Alfred Jones bounced in the room with a joyous smile on his face. "I have thirty more Silly Bands, guys! They just came in the mail. True, it cost me a fortune, but it was totally worth it, don't you think?" He looked eagerly at the small card table in the middle of the attic, where Francis Bonnefoy, Arthur Kirkland, Honda Kiku, and Matthew Williams sat in tiny chairs playing poker with Oreos. Everyone except Arthur looked up in excitement at Alfred's announcement. Meanwhile, the petite British fellow put his head in his hands, feeling a headache coming on.

"Ooh, time to trade, guys!" Kiku exclaimed, bouncing towards the American with new enthusiasm. His wrists, too, were covered in the cute little rubber bands, but his numbers couldn't compare to Alfred, who was practically swimming in Silly Bands. "I'm going to get that turquoise turtle from you today, Francis."

"We'll just see about that, mon copain," Francis replied. "You know how tough I can be about trading my favourites." He fondly touched a turquoise rubber band on his left forearm. Kiku stared at it with envy.

Matthew stood up, laughing nervously. "Let's not get in a catfight, guys." He stepped between the Frenchman and the Japanese that were locked in a death-stare match. "Can't we just get to trading?"

"Good idea, bro," Alfred stepped in quickly. They all sat crisscrossed in the floor and ripped the loads of bands off their arms. With speedy precision, they organized their bands by colour and then by sentimental importance. Each trader examined the others' loots with keen eyes. Arthur Kirkland watched his pals act like eight-year-old girls and felt like banging his head on the deserted card table in front of him.

Francis gasped as his eyes drifted to Alfred's huge collection. "Where in the world did you get a pineapple? What about this ostrich? This baguette is awesome! Oh my goodness, I love you, Alfred." Arthur shot a glance at the flirty Frenchman with envious green eyes.

The hero of the gang was clearly enjoying the attention. "I told you I got a ton more. Gosh, all that money was worth it. Kiku, what are you smirking about?"

"C'est vrai," Francis gasped. Kiku hadn't spoken a word since their session had begun; instead he sat with his hands in his lap and an all-knowing smile on his face. In front of him lay his usual collection, but a certain gem caught Francis's eye. He nearly fell to the floor in shock. "That there, monsieur, is a glittery unicorn Silly Band!"

Arthur Kirkland's head shot up from the table and he instinctively ran towards the gaggle of boys on the floor. "Did somebody say 'unicorn'?"

Immediately, the whole group fell into hysterical fits of laughter. "Look who's the big man now, Kirkland!" Matthew shouted through his giggles. "Oh, wait, I forgot, you're only about five feet tall. I guess we're all big men to you, no?"

Francis yanked a few rubber bands from his pile and shoved them towards Arthur, who shied away. "Do you want the Silly Bands, Art?" he asked in a high-pitched, feminine voice. "I thought you said they made us look like girls!"

"I don't know," Kiku piped up. "He sure looked a bit like a girl jumping over the couch just to get to a unicorn Silly Band!"

Arthur gave a wry smile in response, but Alfred remained silent. Through his square glasses, he looked up at his friend pitifully. Upon catching his eye, the Brit felt his cheeks warming and wondered why. No matter, he managed to evade the funny feeling and the unicorn-shaped wonder laid out in front of him and return to sulking at the card table while the others continued to chuckle.