“I have to find out the truth!” Arlit said, pounding her fist oable. “The more I find out about the twelfth dimension’s murders by the uni bandit, the more I feel lost in this byrinth of mysteries!”

  “What I like about the show is that it’s so retable.” Oka said.

  Oka and I were watg Tower of Hate and Love. It ying on my phone while we worked on homework in the girls’ dorm lounge. Sihe lounge was always freezing cold, we were also ed up in a b. I was a bit shaky, partly because I was anxious and partly because I kept drinking a Redgre Co offshoot called Saber they were giving out in every building. Because the Kinders apparently wao get in on the freebies and stuff after Cubicle Days like the i Courtesy people. It had way too much caffeine. But mostly because I wasn’t expeg Oka to just invite herself to the b around her as well when she joined me. Her being so close warmed us both. I asked myself why this didn’t feel like it did when Jeans would spend whole dates just hugging me. I realized I didn’t feel afraid of Oka like I was with Jeans. Whi its oas scary, but not for like, Jeaed reasons.

  “Oh no,” I said quietly. Then I realized I said that out loud.

  “What? Something on this assig?” Oka asked as she took her earbud out of the headpho we were sharing.

  “The arc…it’s the ‘cousins’ one.” I said, a quicker and smoother cover up than I usually could bust out. I locked away a thought that popped into my head then, deep enough that I didn't have to sider the potential sequences of the scary thought.

  “I’ll brace myself,” Oka said. “You’ve trained me for this.”

  Just as the st credits rolled before the filler arc, Kalei sauntered over, waving bye to the Matora sisters.

  “Wow, you guys look like a co,” Kalei said. “But that might be because I got this book on cos and it’s got me just thinking about cos.”

  I let go of my side of the b, but then the cold of the lou me.

  “Kalei, wanna help us with this worksheet on the effects of fang removal on i?” Oka asked.

  “Not really,” Kalei said. “I did get three coupons from Peam for coffee’s that we use at the coffee bar here that I was going to share, but I guess homework is a thing too.”

  “Why’d Peam give you coupons?” Oka asked.

  “He was handing them out to everyone on the beach, it’s like coupon warfare with all these rich i people and Haven weirdos,” Kalei said. “See why you should spend more time on the beach? To get coupons from our suspender wearing principal?”

  “That’s like an anti-advertisement,” I said. “But it’s not like I don’t want to go to the beach, it’s just muggy today.”

  “Muuuugggyyy.” Oka said. “I’ll stay in the AC, thanks.”

  Oka wi me, proud that I had expined air ditioning to her, which had me even more ed about her old school when I found out she didn’t know about it.

  “Plus, I already got a few Saber drinks for free from the school today,” I said.

  There were weirdly a few coffee booths in the school, I assumed for faculty since coffee was an adult drink for adults, but they had them in the dorms too.

  “We’re gonna be up all night with these,” I said, eyeing the drink I got.

  “I got a decaf frap.” Kalei said.

  “What, for real?” I said. “You get coffee without caffeine? But I thought it was an adult drink for adults...”

  “I just got a smoothie,” Oka said.

  “Why’d you waste your coupon on just a regur rge coffee?” Kalei asked.

  “I don’t know! To fit in?” I said.

  “If you really wao fit in, you should have just copied my order.” Kalei said.

  "Maybe I wao fit in with adults," I said. "With an adult drink for adults!"

  “You don’t have to drink it,” Oka said. “Here, we’ll trade.”

  “No, that’s not fair to you,” I said.

  “How about we go bad forth?” Oka asked. “You get a sip of yours, I get a sip of mihen you get a sip of mine, I get a sip of yours.”

  “Hmmm, that could work,” I said.

  “You guys have such a weird dynamic.” Kalei said. “Do you know how nasty it’d be to go between a regur coffee and a FruteBurst Strawberry Rainbow Bst Smoothie would be?”

  “Good point,” Oka said. “Maybe we could trade sips with Kalei too, to ba the fvor.”

  “Hey! I never said I’d join in on this!” Kalei said.

  Kalei joined us back at our booth, and we mao fihe bo keep all three of us warm. I took one sip of my coffee and decided I didn’t like coffee. Suddenly, my ph. It was Stel.

  “Hello?”

  “Zeta, I just had the sudden sehat you’re about to tip the scale to too much caffeine,” Stel said.

  “…how did you know?” I asked.

