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Still on his way back from ending the last turn, Lelouch quietly sighed to himself. Though he had been chosen as host, he didn't really seem to be enjoying himself all that much anymore. Despite that, he once again took his place in front of the group and began searching for the next player. “That turn's over, so who's ready to go next?” One of his hands lazily resting on his hip, he looked around, assuming at least one person would be willing to raise their hand. When no one did, he sighed again. “Seriously? None of you have any initiative, do you?” With a shake of his head, Lelouch lifted his hand into the air and pointed directly at you. “Since no one is volunteering, you're next. Come up here and get something from the backpack.”

“Got it. I can do that.” You knew he had chosen you at random, but being thrown into the game so suddenly had still given you a bit of a start. Even so, you pushed yourself off of the floor and stepped over to where the backpack was. Surprisingly heavy for something so small, you placed your hand inside and began searching for something interesting. No matter how long you searched, however, nothing really caught your attention. This was probably due to the fact that without actually looking at what you were touching, you had no idea what anything was. So, after a moment or two, you simply wrapped your fingers around one of the objects and pulled it from within. The long strip of red fabric you had chosen didn't really look at all familiar to you, but you could tell it was meant to be used as some sort of bandanna. Tying it around your forehead as you spoke, you turned towards the group. “Alright, so whose is this?”

A quiet voice, all the way in the back of the room answered your call. “That's mine.” Slowly rising to her feet Kallen carefully walked over to you. The way she was carrying herself made her seem terribly fragile, as if she was actually in very poor health. Reaching up to the makeshift bandanna, she gently pulled it free. “I don't think that suits you.” Smiling softly, she stuffed the cloth into the pocket of her school uniform and started towards the closet.

“I really looked that bad?” Following after her, you smoothed your hair back into place. “I thought I probably looked pretty good.”

Already inside the closet, she took a seat on the floor and shook her head. “I didn't say that you looked bad. I just said that it didn't suit you.” Her brows furrowed slightly, her words came out sounding more like an apology than they did a simple statement. “That's all.”

“That's pretty much the same thing. You just found a nicer way of saying it is all.” Closing the door behind you, you narrowed your eyes in an attempt to see in the dark. Lowering yourself to the floor, you slowly crawled to where you had seen her sitting. “It's alright though. I'd rather someone tell me the truth than them let me go around making a fool of myself.” Hoping you were close enough, you sat down on your heels and smiled. “So thanks.”

“Huh?” Her voice much closer than you'd expected, Kallen sounded honestly confused. “O-oh, you're welcome? I think.”

“Yeah.” Every time your partner spoke, you noticed something odd in her tone. It was almost like she had to remind herself to speak the way she was. If you didn't know any better, you would have thought she was putting up some sort of front. You couldn't really think of any reason for her to do that though, so you tossed your idea aside, believing it couldn't possibly be true. Assuming her slightly odd behavior was more likely do to a case of nerves, you tried to make sure she was feeling alright. “Are you alright?” Despite the fact that you had meant your question to be polite, it hadn't come out sounding quite the way you wanted it to. What you said next, didn't help that fact at all. “You're acting a little off.”

A curious look in her eyes, she brushed a long strand of hair behind her ear. After looking you up and down for several seconds, her answer finally came. “I'm fine, but have we spoken before?” Bringing her shoulders in, causing her frame to look even smaller than it already was, Kallen pressed the tip of her forefinger to her chin. “I don't think I remember seeing you before today.”

The fact that she didn't remember you, not even in passing, was a bit hurtful, but you couldn't really blame her. The two of you weren't exactly friends, and she had missed a lot of school lately. Maybe she'd simply forgotten. Or maybe being sick for so long had caused her memory to go fuzzy. Whatever the case was, you weren't about to let her know that she'd hurt your feelings, and your pride. “We've only spoken once or twice, but I see you at school all the time.” Realizing you weren't the best judge of her usual character, you shrugged. “I guess I wouldn't really know if you were acting off or not, would I?”

Though her voice just barely above a whisper, she didn't hesitate to agree with you. “No, you probably wouldn't.”

“Right.” Struggling more and more to converse with her, you awkwardly cleared your throat. “I just thought maybe you were nervous or something like that.” Not even bothering to look at you, it came as no surprise that she didn't answer. “That's why I was asking. I didn't want to be making you uncomfortable.”

“Oh.” Her lackluster response was accompanied by her shaking her head just enough for you to see. “You're not.” Squinting, so as to see a bit better, she studied your face once more. After multiple attempts to place you, she still couldn't do it. “We've really spoken before? I mean, before today.”

