42_souls, table 3, theme #15) "if I."

"If you'll be my friend, I'll be your guinea pig."

He never spoke, and it rarely seemed as though he listened to the teacher speak, but he was cute. He hid behind long, shaggy bangs that Marie wanted so badly to clip back. Stein peered through them at her, curiosity soon reverting back to disinterest.

"No thank you. I already have a toad."

Marie watched him as he looked back down. The playground was noisy with children their age shrieking like monkeys off of jungle gyms and overturning themselves on slides. It was appealing, but she'd rather be here. Marie squatted in front of her classmate and pointed at the toad in his hands. "Can I touch it?"

He nodded slowly, and she poked the overgrown frog in the head. It blinked at her. "Aren't girls supposed to be afraid of slimy things?"

"He isn't slimy. Are you really going to cut him open?"

Franken Stein nodded. "When I get home."

"Oh. Okay."

He glanced at her through his bangs again. "They don't have knives here."

"We're not supposed to play with sharp things. That's why." Marie trailed her finger along the toad's bumpy back.

"Don't you have friends to play with?" he asked her shortly. "Marie Mjolnir."

"Don't you?"

He sat in silence as she stood and brushed off her knees and yellow dress. Marie held out her hand to Stein. "Would you come play with us?"

"No."

The word was quick and final. Marie knew that tone. It was one her parents used. She sighed and turned away.

Tomorrow, she would try again.

"If you'll be on our team, I'll be your best friend forever."

Stein ignored her, wishing with all of his might that he could be excluded from this mandatory game of kickball. He didn't want to play. He didn't know the rules, and quite frankly, he didn't care. The grade schoolers had already divided themselves up in their minds. They would surely be picked be the team leader, who would be someone popular. Someone who was their best friend. Best friend after best friend would be picked, and he'd be the last one chosen for a team, and it would just be an awkward mess that could have been avoided if that irritating teacher hadn't forced him into this.

Kickball wasn't the "team building activity" teachers made it out to be. It was a popularity contest. Only a simpleton couldn't see it.

But whatever. It didn't matter.

A girl and a boy were chosen for team captains; neither did he know, but he was familiar at least with the girl's name. Azusa. Marie never stopped talking, and for some reason she tended to seek him out, so he'd heard more than a mouthful about little miss Yumi, practical, poised, and perfect. The Japanese girl stood erect in front of the group and scanned them with hawk eyes. He presumed she was mentally categorizing each individual child by their capabilities so that they could form a perfect team that, teamwork aside, could out do the other group by a long shot. The male team leader was nodding and making faces at his friends, not putting any thought to team placement whatsoever.

From watching Azusa's cold, calculating speculation, Stein didn't expect her to do what the boy leader of the opposing team was doing; choosing her best friend. But surprisingly, that was exactly what she did. Marie was the first one at her side. While the stud captain of Team B was having difficulty deciding whether to pick nose picker-flicker friend 1 or raspberry-blowing friend 2, Marie cupped her hands around Azusa's ear and whispered excitedly. Azusa listened with a blank face and turned to her lively friend, frowning and shaking her head. Marie nodded adamantly and pouted. Azusa planted her heels firmly, shaking her head a definite 'no.' Marie punched her in the shoulder.

Azusa staggered to the side a bit then, cradling the shoulder, nodded grudgingly.

Captain B chose friend 3, the crack scratcher. Azusa's turn. From the way she was eyeing the left side of the line, Stein presumed she would be going for Neigus, who had powerful legs.

"Franken Stein."

Stein wasn't humble enough to wonder if he'd heard wrong. He knew Azusa had said his name. He just didn't know what to do with this information. Marie was nodding and grinning, beckoning him over, and putting one foot in front of the other, he did. Marie beamed at him when he'd reached them.

"Azusa said you weren't aesthetically capable, but I think you'd make a good pitcher, since you like working with your hands so much."

"Athletically, Marie, not aesthetically," Azusa said, and being her turn once more she indeed called to Neigus.

Stein considered informing Marie that pitching was more the work of shoulder and elbow muscles than hands, as opposed to dissection which was definitely more hand-oriented (and lower back, whether or not there was a chair factor) but... why waste his breath? They both dealt with precision, he supposed.

"If you hold my hand, I'll give you my pudding for a month."

Her voice was strained and wobbly, and Stein didn't blame her. Music class was mandatory, and sure they'd learned the notes in the songs and even that stupid little dance at the end, but nothing could have prepared them for a concert in front of their parents. Just about every student present was jittery and nervous, wishing each other luck and wiping sweaty hands on their dress pants and skirts. Stein had nothing to be embarrassed about, since his parents weren't present, but standing before so many expectant pairs of eyes made him nauseous. Marie was looking determinedly at her feet and biting her bottom lip. Someone (probably her mother) had tied glittering silver ribbon through her hair.

Stein watched the teacher give stage directions to the children at the front of the group and leaned over closer to Marie's ear.

"What flavor?"

Marie turned to him, a bit surprised. He had never bargained with her before, no matter how many times the situation arose, and he'd never answered her so quickly.

"Chocolate."

"Make it vanilla."

The girl smiled to herself and slipped her small hand into his. They were moving forward.

"Okay."