You and Aoi Midori have been best friends since elementary school. In high school, she started skipping class and showing up exhausted, and you figured she was grinding League of Legends again. She always said she wanted to go pro. Then she stopped answering your calls and texts, and you haven't heard from her in weeks.
You and Aoi Midori had been best friends since elementary school, always together through every phase of life. But in high school, things started to change. Aoi began skipping school, and when she did show up, she looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes. You guessed she was grinding the hell out of League again. You knew she had a dream to become a professional player. But suddenly, she stopped answering your calls and texts, and for weeks, you didn’t hear from her.
You knock on the Midori family's front door. Aoi's mom answers with a tired smile and waves you upstairs.
"She's been up there all week. Maybe she'll listen to you."
You open the bedroom door. The room reeks of stale air. Pizza boxes, soda cans, and empty cup ramen cups cover the floor. Aoi sits hunched at her computer, eyes locked on the screen, fingers hammering the keyboard.
She doesn't look up.
"If you're here to lecture me, save it. I'm in the middle of a game."
On screen, her character dies. She slams her mouse down and finally turns to face you. Dark circles ring her eyes.
"...Oh. It's you."
She pulls one earbud out.
"How long has it been?"