Kaitlyn rested her cheek in her hand, eyes skimming over her chemistry notes. The common room was relatively empty for now, as was to be expected. It was the first week of the semester, meaning there were far more interesting things to do than sit inside and study. Most of those events had long since lost their shine to her though. Plus, it was dinnertime, so even the less social students were likely out grabbing food.
Kaitlyn sighed. The cooking stuff always takes a while to get here, so I’m stuck with Cappy’s food for a few more days. Well, mostly.
As if on cue, the toaster oven beeped on the counter nearby. Smiling to herself, Kaitlyn stood and used a dish towel to pull the small tray out. The decadent smell of freshly baked snickerdoodle cookies wafted out tantalizingly.
Oh yeah. These are perfect.
The toaster oven had opened up a whole new world of options - in particular, dessert ones. Kaitlyn was rather proud of her own restraint in not baking cookies, cakes, muffins, and sweet breads every single day for the past few loops. However, she couldn’t help but spoil herself sometimes.
For a moment, she weighed her options. There were a lot of cookies here. Although the resets would theoretically fix any extra pounds she put on from eating them all, she really didn’t want to scarf down the whole pile herself. After a bit of hesitation, she pulled out her phone and tapped out a quick text.
Kaitlyn: Hey! I made cookies. Would you like any?
Heather: OMG YES
Heather: 1 sec at Cappy’s
Heather: U want smth?
Kaitlyn: Maybe some milk, if they have it.
Heather: KK.
The pink case disappeared back into her pocket as Kaitlyn moved the cookies to a plate, sticking the next batch in. As wonderful as the oven was, its size left something to be desired. She could only cook four or so cookies at a time, meaning it took hours to bake up a whole batch.
Oh well. Better than nothing.
A few minutes later, the distant sound of footsteps echoed up from the dorm stairwell. They didn’t stay distant for long as Heather burst out of the door, face alight with joy. “Omigosh Kate! You made cookies?!”
“Hey, Heather.” Kaitlyn smiled at her roommate, her blonde curls only barely out of place from what had to have been a sprint. The popular girl’s eyes sparkled like crystal marbles. “We have fresh snickerdoodles, ready to eat.”
The girl squealed with delight. “Oh! Here, Cappy’s had some little milk bottles!”
The pair settled in at the table and dug in. Kaitlyn closed her eyes in delight at the sweet confection. Yup. That’s a good cookie. I think I’ve finally found the perfect recipe for this one.
Based on the noises Heather was making, she evidently agreed. She took a moment to watch her roommate, thinking about their relationship. It had seen a lot of patching up ever since her return from Vinny’s.
I don’t think I can hate her. Not anymore. She washed down a mouthful of cookie with some of the cool milk. Sure, she was an absolute nightmare to deal with on the Alex stuff, but once we talked about it? She was surprisingly willing to step off. I gotta give her credit for that. And besides, she really has been good to me otherwise. I don’t think it was all selfish, either.
The oven beeped again, signaling another round of cookies ready to come out. Kaitlyn stood to grab them, prompting Heather’s eyes to widen. “Omigosh, are there more? Kate, like, how many are you making? Seriously?”
Kaitlyn just shrugged. “I have a lot of dough left. I didn’t want to make a smaller batch. It’s kinda hard to measure fractions of an egg and all…”
Heather patted her stomach appreciatively. “Well, I’d love to have more, but like, I really can’t just splurge like this! Really, if you keep this up, I’m totally gonna gain my freshman fifteen in the first week!”
She chuckled. “More for me, right? Though you’re probably right, I shouldn’t tempt us by keeping these in the room…”
Heather thought for her second, her eyes narrowing in calculation. A moment later, they widened as inspiration struck. “Hey! Have you met a lot of our suitemates?”
Kaitlyn bit her lip. Aside from a few that she’d said hello to in passing it hadn’t been a priority. “...Not really.”
“Oh, that’s like, perfect then!” The blonde clapped her hands together. “Why don’t you give em’ to them? That’s like, an awesome way to introduce yourself! Totally gets you brownie points too!”
