“What kind of an answer was that!?” Shizuku demanded angrily and slammed her hand on the table.

  “I—I got lost during his explanation about why the universe doesn’t expand faster than light.” Takashi admitted, shaking his head.

  “Yeah, same here,” Trayn agreed.

  “I stopped listening entirely once I noticed,” Remy said coolly before he raised his glass and took a deliberate sip of cucumber as if the conversation barely existed.

  “My guy, the girl just asked why you’re fat,” Arthur said sounding both amused and confused. “You went on a—what? —a full 15-minute diatribe about some random, cosmological, thing.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said, humor threading my voice. “It’s hilarious.”

  Half the people at the table groaned, at least those that knew me well. During my quarter of an hour self-podcast, we managed to finish our food, though Arthur and Trayn took to heart the ‘seconds and thirds’ rule, helping themselves to one of everything.

  They were the last two to finish eating and to pass the time, I had to get—a bit—creative.

  “Then why did you even go with that explanation!?” Shizuku hissed, her glare sharper than a blade.

  “Well,” I said, crossing my fingers and giving a smug smile, “when the logic of the example outweighs the reason, you can spend minutes explaining everything except what was asked. Very effective.”

  “Uh, translation?” Takashi asked, his brow furrowing. The two of them actually managed to get along very well despite only meeting a few minutes ago.

  “He doesn’t want to answer and just wanted to spout nonsense,” Wills replied casually while he was using his fork to play with a chicken bone.

  “Hurarrgh!” Shizuku’s hand, reached out, swiping at me with a clawed hand.

  I leaned back, just in time, feeling the rush of air as her fingers passed through the space where my face would have been. Fortunately, she only attempted one attack, though she still continued to glare at me.

  “You know, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the answer to that question,” I deadpanned and pointed to my plate.

  All I got in response was a pouty hmph! and a glare that could cut steel.

  “Because of recent developments, everyone has been limited to asking only one question,” I stretched my back before covering my mouth to stifle a yawn.

  I gestured to Takashi who was sitting beside my brother. He was a bit startled, he had just finished his juice and didn’t think he was going to be called, so he blinked twice before responding.

  “So, Arthur said you, Reika-san, and Shizuku-san are childhood friends,” Takashi said slowly, as if carefully formulating the words in his mind. “How long ago was that?”

  “Finally, a normal question,” I said, pleasantly surprised. “As for the answer—”

  I paused and thought for a moment. I reached deep into the recesses of my memory and traced how far back I knew them.

  “Well, I knew them since we were children,” I began. “It was around the time Shizuku—”

  “No,” Shizuku cut in, her voice cold and final, carrying a hint of warning.

  “Or around the time Rai was—” I continued like nothing happened.

  “Ae, shut up,” Reika interrupted. Her voice was sweet, but her eyes had danger written in them.

  “And there you have it!” I finished nonchalantly, leaning back with a satisfied grin.

  Takashi scratched his head, looking even more confused than enlightened. “What?”

  “Now, 3 down, 4 to go, who’s next?” I declared brightly.

  To my surprise, it was Trayn who spoke.

  “Yeah, uh, that stuff about the universe, can you elaborate on that?” he asked, hesitant but genuinely curious.

  “Really? That’s your question?” Arthur said, giving his best friend a judgmental stare.

  “Shut up, he was talking about food, then Egypt, suddenly sphinxes, and lions then the stars, then he just went to space,” Trayn protested. “It just escalated too quickly.”

  “It’s just random things, some not true, you don’t need to worry about that,” Shizuku said dismissively, waving a hand. “Everyone knows the universe expands faster than the speed of light.”

  “Actually, no, that is a common misconception. Nothing can move through space faster than light, but space itself can expand faster,” I replied and turned towards her with that all-too-familiar smug look. “And you can’t compare the expansion of the universe to the speed of light. This is because the universe doesn’t expand at a speed.”

  I nudged my brother beside me, “Bruv, define speed.”

