CHAPTER 2

Ky- "My name?!"

He stared at her for a second or two before his mouth cracked open slightly and the smallest noise made its way out.

Ky- "I..."
Ayako- "Yo! Anyone home?"

Ky started to feel anxious, suddenly he was on the brink of a complete panic attack. As he stood there his eyes widened and his heart began to beat out of control. His whole body started to quiver, and he found it impossible to get a single word to roll off his tongue. As he struggled for a second to utter even the simplest of words Ayako innocently giggled.

Ayako- "Hey, it's ok I understand. Didn't mean to catch you off guard. I'll see you later worker boy."

Ayako picked up the bag of newly purchased clothes off of the counter and started turning away when suddenly Ky blurted out something he'd never said before.

Ky- "It's Ky!"

Ayako turned to face him with a somewhat surprised look on her face.

Ky- "My names Ky."

Her face dropped to a warm smile.

Ayako- "Ky huh? Well Ky, it's been a pleasure hanging out with you. Let's do it again sometime."

She cheerfully responded as she turned and walked out of the store.

Ayako- "Byeeeee!"
Ky- "Did she just ask me my name?! Like as in introduce ourselves?"

For the rest of the day Ky couldn't get the girl Ayako out of his head. He carried on with his menial tasks completely oblivious to everything going on around him. His coworkers attempted to get his attention as the late afternoon crowd of shoppers started arriving, but it was no use.

- "Ky! We could really use your help up here at the register!"
- "Or over here at the shoes!"

Amidst the bustle of the early evening crowd, and his coworkers' fruitless efforts to grab his attention Ky thought to himself.

Ky- "I mean that did happen right? It wasn't like some sort of sick joke, was it? I mean even if it was no one's ever played a joke on me before, so I guess..."

Izawa- "Ky!
Ky- "(Huh!) Oh, Mr. Izawa!"
Izawa- "Listen Ky I don't know if something from your personal life has gotten into your head or what! But if you're going to continue to work here, I'm gonna need to see a bit more dedication from you got it?!"
Ky- "Er...Yes sir my apologies."
Izawa- "Good! Now get back to work!"

That evening Ky took a little longer on his walk home than usual. He couldn't help but wonder what she meant by "lets hang out again." "Could that have possibly been some kind of watered down invitation to go hang out somewhere socially or if she was just being nice". He wondered.

Ky- "Well she did say she was getting ready to go out this weekend and technically for most people that's tomorrow, so I guess we'll see if she comes into the store again...But was that really hanging out though like she said? I mean come on, she's just a customer. Shes just shopping at the store I happen to work at. But still, I wonder...Is that really what it feels like to hang out with someone?"

Ky opened the door to his apartment, but something didn't feel quite right. The air felt heavy, and it almost felt as if the room was about to start spinning when he realized he hadn't logged on in over twenty-four hours. He quickly made his way over to his desk and started up his PC. In typical fashion he kept the room dark around him with his hood draped over his head. The glow from the monitor was the only light in the apartment. His stomach began to sink as the title screen for HOA popped up on the monitor. He worried that his friends would be upset at him for being so neglectful these past two days. Then he started to feel guilty as he began thinking, how could he allow himself to become "too busy" to make even just a little bit of time for them. Then he felt like an awful friend.

- "Ky?"
- "He's here!"
- "Hey man where have you been? You know it's been like two days, right?"
Ky- "Hey everyone, I'm so sorry I haven't been on. It's been a crazy couple of days with work...Please don't be mad at me."
- "Don't worry about it Ky, we're all here now so let's get this party started!"
Ky- "Yeah!"

The crowd of voices exclaimed in joy at Ky's return.

- "Woohoo!"

Right as Ky was about to say something into his mic his phone began to buzz. When he picked it up off his desk the screen lit up and another partial text appeared. It was from Mr. Izawa.

Izawa- "Ky, I'm Gonna need you to close for me tomorrow. Also remember that tomorrow night is Friday so that means we're open a little later than normal, so you'll need to keep the store open until Friday's closing time. Thanks- Izawa.

Ky- (Ugh! I guess that's his way of saying I'm working late.) "I'm sorry everyone. Now it's looking like I'm gonna be having another long day tomorrow."
-"Wait what? You haven't even played at all in over twenty-four hours."
- "You're not leaving us are you, Ky?"
Ky- "No I Promise. I just need to get some..."
- "So, you're staying on then?"
Ky- "Well the thing is. I gotta get some sleep. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow and I'm already really tired."
- "But can't you play just a little bit longer? Please! Just a little?"
- "Yeah man just a couple more minutes."
- "Please Ky!"
Ky- "Well... (Sigh) Ugh. I suppose but."
- "(All at once) Yay!"

