Mark

Allison was a little unnerved. Mark was a bit of an odd friend. He had known one of her convention roommates for years, but she had only known Mark for a year. She wishes she didn’t even know him at all. Any interaction she had with Mark usually ended with him kissing her hand and leaving. She always felt unnerved by his presence and now she had to spend five hours in a car with him. Joy

The next day was the memorial service for her Aunt Mary. It was a very somber affair with many grim faces and few people crying. Oddly enough to Allison she did not cry during the memorial. Maybe she had gotten it all out the day Aunt Mary died? She wasn’t sure but right now all Allison could think of was getting out of there and getting on with her trip

Allison was not exactly looking forward to this trip now but as soon as she got to the con, it would be much better. At 7pm exactly, Mark rang the doorbell. He was wearing a shirt that read “Kawai on the streets. Senpai in the sheets”. Charming

“Hey Allison.” said Mark

“Hey Mark. Thanks for offering to drive with me” Allison said

“Hey no problem. After what’s happened to you, you could use some company” Mark said. Allison thought she detected a smirk but it disappeared so quickly, she ignored it. “Here” said Mark as he hugged her. “I’m sorry for your loss”. Mark caressed Allison’s back as the hug went too long. Allison broke the hug and thanked him for the thoughts

Right around 7:30pm, Mark and Allison were off. Allison said she wanted to drive so she took the first shift. The drive was for the most part thankfully quiet. A little traffic on their way out of town but it cleared quickly. About an hour in, the pair were passing the time by talking about animes they had watched recently.

“So, what have you been watching recently” said Allison

“I’ve been hitting one of my favorite classic OVAs. La Blue Girl. You ever heard of it?” asked Mark

“No. I haven’t. What is it about?” asked Allison nervously. Why had she thought she had heard of that one before?

“It’s about this girl ninja who’s living an ordinary life when she gets sucked into this ninja world and…. well let’s just say some interesting things happen hehehe” Mark stuck his tongue out in a lewd manner

“Ugh! I knew I had heard of that one! I don’t want to watch a…….” Allison’s voice trailed off. She had just noticed the exit they were coming up on.

This was the exit she always took to get to her Aunt Mary’s. She chose to live a little bit outside of the city, so she could enjoy the quietness of the country but still be close enough to her family that she could be reached without driving hours. That is when Allison felt something wet on her cheek. They were tears. She was crying. Aunt Mary was gone, and the pain of that loss was hitting her now more than ever. Allison would never again get to see her Aunt Mary. She started to cry more