Monika gently tapped the tip of her heart-shaped pen against the top of her desk. She had already finished her test and was just waiting for the next bell to ring.

I wonder what Claudette's doing right now… Several different scenarios of what her cousin could potentially be doing at this moment flashed in her head.

She could be visiting the Louvre, sky-diving in Australia, or perhaps enjoying a stay at the Kitsune Spa Resort. Any of the possibilities she came up with seemed possible.

The sound of the bell kept her from theorizing any further.

Monika watched her fellow classmates get up and turn their test in at the teacher's desk. They each wore various expressions on their faces, ranging from proud smiles to annoyance to something that made it clear their day was ruined.

Monika soon followed suit. The moment she placed her paper on the top of the pile, her teacher looked up at her and smiled.

"Do I sense another 'A' Monika?" he said.

"I hope. I put a lot of time into re-memorizing the periodic table."

Though she wore a calm smile on her face, Monika wondered whether her response sounded like bragging. She did just spend last night going over each element, taking note of every fact the table presented.

Even she found it an impressive feat, but she didn't want to brag about it.

"In the end, I tried my best," Monika said.

"Hm," her teacher's eyes narrowed as they looked past her. "Monika, can I ask you a favor?"

"Yes?"

"Could you inform your neighbor that class has ended?"

Though not too descriptive, Monika knew exactly who her teacher was referring too.

Right behind her desk was a young man. He was looking out of the window with vacant eyes, like his mind was somewhere else.

From what she has seen, he was almost always like that. The rest of the class considered him weird for daydreaming all of the time, but she never really did.

Monika approached the young man that sat behind her and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Shujinkou…?"

"Huh?" his eyes lit up and he turned towards her.

Unlike the listless face he had up until now, it was now full of life. He didn't say a word and looked like he had awoken from a trance.

Shujinkou was clearly confused until he lowered his eyes to the hand perched on his shoulder. Soon his cheeks faintly grew red.

"Monika…!" his eye then darted across the room as he scratched his right cheek.

"Shujinkou, it's time for the next class."

"R-Right…"

Shujinkou awkwardly gathered his things and placed his test on the teacher's desk. He then walked out of the room with Monika following shortly behind.

"Shujinkou," she called.

Without breaking his stride, the young man turned around with a confused look on his face.

"How do you think you did on the test?" Monika asked.

"Um…" Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. Monika could see it in his eyes that he was struggling to find an answer. "I don't really know… I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing."

"Oh."

Monika wasn't sure if she should ask him anything else. From the handful of times they've interacted, Shujinkou never seemed like much of a talker.

She always found it peculiar how he looked so distant when he was in his head, but when he was firmly in reality; he seemed to struggle to talk to people. Sometimes it felt like that he didn't want to talk to others deep down.

Perhaps that was why the others found him weird. He may be a bit anti-social, but that wasn't really enough to justify righting him off as weird. After all, everyone has their own way of going about life, right?

The two continued their journey to their next class in silence, until one of their destinations popped up.

"This is my stop, so…" Monika placed her right hand on a door labeled, "Girl's Changing room."

Shujinkou quickly averted his gaze and scratched his right cheek. Awkwardness wafted through the air as they stared at each other in silence.

"See you soon?" Monika said.

"Uhm… Sure."

Monika waved goodbye as he took off for the gym. But instead of slipping into the changing room, she watched her classmate walk away. It was strange, she must have seen him walk before her a lot of times, but it was the first time she had notice how sorrowful his movements were.

Once he was out of sight, Monika walked into the changing room and switched into her gym clothes.

When she was younger, there was always mixed reactions to gym class. Some liked it and some didn't want to tire themselves out.

Monika was firmly on the side of liking it. Moving the body after working the mind was always a welcome change of pace for her.

"Monika."

After she pulled her head through her shirt, Monika turned towards the voice to find an olive haired girl waving at her. It was Kamiko.

"There's our class genius."

"Hm?"

Monika had no better response to that other than to smile and wave. They had a few nice interactions and teamed up a few times on debates, but that was it.

"So, did you think about it?" Kamiko asked.

"Think about it?"

"The slumber party?"

"Actually…" Monika did think about it, but she had yet to decide whether to go or not. "I'm still undecided."

"Come on, Monika. It'll be fun," Kamiko insisted.

"I know, but…"

She couldn't explain it, but something in the back of Monika's mind impeded her decision-making process.

