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Mizuki never really did anything that may even be considered adventurous. She was weird and nobody really talked to her; no one was there to push her to be brave and be herself.
She had one friend—Rui, but he wasn't adventurous either, due to everyone around him calling his ideas crazy. They didn't do much, but at least they now had company, each other. They would go on the rooftop, away from others and sit in each other's presence, sometimes having a friendly banter to help pass the time.
Then, they went into high school.
And now, they no longer had time to just sit and talk, inevitably ending their friendship.
******
“Alright! Time to head onto nightcord!” Mizuki spoke enthusiastically, joining in the group call. The screen lit up with the image of three other people already on call.
“Hey! Amia! What took you so long? We've been on call for an hour already!” Enanan greeted with a slight lecture.
“Sorry, sorry… My bad, I was doing homework. No need to lecture Enanan.” Mizuki explained, letting out a small exasperated sigh.
“Anyways, what did I miss?” She asked.
“Nothing much, we were just discussing where we want our first meetup to be.” Enanan explained to her.
“O-oh!.. I guess we were planning on meeting up in person tomorrow…” She spoke softly, as if to herself. Her thoughts began to run, becoming overcome with dread and anxiety as Enanan continued to talk about the cafe they were planning on meeting up at.
Mizuki couldn't help but worry if they would judge her, she already gets weird looks from others due to the way she dresses. None of them even know what she looks like, only her voice and personality.
“Amia–” a voice rang out. Another person from the call—K, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“You okay? You've been silent for a while, and you're usually one of the most talkative people on call.” K spoke, voice drenched with concern.
“Hmm? Oh! Yeah, sorry, I was just spacing out.” Mizuki answered, brushing it off.
“Are you sure that your o—”
“Yep! I think I'm just a bit tired. So I'm gonna log off for the night. Bye guys!” Mizuki quickly spoke, cutting off K before leaving the call.
She looked at the black screen of her laptop while letting out a slow sigh of anxious relief, before her thoughts began to run out of control again. How will they react when they see me? Will they judge me? Will they think I’m weird, like my classmates in middle school? I can’t go through that again.
I don’t know what I'll do if they don’t like me.
“It's okay Mizuki. I’m sure they'll like you!” She spoke to herself, trying to quiet her worries, to little avail.
She let out a yawn, before putting on her pajamas, getting ready to go to bed.
******
As the sun rose into the sky, signaling the start of a new day, Mizuki woke up while blinking the sleep out of her eyes and letting out a small yawn. She got out of bed and got ready for the day enthusiastically, having already forgotten about the meetup and her anxieties about it. She grabbed her phone while making her way out of her room to the kitchen to make breakfast.
As she feels the buzz of a new notification, she stops to check her phone, only for the pit in her stomach to return as she reads a text message from Enanan.
“Meetup today! Don’t forget to come to xxx cafe!”
Right. That’s today. She thought, already dreading having to leave since there was no way she couldn’t go. She went and got a piece of toast before heading back to her room, looking at herself in the mirror, an unchanging expression as she got lost in her thoughts, before grabbing her bag and swallowing the lump in her throat. Saying goodbye to her parents as she headed out the door to walk to the cafe, while letting out slow, deep breaths, mentally preparing herself for whatever judgement she will get.
******
As she arrived at the cafe, she couldn’t help but notice there were only a few people inside, including a table with three seated down. She knew them, despite not knowing what they looked like until now—she knew.
Mizuki took a deep breath before barging through the doors before she could think about it, and walked right up to the table, trying to hide how her hands were shaking.
“Hi! Are you Amia?” A girl with short brown hair said. Enanan.
“Umm, yeah. I’m assuming your Enanan?” Mizuki spoke almost sheepishly.
“Yep! That's K, and Yuki!” She answered, introducing the two other girls.
“It's so nice to finally meet you in person! Have a seat!” Enanan spoke eagerly, K nodding in agreement.
As Mizuki sat down, Enanan began talking with an occasional comment from K or Yuki, however it seems like the two of them aren't all that talkative.
It was… nice, nobody was looking at her as if she was an anomaly, instead, they seemed happy to see her. This was different, but a difference that put a small content smile on her face as she couldn't help but remember Rui. Remember his company and how it made her happy and helped her step outside of her comfort zone, to be who she wants to be and not what others wanted.
And how her friends haven’t shown any discontent towards her, gave her a nice warm feeling in her chest, telling her that maybe being different was okay. Even if some may not like it.