  “Uh, speed is, distance over time,” he said after thinking for a moment.

  “Right, and cosmic expansion is quantified as distance, over time, over distance,” I explained coolly. “Simplified, as one over time. That’s not speed. For cosmic expansion, it is defined as speed per unit distance, or in layman’s terms, rate. It doesn’t make physical sense to compare rate and speed.”

  The table went silent. Even Shizuku, mid-glare, looked unsure. Trayn picked up his glass and took a drink.

  “So, did everyone get all that?” I said with a smirk, looking at everybody.

  “Yep, I did,” Remy said casually, a grin tugging at his lips. “NERRRD.”

  The table erupted with laughter. Arthur held his stomach, while Trayn was caught mid-drink and ended up snorting water through his nose. The people from both groups of delegates were startled and mildly alarmed at the sudden commotion. Most were looking at our table with curiosity.

  In retaliation for that cheeky remark, I crumpled a napkin and threw it at Remy. He barely managed to dodge it because he was still laughing. But after calming down, he stood up and picked it back up, and placed it on his empty plate.

  I admit though, that was pretty good.

  After everyone had calmed down, Trayn spoke again. “Jokes aside, did you actually learn that in class or from some random ad on VideoTube?”

  “Yeah, considering you’re close to our age, you should be in college now, right?” Arthur asked, taking a sip of water and wetting his lips.

  “College?” I said, sounding thoroughly uninterested. “I’m graduating in June.”

  The words hit harder than expected. Except for my brother and Remy, everyone’s reaction was identical, shock and utter confusion.

  “What!?” Reika exclaimed. She grabbed my right arm and began shaking it wildly. “Ae, you’re graduating!?”

  “Yes,” I answered, already feeling drained by her commotion. “And those count as your questions, so be quiet already. Also, stop shaking my arm.”

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  Frustrated by my answer, she immediately started boxing my upper arm instead.

  “Ae is being unfair!” she said still continuing to punch me.

  “Unfair? Really?” I shot back. “You know, you could have helped me earlier, with those three idiots.”

  “I could have, but Ae will just use another weird method to weasel away from trouble whether I helped or not.” She countered confidently.

  Well—she’s not wrong.

  “In the Philippines, college starts at fifteen to sixteen years old,” Remy said matter-of-factly.

  “But there’s a new curriculum which raised that to 18,” Wills added. “It’s called K to 12. But for us, we’re part of the old one.”

  The revelation that I was living in the Philippines came as a mild surprise for Arthur and Shizuku. Reika was still punching me and from the looks of it, wasn’t about to stop soon.

  “Fifteen to sixteen, that’s young,” Arthur repeated, pondering before he turned to face my brother. “So, Wills, you’re also in college?”

  “One more year till I graduate,” he replied, sounding somewhat proud.

  “And your courses?” Takashi asked curiously.

  “Civil engineering, like our parents,” he said then jabbed a thumb in my direction, who was still being punched in the arms. “He’s in mechanical engineering.”

  Everyone paused, letting the earlier information sink in. I on the other hand, was trying to ignore the girl who doesn’t seem to get tired from turning my arm into a punching bag.

  “You done yet?” I asked, but she clearly wasn’t.

  “So, what’s it like, the college there, I mean,” Arthur asked, his tone genuinely curious.

  “It’s fine, I guess. Other than the fact that the entire country is hot,” I replied unenergetically. “Nothing too fancy, more of a small-town college vibe. The courses were pretty easy, though.”

  Most of them nodded, accepting my answer without much thought.

  “Yeah, don’t believe the last part,” my brother cut in, giving me a dubious look. “He’s smart, so his opinion doesn’t count. If a course has the word engineering, in the name, it’s going to be hard.”

  “Too right, mate,” Remy pointed and agreed in English, before he took a long drink of water, then spoke back in Japanese. “I majored in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds, and the only thing that I learned from there, is that engineering, wherever you are in the world, doesn’t change their formulas. So yeah, it’s hard.”