Ky was tired from a long day and feeling a little down about the text he just received but he loved his friends and wanted to spend as much time together with them as he could so reluctantly, he stayed on and played well into the night. Finally, when he was able to log off, he started feeling slightly better about the day before. He was more at ease about everything, and his stress turned to apathy.

Ky- "Thanks everyone. I feel a little better after talking to you all. I promise I'll try not to be too late tomorrow. Goodnight, everyone."
- "Night Ky."
-"Night man!"

The next day at work Ky was a wreck, he was completely worn out from a lack of sleep, but even though, he carried on with his duties anyways. As he proceeded to organize displays and fold merchandise, he noticed all the other employees leaving the store with their things. He thought to himself.

Ky- "That's strange. I thought we were supposed to be open late tonight. Why is everyone leaving so early?"

He also noticed that they all seemed to be dressed up a little nicer than usual, almost as if they were all going out or something. But he figured, well it is Friday night, so they probably are all going out after work. The last employee left without saying goodbye and once again Ky was left alone in the store. It was about two hours before closing time when Ayako walked in again.

Ayako- "Hey Ky!"
Ky- "Oh. Er hey Ms. Ayako."
Ayako- "You don't have to be so formal with me you know. We are on a first name basis afterall."
Ky- "So, what brings you in tonight. Looking for something to wear out?"
Ayako- "Something like that. Last time I was in I saw a really cool top I liked. I couldn't stop thinking about it so here I am." She giggled cutely.

She went over and grabbed the shirt. As she was paying for it, she asked Ky if he was alone again. When he responded yeah, she asked if he was, he a manager there or something to which he replied no.

Ky- "No, I've just been helping out Mr. Izawa while he has other important matters to attend to."
Ayako- "Throwing a party for yourself is an important matter?"

Ky remained silent as he didn't have an answer to that question. But it was ok because Ayako didn't mean for him to answer it anyways.

Ayako- "It seems like you do a lot for Izawa and this store. He's really lucky to have an employee like you."

Ky's face turned beet red. He wasn't used to people saying nice things to him. Especially cute girls. Just then another attractive female walked into the store.

Girl- "Hey there you are. Are you ready? The driver's gonna be here soon."
Ayako- "Oh! Yes, so sorry! I was talking to my friend Ky here!"

Ky's face suddenly changed from beet red to an outward expression of disbelief as he quickly snapped his head over in her direction.

Ky- "Wait did she just call me her..."
Girl- "Oh! Well Hello Ky. I'm Izumi."
Ayako- "Me and Izumi work together at the hair salon next door."
Izumi- "Ayako, we really should get going though. We don't want to miss our ride."
Ayako- "Oh right! Hang on I'll be right there!"
Izumi- "Hurry!"

Izumi rushed out of the store then Ayako turned back to Ky and asked him.

Ayako- "So Ky, you got any plans tonight after work?"

Confused at Ayako's question Ky thought about his prior engagement and responded.

Ky- "Well sort of. Why do you ask?"

She smiled warmly.

Ayako- "Well, I was gonna see if you would you like to come out with us tonight."
Ky- "Come out with you?!"
Ayako- (Giggles) "Yes! Would you like to join us? It's ok if not. Like if your busy tonight I totally understand."

His heart once again began to beat out of control and his head felt light. He didn't understand why but for some reason he suddenly felt a lump develop in his throat again but this time it felt different. "Was this a joke?" He thought to himself. "There's no way a beautiful, popular girl just strolled on into the store and invited you to join her and her group of friends to a social get together. This type of stuff doesn't happen to you". Unable to process what had just happened he clenched his hands into fists and gulped right before responding to his very first ever social gathering.

Ky- "I.... (Sigh)I'm sorry I have plans tonight. I can't go."
Ayako- "Oh! I understand. Really, it's ok. I figured you probably had stuff going on tonight anyways. Maybe next time! Well anyways I better get going. See ya Monday Ky!"

Ky stood there motionless for a second before gasping a huge breath of air. He clutched his chest and fell to the ground onto his knees. His vision went wavy and blurry. He breathed deep, and a single tear welled up in his eye. Alone in the store he whispered quietly to himself.

