Watching Criston and Cyrus leave, she smiled and waved them good-bye. “Yup, see you both later at the party.”

The big grin Crash made while discussing music was contagious. She couldn’t help but smile along with him. “Aaah, makes sense. I had wondered why someone brought drumsticks to the morning speech.” She clapped her hands together once in understanding, having all but forgotten the morning incident at the auditorium until that moment. Then trying to keep a very serious and business-like expression (failing miserably with the corners of her mouth twitching up into a smile) she cautioned, “‘Music’ is actually a second weapon of mine. You see, any time I try to sing or play an instrument, anyone within hearing distance is instantly incapacitated and temporarily loses all sense of reason.” Giving up on the joke, Kathy let her face relax into a natural smile again and shrugged, “I like listening to it, but apparently I have no talent in the music department. As for my forte… I’d say sports? Here I seem to lack a bit in the muscle and power department, but I’ve got good reflexes and my own tricks to make up for it.”

Catching the slight unease in Crash’s expression, she felt her own spirit fall a little. They hadn’t been acquainted for all that long, but it was now apparent that she had already grown quite attached to his grin and cheerful disposition. Even though he returned to normal a moment later, she couldn’t shake off the heavy feeling she got. “… I don’t think you’d do that sort of thing. You don’t seem like someone that would hurt or cause trouble for people on purpose.” Her frown deepened a bit at her own words. [i]‘Idiot. I’m such an idiot,’[/i] She thought, silently reprimanding herself. [i]‘Is that the best thing I can say? Wow… Lame, really lame Kathy. A 5-year-old could’ve made a better attempt to cheer him up or something.’[/i]

Trying to put her failure behind her, she listened careful to Crash’s next words. [i]‘Great! Okay, something I can help with!’[/i] Feeling a little guilty she played a part in making him embarrassed, she quickly replied, “N-No! It’s fine, I mean, lots of people get lost in the first week or month here.” Realizing her voice was rising a bit, she quickly made herself calm back down again. She was honestly a little surprised, she couldn’t remember the last time she had gotten so flustered.

Before she could continue, a clatter nearby interrupted their conversation. Seeing a girl with fair hair standing over a mess on the floor, she started to stand up from her seat when Crash gave a motion for her to wait. Remaining in a slightly awkward position at the edge of her seat, she watched as Crash began to defend the girl from the students laughing at her misfortune. The surprise and worry Kathy felt as she watched Crash transform for the first time was washed away in the very next moment as she burst into laughter at the adorable form he had chosen.

Still laughing by the time Crash came back to his seat and transformed back, she had to wipe small tears forming at the corner of her eyes. “Ha ha ha, a-amazing! You actually made them all leave without even getting into a fight with anyone.” Re-adjusting herself back into her seat, she beamed at Crash and gave him a thumbs-up. “Ve~ry scary. So much it’d chase away any nightmares or unhappy thoughts from a single glance.”

Remembering what they were discussing before the sudden incident, she took out her phone. “Let’s meet up a little earlier, and go to the party together. That way it won’t matter if you forget, and we don’t have to worry about searching for each other through a dancing crowd.” After fiddling around with it for a bit, she slid the phone over to Crash with the option to add a new contact displayed on the screen. “Want to give me your number? I’ll text you mine so you can contact me if you need help with something and we can work out the details a little later.” As she waited for his response, Cathy began to pile the empty plates onto her tray. “I’m going to go back to my dorm and get a little unpacking done before tonight. What about you?”