  Everyone turned to me again, somewhat impressed, but definitely annoyed that I’d downplayed it so casually. I chuckled, amused by their reactions at my little prank.

  “What am I supposed to say?” I replied dreamily. “That watching everyone despair over whether their calculations are right or wrong brings me joy? That’s a, pretty poor way of answering a question, don’t you think?”

  “Your true nature is showing,” Shizuku said with a scowl.

  “I suppose I could have said that there is the feeling of existential dread, that comes up whenever someone mentions the words term tests, or final defense, but where’s the fun in that?” I said as I leaned back with a lazy grin.

  Just then, something cold touched my cheek. I flinched a bit, blinking in surprise, I turned and looked to find a hand offering me a bottle of wine.

  “Yuki, where’ve you been, mate?” Remy asked as I accepted the bottle.

  Yukihito had arrived, carrying a plate with a mountain of food on it. He looked like he was ready to pass out, because he replied with only one word, “Papers”.

  “Everyone scooch over,” I said, standing up to make room

  Everyone else stood up and chairs scraped the floor as the group shifted, creating a space for Yukihito, who settled down between Arthur and Remy with a small groan. Not waiting for any invitation or for thermodynamics to take anymore effect, I opened the wine and poured some into my cup.

  Oh. That’s nice. A little fruity, a taste of plum, faintly sweet and a little fizzy. Not too strong, but it had just enough spice to wake the tongue. I savored the taste as I instinctively swatted my brother’s hand away.

  “Wha!? What?” he protested indignantly.

  “You have to be twenty to drink here. Country laws,” I said, smacking my lips together. He sulked at my answer.

  “You know, I used to think Japan was a fun place,” he grumbled. That earned a round of chuckles from the other guys at the table.

  “Really, you’re drinking, while it’s still noon?” Shizuku asked, her tone sharp with contempt and disapproval.

  I answered, by leaning forward, and taking a deliberate sip right in front of her, savoring it slowly with a smug grin. Her scowl deepened. Victory achieved. Having vanquished her, I once again reflexively swatted a hand that was reaching for the bottle.

  “Ow! Ae!” Reika protested, rubbing her fingers.

  “Didn’t you hear what I said?” I asked, eyeing her warily. “You, a resident, of this country should know, the drinking age.”

  I took a moment to figure out her next move. Unlike the rest of the people at this table, when it comes to stubbornness, she is like a freight train that refuses to slow down, no matter how much you want to get off.

  “Fam, pass the bottle,” Remy’s voice called out from the other side of the table.

  I gladly handed it over, if only to keep it out of Reika’s reach. She watched it go like someone watching a beloved treasure being carried off somewhere she could never reach.

  Remy poured one glass for himself and another for Yukihito before he passed the bottle towards Arthur. Grinning from ear to ear, Arthur poured one for himself and set the bottle back down in front of Remy.

  “Don’t be selfish,” Trayn said, scowling at his best friend.

  “Oh, sorry, I thought you were, a kid,” Arthur replied nonchalantly, mid-sip.

  Remy chuckled and handed the bottle over to Trayn.

  “Wait, are we even allowed to drink?” Arthur asked, his expression turned contemplative, before he shrugged and took another sip.

  “You’re asking that, now, after you’ve already drunk?” Takashi said, shaking his head with a small grin.

  “Well,” Arthur said with a sly grin. “If we’re not allowed, I can just say I didn’t know. It’s not like they can make me return what I already drank.”

  He punctuated that with a wink. Yukihito, after swallowing, spoke in English, to be more specific, his broken attempt at English.

  “Very good! Perfect! Drunk Americanese!”

  Another round of uncontrollable snickers and chuckles erupted on our table. I don’t know why, but there was just something weirdly funny about hearing a Japanese man, normally so composed, break into English with such conviction, regardless of how completely wrong he was.

  Because of our rowdiness, our table was once again subjected to stares from both groups of delegates. Weirdly enough no one came over, I thought the whole point of this charade was a cultural exchange, not—whatever the other groups were doing.