“Yup.” Finding it almost humorous how invisible to her you must have been after years of attending the same school, you weren't sure if you want to laugh, or bury your head in the sand. “Why would I make that up?”

“I'm not saying you are. I just really don't remember.” Pressing the tips of her fingers to her temple, she hung her head and sighed. “I'm really sorry about this. I feel awful for not knowing who you are when you obviously know who I am. You probably think I'm a real jerk for not noticing you before, but it's not like that, really.”

Brushing it off with a shrug, you tried to change the subject. Time was way too short for you to be worrying over this anymore. “It's fine, really.”

“No, it's not.” Clutching the hem of her skirt, Kallen shook her head again. A determined look suddenly flashing across her face, she grabbed both of your shoulders and began almost pleading with you. “Let me make it up to you.”

You weren't sure how she planned to do that exactly, but you weren't all that worried about it anyway. There was certainly no reason for her to be acting like this either. Really, you kind of wished she would just let the two of you move on from the subject, as it was getting a little bit bit embarrassing. After all, the last thing you wanted was for her to do something nice for you out of pity. You had far too much pride to allow something like that to happen. “You don't need to do that.”

“I insist.” Not about to take no for an answer, Kallen sat back down on her heels and thought for a moment. Snapping as an idea popped into her head, she smiled brightly. “What if I took you out to lunch some time? Would that do?”

You still didn't want her pity, but you didn't feel like arguing with her. Even if you did, you doubted it would get you anywhere. So, simply because you wanted to move on, you agreed. “Well I'm not going to say no to lunch, but I don't want you to do something like that just because you feel bad for not remembering me.” Giving her hand a reassuring pat, you once again made absolutely certain that she knew what she was trying to do wasn't necessary. “Like I said, don't worry about it, okay?”

“No, not okay.” Crossing her slender arms over her chest, Kallen stood her ground. “I'll feel guilty forever if I don't do something.”

Somehow you doubted that was true, but yet again, you weren't willing to argue about it. “That's a bit dramatic, but okay.”

“Good.” She snorted proudly. “Then it's settled.” The gentle, yet victorious smile that had lit up her face not even a full second ago quickly began to fade as she brought her hand to her mouth. “O-oh no, I'm so sorry.”

What on Earth could she be sorry for this time? Almost reluctant to ask, you couldn't help but sigh. “For what now?”

“Well, I've been talking so much, we're probably almost out of time.” Closing her eyes, Kallen pressed her palms to her cheeks as if trying to cover a blush that wasn't there. Sighing weakly, her whole body seemed to go lax. Looking gloomy and disappointed in herself, she quietly began scolding her lack of forethought. “What was I thinking?”

“It's not important.” She was right, but there was no way to change that now. “This game was kind of weird to me anyway. Talking through it was definitely the less awkward option, considering what the other options were.” After you'd said it, you wondered if that was really the case. The last few minutes had been rather uncomfortable now that you looked back on them. Not as awkward as sitting in silence would have been, but you would still look back on this game one day and cringe. Had the two of you actually played the game as intended, the awkwardness wouldn't have lasted the whole seven minutes, and the discomfort, however long it lasted, would have been more wroth it.

Though Kallen was attempting to apologize, again, there wasn't any sign that she was actually sorry that this had happened, not that she should be. Still, something about the way she was looking at you actually made you wonder if she had planned this all along. Unaware of what you were thinking, a crease formed between her delicate brows. “Are you sure?”

“As sure as I'll ever be.” You nodded.

When Kallen opened her mouth to speak again, the sound of a loud buzzer going off filled the tiny closet. As soon as it stopped, the door was pushed open and the light was turned on. “Alright, that sound marks seven minutes and the end of your turn.” Stepping just inside the door, Lelouch made a little motion with his hand, signaling for the two of you to exit the closet. “That means, it's time for you two, to leave.”

“Right, we're going.” Already on her feet, Kallen looked down at you and offered one, last smile. “I'll call you about that lunch date, I promise.” With a quick wave, she started out of the closet before you'd even attempted to stand up.

“She's not going to call you.” Offering you his hand, Lelouch helped you to your feet then scribbled something down on a piece of paper. Shoving the paper into your palm, a hint of mischief in his voice, his lips began to curl. “Here, and good luck.” Trusting you would leave the closet soon, Lelouch turned on his heel and stepped away.

Now alone, you opened up the slip of paper to see a phone number messily scribbled in the center. Already sure it had to belong to Kallen, but not so sure you would ever call it, you tucked the paper into your pocket and mumbled under your breath. “Thanks...”