Ky- "She just invited me to hang out with them. Like as in a group."

His voice began to grow slightly louder as he continued talking to himself.

Ky- "That had to have been real right? She wants to be friends? With me? But why me? No one's ever..."

Just then his phone buzzed again. It was another text from his boss.

Izawa- "Gonna need you to open the store tomorrow morning. I'll be in later, so you'll be on your own until the others get there. Thanks- Izawa."
Ky- "(Sigh). Another short night tonight. Guess it's a good thing I didn't say yes to her proposal. If that's really what she wanted from me. But still...

For the rest of his shift Ky vacuumed the floor and made sure everything was ready for the next day. When his shift ended, he slammed down the security gate and locked it. He looked over at the now closed hair salon next door and noticed only a couple lingering stores were still open and the mall seemed darker tonight. He thought to himself.

Ky- "Well I guess this must be how it looks every Friday night when you're closing up."

He walked down the lonely corridor of the dimly lit underground mall and up to the surface and onto the streets. When he got back to his apartment. He immediately sat down and started gaming with his friends. The entire session went well however Ky couldn't seem to keep his head in the game. He kept getting distracted by the thought of what Ayako had asked him earlier. As Ky and his group crawled through dungeons and charged across battle fields he kept falling behind.

Ky- "Man this sucks."
- "What's the matter Ky?"
Ky- "It's Friday night, this should be the start of my weekend and I have to go in to work tomorrow. Ah well at least I should be getting a decent paycheck next weekend.
- "Dude your boss seems like a real drag man."
Ky- "Mr. Izawa's not that bad. I mean he did hire me after all. So, I guess I owe it to him."
- "Well, I say quit that job and become a full-time hero. HAHA"
Ky- "Oh you don't know how nice that sounds...Hey. You guys ever felt like you made a huge mistake? Like you had the opportunity to change the course of your life forever in a way you had always dreamed about but you let it pass you by because you were too scared that you might not know how to handle the chance you were given?"
- "Woah! Thats deep man. Where's all this coming from?"
-"Yeah, what do you mean Ky?
Ky- "Eh nothing! I just read that off this manga book I have here. I was just mess'n with you guys haha."
- "Hahaha. Good one man."
Ky- "Well anyways I gotta get to bed but let's play again tomorrow yeah?
- "Sounds good. Night Ky."
Ky- "Night everyone."

After logging off Ky laid down his head but wasn't having an easy time finding sleep that night. Visions of Ayako's face kept popping up into his head. He just couldn't stop thinking about her. Just as soon as he finally entered a deep sleep his alarm woke him. It was time to get ready for work. His hair was as unkempt as always but the bags under his eyes were slightly darker today. He was exhausted but he had no choice he had to go in and open the store up for Mr. Izawa.

Ky- "Maybe Mr. Izawa will give me a day off soon since I've been helping out so much lately."

It was several hours into the day when a couple of his coworkers finally started making their way into the store. Yawning and dragging their feet they walked back to the stock room. "They seem tired" Ky thought to himself. Just then Ayako walked in.

Ayako- "Hellooo!"
Ky- "Man she's spritely even at this hour."
Ayako- "Hey Ky What's up?!"
Ky- "Hey Ayako how's it going?" Ky said nervously.
Ayako- "Good. Last night we went out to this really good sushi place, and I wanted to bring you some. I don't know why but the whole time I kept thinking to myself, I wonder if Ky would like this?"

Surprised and taken aback Ky once again nervously responded.

Ky- "Oh. Thank you. That's very thoughtful of you."
Ayako- "Well anyways I gotta get to work. See ya Ky!

Ayako skipped out of the store while Ky stood there holding the box of food, she handed him. After that, the day proceeded on as usual. Customers came in and spent money on clothes, shoes and other trendy apparel. Luckily by the time closing came around there were no texts from Mr. Izawa asking Ky to come in early again, so it looked like Ky was finally free to go back to his normal routine. He went home and went straight to his computer and clicked on the Heros Of Adell app when he was met with a startling message.

Ky- "What! Heros Of Adell is down for routine maintenance?! Sorry for the inconvenience?! No! I just got back in good graces with the others and now this happens! This sucks! (Sigh) Well I Guess there's nothing I can do about it now. Just have to hope the others understand."

Ky's stomach growled as he sat back in his gaming chair.

