[ “oh”, is shoyo’s inicial reaction, but his shoulders squeeze up tight around his neck when he sees similarities . . . not that one hated the other, he’s pretty sure that’s not the case, but. damn if it were. shoyo would be in trouble. ]

They don’t hate each other . . . I think.

[ he thinks. it’s something else. he just doesn’t know. what comes now is a reluctant silence, even as their medium sized pizza is served right in front of them. the waitress adds some extra sets of monster fries on the side for good measure, luck and peace. shoyo can’t keep quiet for long, anyway, and even in sight of his belated birthday pizza, he doesn’t feel like digging in. at least not immediately. ]

I invited them both to the amusement park for my birthday, and . . . I didn’t know they knew each other.