A pond, encased in a ring of even smaller dots. Maybe a drink. A little spot.

A little town.

The school campus stalls were comparable to a small, bustling marketplace. A dinky town. The sounds of laughter and other chatter filled the pathways, with streams of students pooling around. The mouthwatering smells of different foods enticed customers to different stalls like a delicious promise.

"Woah, this looks like a festival."

Steven absorbed the sight and, noticing the abundance of delicious foods, ran up to the first stall. A brown sign on top read, "Zhong Guo Chuan Tong Mei Shi" with some ancient-looking letters underneath that Steven couldn't quite read.

"Welcome to our stall." The lady said to them. "We serve traditional Chinese cuisine."

Steven looked at the displays, and then at the menu.

Then, he started reading the menu.

"Okay, I would like rice cake, stir fry, fried rice, tea eggs, shrimp rice noodle roll, dumplings, buns, porridge..." Steven rambled, pointing at each item in the stall.

"Steven..." Zero reminded, "You know that you have to pay for the food you buy?"

"Ah." Steven replied. Not really. Paying for things was a... foreign concept to him and payback was only anticipated. So he said, "Yep."

"We pay with CIC." Zero elaborated.

"What's that?" Steven questioned, curious.

"Crypto-Iota Credits. The school's exclusive virtual currency..." Zero's voice calmly explained. "Your ID number is like a debit card and you can pay through the augmented interface. All freshmen are gifted 300 credits for free as a commission from the school's sponsors. It's all in the student manual."

"Nobody reads that," Steven divulged.

Mayo laughed.

Zero looked at her.

"I didn't." Mayo shrugged.

"So, augmented interface," Steven asked Nobody, curious, "Are you wearing contacts?"

"No," Zero responded. "My eyes are sensitive."

"Oh." Steven uttered.

"I'm wearing contacts." Mayo revealed. "The school interface is really cool. There are multiple sensory modalities and a ton of auxiliary functions. You can see the names of every student, the year they're in, and even a short bio. In the stalls, there's a tag on every item, and when you tap it," She demonstrated by tapping the air, "A short description pops up."

"If you're wearing contacts, are your eyes naturally golden?" Steven once again inquired. He couldn't read unfamiliar ciphers, and her eyes were like sparkling, looping cryptograms. In a different language. An enigma.

Mayo's eyes looked directly back.

"Hahaha, yeah." Mayo responded. "I'm wearing clear, transparent contacts. Old model, since I haven't been able to buy any since my mom passed away."

She spoke nonchalantly like it was a leaf in the passing. "I've been living by myself for a while."

"What... about your dad?" Zero questioned, his brows furrowing.

"He left us." Mayo explained. "When my mom's illness was at its peak, he left us. He didn't even say goodbye. So, I had to take up an odd job or two to support my mom." She tilted her head to the back. "That's... why."

Zero's eyes flickered as if wanted to say anything - something - but in the end, didn't say anything. As if he had done something wrong, he stayed quiet.

"Zero," Mayo smiled, and looked at him, "Don't feel bad."

"I'm sorry..." Zero's eyes shut downwards. "...don't think anything I could say..."

"I don't care." Mayo answered, her voice soft. "It was my decision. I knew... no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn't be able to save her... but, even then, I wanted her to be happy. And I didn't want her to 𝚌𝚛𝚢. I was the only person by her side because no one else came. I was the only person who remembered her, because if everyone else forgot," Her voice trailed off, "then I was the only person who 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚍 to remember."

The end of her voice was firm and unwavering, not in the sense of an unshakeable mountain... just in the sense of someone who knows all life is in the clearing, that only some are seen in the passing and that some are never even a single moment glancing. The humble words of someone standing unrelentingly even in a rushing river. Knowing that one day, she will be washed away, and at the end of the day, leave no trace.

Mayo leaned her head over and grinned.

"Are you crying?" She teased as she combed her hair to her right ear.

"Yeah," Zero answered, a single tear tracing the curve of his face. "The wind makes me cry."

He was telling the truth.

"That's pretty cool." Steven told him.

"Thanks." Zero answered. The tear paused at the edge of his face, before letting go. A river. Nobody paid it any mind, but as it fell, the droplet accelerated and landed on the pavement, bursting into small, scattering flashes. A puddle. A pond, encased in a ring of even smaller dots. Maybe a drink. A little spot.

"Hey," Steven uttered. "Y'know..."

"The food's ready!" The cashier called out.

Steven stood by, accepting the food from her hands.

"Alright, that'll be 17 CIC." The lady reminded him.

He handed his phone over. The cashier scanned the code and told him, "Your remaining balance is 283. Thank you, and have a nice day!"

"Cool, thanks," Steven smiled and gathered his mountain of food. He sat down at one of the benches.

"You..." Zero stared at him, "You can't spend all your money on food."

Steven hungrily ate the food.

"You're right," Steven agreed between bites, and reasoned, "Then, you can... spend your money... to buy me food, too."

Zero, finding no fault with his logic, agreed: "Ok."