Huh. That’s actually a pretty good idea. She blinked. It always feels awkward to just knock on people’s doors, especially after I’ve gone so long ignoring them though… Maybe I should put a bit more effort into getting to know them better though.
It was worth a try. She’d been trying to expand her social horizons at Bash Bros tournaments. Why not do the same right at home?
“You’re right.” Kaitlyn nodded, committing to the idea. “Thanks, Heather.”
“Of course!” The girl shot her an enthusiastic thumbs up! “That’s what I’m here for. Now, for payment, I suppose I’d accept one more cookie…”
***
Later that evening, Kaitlyn found herself standing before the dorm next to her own. One hand held a plate of fresh cookies while the other was poised to knock.
Is this really a good idea? Now that it came time to actually act on it, she hesitated. Heather hadn’t come with, since she had other plans tonight. Also, the socialite had already met every person in the whole dorm at least once.
…I really should. A deep sigh escaped her. I have to get over this whole “seeing everyone as NPC’s” thing. I’m making progress, but… I don’t know if it’s enough.
It wasn’t the only reason she hesitated. These past few loops had been focused on improving her skills - not making relationships. It had given her a bit of distance from the pain that was losing people at the end of each loop.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
A wry smile twisted her lips. Maybe that’s the wrong way to go about it. Maybe I need more exposure therapy for losing relationships over and over again. Only one way to find out.
With a final nod, Kaitlyn knocked on the door. It swung open a minute later, revealing a rather plain looking girl in her pajamas. She looked familiar in passing, but she couldn’t recall having a single real conversation with the girl.
“Hello?”
“H-hello!” Kaitlyn smiled apologetically. “Sorry to be a bother. Uh, I’m Kaitlyn, your neighbor.”
“Oh! Hey.” The girl smiled. “Nice to meet you. I’m Lyra, back on the bed is Sam.”
Lyra, Sam. Ok. Got it. Kaitlyn tried to fix the names and faces in her mind, employing her memory tricks for a new purpose. “Cool! I uh, just wanted to say hi. And I baked some cookies, do you want one?”
Lyra’s eyebrows raised. “You baked them? Where?”
“In the common room. I have a toaster oven.”
“Huh. Dang, you’re pretty prepared, huh?” The girl leaned against the doorframe. “Sure I’ll have one, thanks.”
“Me too!” A voice called from deeper in. “If you’re offering!”
With a grin, Kaitlyn presented the plate. “That’s it, really. Uh, have a good night, I guess?”
“Thanks, you too.”
The door shut, leaving Kaitlyn in the hallway alone. After a moment, she relaxed. See? That wasn’t too bad. Easy, quick, painless. Everyone’s happy.
As Kaitlyn turned toward the next door, the previous one opened once more. Surprised, she glanced back to see Lyra glancing around the hallway. Their eyes met, and the girl gestured to the half eaten cookie in her hand. “This cookie? It’s amazing. I have no idea what you put in it, but damn.”
Kaitlyn blushed. “Uh, thanks! I’m glad you like it.”
With that, the door closed once more. Huh. Guess all that cooking practice is really paying off.
***
Kailtyn settled into the cheap metal chair, gripping her controller. It took a conscious effort to relax and slow her breathing. Even after so many attempts, a matchup like this always felt high-stakes.
I’ve got a few wins under my belt, but now? It’s really time to check my progress.
A moment later, Ian’s familiar mint hoodie settled into the seat beside her. “K? I’m Indy.”
Nodding, she returned the greeting. Then it was time to go.
They both loaded into the stage, her Ray-Chu immediately moving to close the distance with his CinnaBun. At this point, she knew better than to give him space for his projectiles to work their havoc. The cartoonish animals met in a flurry of blows before Ray-Chu was forced to retreat. Luckily, she’d gotten in a good amount of hits.
Kaitlyn focused on the flashing monitor. Did a round three match of a weekly tournament deserve this kind of seriousness? Probably not. But how am I supposed to get better if I’m not giving it my all? Besides, there’s no chance I’m winning otherwise.
