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“So then I said, “Flamethrower? I barely even know ‘er!””
“Eh. Solid seven-point-eight out of ten.”
“The buildup was solid, but the punchline needs some work, little buddy.”
Juliana scoffed, looking away from Florian and Arven and cupping her hands behind her head. “Everyone’s a critic…”
The trio turned a corner of the Academy’s dormitories, tracing the familiar path to Nemona’s room. The Zero Crew (name still pending) had agreed to meet up and engage in some classic Teenage Shenanigans over the weekend, and everyone was eager to begin.
As they turned the last bend, however, they were met with an unusual sight. In front of the door they knew to be Nemona’s was a frankly absurd number of packages. They piled halfway up the doorframe, spilling out almost the length of the hall. It looked like whoever had delivered them had attempted some sort of neatness, before giving up entirely.
The trio froze for a moment, processing this new discovery, before collectively agreeing to approach the madness directly. Every box was the same, plain cardboard, with the only distinguishing feature being the tape covered in stylized Pokeballs, and the emblazoned logo on the side, proudly reading “Pokemon Center.”
“Pokemon Center? Like that merch website?” Juliana crouched down to the nearest boxes, looking at them in unabashed awe.
“Or she just bought a bunch of Potions. You never know.” Arven and Juliana were both pretty sure they knew, but didn’t speak up.
Arven grabbed a box of his own, tossing it once. “It’s definitely light enough.” He shook it idly, hearing no sound from inside. “I didn’t think the class prez collected plushies.”
“No, I don’t think she does.” Juliana waded through the marsh of boxes, careful not to step on any of the packages, before knocking a familiar rhythm on the Champion’s door. “Nemo? You there?”
“Just a sec!” There was the sound of a Pokeball recalling, and the door opened. “Hey guys! Are you ready to-“ Nemona’s enthusiastic smile sputtered and died at the pile of boxes outside her door. For the first time since meeting her, she seemed at a complete loss. “Huh. That’s new.”
“So I take it you didn’t buy a hundred things from the Pokemon Center?” Arven tossed her one of the boxes, which she briefly fumbled before looking at inquisitively.
“Actually, there’s only ninety-nine.” Every looked at Florian in confusion, who shrugged. “What? I was curious.”
“Nope, definitely not. I haven’t bought anything in ages.” She looked between her dorm and the pile in befuddlement. “I…guess bring them in? They’re probably blocking the hallway.”
Within a minute, every box was gathered and placed inside with equal haphazardness. For a moment, the four simply stared at the pile, wondering what their lives had become, before Nemona grabbed her original package and a pair of scissors.
A little bit of digging later, she unearthed her prize, briefly holding it aloft like a video game character opening a treasure chest. “It’s…a Pawmi?” The trio gathered around the small toy in her hands.
It was definitely a small plush Pawmi, realistic and made with good quality material.
“Did…did someone buy you a bunch of plushies?” Arven took the toy, looking increasingly incredulous. “I mean, it’s cute and all, but…”
There was the sound of crumpling plastic, and Florian stood back up, another opened box in his hands. “Hey guys, look.” Inside this box was another Pawmi. Exactly the same as the first. With dread in their hearts, they all grabbed whatever sharp implements they could find and began tearing into the pile.
About two dozen in, they could only come to one conclusion. “Someone didn’t just buy you a bunch of plushies. Someone bought you ninety-nine of the exact same Pawmi plush.” Arven looked at the pile in dismay. “Why does my life just keep getting weirder?” Nemona shrugged helplessly, looking at the five held in her own arms.
“Hey guys! Lookit!” Juliana stood up from a fresh box, another Pawmi under her arm, but a much more important prize in her other hand. “I think this is the packing slip! We can see who got it!” Immediately, everyone rushed to her side, reading over her shoulders, or in Arven’s case, over her head.
The slip confirmed that it was ninety-nine Pawmi, purchased a few days prior and only just arriving (for rather obvious reasons). And the name of the purchaser…
Cassiopeia Estrella.
Florian tilted his head to the side, looking almost disappointed. The Pawmi atop his head inexplicably stayed attached. “It can’t be that easy.”
“Did she not think we’d put that together? We all know about her little pseudonym.” Arven crossed his arms. “Do you think it was intentional?”
“Oh!” Nemona shifted the horde in her arms to pound a fist into her gauntlet-covered palm. “I forgot! We’d been looking at the Pokemon Center together, and I mentioned I liked the Pawmi!”
“So she…bought a hundred-“
“Ninety-nine.”
“-of them? That’s a little overkill, even for her…”
Nemona clasped her hands together. “Aw, she’s so sweet!”
“So wait.” Juliana turned to her fellow Champion, looking like a proper Herlock Sholmes. “You’re telling me that you mentioned this plush to her once, and she responded by buying you this many?”
Nemona nodded. “Looks like it! She’s such a good friend!”
The remaining trio exchanged glances. Yep. Totally Platonic.
As if summoned by her totally platonic gesture, there was a knock at the door. “Hey, are we setting out soon?”
Florian answered, looking flatly at her. “We had a bit of a delay.” She looked past him, processing the pile all at once.
“Ah.” She numbly followed as Florian lightly pulled her inside before shutting the door. Unsurprisingly, she looked more than a little flustered at being found out, her hands toying with the bottom of her sweatshirt.
Arven crossed his arms. “So. Got an explanation, Penny?”
She was silent for a moment, her expression blank. It was clear she was focusing deeply on her response, the perfect verbal parry to-
“Who’s Penny?”
There was a beat of silence.
“Right, I’m just ignoring that for both our sakes.” Arven let out a breath. “Listen, little hikikomori. This was just a bit of a shock for us. No one’s mad, we just wanna understand.”
Finally, she turned to their approximate direction. “It…It was an impulse buy. I wanted to get one for Nemona. And then I thought about my Veevee’s, and then I didn’t want the rest of you to feel left out, or Team Star, so I just…” She trailed off, but everyone got the gist. Nemona stepped forward, lightly grabbing the other girl’s hands to get her attention.
(Florian rolled his eyes at his twin behind her back.)
“Look, Penny. This is very sweet, and I’m glad you thought of everyone, but…”
“You don’t know what to do with the Pawmi?”
“I have no idea what to do with the Pawmi.”
Juliana stepped forward. “Well, if we each take one, that’s five. Plus your Vee’s, and Team Star, that’s another fourteen.”
Arven spoke up. “Mr. Hassel would love one, and probably get an extra for Brassius. Plus Saguaro and Salvatore.”
“Iono would take seven if we let her.”
“Poppy would be excited to get one.”
“See, it’s not a problem!” Nemona shook their entwined hands. “We can always figure it out!”
“…Thanks, guys.”
They all looked at the pile for another moment.
Juliana was the first to say what was on all of their minds. “Cuddle pile first?” There was a resounding round of agreement as everyone hurried to finish freeing the rest of the toys.