Taurtis knocked on J's door.

"J!" he called. "We're here!" J opened the door.

"Come in guys!" he said. "Everyone's here!"

"Everyone?" I asked.

"I invited Chrissy, Pepe, and Patty over. All the cool kids." I laughed. We walked in the door. J's house was small on the outside, big on the inside. Or maybe it's vice versa. Anyway, he has so many rooms inside his house, and they're all really tall, but they're also kinda small.

We followed J into his dining room/kitchen and sat down at the table. Taurtis sat to my right, J beside him, and Chrissy and Patty sat across from us. Pepe was in the kitchen part of the room making some snacks.

"So," Taurtis immediately asked Chrissy. "Do you like to read. Do you like manga?"

"Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes!" Chrissy exclaimed. "And I love manga! But I like American novels better. My favorite is The Land Of Stories."

"Wait," I said. "I thought you were Japanese."

"Well, my mother was American."

"What happened to your mother?" J asked.

"I don't like to talk about it."

"Oh, okay."

"So," I said, trying to change the subject. "How do you like school Chrissy? How was your first day?"

"Oh, well it was good," Chrissy said. "I made a friend." She gestured to Patty.

"Yeah," Patty said. "Chrissy's cool. We work-"

"-Well together." Chrissy finished the sentence.

"Who are you all going to write about for your hero?" J asked.

"I'm writing about Rowan," Taurtis said.

"I'm writing about PufferFish Pete," Pepe called. "So he'll like me more." I laughed.

"I'll write about Okami," I decided. "She's really nice and I want to apologize for threatening her daughter."

"You threatened Silly?" Patty asked.

"Maybe. Who are you writing about?"

"Crab Man Carl. My dad would get mad at me if I didn't."

"What about you, Chrissy?"

"Um, maybe a fictional character. I don't know. Which reminds me, I gotta go. Nice meeting you all!" Then she ran out the door.

I checked the time. "Taurtis we gotta go too."

"Okay," Taurtis said. "Bye!" He walked out.

"Bye J! Bye Pepe! Bye Patty!" I followed Taurtis.

"Why did we have to leave?" he asked.

"Because we have to get home," I answered. "Do you want to sleep with J or Chan again?"

"Maybe Chan..."

"What? Is she your girlfriend now?"

"Yes, Sam. You know, you need to get a girlfriend. You can't get anyone except Invader to like you."

We walked to the train station, bought our tickets, and got on the train while continuing our conversation.

"Don't judge me for not having a girlfriend, Taurtis. May I remind you that your last girlfriend died because of some crazy person that likes you!"

"You have to bring it up! Every chance you get! You know what, maybe you should ask Chrissy out! Maybe she'll reject you like all the other girls you've tried to get!"

We didn't sit together on the train. We sat on separate ends and in silence. I felt my ears again. Is that what's was keeping girls from liking me? I mean, Sookie and her 'squad' did nickname me 'bunny boy', and no one liked me except Invader. I cried silently, facing the wall.