"Hey, come on, can I get a taste?" Mayo sat down beside Steven, her eyes silently savoring the food. "That looks so good!"

"Yeah, it is," Steven answered. He handed over a dish to her. Over the benches, Steven and Mayo wolfed down the food. They chowed down like a pair of hungry kids eating delicious "cereal" pellets much to the exasperation of the family dog.

Zero, looked at the two foodies, who were attracting pigeons and squirrels from a mile's radius. Steven looked back.

"Hey, are you gonna eat?" Steven asked him with a heavy heart.

Zero blinked and answered: "No."

.

.

.

"Okay, I'm done eating," Steven declared. "Let's go eat more!"

Steven hopped around the stalls, buying this and that. Mayo tagged along for the adventure as well. Soon, they had visited almost every stall on their checklist.

"Are you both full yet?" Zero asked, casually.

"Not yet. Everyone has a second stomach for dessert." Steven replied back. "Plus you haven't eaten anything..."

"I'm not hungry," he spelled out.

"Ice cream." Mayo suggested.

Zero blinked. "Too cold."

"Dude," Mayo admonished. "Stop being such a mom. Enjoy life a little."

Zero's head twitched.

"You're right." Zero agreed. His eyes looked down like a little pout. "I had to babysit my parents. It's a bad habit."

"Mm," Mayo rationalized, "Being responsible is ok," and then imparted her wisdom, "but being irresponsible is ok, too."

"Ok." Zero spoke. Mayo was a good teacher.

"I'll go buy some ice cream." Steven proposed as he pointed at another stall.

"Wait for me," Mayo followed.

"I'll stay here," Zero stated quietly. He sat down on a bench and watched the birds fly in the air and down onto the ground. They were frolicking, dancing, and singing. He hummed along. In the corner of his eye, he also saw two little birds fighting like it was the end of the world. Curious, he watched closer.

"Huh." He thought to himself. He grabbed a stick and poked one, and the other nipped his stick. Now, splintering at the edges, the twig was very downcast.

"I'm back!" Steven announced. He was holding a vanilla ice cream cone and a red bean one. "Here, have this," he entrusted, handing over the vanilla one.

Zero glanced at it, the waffle cone, still warm and cozy, was a delicate peach color. Glittering droplets condensed on the top, shining in the warm sunlight. The dessert incorporated chunks of black vanilla bean throughout, dotting the snowy landscape with small speckles. The smell, so familiar, and sweet, added flowery notes in between each bite.

Mayo held her very own, green tea ice cream. Matcha-colored with creamy tinges, the taste was nutty, forming a harmony of slight bitterness and smooth sweetness.

"Why vanilla?" Zero asked, his eyes staring at Steven.

"Hm... I thought you would like it?" Steven laughed. "Also, because it's the color of your hair."

"Wow, is that how you guess what people like? That's... interesting." If no one knew any better, his calm voice would have been mistaken for genuineness, but the tone of his voice a held hint of acidity that cut through.

"You have that red-brown hair, so that's why you chose the red bean one, right?" Zero followed up, looking at the cone.

"Wh- How did you know?" Steven asked, surprised.

"..." Zero told him, "I like vanilla, but it isn't my favorite,"

"What is?" Mayo asked.

"I guess... green tea? It's soothing." Zero replied. "The earthy tones cut through the sweetness and the slight bitterness is... pleasant."

Mayo turned around, pretending not to hear.

They ate their ice cream.

"Hey, how do I get more credits, anyways?" Steven inquired, finishing his ice cream cone up with one big bite.

"The info's on the school's server," Zero brought up. He pulled out his phone, which was a transparent model. The glass back allowed for perfect immersion and three-dimensional interaction. With a couple of taps, he quickly pulled up the site. As he scrolled, Mayo went on to explain.

"Teachers can award them." She conveyed. "You can get credits by working in a food stall, or other part-time jobs offered in the school."

"Science Research... Extracurricular's... Entrepreneurship... and competitions." Zero listed.

"Or you can steal them from someone else," Mayo added. "Just challenge someone to a fight, beat them up, and take their credits."

"..." Zero remarked.

"Oh no," Mayo remembered, "we forgot to swipe the credits from that guy we just beat up."

"It has to be legal." Zero reminded her.

"If nobody sees it happen," She reasoned, "then did it even happen?"

"There were people around us." Steven mentioned.

"If nobody reports it, did it even happen?" Mayo corrected herself. "Besides, we ran away, so it's okay."

Zero and Steven nodded.

Zero turned back to Steven. "Usually, all duels are settled virtually. Even physical fights, and you can challenge someone on disciplines like art, music, or engineering."

"Ah..." Steven replied back. His voice trailed off as he looked away.

"It's already four," Zero pointed out. "Let's head back."

They trudged in the direction of the dormitories. As they walked, a single drop dripped down from the sky. Nobody paid it any mind, but as it fell, the droplet accelerated and landed on the pavement, bursting into small, scattering flashes. A pond, encased in a ring of even smaller dots. Maybe a drink. A little spot. A little blemish in a perfect family.