Rising Shards

After getting dressed as fast as I could, I sat down at our desk and just buried my head in my arms from intense embarrassment for a while. After a good forty minutes or so of sighing, I heard the door unlock. I really hoped it wasn’t Oka because I didn’t think I could make eye contact with her that night. Luckily, it was just Kalei.

“Ahhh, desk napping,” Kalei said. “I’ve been there. I bet it’s a Soleri assignment. Or…?”

I didn’t want to look up, but it’d be weirder if I didn’t. I finally turned around to her, trying to look as normal as I could. Which of course, immediately didn’t work.

“You’re all red,” Kalei said. “You eat something spicy?”

“No,” I said. “Or…yeah, no. I’m fine.”

Kalei crossed her arms and stared at me.

“OK, what happened?” Kalei asked.

I gave a moment’s thought to just lying. I figured I could probably work up the same amount of emotion about people being mean about Tower of Hate and Love and Raina Starlight online to match the embarrassment of Oka seeing me naked. But Kalei would probably see through my best efforts.

“Well first…and then…” I said. I started breathing heavily. “Well, at first! It was just…and then, and then! Some…thing happened?”

“Zeta, stop. Use sentences.” Kalei said.

“OK fine,” I said. “I took a shower, then I walked out here. And nobody was here. So I went like to the bathroom, took my towel off, and went back. And then, so I was kneeling on my bed picking clothes. And then. I turned around and…Oka was there…and she saw me…without…clothes.”

Kalei’s face was stoic. Then she snorted and started laughing.

“Stop, it’s not funny!” I said.

“It is, though,” Kalei said.

“Shut up,” I said.

Kalei’s giggling got more intense.

“Shut up!” I went back to the desk and buried my head again. Kalei gave me a supportive slap on the back.

“I mean, this is your fault for walking around our room naked.” Kalei said. “What’d you think was going to happen?”

“It’s not my fault! I have a system, this was…an anomaly.”

“What system?” Kalei asked.

“A system so something like this wouldn’t happen!” I snapped. “I’m cautious! I don’t take risks like that!”

“Alright, I think you should maybe cool off,” Kalei said. “Maybe a cold shower this time? But keep in mind I’m still in the room so don’t come out all nude.”

“Shut up,” I said. “That’s not helping!”

I climbed into bed and buried my head under my pillows, hoping Kalei would leave me alone.

“I guess I’m not seeing why this is that bad.” Kalei said. “We’re roommates, and we’re at a boarding school, it’s bound to happen. Like it’s actually surprising it took this long, really.”

“It’s…this is just different, alright?” I said.

“OK, act it out for me then.” Kalei said.

I peeked my head out from a pillow.

“What, you want me to take my clothes off?”

“No idiot,” Kalei said, kicking at my bed frame. “I just want to get a better bearing of where you both were in the room, because you only kind of described that part.”

I instructed Kalei to sit down on Oka’s bed, and I recreated the moment as best I could, kneeling down on my bed looking where I had my clothes. I looked back to Kalei as she stroked her chin and thought for a moment.

“Let me guess, ‘Zeta, you’re blowing this out of proportion.’”

Kalei didn’t say anything, which concerned me.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? That concerns me.”

“I mean…that is pretty awkward,” Kalei said after an agonizing silence.

“I knew it,” I said. “I knew it! My life is over, effectively, right?”

Kalei snorted and started giggling again.

“Shut up, I just said my life is over! Console me!”

“Sorry,” Kalei said. “It’s just…it’s really funny, though.”

“I had a system!” I said. “And somehow I blew it! And…now…things are…”

“Didn’t your tail block any of it?” Kalei asked. “Like don’t you keep that thing hoisted as like your…censor bar?”

The idea of that had Kalei laughing again, but it did make me feel better for a second. Where was my tail? Could it have been blocking my whole situation from being a lot worse? I moved my tail around the best I could, trying to remember where it was when the incident occurred.

“It poofed up when I realized she was there...but no, I had it all like…” I sighed. “It wasn’t blocking anything.”

“It’s super awkward, but it’s not that big a deal,” Kalei said. “Maybe you should just talk to her about it if you’re gonna be this much of a baby about it.”

“How can I talk to her about it?” I said. “It’s super awkward, you said it yourself. I’m not even sure how much she saw, it could have been just my back, or it could have been, like, a lot.”

“How about this? Up the ante.” Kalei said.

“How? What do you even mean?” I said.

“She just saw your back, right?

“My back and maybe some…other…almost…”

“Alright alright, I get it, so she sees your back and maybe like, we’ll say plumber’s crack.”

“Plumber’s crack?”

“Well, that might not be enough, it was probably more butt than that given how you were kneeling,” Kalei said, strumming her chin.

I groaned.

“I mean, you guys are dating,” Kalei said.

“Yeah, but…” I said.

“I got it! So, next time you see her, just go all out.” Kalei said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking like next time you see Oka, don’t be wearing anything and just go all out with it, get it?”

I started screaming.

“Alright, alright fine! I was kidding.” Kalei said.

“Have better jokes!” I said. “Consoling jokes!”

“Here’s a thought,” Kalei said. “Maybe you can get her to do it to you, make it even.”

I screamed again until Kalei stopped me. “Fine, fine, whatever, not that!”

“Don’t you have anything that can help me?” I said. “I’m incredibly embarrassed here.”

“Well, it is kind of a relief,” Kalei said.

“What is?” I asked.

“I still was worried you were a secret player since you’re on your second girlfriend, and this confirms I was completely wrong.”

“Oh shut up,” I said. “Even with my first girlfriend I never even got…the most I got with her is a full on make out once, alright?”

“So…like ultra-confirming that you’re not a secret player,” Kalei said, desperately trying to hold back laughter.

“I’ve kissed Oka like six times already. And I made out with my first girlfriend with tongue once!” I said. “Is that not secret player material?”

“Just saying it…like that…makes you…not…a…” Kalei wheezed between laughs. “So you…and Oka haven’t…hang on Zates, I just need a minute here.”

“You know what?” I said as Kalei rolled around on the ground. “Since I’m giving you so much material tonight, you tell me something that really embarrassed you.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re friends and I demand some kind of friend leverage here!” I said.

“One time someone caught me picking my nose.” Kalei said. “That was pretty embarrassing.”

“That’s nothing! I just had a whole like embarrassment crisis here!”

“Uhh, let me think about it and get back to you,” Kalei said. She started laughing again.

“What is it now?”

“Nothing new, I’m just back to thinking how funny the whole you walking out naked right in front of Oka thing is.” Kalei said. “It’s like…cartoonish.”

“How come?”

“You know, in cartoons they always have an episode where a character loses all their clothes or something and they have to get home and it’s always really funny.”

“…and?” I said.

“And I don’t know!”

“This isn’t a cartoon!” I raised my arms as I yelled that, which didn’t really help my point or add anything to the conversation.

“I’m just saying you’re lucky you didn’t have that happen to you to that extent, I guess! It was just a, I dunno, blorp moment in our room. It happens.”

“I guess,” I said.

“Oka is gonna be back soon so I’m guessing you’re gonna go walk around the dorm then.” Kalei said.

“You don’t know that I’ll do that,” I said.

“Now you’re just pouting and being contrary to everything I say,” Kalei said. “I wrote the book on that move, so I see right through it.”

“Fine, you’re right. I’m gonna walk around the dorm then because I’m too embarrassed to think about even looking at Oka right now.” I said.