Hey, all! Well, this is what I'd like to call an "Inverse Harem Anime/Manga" - that is, a story about a "loser girl" and five cute guys as opposed to a "loser guy" and five cute girls. It began awhile back when I was on an anime message board asking if there were any comedy animes out there with a "loser girl" and five cute guys (as opposed to the traditional harem anime). Unfortunately, I received a lot of negative responses insisting that there was no such thing as a "loser girl" and that a comedic inverse harem anime could not be done. Therefore, I decided to try and make one myself to prove them wrong and this is the result!

The story is about a seemingly ordinary high school girl named Nina who suddenly has five cute alien guys living in her house (it's pretty much Tenchi in reverse, which was my main point of reference as it is considered the ultimate harem anime). It's mostly a comedic story as Nina tries to deal with her less-than-gentlemanly, ill-mannered (albeit good-looking) houseguests as they...well, kind of trash her house, lol. However, like the Tenchi series, there's also some seriousness in the story, particularly later on as the story progresses.

It will be divided into fourteen (maybe fifteen) "Parts," and each part has three chapters; this post is the first chapter of Part One, "My Demon Friend." Also, I should note that the first half takes place in America (the second half taking place in outer space) mainly because I don't think I know enough about Japan to make it the setting. It will take awhile for all the characters to be introduced, so I'll go through a brief character list and show what character they're supposed to be the inverse of in the harem anime (using the Tenchi series as my example):

Nina Smith - the shy, awkward, and highstrung fifteen year old main character who finds out she's an alien princess of a famous planet called Eden, that was mysteriously destroyed over two hundred years ago by a fierce demon named Loki. (the inverse of Tenchi, except none of the guys are actually fawning over her; they actually treat her more like one of the guys and the romance stuff doesn't happen until much later on in the story)

Ignatius "Iggy" Gladwyn - the centuries old, smart-alecky, loud-mouthed, and trouble-making fire demon and intergalactic thief who crashes his ship on Earth and befriends Nina in hopes to bum a few nights at her house. (the inverse of Ryoko, except without the whole seduction thing)

Sir Bronte Gild of Eden - the loyal and good-natured, but bumbling, dim-witted, and accident-prone knight of Eden who's sworn duty it is to Protect Nina from any danger, especially Loki, who he saved her from once before. (sort of the inverse of Mihoshi...later on he's really not so much her inverse, though...)

Zephyrus "Zephyr" Clark - the...er...eccentric...struggling (albeit freeloading) "musical artist" who hitches a ride to Earth in hopes to gain "real inspiration" there and leave the commercial music of the universe behind him (if I had to pick, I guess I'd say he's the inverse of Washu...he's probably one of my favorite characters in the story despite his craziness...although they're all mostly crazy...he's just the craziest, lol)

Prince Delmar of Maris - the laidback, slightly apathetic, and kind of spacey young prince of Maris, the head planet in the Universal council and second only to Eden, who heads to Earth in hopes to get engaged (the inverse of Aeyeka...except his personality is the complete opposite of hers...but he is the prince of the story, so...he's also probably my other favorite character of the story, lol)

Lieutenant Gaia Erhard - the intelligent, serious, responsible, and mature galaxy police officer who comes to Earth on a mission to arrest a certain fire demon, ordered by the Universal Council (the inverse of Kiyone, as he is the only sane one out of the entire bunch, lol...and the one to suffer the most...)

Sadly, in chapter one, you only get to really meet Nina and Iggy, but by the next chapter Bronte will be there and by chapter four Delmar and Zephyr show up (yay!). Unfortunately, it takes until chapter seven for Gaia to come, I believe, but it would have been too overwhelming for them all to show up in the first chapter, after all. Also, there are other important characters later on, but the main characters are those six I listed above, Nina and her five "gentlemen" (although they are, ironically, anything but). Anyway, here's chapter 1 of Part One: "My Demon Friend" (plus a short prologue); I hope you all enjoy it!