  “It’s part of my i gift,” Stel said. “You know how caffeine messes with yht? As well as i, our biology is sensitive to caffeine. How much have you had today?”

  “Just a Saber they gave out,” I said.

  “Just a Saber? Those things are energy drinks!” Stel said. “At least it was only…it wasn’t only one, was it?”

  “…no,” I said.

  “And now you have another in front of you too because it’s after Cubicle Days and everyone is giving out stuff,” Stel said. “So if you really o feel like using a coupetting that free crap, wait until the Haven magazine es. Did you get that yet?”

  “No,” I said, feeling like I wasted a coupon. I didn’t like lying to Stel, but I couldn’t be sure if Kalei was listening to the call.

  “Beats me. Don’t have whatever you’re having.” Stel said. “Especially if it’s coffee. Alright, I have work though so don't drink that coffee.”

  “OK, ter Stel,” I said.

  “Your sister sense when you have caffeine?” Kalei asked after I hung up. “What i gift is that?”

  “I think you should keep your volume lower for your phone, Zeta,” Oka said. “That came through pretty clear and imagine if it was something embarrassing.”

  I harrumphed my hand into my cheek. Stel tellio not have the coffee made me want to drink the coffee, but the coffee tasted really gross. But it was also a free coffee.

  “Zeta, you’ve had a dopey look on your face tely.” Kalei said.

  “Wow, thanks Kalei,” I said. “I’m very gd you’re my friend.”

  “No, no, not like that, like happy dopey.”

  “I don’t think that’s better?” I asked.

  “Wait, shut up,” Kalei said. “Don’t move.”

  I started to protest, but Kalei was determined.

  “Seriously, don’t move.” Kalei said, holding her pointer fingers and thumbs out to make the like frame pose over my face.

  “What is it?” Oka asked.

  “Doesn’t Zeta look like a model like from this one angle when she has that bnk mouth, just ever so slightly agape look?”

  “Yeah totally! Zeta’s so pretty!” Oka said.

  “Hey, wait…” I said.

  “And thearts talking and ruins the whole model thing.” Kalei said. “Then it’s like, oh yeah it’s Zeta.”

  “Hey!” I said.

  I steamed about that as Kalei and Oka ughed, but I couldn’t stay mad long.

  “Alright, what are we watg?” Kalei said as I put my phone ba the little snty stand thing to dispy it while we did homework.

  “We were watg Tower, but we hit the ‘cousins’ ard Zeta said that one is apparently just all filler,” Oka said.

  “Oh, yeah, no. I don’t know how they got away with so little happening in that arc for that many episodes,” Kalei said. “Anything else?”

  “We could watch a Renderfold’s Tryst.” I suggested.

  “It is a cssic.” Kalei said.

  “What’s that one about?” Oka asked.

  “This guy is running a business and he decides he’d rather live in space,” Kalei said. “Then he builds a spaceship but then ends up building a robot and falling in love with it. Oh, but it was all a dream!”

  "That literally spoils the series finale, Kalei." I said.

  “Pass.” Oka said.

  With our homework finally done, we were in danger of losing the whole day to caffeine boredom as we flipped through our potential shows and movies.

  I noticed Aira was showing something to Lillia the other side of the lounge. Lillia raised her Aira and turned away, and the two started arguing.

  “They’re going at it again,” I said.

  “They’re like por opposites,” Oka said.

  Lillia roper and dignified and alut her focus on school first, while Aira had retly missed three straight days of css because she fot to go despite living at school. Aira was friendly and willing to talk to everyone, while Lillia was more socially unreachable despite what I assumed were her best efforts. So far, our void csses had involved little tact with either as they both went on their own aloof ways while training. Naturally, the two had some fights.

  “They’re like, you aa, if you hated each other,” Kalei said. “Like mirror universe Zeta and Oka.”

  “I don’t know if I agree with that,” I said.

  “Wait, whie is which?” Oka asked.

  “Well, Oka, you’re smart like Lillia, aa, you be pretty stupid and you’re pretty weird.”

  “Kalei, did I do something to you retly that you’re punishing me for? Or are you just praising me really badly? Because I ’t tell.”

  “If you don’t take your studies seriously, you won’t get anywhere here!” Lillia yelled.

  Everyone in the louurned when they heard that. Lillia blushed and crossed her arms. Aira didn’t seem at all upset by what Lillia had just said to her and responded with something too quiet for us to hear. Lillia nodded a.