"Ryan is cool"

"He said that you were cool," she looks you up and down. "But I didn't realize...I mean..."

"You didn't realize what?" You ask.

"Well..." her eyes drift over your body, onto your arms, onto your chest. She didn't realize that you were hot.

You hold back a smirk. No need to make her blush again.

"So you're his twin sister?" You ask.

She nods. "But...we're nothing alike. I mean, maybe you can tell. He's very loud and boisterous and I'm...you know. But!" She smiles. "I think that's great. I really do. Like we've always compensated for each other's deficiencies. Do you have any siblings?"

"No, I'm an only child," you say.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she frowns, then waves her hands as if redirecting traffic. "I mean, not that I think that it's a terrible life, without one! I mean, it's nice to have someone who you grow up with, and who is just always...there. You know? You're never alone."

You consider that. The question: is love important? And all the things that love can mean in that question. For some reason, you haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

A group of students are coming in for the next class, and the two of you have to clear out. You find yourself walking with her. You don't really know where you're going. Maybe to her next class?

"So," you ask. "Are you enjoying college, so far?"

"Oh, yeah," she nods. "But...it's hard. Like I am just not used to being in spaces with this many people, anymore. I think I've always had...y'know, social anxiety? But it gets really bad, now. It's like the opposite of exposure therapy."

"You're not around it, so the thing you're anxious about gets worse," you say. "Well that's a pretty big thing to open up to someone about, when you've first met them. Maybe you're better off than you think?"

"Well," she blushes again. The way it makes her freckles look is adorable. "I mean...I trust Brandon, when it comes to people. He's actually a good judge of character, you know."

"Is he?"

"Yeah, but he puts on an act. He likes to make people laugh. But I always try to tell him that he shouldn't be the clown. They laugh at the clown, not with him."

"He really is the opposite of you, isn't he?"

"Polar. I swear if anyone laughed at me I would just shut down. I might die."

"Ha ha ha," you say, a blatantly fake laugh with a half-hearted point.

It's a risk, but she giggles. "Okay. But you have to make me believe it. That was the dumbest, fakest laugh."

"Well that's the point," you say. "I mean, think about it. What's the actual difference between that and a real laugh? Is anyone actually going to hurt you, just by laughing?"

She rolls her eyes. "Okay, don't try to be my therapist. I've heard it all. But actually internalizing it is another thing, especially when you have a diagnosed condition."

She emphasizes it. And you try to drop it. You look around and find yourself out in the quad. The cafeteria is to your left, and she's headed in that direction.

"Hey," she says. "I have a class in twenty minutes, and I need to get food immediately. This is my only break. I'm really sorry, I'd like to keep talking to you, it's just-"

"-Alice," you interrupt her.

She closes her mouth. "Oh god I'm sorry."

"No. No," you smile at her. "I'll take it as a compliment. You care what I think."

And then she grins. The dimples appear on her cheeks again. "That's a really good way of putting it. Thanks for that. But I will see you around. Promise."

You give her a thumbs up, and she fast-walks off into the cafeteria. You watch her go. Your eyes aren't on her ass, which admittedly, is looking better and better, but just on...her.

Yes, in a way that's just a little hard to describe, Brandon has a hot sister.

Hey folks. Author's note here. Just want to say I'm sorry if you're locked out, and you might have to restart the game. There were some variables that were not working with whether players had met Yasmin or Madison, because I did not set them up correctly. This is my first major story with the Chyoa scoring system and I am learning. The four math class variants should depend on whether you have met Madison, Yasmin, both, or neither. If you are still having issues, please let me know.