/l/license}here{/a}.

en	display

en	transitions

en	skip transitions

en	video sprites

en	show empty window

en	text speed

en	joystick

en	joystick...

en	skip

en	skip unseen [text]

en	skip unseen text

en	begin skipping

en	after choices

en	skip after choices

en	auto-forward time

en	auto-forward

en	Auto forward

en	auto-forward after click

en	automatic move

en	wait for voice

en	voice sustain

en	self voicing

en	self voicing volume drop

en	clipboard voicing

en	debug voicing

en	emphasize audio

en	rollback side

en	gl powersave

en	gl framerate

en	gl tearing

en	font transform

en	font size

en	font line spacing

en	system cursor

en	renderer menu

en	accessibility menu

en	high contrast text

en	audio when minimized

en	main volume

en	music volume

en	sound volume

en	voice volume

en	mute main

en	mute music

en	mute sound

en	mute voice

en	mute all

en	Clipboard voicing enabled. Press 'shift+C' to disable.

en	Self-voicing would say "[renpy.display.tts.last]". Press 'alt+shift+V' to disable.

en	Self-voicing enabled. Press 'v' to disable.

en	The Ren'Py Updater is not supported on mobile devices.

en	An error is being simulated.

en	Either this project does not support updating, or the update status file was deleted.

en	This account does not have permission to perform an update.

en	This account does not have permission to write the update log.

en	Could not verify update signature.

en	The update file was not downloaded.

en	The update file does not have the correct digest - it may have been corrupted.

en	While unpacking {}, unknown type {}.

en	Updater

en	An error has occured:

en	Checking for updates.

en	This program is up to date.

en	[u.version] is available. Do you want to install it?

en	Preparing to download the updates.

en	Downloading the updates.

en	Unpacking the updates.

en	Finishing up.

en	The updates have been installed. The program will restart.

en	The updates have been installed.

en	The updates were cancelled.

en	Proceed

en	Open

en	Opens the traceback.txt file in a text editor.

en	Copy BBCode

en	Copies the traceback.txt file to the clipboard as BBcode for forums like https://lemmasoft.renai.us/.

en	Copy Markdown

en	Copies the traceback.txt file to the clipboard as Markdown for Discord.

en	An exception has occurred.

en	Rollback

en	Attempts a roll back to a prior time, allowing you to save or choose a different choice.

en	Ignore

en	Ignores the exception, allowing you to continue.

en	Ignores the exception, allowing you to continue. This often leads to additional errors.

en	Reload

en	Reloads the game from disk, saving and restoring game state if possible.

en	Console

en	Opens a console to allow debugging the problem.

en	Quits the game.

en	Parsing the script failed.