“How Do You Ask a Slime Girl to Prom?” (62.5) (Zeta)

OK, I've spent all week rehearsing this in my head. You've met a ton of people at Rising Shards, and this is no different.

I had stumbled on a potential opportunity for my befriend the devils scheme. Scheme maybe isn't the best word, that makes it sound like I wanted to be their pretend friend to betray them later, I really did want to try to be their friend. While searching with Iris, Maia, and Amara, we found Myles Althea by herself. No Caeda, P.D., or Chickadee around. My idea was to try and find Sai first, since they seemed the most on the outs of the whole beating up the principal thing, but I'd take any chance I could have with the new devil group.

"Well, go on," Iris said, lightly pushing me.

"Yeah, we'll back you up," Maia said.

"You're not gonna come with?" I asked.

"We'll back you up, we just said!" Maia said.

"As in stay back here," Iris said.

"I don't think she's gonna—crap," I said as I noticed Myles spotting us looking like we were in the middle of a plot to try and fight her or something.

"Now you really have to go, or it's gonna be really awkward," Iris said.

"R-right," I said. "Um, Amara, do you wanna...?"

"I am not cowardly like Iris and Maia, I'll go," Amara said.

I didn't really think Myles would immediately attack me or anything when I tried talking to her, but I did have the mental image of Caeda sneaking up on us to hit us with her frying pan, so I was glad I had Amara with me at least.

"Um, hello," I said, holding my hand out, my usual greeting method that Stella taught me was the best way to earn someone's trust off the bat and gauge their trustworthiness.

Myles looked at my hand, then to me.

“If you’re asking me to the dance, no,” Myles said.

“Er, I’m already seeing someone,” I said. “Very happy with her!”

“I’ve been asked like six times already, it’s getting old,” Myles said.

"I can imagine that would get super annoying," I said. "I've only been asked the one time. Well, I asked her, actually, now that I think about it. So nobody asked me. But we agreed...that. Sorry, this is a bad start. I'm Zeta."

Myles probably took pity on me still with my hand outstretched and finally shook it.

"I'm sure you've heard my name like eight thousand times already," Myles said.

"Yeppers," I said, my smile forced trying to look cool, which probably came across as very unpleasant. I remembered I still had my sunglasses, but shaky hands fumbled them out of my pockets onto the ground, and then my motor skills failed me further as I anxiously tried to pick them back up again, putting them away in shame. "Good uh...good game? Today? When you won against me?"

"Oh yeah," Myles said. "They had us against so many people today, it's hard to keep track. Are you all gonna sit or just stare? Because I've had enough of the staring, too."

"Sorry! Yeah we can definitely sit down," I said. There were a few other Brambler branded camping chairs in front of Myles' tent, so Amara and I joined Myles, with Iris and Maia coming over after a few minutes once they decided the coast was clear.

"I bet you'd enjoy talking about anything other than this dance or any potential romances," Amara said.

"That's putting it mildly," Myles said.

"So..." I said. While plotting all week, I drafted up flowcharts of conversations, and had rehearsed enough conversation starters that I really shouldn't have been flubbing it. But even with all that prep time, actually talking to someone in person was different. "Do you...did you have any good TV shows where you came from? Any TV at all? I guess I should ask that one first because, heh...if you didn't...have TV, this might not make any..." I coughed and shrugged at the same time.

"In the facility, we're always watching that one called...what was it, Tower of Hate or something?"

"Tower of Hate and Love?" I practically screamed it, alerting my presence to everyone in a twelve mile radius.

"Yeah, that one," Myles said.

"Do you like it? I mean, of course you like it, but how much do you like it?" I said.

"It's pretty good, yeah," Myles said. 

No way. This was a terrific turn of events that I only dared to hope for in three routes of my flowcharts. 

"I'm glad you're getting to start this world's entertainment with the greatest show ever made," I said, wishing I could watch all of Tower for the first time again.

"Back home, we didn't have the personal screens you have here," Myles said, miming a rectangle with her hands. "There were broadcasts on big screens, but it was mostly...weather. And propaganda from the Verdant Colony."

"Oh, that sounds...scary," I said.

"Yeah," Myles said. "Yeah. Here isn't as bleak, but the amount of advertisements in your everything makes me wonder if it's a lateral move..." She scoffed, reaching back behind her chair. Her tail was tangled up in the plastic pole parts.

"Don't mind her, she's in a grumpy mood," It was Ash, Myles' sister. She brought some water bottles with her as she arrived, setting them down to help her sister detangle herself. "Though I'm not sure why." She flicked her sister in the back of her head as she rose, then zipped over to the chair next to her before Myles could retaliate.

"It's pretty obvious why," Myles said. "This stupid thing gets tangled up in everything. And I keep getting asked to this prom!"

"Did any of these four ask you to the prom?" Ash asked.

"No," Myles said.

"Then don't be a brat to them, maybe?" Ash suggested.

"I'm not being a brat, I'm just, venting I guess," Myles said.

"You can vent to us if you want," I said. "We're good listeners, I think!"

"I've been told that Maia and I are 'fuzzy wuzzy listeners,'" Iris said, nodding smugly.

"What does that even mean?" Maia asked.

"I think it means that we listen in a like comfort way," Iris said.

"I can only somewhat speak for the others, but I do think I am an excellent person to vent to," Amara said.

"See? I'm not being a brat, just venting," Myles said.

"I'm not sure how you think you won this," Ash said.

They didn't exactly have the same sibling banter Stella and I did, but it felt similar enough. Anything we had in common could be an avenue to understanding each other better. We had Tower of Hate and Love and siblings, so we were off to a good start.

"Which one of you is the younger one?" I asked. "I'm the younger one between me and my sister."

"Well, that's where it gets weird, because back home I was the older one, but here we're apparently twins," Myles said.

"How does that work?" I asked.

"Beats me," Myles said. "Octa said..."

Myles talked for a bit about how jumping between worlds had altered how old she was somehow, or maybe she was always this age and her world hid it or something, but as soon as I heard my mother's name it was a war within myself to not have a panic attack.