Chapter Text
A girl named Karista sat at a small table, quietly chewing her biscuit. She glanced out the windows into the dark city, seeing clouds move away from the moon. It was late at night and she had snuck out to Samson's Biscuits (Griddy's Doughnuts) to do homework. She had completed it just a few minutes earlier and was finishing the last of her snacks.
The door opened and a group of 11-year-olds entered, grinning to themselves. Karista counted them and figured out there were eight, all wearing matching blueish-purple uniforms. They sat in a booth in the corner and talked in whispers.
One of them let his olive-green gaze travel over to Karista, and he offered her a small smile. Karista looked away shyly, embarrassed to be caught staring.
The boy slipped out of his seat and went over to Karista's table. Waiting for him to speak, she looked up at his face and took a sip of her milk and forced herself to remain calm.
"I noticed you were staring." He said, looking between her and his group. Before she could react, he continued with slight amusement in his tone. "We are quite a sight, my siblings and I."
Karista blinked in surprise. "Siblings?"
He nodded and sat down across the table from her. "Adopted siblings." He specified. "We are all adopted."
"That's almost weirder. Who would adopt eight kids?" She asked, tilting her head curiously.
He grinned. "A crazy rich old man." There was a moment of quiet between them, broken by the conversation of his siblings at the other table.
"My name is Five, by the way." He told her. He noticed her confused expression and explained. "Part of his craziness is not giving us proper names. We're all numbered, one through eight."
Karista ate the last biscuit on her plate and narrowed her eyes. "Is it weird? Do you have nicknames at least?"
"Not that weird. I'm used to it, but my siblings have given themselves 'proper names', with help from our mother." Five answered, crossing his arms over his chest and smirking. "But I didn't want a name. I like Five."
She blinked. "Oh. Interesting. My name is Karista." She introduced herself with a little smile. "It's nice to meet you, Five."
Five smiled and closed his eyes. "That's a pretty name. It suits you." He said, then opened his eyes. "Would you like to join my siblings and I? I think we're going to do a biscuit eating contest."
Karista bit her lip, silent for a moment while she decided. "You know what? Sure! Why not?" She had done her homework anyway, making new friends couldn't hurt.
She followed Five over to the booth where his siblings were and Five started to talk.
"Hey guys. This is Karista." He gestured between her and the group. "Karista, these people are my siblings. There's Vanya, Marcus, Lila, Sloane, myself, Kyle, Christopher, and Jayme." He pointed to the sibling that matched the name when he said them.
Karista waved to them. They waved back.
"Five, is she like us?" The girl Five had pointed out as Lila asked.
"No." He answered quickly. After a moment of quiet, he spoke again. "At least, I don't think so. Karista, when were you born?"
Karista furrowed her brow in confusion. "August 15th, 1989... why do you ask?"
Five glanced away for a moment. "We just like knowing birthdays, because we share the same birthday. That's why our father adopted us. Our dad likes October 1st, 1989." He said, and Karista didn't know he was half-lying.
"He sounds weird." She replied, and all the kids nodded in wholehearted agreement.
~~
The eating contest between the siblings and Karista began. Marcus and Lila were in the lead while Sloane and Jayme felt their stomachs hurt after not long. Vanya tried to keep up, but decided to bow out after Kyle stopped. Five and Karista stopped pretty early on, he didn't feel hungry and she had already eaten biscuits. Eventually, Christopher was the only one still eating biscuits, he was the winner. None of them understood how the skinniest kid could eat so much without growing, but he did.
While most of them went to the washroom or outside to throw up after stuffing themselves too much, Five and Karista stayed in their seats. She was feeling tired since it was so late, and her head slowly drooped onto Five's shoulder, her eyes fluttering shut.
"Karista. Hey..." Five gently shook her arm. She sat up and blinked at him. "You should probably go home, huh?"
She slowly nodded. "Mhmm... should, yeah." She got up from the seat and stretched, before grabbing her things and going over to the doors. She heard Five behind her getting up too, probably to walk her home since the city after dark could be dangerous. His gesture made Karista feel safe and something warm grew in her body.
~~
They were walking down the sidewalk, and Karista flicked her eyes around at the buildings. It was beautiful, the moon's light bathing the city in its glow while the stars sparkled in the sky. She felt Five's gaze on her and turned her head towards him.
They didn't speak, they did not feel the need to. The silence was nice, comforting. Karista smiled and Five returned the look with a large grin of his own. He liked the sparkle of joy in her blue eyes.
Karista focused back on the sidewalk in front of them and so did Five. After not long, she stopped in front of one of the buildings.
"This is where I stop. I live here." She murmured, and started up the steps. "Goodnight, Five."
"Wait-" He reached out to her, but didn't touch. Karista spun around and tilted her head.
He fake-cleared his throat. "I live nearby, on this street." Five continued, lowering his arms and stuffing his hands into his pockets. "What a coincidence."
Her eyes lit up. "Yeah! That's fun. We can see each other again easily. We could hang out!" She paused. "Umm, only if you want to too. As well. Uhh..."
"Yes!" His response was immediate. "I'd love to see you again. I'd... ahem! Yeah, yeah. Hanging out would be great."
Karista grinned. "Yeah... Well, tonight was fun. Bye, I'll see you again soon." She spoke cheerfully, then turned to the door once more.
Five called out one last thing. "Goodnight, Karista! Don't forget to lock your windows!"
It confused her, but she'd follow the advice anyway. Five seemed very nice.
Outside, Five started hopping and dancing around in happiness. A friend outside his family, a kind one. Then he walked back home, his siblings had already gone without him.