Afternoon, leaning towards evening. Most students are in class, and the cafeteria is empty. That'd be eerie for most, but Eric didn't seem to mind. His schedule happened to have a half-hour free space towards six, putting him right in between of the afternoon and evening shifts.

His tablet was down to 37%, with brightness set to minimum and a soft sepia filter over the pages of a critically acclaimed manga: "My Childhood Friend is a VTuber?!" It was a horrible read, but somehow ever so slightly endearing.

Step, step.

Eric heard a person approaching, and he'd raised his ears if he'd been a puppy. Shyly, he kept his eyes glued to his screen.

Step, step, step. Closer, this time?

He thought this was weird, and took a moment or two to react.

"Yo! What're you reading, dweeb?"

"Dweeb?" What is this, middle school? - he thought to himself. With a brow furrowed in annoyance, he looked up... and back down.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

It was a girl. Short, cute. Long black hair, gray shirt and a modest, flared skirt. She looked like her mom picked her clothes, and had a cute little pink hairpin for a spark of color in her outfit.

Eric took a big second to respond, but he did. "It's a manga. It's called..."

When he blinked, he noticed she'd taken the tablet off his hands. He blinked another two times, dumbfounded.

She said something about it. A hand to her cheek, the device in the other. Maybe it was some sort of mockery. Eric wasn't hearing. A whistling beep was stuck in his ear.

"Can I have that back, please?" Eric had never been "bullied." However, as the pieces of what this interaction was supposed to be connected in his head, his heart accelerated. His skin, got hotter. His eyes, despite his glasses, were blurring.

"Ha, ha! Nah, I think I'll keep it."

The beeping became stronger. Deafening. Childishly, "It's mine! She cant' take it from me!" Maturely, "This is a waste of time." And overbearingly, taking over his mind...

"Give it back, now."

She stopped, her cheeky smile fading for a bit. She slowly handed the device back to him. Eric sighed in relief.

Then she kicked him in the balls.

"AGH!" Eric dropped to his knees. She cackled like a stereotypical princess from an anime.

"Who do you think you are to speak to me like that, huh?! You silly, stupid dumb!"

Petty insults. The tablet still in her hands: second to latest model. The first thing he'd ever saved up for.

He stood up.

"What's with that face, dweeb?"

Eric's hands furrowed her collar. Casey's eyes froze in fear.

SLAM!

Lights out.