“I guess you could say it’s been a…”

[Life] | “In the spirit of Halloween, let’s throw a party~!”

Heidi, always the first to say—or rather, text—the first thing that comes to mind, randomly suggests the idea one morning in the Chaos Gremlins (name subject to change) group chat.

This unusually named group chat originally consisted of six members, that being: Heidi, NZ, Rush, Red, Beddy, and Cutie. As time passed, what was once a six-man team of ragtag, weirdo misfits has now—much to the amusing surprise of everyone—grown into the double digits! With the later additions of Hikari, Matrix, Exo, and even Enyx, this dysfunctional group of like-minded people were now a full-fledged team of ten!

“Huh? A party? Not interested”

“I think that’d be nice. Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, right? I think I can make something work.”

“...” “Never mind. I’m in.”*

NZ, currently lazing about in her small, comfy apartment complex, could practically see Red's frustratedly flustered face, keeling over from embarrassment. She smiled to herself at the rather cute thought and wondered what he was up to right now.

“Red, you always change your mind whenever NZ chimes in!”

“I don’t think he got the message, send it again Sis!”

“THAT’S. ENOUGH. OUT. OF. YOU. TWO!!!”

“Bro, that switch-up’s GOTTA be a new record.”

“HEY!” “YOU’RE NOT HELPING!!”

“ATTABOY! You tell ‘em Exo!”

“SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!” “Hey! RUSH!!” “WHAT ABOUT YOU?!”

“Just need a day. Tell me that and I’ll make it work.”

“What about tomorrow~?”

“Not happening.”

“Awww…" "Why not??”

“Working. Got a new assignment at Evny’s.”

“YOU HAVE ANOTHER CASINO JOB!?!?”

“🫵”

“🫵”

“🫵”

“🫵”

“🫵”

“🫵”

“🫵”

“🫵”

Everyone—well, mostly everyone—sent finger-pointing emojis at NZ.

Despite the assumption, it wasn’t without reasonable doubt. Nine times out of ten, any kind of casino detail usually led back to her. This must be one of those rare exceptions.

NZ, mildly annoyed at how quickly her friends were to judge, sent a reply with a passive-aggressive vengeance.

“Wow, guys, thanks so much for the vote of confidence! Y’alls must think you’re so. funny. pinning the blame on me like that so quickly. But don’t worry… I’ll be sure to have my revenge. Hmmm, no one’s gotten any jobs from me in a hot minute, right? You can be sure that I’ll work you all to death soon. enough.”

“T-Then if it wasn’t you…?”

“Probably Ambrose.” “But, knowing Rush, he’s probably gonna say something like—”

“Can’t go into detail. Just need to look into somethin.”

“Called it.”

“Rush, you idiot!” “Where's the fun if you aren't gonna be able to join us? Stop side-questing and join us in something fun for once!”

“No comment”

“Grrrrr… Meanie!”

“U-Um…”

“Hey, guys, Hikari is tryin to say something. Let's put aside the argument of Rush's schedule for now (even though I know he'll make it anyway), and hear her out.”

“Wow. You can be surprisingly right sometimes, you know that Exo? Alright Hikari-darlin, what is it you’re trying to say~?

“S-So…” Hikari began, following up with a nervous kaomoji—a Japanese emoticon style made up of Japanese characters and grammar punctuations—to visually display her nervousness.

“​​(;•_•)” Much like Heidi, who acts, and texts on impulse, Hikari felt a similar need to convey whatever she was feeling through a more visual form of communication.

“W-When’s this party again?”

“Huh? We were planning a party??”

“HEIDI!!!”

“(X__X)”

“What the hell man…”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“KIDDING~!!! I’m kidding. Come on guys, take a joke~”

“HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY WHEN WE CAN NEVER TELL WHEN YOU’RE JOKING!!”

“Red, like you’re really one to talk!”

“Right? Takes one to know one!”

“EXO! How many times are you going to stab me in the back today?! I’ll kill you for this!”

“AHAHAHA!!” “Man, you guys crack me up!” “Hikari! Don’t mind these awful sticks in the mud!” “The party’s on Halloween!!!” “Also, you don’t have to worry about dressing-up at all! Your cute ‘lil bunny outfit’s more than enough~!”

“(>///<)” “H-Heidiiiii… Don’t tease me like that…”

“Teehee~!”

“There she goes again…”

“Fight, Hikari, FIGHT! Fight back!!”

“Alright everyone, time to place your bets!!!”

“Whaaaaaaa—!?” “(•x•;)”

“Guys. We’re getting off—You know what? Never mind. I don’t care anymore”

“R-Rush!?!? How could you!?” “(T__T)”

“Never change guys, never change~! God, my stomach hurts from laughing too much!!”

Despite nothing being solidly planned, everybody sounded—from the look of their texts anyway—as if they were enjoying themselves.

▓

The rapid-fire influx of messages after Red’s instigation didn’t stop until sometime in the mid-to-late afternoon…

▓

NZ, proprietor of the Melting Pot’s Greed and one of only eleven seat holders among Arcadia’s Board of Directors, couldn’t afford to laze about any longer and finally got to work. With all that said, though, she actually had some semi-important (and urgent) business to attend to with the city’s underworld. …

Beddy and Heidi, upon finally noticing the time, hurried toward the Prism Ring at a breakneck speed, having completely forgotten about their own scheduled fights for the evening.

Cutie, having been cooped up in her room all day like the NEET she is, stepped out to prepare dinner for herself and her sister; for when she returned home. She had been hard at work developing her latest fashion drop, which is—as it currently stands—over a month late. NZ is sure to never let her hear the end of it…

Matrix, having never said much to begin with, enjoyed lurking more than anything; but he was way too preoccupied with cleaning his house to have paid attention regardless.

Hikari worked on homework, and Rush—much to everyone’s doubt—actually gathered some useful intel.

As for everybody else, they all continued with their rather busy lives that otherwise wouldn’t have allowed for this kind of once-in-a-blue-moon chaotic freedom. To supplement that thought, it was rather unusual for everyone to have the same morning completely free on the same day, but nobody really paid this any mind.

Having spent the entirety of said morning talking to one another like this, everyone in the Chaos Gremlins (name subject to change) group chat was actually rather thankful for this rare opportunity…

▓

Beddy and Heidi, having not only finished their respective matches and obtained yet another victory for their triple-digit winning streaks, walked out of the underground mall elevator and were met with Arcadia’s beautiful nighttime skyline; the many stars above twinkled brightly, and the full moon kept them company as they walked home together.

“…Hey, Beddy?”

“Yeah??”

“I dunno why—Well, I guess it’s pretty obvious why, but still. Seeing this full moon and all, I can’t help but feel somethin. I guess you could say it’s been a…” she pauses, looking up.

“Ooooooh, I see where you’re getting at. But hey, why are you making me finish your sentences?” Beddy said smugly. “But I digress. Yeah… today’s been a pretty damn good day.”

End

[* A good chunk of this story is stylized in an attempt to invoke the image of an active group chat. The “message” “message” structure is supposed to emulate the idea of someone sending multiple texts before anyone else can say anything [in protest or otherwise] and respond.]