Shadow of Summer

After finishing with the food prep, I left Shibahime and Rindo in charge of their stations and headed over to check on a kid I'd noticed earlier—the quiet, awkward elementary schooler struggling by himself. His frizzy hair stuck out at odd angles, and his thick, bottle-bottom glasses made his eyes look twice as big. He was thin—scrawny, really—and his nervous expression screamed insecurity. This kid was the real deal, the quintessential Tier-0 introvert. What a rare find.

"I'm just going to mess it up again… Everyone's going to laugh at me and call me a loser…" he muttered.

"Hate being made fun of, do you, kid?" I asked, leaning in.

"Uh… well…"

The Hope of the Introverts glanced up at me with a mixture of anxiety and confusion. I knew it wasn't exactly easy for elementary schoolers to handle sudden interactions with high school students. Especially not a kid like him.