The Badboy, the Catfish & Me

Three

Early the next morning, I walked to homeroom through the sleepy school corridors. Mrs. Asaka wasn't in yet, but the janitors had unlocked the clasroom door. I was shocked to see someone already there. Annok and I didn't spend much time with each other since she had her own clique of friends, but a project or two threw us together.

Her peachy-red hair shined under the ceiling lights, and her short ponytail bounced over a fleece outfit that made her look like a giant plush toy in a black sports jersey and track pants. Beneath her right arm was something that looked like a head—a wide, pointy thing with two fleece eyes and a long nose.

Before I could open my mouth to greet her, whatever she was holding slipped from her hands and tumbled onto the floor. With a gasp, I rushed forward to chase after it. Annok dashed over, too.

I managed to catch the thing and stared at it before handing it over.

"Is this some kind of...animal head?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Annok beamed. "It's the soccer team's new mascot. His name is Marly the Marlin! I made him myself. It's his big reveal today!" Despite all her enthusiasm, Annok's voice was quiet, like the soft rush of a stream hidden in a forest. "But now, I've ruined it." She held up the head for me to see. Two little orbs that were meant to be the mascot's eyes were detached from the head due to the impact of the fall.

"Sorry I couldn't catch it faster," I lamented.

"It's okay! Don't worry about it. I'm the one who dropped it." Annok smiled.

I nodded and then perked up. "Wait! I think I have some superglue in my locker from my art class!" I sprinted into homeroom, and Annok followed. After a moment of thorough searching my locker, I held a tube of superglue triumphantly in the air. "Here! Do you think it'll fix it?"

"Oh my gosh, Inaya, you're amazing!" Annok gushed. "Can you hold the head while I glue the eyes back on?"

"Sure!"

While we worked together to attach the mascot's eyes back to its head, Annok told me some fun trivia about swordfish, like how they had special organs next to their eyes to keep their brain and eyes warm in cold water.

"That's...interesting," I said with a smile. I remembered the last time we'd worked on a project together earlier that year. Annok did all the talking for the whole forty-five minutes, unrelated to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act the class time was meant for.

"Yeah!" Annok grinned. "I bet they can eat however much ice cream they want and not get brain freeze!"

I laughed. Annok noticed things most wouldn't and talked about all sorts of things most wouldn't, like how the iridescence of dragonfly wings in the sunlight was similar in beauty to the gleam of a hummingbird's back feathers. I really liked that about her.

Finally, with the eyes affixed back to their places, the head looked as if it hadn't taken a three-yard tumble on the floor.

My phone dinged as I returned the glue to my locker. It wasn't just one text but two from Valentino. I shook my head. He probably needed to finish up some homework like yesterday, and I leaned against my locker to tap the phone screen.

The first text was a link to a video of CrusadEon Online gameplay tips and hacks for beginners, and the second was a personality quiz that helped a person determine which class they should be in CrusadEon.

I didn't realize I was smiling as I hit play. Whether it was because I had a genuine interest in CrusadEon Online or because it was the first time Valentino didn't limit his texts to school-related stuff anymore, I didn't differentiate.