Apparently, when people have near death experiences, they tend to change the way they view life: appreciation of the little things, a new sense of purpose, and many more. Well, for me—I’ve actually died once—I guess this doesn’t apply because when a classmate of mine, a girl of my age, wanted to talk to me I didn’t know what to do. Wait, do near death experiences even help with that?

To be honest, I couldn’t exactly remember what her name was, but I was pretty sure it started with a capital C. I’d never really call my classmates by their names if I didn’t have to. So, I’d always say “you” or “they” every time. It’s just much more comfortable.

Ever since Earth got destroyed by a massive asteroid, I had expected to turn into mashed spaghetti, sucked into the depths of space then eventually fuse into space dust, but ...instead of that, I ended up in this fantasy-like world. Everything didn’t make sense at first, as I wasn’t a gamer and didn’t play much video games to begin with, so it took me a while to get used to game-like elements appearing in front of you, though I found magic to be pretty amazing. If it was someone else, rather than me who ended up here, they’d go crazy over it. That I was certain.

The lunch bell rang moments ago. The rest of the class had already left and were probably heading to the cafeteria. Only me and this girl—who also was my previous partner last period—were the only ones left in the field. And now, she stood right in front of me, blocking the sun while I sat on the grass.

Her silhouette created the perfect shade that was big and wide enough for me to fit in. As a result, the warmth from my body dissipated, and at the same time, I felt my skin had become a bit cooler. I could easily see her now but what did she want? I thought.

“Jan, are you free right now?” she asked.

Was I free right now? Hmm…That’s a good question. Truth be told, I planned on relaxing during today's lunch—perfect weather and all. And talking about relaxing, I just remembered the time I used my phone whenever lunch began back then. At first, the idea of never using a phone again was horrifying to think about. After all, that was my only way of wasting time. Without my phone, I was nothing—no hobbies, and no motivation.

At some point, after living some time in this world, I just got used to it and don’t feel it anymore. The human mind sure can adapt to anything no matter how dire the situation. Oh, that’s right, I’m not fully human anymore either.

Back on topic, it was rare for someone to talk to me, even more so if they were my age. And besides, I didn’t want to seem rude to her.

“...Sure, I guess...”

“Then, wanna talk?”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“...Uhm, okay.”

I braced myself since I was never good at talking, rather, my social skills were bad—horrible—in general. Reflexively, my jaw and lips stiffened and I felt my body go into cold sweat.

However, she didn’t say anything for a long time. Instead, her eyes were busy looking up as if she was trying to think of what to say. Whatever she had in mind, it must be important, right? Maybe.

I unconsciously chewed on my lips and rolled a piece of my hair around my finger as I waited for her. Finally, her face looked as if she finally knew what to say.

“How did you do that trick in class?” she said. But, I didn’t get what she meant. Sensing this, she reached for her pocket and took out something resembling a pen. Then a few seconds later, I realized what she was saying. Oh, that trick.

Since it was something I knew about, I felt a bit relieved.

She kneeled down and attempted to spin the pen around her thumb, “something like this right?” However, she failed as the pen fell on the grass and rolled in her opposite direction.

An awkward silence covered the atmosphere. I could feel and hear the wind caress my face.

“You’re doing it wrong. Here, give me your pen,” I wanted to say, but no matter how much I tried, it’d always get stuck in my throat whenever I opened my mouth.

Instead, I gestured at her with an open palm. This was all I could do at the moment.

She looked at my hand with a puzzling look but immediately realized what to do next.

With the pen in my hand, I spun it around my thumb casually thanks to muscle memory.

There was really nothing interesting to this trick. I learned it on a whim back then when I was browsing through the internet, and came across the video. It took me a few hours to do it consistently. Well, I guess it’s useful during classes while the teacher was talking.

The next logical thing to say next would be “You make it look so easy” or “How did you do that?”, right? But, no, what she did next was something outright unexpected.

Suddenly, she moved in a bit closer to me. Looked at me straight in the eye and I couldn’t help but think how familiar her dark brown eyes were. Then, she leaned in—almost to my chest—and at that point, I was clearly at a shock of what to do. No, I didn’t understand what was even happening.

However, as if she realized what she did, she lowered her head and moved back a little bit.

“Uhm…Will you be my friend?” she said with a muffled tone.

When she uttered those words, everything became clear. She wanted to be my friend; I see. That’s why she came to talk to me at the start of lunch. But, what’s a friend? I might sound like I’m joking but I’m serious.

Back in elementary school, some of my classmates tried to talk to me though it never really ended up anywhere. It’s like I was cursed or something. I had a tinge of idea about that, but it shouldn't be this hard right? At most, the most “friend”-like thing I did was a simple conversation with a classmate. That was it. The same case remains in this new world too. Besides, do I even need one anymore? I have already lived this long without one. Clearly, I'm already used to it. Thats why...

That’s why when the girl in front of me said she wanted to be my friend. I really didn’t know what to do.

Despite that, I felt something deeply embedded in my enclosed heart had shifted.