Kristmas Karma

Friday the 17th: Kanzaki

I shiver under my umbrella and check my phone for the time. No messages. I sneak it back into my jacket and hold myself close for warmth.

At least they haven't found out yet.

"Hey, what time is it?" a guy asks from behind me.

I turn towards him. He seems maybe a little older than me, but not shady like some of the others waiting outside the mall for the Night Owl Special to start. He doesn't have an umbrella with him though.

Poor guy.

"11:32."

He sighs, furiously rubbing his hands to get warm. "Didn't think the rain would be this cold."

I offer him a polite smile and face forward again, not wanting to bring attention to myself for being out this late at fourteen. I can't help but feel bad for him though.

"Hey, um..." The guy lightly taps my shoulder and I glance back at him. "Should you be out here?"

I look him up and down. "You don't look so old yourself." I counter, not wanting to be sent home after waiting this long.

I've been looking forward to this sale since it was announced at the beginning of December. For this Friday only, they are marking down everything in the store including new game and movie releases. It was the only way I could afford the new Halo Infinity game that came out last week without asking Dad for more money and risking him finding out about my gaming habits. And if it's marked down enough, I'll be able to get the new Dangan Ronpa for Karma too.

He chuckles a bit and looks away. "Mom sometimes forgets I'm still a kid, so she doesn't care."

While still wanting to keep a low profile, something draws me to him. I take a quick glance ahead and decide it won't hurt to talk to him if both of us are at risk for being sent home anyway. I hold my umbrella over the both of us, to his surprise.

"My dad doesn't even know I'm here." I whisper back to him.

He stares at me blankly. "That takes guts."

I giggle, the combination of his expression and the admiring tone in his voice unexpected. "You saying you have permission to be here?"

"Sorta." He averts his gaze. "Anyway, why are you here?"

Excitement grows in my chest and I take a deep breath to stow some of it. "I'm getting the new Halo Infinity. I needed to wait for the sale and I'm totally prepared to lose sleep over this." I clench my fists tightly and stare directly into nowhere. "I've been waiting to play since they announced the release."

"Yeah? I'm not much of an FPS player, honestly." He scratches the back of his head.

"But you're a gamer?" I ask, turning my whole body towards him.

"Yeah. I heard they're offering pre-orders of Star Ocean: The Divine Force with the purchase of a PS5." His eyes suddenly light up. "The graphics look amazing, and I'd been meaning to purchase the new PS anyway."

"Star Ocean? I haven't heard of that one." I tilt my head curiously.

"It's an RPG. They're notorious for after game quests and dungeons. My favorite was SO2, but I have all of them." He smiles like a kid on Christmas. "I've been saving up all year for the new one since they said they were releasing it."

I offer him my hand, feeling like we're brother and sister when it comes to our passion for games. "My name's Kanzaki."

Surprised, he looks down at my hand before accepting it. "Deshi."