To Visit a Friend

 It was finally the weekend: a day to let your true self out to relax. Naturally, my weekends were filled with so much excitement that it washed away the tedium of school. I woke up sometime around noon, throwing on whatever spare clothes I had lying around. Then, I ate two hard-boiled eggs for brunch. Afterwards, I would lounge around on my bed, if I already finished my homework, until linner time. I finished up the day with two sandwiches (still too much mustard) and went to sleep. There were times when I made a mess, but it was nothing a few napkins couldn’t clean up.

Today, however, my day was slightly different. I woke up when the sun was just above the horizon. I then changed my clothes, dressing a bit more casually than I normally did for school. I put my phone, a slip of paper, and the house keys sitting on my desk into my pockets. I quickly gobbled down my breakfast eggs before heading to the front door. Then, I left the house, making sure to lock up behind me. Once I was on the street, I pulled out my phone and the slip of paper, putting the address written down into a GPS app. A forty minute walk, huh? I wish we had another car. Following the instructions, I walked down the winding streets, turning whenever necessary. The roads were relatively quiet this morning, and the wind blew softly; it was quite peaceful. I looked down at my phone, glancing upwards whenever I needed to cross an intersection, until–

“Your destination is on the right.”

I looked up and stared at the two story house in front of me. I took out the slip of paper and glanced at the house number, confirming it was the one written down. I strolled through the plain-looking lawn, stepped onto the porch, and stopped in front of the door.

Bzzt. I rang the doorbell.

A few seconds passed. I heard footsteps softly coming from inside the house. The footsteps quickly grew louder and louder. Then, a thump. A moment after, the lock clunked, and the door opened inward.

“Hey, welcome! Come on in!” It was Lego. I gave a slight nod and walked inside, making sure to take off my shoes at the entrance. “Mona and Aito got here a few minutes ago, so they’re already hanging out upstairs,” Lego yawned as he closed the door behind him.

“Didn’t get enough sleep last night?”

“Nope, my mom made me clean the house. She wanted the place and I to be ‘presentable’ for my friends.”

“Presentable?” I raised my eyebrow slightly as I gave him a once-over. He was dressed in a loose t-shirt that had holes around the neck. His exercise shorts were falling apart at the seams. His hair also had little cowlicks sticking up in random places. I had no idea what part of him was, at least in my mind, presentable. His true self looked like a slob.

Lego noticed me eyeing him and gave a sharp smile. He then twirled around once and threw his hands out to his sides. He didn’t seem to care at all about how he looked. I gazed upwards and let out an exasperated sigh. Makes no sense to argue, he’ll just do whatever anyways, I thought.

A few moments later, I looked back at Lego. He walked past me and gave a quick head jerk, telling me to follow. He walked up the staircase on the right. At the top, there was a dimly lit hallway. We continued down and passed by two doors across from each other. Then another two doors. We stopped at the third set of doors, turning to our left. Lego opened the door, motioning me inside. I stood in the doorway as I looked around his room. My eyes opened wide in shock; my mouth became agape.

“I’ll go grab us something to drink. You okay with lemonade?” Lego asked, unable to see the look on my face. I nodded my head absentmindedly. I didn’t even notice Lego head down the hall since my brain short-circuited. The room itself was quite spacious. There was a queen bed on the right. On the opposite side, there was a desk and a TV with a few game consoles plugged in. Finally, a six person table in front of a large window lined the center. It was a suave room, though that wasn’t why I was in shock. No, it was because of the two girls sitting around the table.

Mona and Aito were sitting across from each other–one drinking lemonade, the other soda. Though, I only knew that because they were the only girls in the Lunch Bringers Society. If I didn’t, who sat in front of me were two people I had never seen before. Even their faces looked different from what I remembered. It was…yeah.

They both noticed me standing in the doorway.

“Hey Lucas! About time you got here!” exclaimed the girl on my left. She sounds like… Mona?!? She looks just as bad as Lego! She wore a hooded sweater with some long, shabby exercise pants. She was using the glasses that normally hung around her neck. Her hair was frizzed all over the place like she brushed it with an electric ball. Her body was slumped down onto the table, looking like a lazy teenager who had just woken up. Her personality also took a complete 180; she gave off relaxed and chilled vibes–no hint of the authoritative aura or respectful tone she usually carried.

That means the other girl silently waving is Aito?!?! Aito’s appearance was even more baffling than Mona’s. It was as if a shy bookworm had turned into a playgirl. She wore an alluring, tight-fitting crop top with a ridiculously short mini-skirt. Her hair was straightened behind her back, compared to her normal braided twintails that rested in front of her shoulders. Her heavy makeup gave off a more mature appearance. If it wasn’t for her contrasting demeanor, I probably had thought this was someone else, perhaps even Lego’s girlfriend.

I was still standing in the doorway. Mona and Aito didn’t seem terribly concerned about how flabbergasted I was since they continued to drink their drinks. How is Mona drinking that sideways? A minute later, I felt a cold object touch my shoulder. My body flinched away. I swiveled my head back to see Lego holding two drinks; he was slightly chuckling at my confounded look.