Ky- "Oh yeah. I never did eat lunch today."

He looked over at the takeout box sitting on his counter that Ayako had brought him earlier. He got up and slowly made his way over to it and opened it up. He reached in and grabbed a piece of sushi and took a bite.

Ky- "Hmm. It is good. I bet it tasted even better when it was fresh."

He devoured the entire box which contained sushi and rice. After feeling full Ky went off to bed. He woke up in the morning feeling slightly more refreshed than lately. That morning Ky took his time getting to work since he didn't have to be there early to open up.
The rest of the day was uneventful. Ky spent his hours stocking shelves and ringing people up. Every now and again he would glance over at the beauty salon next door then continue on with his work. After his shift was complete, he clocked out and went home. As he approached his apartment, he felt that all familiar pit forming in his stomach once again. "I wonder if there mad." He thought to himself before unlocking his door and walking inside. As per his routine he sat down at his PC and booted it up. The Heros Of Adell title screen was different. It was more vibrant, and the land scape looked way more exciting.

Ky- "Well, Moment of truth."
Ky logged in and was thrust into the Kingdom of Adell.
- "Hey Ky."
Ky- "Hey how's it going."
- "Ky! What's up man!"
Ky- "Oh hey what's going on?"

Suddenly all the other voices started greeting him and he felt a huge wave of relief wash over him.

- "Man, that sucked last night!"
- "You said it. I mean why do they have to update stuff anyways? If they got it right the first time, they wouldn't need to update anything."
Ky- "Well at least they aren't mad." Ky thought.
- "Hey everyone. Wanna do a raid tonight? I hear there's a special double points event as a sorry we were shut down thing."
Ky- "Sweet sounds good to me."

As the gaming went on Ky's mind kept drifting back to that delicious sushi from the night before. An hour or two into it he finally spoke out.

Ky- "Hey. I think I'm gonna log off for a bit. I'm getting kinda hungry."
- "Aww. Do you have to leave so soon?"
Ky- "Sorry everyone I guess this is the second day in a row that I skipped lunch haha."
- "Alright man. Well, we'll talk to you when your back on."
Ky- "Alright love you guys."
Multiple voices- "Love you Ky."

Ky shut down his computer and headed out into the night to pick up some food. This was something he had never done before and not having any particular idea of what he wanted to eat Ky aimlessly walked the city streets figuring he'd just wander around for a bit until he could finally decide on something. He'd never noticed before how busy his area was at this hour. The city was alive and awake, and the sidewalks were jumping with all sorts of people out. It was almost as if the nighttime had turned his entire neighborhood into one big party or even a festival, never once had that sort of thing ever caught his eye before. There were people walking around, music coming from nearby shops and the aroma of street food being sold on every corner. Lights and loud music could be seen and heard on some corners as he passed bars, nightclubs and even parking lots and local parks where groups of people were hanging around, some sitting next to cars and others dancing to music. There were businesspeople walking home from work and lots of drunken party goers. Even the local skate scene and the drift car racers were out tonight. This was the normal for a Friday night in Ky's neighborhood.

Keeping his attention focused on what he came out for he quickened up his pace and kept his head down. He felt completely out of place, but his appetite gave him the courage he needed to push forward. On his walk there he started feeling guilty all of a sudden. The truth was that he hadn't skipped lunch at all however he still needed to eat dinner. As he strolled along the city streets, he came upon a street stand that was cooking kabobs. Ky's stomach growled again, and his mouth watered. "This looks good" He thought to himself.

Ky walked up and ordered two beef kabobs and waited for his order to finish. As he stood leaning up against a light post he noticed couples holding hands and groups of people hanging around. He thought this sort of thing didn't faze him anymore as he had grown numb to a lot of his own feelings by this point. But still he couldn't shake this feeling he was starting to get. He couldn't quite describe it, but this sporadic act of going out and taking a walk through the lively streets of his neighborhood at night brought about an almost an enjoyable feeling. He tried to think of a simple word to call it but in the end, he shrugged it off. "Whatever" he thought "Obviously I don't belong here". Plus, he had his own group of friends now even if they were online, he didn't care. All he wanted to do at this point was get his food and hurry back home so he could get back to what he was doing before.

Sidewalk vendor- "Sir! Your order's ready!"

Ky thanked the cook and accepted the food from him. He started eating it on his way back to his apartment when he bumped into someone.

