Page 74

‘C’mon. Just make something up.’

“I... uh... I like to, uh... ah...” He could feel himself turning red.

‘Tell them you’re into metalwork. That’s kinda true.’

“I like to work with... metal...”

“Metal?” said Sheryl.

“Yeah, like... welding... and stuff...”

“That’s cool,” said Gregory. “What kind of stuff do you make?”

“Ah... I, uh...”

Sheryl giggled. “Micah, where did you find this guy? He’s so shy--it’s adorable! Makes me want to just wrap him up in a blanket and take him home with me!” She took his arm in both of hers.

Hector jolted away from her and out of his seat. His chair toppled over, and everyone at the table stared at him. “Ah--” He flushed even redder than before. “S-sorry... I just--ah. Y-you’re all s-so nice... w-we should definitely do this again, but, uh... I-I just remembered that I... uh... I gotta go.” He fled.

In the hall, navigating through the crowd, he looked back to see if any of them were following, but he only saw Garovel.

‘What the hell was that?’ the reaper said.

‘I... I-I don’t know, she just... she surprised me... and I... ugh... I really fucked that up, didn’t I?’

‘No, I’m sure it’s fine. Just a bit unexpected. Do you also have a phobia of women?’

‘N-no, I think it’s just... people in general. Maybe, um... maybe girls slightly more than guys, but, um...’

Garovel sighed.

‘I mean... it was th-the physical contact...’

Garovel sighed harder.

‘If I’d known! That she! Was gonna--! I wouldn’t have--! Agh!’

‘Okay, I get it. You have trouble with friendly people. Relax.’