"Well, I won't bother you anymore about," Kamiko said. "You have my address on the invite. Just know that if you don't come, I'll be super sad."

With those parting words, Kamiko took her leave.

They were only thing on Monika's mind as she partook in gym class.

In the middle of gymnastics, having an unbalanced mind could be costly, but she was able to get by. Maybe because it was because of the classes she took when she was younger. It's become second nature once she gets started.

A good thing, since her mind was so preoccupied, she didn't really recall the order she performed the exercises she was instructed to do. What brought her back to reality was the sound of clapping and cheers.

It was a nice feeling, being congratulated for your efforts. But that only added to her unbalanced mind.

…

"So, what's the issue again?"

Monika eyes were glued to the screen of her laptop. Taking up most of the display was the face of her older cousin, Claudette.

"You were invited to a slumber party. You always wanted to go to a slumber party. The solution is right there," she said.

"I know, it's just…" Monika rested her chin in the palms of her hands.

She's been asking that same question and even used the exact same reasoning her cousin just used. But still-

"It's just that…" Monika avoided Claudette's eyes as she said, "I kinda have a gnawing feeling in the back of my head."

"Your spidey-sense tingling?"

"Yeah…"

"Telling you that danger is coming?"

"Yes…"

"Then don't go," Claudette bluntly concluded.

Claudette's answer was simple, but did nothing to assuage her doubt.

"I guess. But what if my sixth sense is just my doubts about not going?" Monika worriedly asked.

"Then go," Claudette replied." And just to let you know I'm prepared to go back and forth with you for hours, cuz."

Monika weakly chuckled; she knew that wasn't an idle boast.

"But seriously, Monika, it's not that hard of a decision. Just pick the option that holds the least amount of regret."

"Least amount of regret?" Monika contemplated those words.

She didn't think about it that way. The decision making process soon came down to one crucial question: Was she willing to take the risk that could potentially strike harder than regret?

…

Monika walked up to Kamiko's front door and pushed the doorbell. She patiently waited for an answer, wondering how fun slumber parties were in real life.

The door opened soon opened after that thought.

"Monika!" Kamiko's arm instantly wrapped around her shoulder and snapped a picture of them with her phone. "Slumber party selfie."

"Hm." Monika nodded her head as she followed the host inside.

She looked around as Kamiko fiddled with her phone. The house was surprisingly quiet.

"Am I early?" Monika asked.

"Huh?" the host turned around, sporting a confused expression on her face. "Y-Yeah, you're early. So… I guess we just have to wait for the others to show up."

"Okay."

An awkward silence ensued. Monika thought it might be a little difficult to converse with someone she hasn't talked to that much, but it seemed like the host wasn't really trying herself.

"Hey, there's something I've wanted to ask you," Kamiko suddenly said.

"Ask me what?"

"What's it like to sit in front of the class spacer?"

"Shujinkou? It's the same as sitting in front of anyone else."

"Doesn't it bother you to sit in front of the class weirdo?"

"Shujinkou isn't weird. He's just being himself."

"Right…" Kamiko rolled her eyes as she turned back to her phone.

Monika mentally breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't too close to Shujinkou, but she didn't really care for hearing him being called a "weirdo".

10 minutes passed by before they heard a knock on the door.

From that point forward, guests started pouring into the house; a surprisingly large amount even.

"Let the party begin!" Kamiko excitedly announced.

And it did. The girls did all the tings Monika has seen and read. They played games, did their hair and more.

All doubts in her mind vanished and she soon found herself enjoying the moment.

Later that night, Monika heard the other guests march to Kamiko's room as she washed her hands in the bathroom.

"I can't believe you actually got Monika to show up," she heard one a voice said.

"Well, how else was I going to get people to show up," another voice said. It sounded like Kamiko. "Get Monika to show up and everyone will follow."

Those words cut deep into Monika's heart. At that moment she finally realized what that gnawing feeling she felt before was. It was the fear of being used.

"Wonder where she disappeared too," Kamiko wondered aloud.

Little did she know, Monika had already left.

…

The next school day came and went, but it felt like an eternity to Monika. Her mind was still stuck on the previous night.

She breathed a dejected sigh as she walked out of school until something peculiar caught her attention.

From the corner of her eyes, Monika caught a glimpse of a familiar figure leaning against one of the tree of the surrounding forest. His entire body was wrapped in the dark shadow produced.

