EX-istential Crisis

Chapter 6: The Darkest Core Memories

The café was filled with the sound of laughter as Mira's friends teased her about Nelly. Just when Mira thought the conversation was winding down, the café door swung open, and two more familiar faces joined the table: Ainslein and Sylvie.

Ainslein, same grade as Nelly but studying at a different university, dropped into a seat with a grin, while Sylvie, a professor specializing in Sex Ed at Cyberton University, followed behind her. They both had a mischievous glint in their eyes.

"Well, well, well," Ainslein said, stretching her arms behind her head. "You guys talking about Nelly?"

Mira raised her eyebrows, curious about what was coming next. "Yeah, why?"

Sylvie and Ainslein exchanged glances, their smiles widening. "Oh, we've got some stories about your 'Cursed Hero,'" Sylvie said, leaning forward.

Ainslein smirked, "Let's just say Nelly has some darkest core memories."

Mira blinked, clearly intrigued, while Mash and Ran leaned in with interest. Annika sipped her coffee, unfazed but listening closely.

"One time," Ainslein started, her voice filled with barely concealed laughter, "Nelly accidentally wore my underwear on his head in high school—he was sleepwalking!"

Everyone burst into laughter, while Mira giggled softly, already finding these little stories charming.

"That's not even the worst part," Sylvie added, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "He was so exhausted once that he fell asleep in a public bathroom while taking a poop. Four hours. Four hours of just sitting there!"

Ran snorted, almost falling out of her chair from laughter. "No way!"

"Oh, it gets better," Ainslein continued, enjoying the attention. "The guy couldn't swim to save his life. He was so bad, he just gave up and floated there, pretending to be a dead body in the pool."

Mira laughed harder, holding her stomach. She couldn't believe this was the same guy who seemed so calm and composed.

Sylvie's grin widened. "And then there was the time he did a mic check at a radio studio without realizing it was on air. He moaned—like, full-on moaned—just to check if the mic was working."

Everyone around the table was in hysterics. Mash and Ran were practically crying, while Annika smiled ever so slightly, which for her was the equivalent of a belly laugh.

"Nelly's the kind of guy who doesn't even know how good he is at everything," Sylvie added with a chuckle. "He's not just good at entertaining people, either. He's too humble. It's like I want to choke him for it sometimes."

"Right?! He's such a perfectionist," Ainslein said, shaking her head. "He was doing great until that—" she paused, eyes narrowing, "—that bitch came along."

Sylvie's expression turned serious, but with a hint of anger. "Yeah, that hoe."

For a moment, the table fell silent. Mira's eyes softened as she listened to the weight of those words. Nelly had clearly gone through a lot. Sensing the mood, she smiled and decided to lighten the atmosphere.

"Anyway, it sounds like he's been through a lot, but he seems like an amazing person. Maybe we should all hang out sometime," Mira suggested warmly.

Mash grinned mischievously, eyeing Mira. "You know, Mira likes Nelly, right?"

Ainslein and Sylvie both choked on their drinks, spluttering at Mash's blunt comment. "Now that you mention it," Sylvie said, wiping her mouth with a napkin, "Mira, you do look a bit like his ex. How's that going for you?"