Ky- "Oh! I'm sorry."
Stranger- "Nah my bad man please excuse me.... Hey man how's it going?! I thought that was you!"

Ky was confused for a second. He recognized the way the stranger was talking and immediately thought of his friend from HOA.

Ky- "Wait is that?"

Even his voice was similar.

Stranger- "Remember me I came into Umi'z last week and you helped me find this killer hoodie I'm wearing."

The guy was wearing a purple hoodie with some sort of cat graphic on it and holding a skate deck. The young adult male wore his light-colored hair tied up in a spout. You could tell from the roots that his natural hair color was brown, but he bleached it a copper color. He was possibly in his twenties or maybe even younger with a happy and energetic way about him. He seemed adamant that he knew Ky however Ky was having trouble recognizing his face.

Ky- "Ohhh. Ummm. Yeeah. I think I remember you."
Girl stranger- "Wait, you work at Umi'z? Thats so cool!"
Stranger- "Yeah this dude's the real deal! He's up on all the latest and upcoming gear. And he's super friendly!"
Girl stranger- "Really?! Maybe I'll have to stop in and buy something soon too."
Stranger- "Anyways, we won't keep ya! See ya around man! And thanks again for helping me out the other day!"

The two strangers continued walking on and Ky turned and started making his way back to his apartment.

Ky- "That was weird, I could have sworn that was him for a second. Sounded just like him. Ah well probably just my mind playing tricks on me...Wait did they just say I was cool and friendly?"

When Ky returned to his apartment he logged back in for a while longer. Every time his one friend said something, he thought about the encounter before and how even their personalities were similar but eventually he brushed it off and decided not to think about it anymore. When the night reached its peak, he figured it was a good time to log off and get some much-needed rest.
After that night the rest of the week went as normal. Izawa once again asked Ky to work Sunday since he was going to be setting up a booth at a small event to promote the store and needed a few of his workers to help run it. Ky agreed and continued on with his week filled with work and gaming. Monday came and then Tuesday. He worked and gamed throughout Wednesday until finally Thursday was here once again. That morning, he began hanging up jackets like normal when he heard a customer walk in.

Ky- "Welcome in. I'll be right with you."

As he walked up to the customer, her pale pink hair stood out. It was Ayako again.

Ayako- "Hey Ky!"
Ky- "Oh. Umm hey."
Ayako- "So Saturday's my brother's birthday and he's really into skating. I wanted to get him something nice for his twentieth, so I thought I'd get it here. You guys sell skateboards, right?"
Ky- "Well yeah the only thing is..."
Ayako- "Great! Let's go see what you have!"
Ky- "Er... Ok I'll show you."

Ky wasn't the one in charge of dealing with the skateboards, but he knew a little bit about them after watching his coworkers set them up for customers in the past, so he walked over to the counter in the back where all the skate decks and various parts were kept. His coworker who normally dealt with this stuff hadn't shown up yet, but Ky figured he'd do his best to make this sale for the store.

Ayako- "Oh wow! There's so many. They all look nice, but I didn't know I had to pick out all the parts and have it set up too. Which one do you recommend?
Ky- "Um... well I know this is a popular brand."

Ky reached for a skate deck and pulled it off the rack and handed it to Ayako to check out. It was purple and had the same cat logo on it that was on the guy's hoodie from the night before.

Ayako- "Oh yes. I can see it now, this one's perfect! Now I know you need the other parts too, right? Give me the best ones you got!

Ky did his best picking out what he remembered seeing his coworker sell and he attempted setting it up the way he had seen before. When Ky was finished, he was surprised that he actually did a good job. The board came out alright.

Ayako- "This looks great Ky! My brother's gonna be so stoked! Thank you so much!"
Ky- "Yeah, your welcome. I hope he likes it."
Ayako- "I know he will. This is perfect!... So anyways, like I said tomorrow's his twenty first birthday and we're all going out to a bar for drinks to celebrate. Why don't you come along with us this time. It's gonna be a blast and I just know everyone would love you."
Ky- "Me?"
Ayako- "Yeah, you silly! Who else? (Giggle)"
Ky- "I uh..."
Ayako- "Look I'll tell you what let me see your phone."

Suddenly Ky was put on the spot. "Hand her my phone? What do I do?"

Ayako- "Thank you."

She said sarcastically as she grabbed it out of his hoodie pocket and began typing her info into it. Once finished she called her phone from his and saved his number into hers.

