“Seiji was not having a good day.

He felt he’d been horribly misled by Eugene. He’d trusted him to be correct in his reading of social dynamics, but as it emerged, him was an imbecile, Nicholas hadn’t even been upset, and the whole prank had been an exercise in futility. As the illicit brown sugar sprinkled on this oatmeal of horror, he’d been hauled around like a deeply shamed sack of potatoes by weight lifters.

Seiji wasn’t sure he could look anyone at Kings Row in the face right now. Any escape from their watching eyes and embarrassing congratulations was welcome.

The last time Seiji’d been in the woods, he’d gotten lost in them. Seiji headed into the trees now, hoping he could again.

Perhaps by the time he found his way back, everybody would have forgotten about the prank.

He feared not.”