  “You see,” I turned to Shizuku after the laughter finally died down. “Us drinking doesn’t mean we’re doing anything wrong. In fact, we’re embodying the very purpose of this event.”

  “Really? And what’s that supposed to be?” she shot back, unimpressed.

  “Cultural exchange,” I replied with absolute confidence.

  She scoffed and crossed her arms.

  “Really? You don’t believe me?” I asked, feigning offense. I turned to Yukihito with the solemn dignity of a general addressing his most trusted soldier.

  “Yuki,” I said, my tone true and commanding, “exchange cultures with me.”

  Without hesitation, Yukihito stood up and picked up the bottle. With all the ceremony of a knight presenting his blade, he offered it to me. I received it with equal grandeur, like a conquering hero accepting the spoils of victory.

  “Thank you-very much,” he said. His English delivered with the absolute certainty only a Japanese man trying his best could muster.

  Again, much louder than last time, wild laughter erupted and echoed across the hall. I didn’t know or wasn’t even sure why it was so funny anymore. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was Yukihito’s dead-serious expression, but either way, the guys were laughing and trying hard to stifle the sounds.

  Shizuku was fighting valiantly to maintain her composure and not laugh, though, she was losing, judging from the expression she was making. Her lips twitched, her shoulders trembled, and finally, a small laugh escaped.

  “See that?” I declared proudly once Yukihito and I sat back down. “We exchanged cultures.”

  She gave a rather half-hearted eye roll before continuing with her laugh.

  We kept talking, jokes, stories about our lives, experiences. We even tossed some teasing remarks here and there. Even when most of the people in the hall had left, our little corner stayed lively. Our voices flowing out without care, like when everyone’s too comfortable to care about time.

  Reika’s friends passed by at one point. Most of them offered quick hellos and greetings before saying they were heading out to explore or take a walk. None of them stayed, though. It seemed our table’s chaos was a world of its own and no one wanted to join our little merry band.

  Fortunately, there wasn’t any strict rule about when the food needed to be cleared, so we helped ourselves to whatever was left. Small plates, heavy appetizers, anything that could keep our bellies full as we talked.

  Sadly, the wine ran dry far too quickly. One bottle for five people just wouldn’t cut it. The empty glass in front of me was like a quiet reminder that every good moment has to end somewhere.

  “Wow, is that the time?” Arthur said after a quick glance at his phone. “It’s already half past four.”

  “Oh yeah, what time does it start, the event?” I asked lazily. I couldn’t care less about the event. I am more interested in the organizers behind it.

  “Right,” Arthur said, suddenly realizing as he scratched the back of his head. “You weren’t there, this morning when we started.”

  “Round six,” Trayn answered, taking one last sip of juice. “We’re in Japan so, definitely six.”

  “All of you best get back to your rooms if you want time to change for tonight,” Remy suggested, stretching his arms above his head.

  “So, guild wars still on?” Wills asked Remy, looking a bit hopeful.

  Remy nodded, determined and resolute. But my brother’s remark made Arthur, Trayn and Takashi pause.

  “Wait, so you guys still play Ragnarok?” Trayn asked slowly, genuine curiosity in his voice. “And you’ve got guild wars, tonight?”

  “Course we do,” I said a little surprised by the sudden shift in topic. “What about you guys? Any of you play?”

  “Yeah, the three of us,” Arthur replied, enthusiasm in his voice. “Our server is Ice. I main a Knight, Trayn’s a Paladin, Taka’s a Sniper.”

  “Guildmaster!” I said, my tone like that of a town crier announcing the arrival of a king.

  “You guys in any guilds?” Remy asked instantly.

  All three shook their heads. This was good, Remy and I looked at each other and exchanged knowing grins.

  “I have a proposal for the three of you,” I said, leaning forward conspiratorially.

  And so, I began to explain our plan for the night.

  Off to the side, Reika leaned towards Shizuku and whispered, “Somehow, I think we got lost at the last part of the conversation.”

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