Ky- "Wait what are you?..."
Ayako- "There! I'll text you later and you can make up your mind then. See ya!"

Ayako turned and dashed out of the store and left Ky slightly confused and shocked. He had never had a girl give him his number before. Infact other than Mr. Izawa The only other contacts he had in his phone where his parents and the support hotline for Heros Of Adell."
Later that day Mr. Izawa approached Ky as he was tending to his duties in the store.

Izawa- "Ky I need to speak with you!"
Ky- " (Huh?) Oh Mr. Izawa. Yes sir?"
Izawa- "Look! I'm gonna be blunt with you. I don't pay you to sit around all day and socialize with girls. If that's what you're after here, then you can just leave now! I'm running a business here not a social club! Also, another thing! You don't deal with skateboards, so I'd appreciate if you stick to your own work and stop poking your nose in other people's jobs got it?! I don't need anyone getting hurt because you put their board together wrong so don't do it again! And if I ever hear about you pulling anymore of this crap like you did this morning, you're fired you hear me?!"

Ky bowed his head in shame and apologized to his boss.

Ky- "Yes sir I'm sorry. I promise it won't happen again."

Izawa walked back into his office in the back of the store probably to go count is money or something while Ky now feeling overwhelmingly embarrassed continued to stock shelves. The rest of the day Ky wondered who it was who reported him to Izawa. There were only two other coworkers there that day, so it had to be one of them. He couldn't figure out for the life of him why either of them would do that though. He never had a problem with them before or so he thought. Ky went home that evening feeling fatigued from the day he had just had. He gamed with his friends and went to bed late like normal. The next day at work all he could think was "thank goodness its finally Friday and I actually get my weekend off this time!"

Ky- "(sigh) I don't know if I could take another day of this without a break."

His phone buzzed and he could see that it was a message from Ayako.

Ayako- "Yo! So have you made up your mind yet...

He put his phone back into his pocket as not to agitate Mr. Izawa any more than he already had. He began putting hats on the rack when suddenly he heard laughing coming from the skate section. His coworker who was late and ultimately responsible for him getting in trouble was finally there helping out a customer. When Ky double took, he noticed it was actually two girls he was talking to. Ky suddenly got nervous after he noticed Mr. Izawa walking around the floor, so he tried to look busy while he listened in.

Coworker- " Yeah, I don't know if you guys have ever heard about me but I'm kind of a legend in the street skating scene. Got a couple of sponsors looking to hook me up soon."

Girls- "Really? Wow he's so cool!"
Coworker- "Yeah. Mr. Izawa says that if I go pro, he'll supply all of my boards and shoes plus any other clothing that will help advertise for his store."
Girls- "No way that's so awesome! I think I'm in love!"
Coworker- Hey. Why don't we hang out sometime and I'll show you what I mean."
Girls- "Totally let's do it! Here's my number...Mine too!"
Coworker- "We actually got a great selection of skate shoes you could wear too. Here let me show you."
Girls- "Ok!"

They walked over to the shoe wall where Ky would normally help the customers get fitted and find a good pair that work for them. His coworker proceeded to do Ky's job to try to impress the girls.

Coworker- "Sorry I'm not really good at the whole fitment thing. This isn't my department so bear with me for a sec."
Girls- "(Giggling) Ok."
Ky- "Uh oh. He's in for it later."

It was about fifteen minutes before closing time when Izawa came through handing out pay checks. Ky was prepared to witness his coworker get completely destroyed by his boss, but he just handed him his paycheck and said.

Izawa- "Good job out there today. Way to reel in those girls by inviting them out. In our line of work, you gotta be social! Being good at talking to people is huge. Make the customer feel like you're friends and that'll go a long way. Also, good job getting them to buy shoes too! That's not even your department and you managed to sell them like a pro. I would've thought you been doing it for years, I'm proud of you. Here! There's a little extra in there for you so go and enjoy the weekend."

Coworker- "I will, Thanks Mr. Izawa."

Ky couldn't believe himself. Was he really hearing this? He wanted to break down in tears when Mr. Izawa approached him and handed him his paycheck.

Izawa- "And Ky you can have an extra day off since you helped open and close last week. Thanks."
That was it. Izawa walked away from him saying nothing more. He just praised that other coworker for doing exactly what Ky practically got eviscerated in front of everyone for earlier. "He doesn't even show up on time!" Thought Ky. But in the end although it was hurtful at first, the extra day off was actually much more appreciated than any measly pocket change could've been but still, Ky felt cheated. He felt unappreciated and above all, he felt humiliated. But what else could he do? He stuffed the envelope in his pocket and walked home ready to start an entire three-day weekend of nonstop gaming with his friends.