She didn't know whether it was curiosity or to get her minds off things, but she decided to approach them.

As she got closer, Monika soon recognized the stranger as one of her classmates: Shujinkou.

She opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing there, but a distinctive sound made her rethink that decision. It was barely audible, but she was sure that she was hearing him crying.

Monika's hands tightly gripped the strap of her school bag. She wasn't sure whether or not she should say something. But at the back of her mind, she knew she couldn't just ignore him.

"You okay, Shujinkou…?" she asked in the gentlest voice she could muster.

The young man slowly looked up at her. Tears were flowing out of his eyes as he sniffled.

"Y-Yeah…" he roughly rubbed the tears away. "I-I'm fine.

"It doesn't look like it."

"I know, it's just..." Shujinkou bit his lip, as if to keep him from saying anymore.

In response, Monika sat down next to him and leaned against the bark of the tree. Now engulfed in the darkness it creates, she looked him in the eye and asked, "You want to talk about it?"

"Not really…" Shujinkou looked down at his right hand.

"Okay…"

There was nothing she could say that could get him to confess what was bothering him. But at the same time, she didn't want to leave him alone like this. Maybe it was because something was bothering her too. Perhaps there was solace just being around someone who felt terrible too.

"Are you okay?"

Brought back from the inner sanctum of her head, Monika turned at Shujinkou. No longer was there sorrow on his face, now his face shown nothing but worry.

"Am I okay…?" Surprised by his change in demeanor, she truthfully answered. "Not really."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really..."

"Okay…"

It was quiet once again. Monika gently tapped her index fingers together, contemplating whether she should even say anymore.

But she couldn't even focus on that much; her surprise over Shujinkou asking about her well-being while clearly upset himself made it hard to.

"Hey, Monika…"

Before she even had a chance to respond, a single wooden ice-cream stick presented itself to her. Printed on it was the single word: "Winner".

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's a winner stick for sea-salt ice cream," Shujinkou replied. "If you find one, you can turn it in the next time to get ice cream you want free."

"Sounds pretty rare."

"It is."

Nothing else was said after that confirmation.

"Um…" Shujinkou scratched his right cheek. "You can have it if you want."

"I can't do that. You found it, you should enjoy," Monika insisted.

"I know, but I don't really think I'm going to get to using it so… You can have it, if you want to."

She stared into her classmates' eyes. There was no admiration or awe in his eyes, only concern. Before she had even realized it, she had already gripped the "Winner" stick.

Her hand was partly layered on top of Shujinkou's. His warm skin brushed against hers as she pulled away with her gift.

"…Thank you, Shujinkou,"

Shujinkou looked away as he scratched his right cheek. "N-No problem."

He snuck another glance at her before grabbing his bag. "I gotta go, so…"

"See you soon?" Monika finished for him.

"Yeah…"

Shujinkou awkwardly jumped on his feet and walked off.

"Hm…" Monika raised her gift up to her eyes.

What Shujinkou had done could be considered a small gesture, but it still offered some peace to his classmates mind.

…

Monika's eyes were once again glued to her laptop screen as she told her cousin the events of the previous night.

"And that's when I left…" she finished.

On her screen, she watched her older cousin gently tap a pencil against her left cheek. There was no change in her expression throughout the story, only the speed of tapping.

"Want me to fly over there and haze 'em?" she finally proposed.

"No. That's not necessary," Monika vehemently shook her head.

No one deserved to suffer at the hands of her cousin.

"Sorry you had to go through that, Cuz," Claudette apologized. "Though, you don't seem to beat up about it."

"Yeah, well…" Monika glanced down at the ice-cream stick she was given. "I guess I it isn't bothering me as much anymore."

"Did you meet a guy?"

"What? No."

"Oh? Did you meet a guy classmate?"

"…No."

"…No?" a knowing smile slowly stretched across Claudette's face.

"Not like that…" Monika insisted.

"Oh," That same knowing smile was still present. "So, you're feeling better now?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. Sure it wasn't because of a guy?"

"He was a classmate who asked me if I was okay," Monika admitted.

"So, it was because of a guy?" Claudette's smile grew even bigger.

"I don't really know him like that…!"

"Okay, Okay. I'll log off now because I don't I'll keep going. See you later, Monika."

Monika waved goodbye as her cousin vanished from the screen. She then plopped back on her bed and brought the ice-cream stick up to her face. A small smile formed on her lips.

"But you learn something new every day."