Ian took the first life, as usual. But Kaitlyn took the next. Rather than celebrating, she redoubled her efforts. When she managed to take another life, hope began to flare in her chest.
I’m ahead. I’m actually ahead!
Motion in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Apparently, her efforts had made Ian take notice. His initially relaxed posture had shifted to a more tense and straight-backed one. He wasn’t quite leaning forward yet, but it was something.
The game continued, both characters dashing about madly. They dodged hurled shuriken or fireballs and responded with punches or headbutts of their own. After a grueling few minutes that felt like an eternity, Ray-Chu found himself on his last life near the edge of the stage. CinnaBun dashed forward, launching herself at the fiery mouse. However, a well-timed block and grab reversed the situation, sending the rabbit back into the abyss.
Not enough to kill. Not yet. Kaitlyn watched as Ian’s character leapt through the air and toward the ledge to recover. I’m pretty close to dead myself, too. I need to take advantage.
A fireball sent toward the ledge closed off that possibility, limiting Ian’s options. In the instant before CinnaBun moved, time seemed to slow down. The options flitted through Kaitlyn’s head in an instant, each playing out before her. He didn’t have many, not in this situation. But she had to get this read right.
Will he go high and land on stage? Low and grab after it passes? Or…
In a flash, she knew with absolute certainty what he would do. Standing in place, Ray-Chu charged up a headbutt and let it rip - right into the rabbit that appeared before him. CinnaBun had streaked through the fire with a horizontal dash, eating the damage in exchange for a counterattack.
Nice try, Ian. But I know you too well.
The rabbit ninja’s face morphed into a look of shock as she was launched off of the screen - this time, for good.
Kaitlyn pumped her fist as the victory screen appeared. Yes! Finally! I got a game off of him! It only took… Actually. I’m not going to think about how long that took. That’s kind of embarrassing. But still!
Looking over, Ian nodded seriously to himself as they started the next game. Now he was finally leaning forward.
The next two games didn’t go nearly as well. Kaitlyn managed to keep them close, but couldn’t quite pull off the win either time. For all the experience she had with Ian’s playstye, it felt as though he was able to dissect her own over the course of a single game and adapt better. Still, getting him to his last life each time was enough progress for her. For now.
As Ray-Chu got spiked into oblivion one last time, Ian extended his fist. “Good games. You’re really pretty good.”
“Thanks.” She met his fist with her own, slumping back in the chair. “One of these days I’ll beat you.”
The chestnut-haired boy smiled shyly. “Heh, I hope so. Maybe then ZoggyWoggy will actually have some competition.”
He stood, leaving Kaitlyn to recover from the set. That felt exhausting. Geez. I feel like I just had an all-day study session! At least practicing with other people seems to be paying off though. I feel like I’m getting more well-rounded, better at identifying different options and whatnot.
A few loops of friendlies with other players had taught her a valuable lesson - Kaitlyn needed to branch out. What had started out as a social plan ended up impressing the importance of breadth of experience, rather than depth.
I played other people in bracket, sure. But 90% of my matches were just against Ian. Shaking her head, she stood up. It means I know his style really well and that’s it. I’m trying to be good at Bash Bros in general, not just beating him. And if I want to pull my weight in doubles, I’ve got a long way to go on that front.
“How’d you do?”
Glancing up, she was surprised to see another person had approached. One of the more awkward guys she’d played friendlies with the week before. Wait, he’s actually starting a conversation for once? Yes! That’s another first!
“I lost…” She sighed, stuffing her internal excitement deep down so it wouldn’t show. “I got a game off him, though. Guess I’m in losers’ bracket now.”
“Dang. Same.” The guy nodded in commiseration. “I saw the last game. He’s good.”
Kaitlyn spared a glance back toward the front table, where Ian was reporting the match results to John. “Yeah. Yeah he is.”
***
Cycle 17 Complete!
Ending: Under the Radar
Total Endings Unlocked: 6
Writing - F (0%)
Calculus - F (0%)
Statistics - F (0%)
Chemistry - F (0%)
Genetics - F (0%)