“I know, right? I reacted that way too. They’ve basically turned into a shut-in and a s…” Lego quickly ducked. I thought I saw a game controller fly right above him. I wasn’t sure though; I was distracted by something hitting the side of my face. I cupped my hand where the object hit and tilted my head downward; there was a book on the floor in front of me.

“Hey! I’m carrying glass here! Also, you’re paying for a new controller if it’s broken Mona!” I looked up and saw Mona harshly glaring at Lego. Her anger was clearly flooding out of every orifice in her body, her distinctly authoritative aura overpowering everything else in the room. Well, that’s definitely Mona. Aito, on the other hand, had an especially conflicted expression on her face.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to hit you,” Aito said in a hushed voice, her head tilted slightly downwards.

“It was an accident; it’s fine.” I smiled and waved it off. Aito returned a half-empty smile, her face still apologetic but with a touch of embarrassment. “Let’s just all take a seat.”

Lego and I sat down: I next to Mona and Lego next to Aito. The air remained heavy as we silently drank our drinks. Mona was still glaring at Lego. Aito was too, but not as much as Mona. Lego, on the other hand, was smiling and drinking his lemonade like nothing happened. He has waayyy too much confidence after what just went down. I wasn’t going to have a picnic in the middle of a war, so I tried to distract everyone with some conversation.

“So…” I began. All eyes turned towards me. I started to stammer, trying to avoid the redirected malice. “W-what do you guys want to do?”

A few more moments of silence passed. Aito was the first to respond, “I want to practice with him.” Aito directed her gaze at Lego.

“Practice with me what?” Lego asked.

“The piano.”

“You can play, Aito?”

“Not well,” she begrudgingly admitted. “That’s why I need your help.”

Lego tilted his head down and crossed his arms, seemingly thinking about what to do. Though, in reality, I saw him stealing glances at me, his eyes fluttering between Aito and I. He probably thought I put her up to it, which wasn’t wrong. I gave him a slight nod, hoping he would help. Lego closed his eyes for a few moments, then raised his head once again.

“Sure, that’s fine with me. There’s a piano in the next room over.” Lego then turned to Mona. “What are you going to do then, Mona?”

“You already know the answer to that,” Mona slightly grumbled; however, it contrasted the slightly excited expression appearing on her face.

“Right, right. Okay, Aito, come with me.” Lego stood up and left the room. Aito trudged a few steps behind him.

I stood up to follow Aito. I was the one who recommended that Lego should help her, so I thought I should be there if she needed me. However, Mona grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back down into the chair.

“You’re staying here.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because Aito and Lego will be fine. Instead, you’ll be helping me…” Mona laid her head back onto the table without breaking eye contact. She then reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out her phone, turning it towards me. “...with this.”

Mona had pulled up the Video Game Tournament. The flier included the rules of the competition, the game being played, and where it was taking place next Friday. I looked at Mona; her expression was now beaming.

“I never pegged you for a gamer, though you certainly look like one now.” Mona raised her head off the table and pursed her lips, letting out a slight “Hmph.”

“I’ve got a worthy challenger now, so of course I would be,” she said, looking at me with expectant eyes. Wait a second…she’s talking about me?? I guess my thoughts had shown on my face because Mona responded, “Of course, who else?”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,” I repeated, backing up for a moment. “I only won last time out of pure luck–”

“And skill,” Mona quickly interjected, almost jumping in front of my face.

“Hold on a moment!” I grabbed her shoulders. “I can’t compete! I didn’t even sign up!”

“Oh, I signed up for you.” I almost fell out of my chair.

“You can’t go signing up people for things they don’t want to do!” I yelled while shaking her. Mona swiftly grabbed my arms and lifted them off her shoulders, staring at me with an evil smile.

“Well, you are now.” I slumped in defeat. “Come on, don’t be like that. It’ll be fun! I actually have a chance to lose now!” I looked up and let out an exasperated sigh. I then took a deep breath and looked Mona straight in the eyes.

“Why do you want to lose so badly?”

“I never said I wanted to lose, just that I had a chance to lose,” Mona responded playfully. She seemed to enjoy teasing me.

“But..why? I get you don’t enjoy winning, but why do you want the chance to fail?” I was yelling even louder now. The room went silent; I could hear the faint sound of a piano being played.

“Hmm, I wonder…” Mona mused aloud after a few moments, her playful look still dancing across her face. She swung around, turning her back towards me. A few more moments passed. “I have but a simple wish.” Mona looked back over her shoulder. My breath was taken away as I saw her expression.

“I just want to have fun.”

She had a soft, perky grin on her face. However, her eyes were glimmering with respect; her body emitted an authoritative aura. It was as her two personalities had merged into a single being, revealing her heart’s only desire.

I sat there in silence. A minute passed. Mona walked over to the TV, grabbing two of the controllers sitting on the floor. She held the one in her left hand out towards me. I looked at the controller, then into her expectant eyes. There was only one thing they were asking:

Are you in?

I gripped the controller instantly. Mona was my friend; she made something inside me want to try and grant her wish. I returned her gaze with a resolute one; a sly grin appeared on my face. We both took a deep breath, preparing ourselves for the battle to come. The game popped onto the screen as we turned towards the TV.

“You ready?” Mona asked.

“Bring it on!”

“Okay, 3.”

“2.”

“1.”

““Go!””