A new pouting member sat at our circular lunch table. I sat on the side that led towards the lunch line, and the three of us formed a triangle of sorts. Harry and I sat relatively closer to each other, while our new member isolated herself as far away from us as possible.

“Why do I have to sit here,” Gentrei complained, “In fact, why don’t I just get up and leave right now?!”

“Hey now,” Harry chided, “you’re here because I brought you here, remember? Your friends aren’t here now, so why don’t you enjoy your time with us?”

“Tch,” Gentrei glowered, “you’re the one I want to get away from the most.”

Harry’s thunder quieted slightly, “A-aw man…”

As the two continued their banter, I sat together, but isolated, with the group. Gentrei obviously hated our guts, but Harry’s absolute kindness somehow enabled him to continue to chat with her like a close friend. I silently ate my food, as I observed their interactions.

“And you,” Gentrei transferred her glare onto me, “you’re almost as bad as Harry.”

“No!” I yelped in despair, as she compared me to Harry’s shenanigans, “Not like Harry!”

“B-both of you are acting like I’m some sort of problem,” Harry protested, “Am I really that bad?”

“”Yes!”” Gentrei and I cried simultaneously.

“Oh…” Harry shrank, “that’s sad…”

“Well, I guess you’re not that bad,” Gentrei lifted a bit of the weight of her bullying, “you’re just hard to understand…”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “very hard to understand.

“Illate, you’re the one that’s coming off as the meanest, you know,” Harry whined playfully, “anyways! Have you guys heard of the new event going on?”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“New event?” Gentrei tilted her head, “What do you mean?”

“Heh, well you see,” Harry grabbed a flier from his bag, “tada! There’s a writing competition coming up soon!”

Hearing those words, my head perked up, “Writing competition?”

“That’s right,” Harry answered, “and the winner gets a pretty hefty scholarship as a reward!”

“A scholarship?” Gentrei’s tone lifted, and she sounded a little less like a wild predator.

“M-hm, that’s what I’m saying!” Harry responded, “It’s one of the major three that happens every year!” Then he slyly turned to me, “It’s the perfect way to gain recognition as an up and coming writer too.”

If I didn’t have to worry about my public image, I would have been salivating at the idea of writing in a competition. Though, I still didn’t have a lot of practice with writing, so I probably wouldn’t do so well when in a competition.

“But,” Gentrei spoke up, “it’s not like we have skill in writing here, or whatever, right? What’s the point of bringing it up?”

“Oh, but there’s a little answer to that,” Harry replied, “they allow you to get help from one other student as an editor, for the price of half of the reward, so then you can have a little easier of a time with the competition. What do you say, Gentrei, think I’d be a good editor for you?”

If editors are allowed, then I could ask Itra to enter along with me. She might agree with it, since practical usage of writing would help with my learning. I would feel a lot more confident if I had Itra on my side.

“No thanks,” Gentrei refused, “I have a smarter friend.”

“Ouch!” Harry winced, “How about you, Illate? What do you say? We’re good friends, so think we’d make a good team?”

“Uh, I actually have someone else in mind,” I responded, “Sorry…”

“Not you too!” Harry wailed, “Fine! I’ll enter in myself, may the best man win, my foes.”

“Hah, as if I’d get a lower rating than you,” Gentrei scoffed, “with my friend Injaius, my win is already secured.”

“Oh? Well you better be careful,” Harry warned, “because I am actually use my words pretty good.”

“Pretty well,” I corrected, prompting Gentrei to snicker.

“Illate!” Harry bawled, “You’ve tarnished my credibility!”

“Ahahahah!” Gentrei roared in laughter, “As if you ever had any!”

The scene of the three of us together, in my mind, had a warm glow to it. Perhaps not in reality, but I began to grow attached to the sight. Gentrei originally seemed like a monster to me, but now she acted human. Perhaps she’d make a good friend in time. She still scared me though.