Later that night Ky was in full gaming mode. He sat alone in his dark apartment completely immersed in the world of Adell grinding through levels and having the time of his life laughing away with his buddies when suddenly his phone began to vibrate. "great" he thought. "Probably Mr. Izawa calling me to come in tomorrow to open up..."

Ky- "Huh? Ayako. That's right I never responded to her text earlier. She must be calling to tell me off or something."

Ky hit the answer button and held the phone up to his ear.

Ky- "Hello?"
Ayako- "Yo Ky! What's up?"
Ky- "Hey Ayako."
Ayako- "Soooooo did you decide yet? Or am I gonna have to come over to wherever you are and drag you there myself?"
Ky- "No. I mean, I don't think..."
Ayako- "Come on! It'll be fun I promise. You're gonna love our little crew besides I know Izawa gave you some time off so you gotta be free right?"
Ky- "Wait how did you know...Look I'm sorry It's just that."
Ayako- "What is it Ky."

Ky slumped back into his chair and looked up at the empty ceiling. His hands hung slack at his sides.

Ky- "...Why do you want to get me to go out with you so badly anyways? I mean we don't even really know each other."

Ayako's tone changed to a slightly more serious one now.

Ayako- "...You seem like a good person."
Ky- "Huh?!"
Ayako- "Plus if I'm being honest... I think you're really cute."
Ky- "Wait what?!"

Ky's face started glowing bright red and his hands slammed down onto his computer desk as he threw himself forward in his chair.

Ayako- "HAHAHAHAHAHA! So now are you gonna come out?"
Ky- "Did you actually mean that or are you just playing a joke on me?!"
Ayako- "Well. Come out tomorrow and see." Ayako inserted a smirk emoji.
Ayako- "Listen just text me before tomorrow night and let me know. If you decide to humor me and come out, I'll send you the location and we can meet up there, ok?"
Ky- "Fine."
Ayako- "Goodnight Ky."

Before Ky could even respond, Ayako hung up the phone. He noticed she seemed to have a habit of doing that sort of thing. He slid back in his chair and stared blankly up at the ceiling again. His mind started drifting off to his early childhood. He relived images of being cooped up in his room while watching all the other kids play outside through his window. He thought about all the times his fellow students at school would run up on him waving and calling out. He remembered thinking they were talking to him and how every time he was about to respond they ran right past him and how it turned out to be someone else they wanted. He put his elbows on his desk and buried his head in his hands running his fingers through his light-colored messy hair.

He fell asleep that night at his desk that night. While he slept, he had the same recurring dreams over and over about his days in kindergarten of walking up to the other kids while they were playing and wanting to join but every time he'd approach them, they would walk away before he ever had the chance. He dreamt of being a ghost to everyone in high school. He dreamt of sitting alone in the cafeteria awkwardly playing on his phone. And finally, he dreamt of physically beating up Mr. Izawa and the other coworkers at the store.

He woke up late the next morning at his computer. The screen saver was up, and he had been logged out of HOA due to inactivity. He glanced at his phone to check the time and sat up thinking about the dreams he had the night before. He thought about Ayako, and he thought about how different life maybe could have been had she been there back then.
Finally with one last sigh he murmured to himself. "What am I doing? I must be crazy." He opened up his phone and opened the texts from Ayako. He tapped away at the keyboard and stared for a second at the message he wrote. After a long pause he finally hit send. His message read.

Ky- "Ok I'll go."

Ayako Replied a few seconds later.

Ayako- "-Great! I'll send you the location in a few. We're meeting up at 9 so come hungry! I'm looking forward to this Ky. We're gonna have so much fun tonight!"(Smiley face)

Ky's hand dropped and rested on his leg holding his phone as he stared out his window into the endless morning sky. Nerves instantly kicked in as butterflys fluttered around in his stomach. He looked over at his closet which contained some clothes from his work and set his gaze on a particular gray hoody with a black denim vest attached to it hanging at the end. Ky had no idea what to expect tonight but one thing was for sure. This would totally different than hanging out with his online friends.
And for the first time ever. Ky the boy who'd never had a single friend in his entire life was finally invited to a social gathering and he accepted.