---

My Five Gentlemen

Prologue: “My Solemn Epitaph” by Zephyrus Clark

My darling, darling Eden,

How I hoped you would not pale away

Or brighten so much as that I could not see you

If only you could have stayed the same -

If only anything could stay the same -

But nothing remains in one image for very long,

Nor do you seem to,

My darling, darling Eden

I saw a bird fly today

Far past the skies that used to be gold,

And I longed for you, my darling, darling Eden

Just as that bird longed for golden skies

To reclaim their throne from the hanging gray

But they never did and the bird fled in it’s despair

Just as I left you,

My darling, darling Eden

I can no longer see you,

But whether you have faded away

Or turned to gold, left to find better skies that this

I know not, but it’s gray all the same,

Too dim now to see what lies within it

And its borders too bright to see anything beyond

The hollow, numb gray,

My darling, darling Eden

But where are you now, Eden?

Tell me, so I can find my way there,

So I can sink into gray, or make myself blind

Braving your walls that circle the gray -

If they are your walls, my darling Eden -

To find whatever lies beyond the shining gold light

And if there’s still gray,

What then, my darling Eden?

My darling, darling Eden,

I love you, I love you, I love you

Don’t decay, don’t brighten, don’t alter anything

For I fear I’m too weak to follow

Or, worse, that I don’t want to follow you

I like this place here, and I don’t want to leave it yet,

So why must you leave,

My darling, darling Eden?

Please, stay, my darling Eden,

Though you no longer seem to be mine,

Not the Eden that I used to know, anyway

Forgive me that I said I’d follow

If you showed me the way, because I can’t

Whether it be to gold or gray, for I am neither

Nor will ever be

So why must you be, Eden?

---

Part One: My Demon Friend

Chapter 1

Nina’s parents called her down one Friday afternoon in late January. After the second time they called her, insisting that it was important, the plain, but pretty girl hurried down the stairs and into the living room where her parents, sitting on the living room couch, awaited her.

At fifteen, Nina Smith was petite and a bit on the short side, with big, tan eyes, a pale complexion, and long, brown hair that extended down to her waist. She wore her long hair in a thick braid now, as she often did, with her thin bangs resting on her forehead and the sides of her angular face. Her eyebrows were thick as were her eyelashes, but her nose and pale pink lips were thin and small. Unfortunately, her ears were slightly bigger than she’d like, but she had grown accustom to them nonetheless.

“What is it?” she asked, walking around to the front of the couch to face her parents. To her surprise, there was a worried expression on both of their faces. Nina frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Sit down, Nina,” her mother told her. Nina nodded and quietly sat down in her father’s armchair. Sighing, her mother sat up straight and began, “As you know, your great aunt has been sick for some time now.” Nina nodded again. “Well, over the last few weeks, she’s gotten worse and, because of her age, she needs someone to take care of her. Now the doctor says she should be fine eventually, but that it will be awhile until she gets better.”

“Well, that’s good,” Nina replied, still unsure to why she had been called down.

“Yes, it is,” her mother answered. “However, like I said, she needs someone to take care of her for the time being - maybe a few months - and as we are her only living relatives…”

Nina panicked. “You mean, we’re moving?” she questioned in horror. “All the way to Florida?”

Nina’s father now sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Your mother and I originally thought that we’d all stay down there, temporarily, until your great aunt was better enough to take care of herself. Then we’d come back. It’s not like we’re selling our house or anything - we’d just be visiting Florida for longer than usual, that’s all. And my job’s already has a position for me down there and is prepared to temporarily transfer me.”

“But can’t she live up here with us instead of us all going down there?” Nina asked hopefully.

“We thought about that, but the weather’s too cold up here and all her doctors are in Florida anyway,” her father answered and Nina frowned in her despair, slouching back in the armchair.

“However, the more we thought about it, the more we thought that it would be unfair to you.”

“Really?” Nina perked up, eyes brightening.

Her mother nodded. “If it was the summer, it would be different, but it would be wrong to take you out of school in the middle of the year and expect you to adjust to a new school just for a few months. You’re almost sixteen now, and, you’ve never given us any reason to not trust you; you’re a straight-A student, you’ve never gotten into any type of serious trouble before, you’re always very responsible and well-behaved. So, your father and I discussed it, and, if you’d like, we will allow you to stay here, by yourself, for those few months while we’re taking care of your great aunt down in Florida.”

Nina shot up in her excitement. “For real? You mean it?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you can do anything you want,” he father spoke up. “Now I know you’re not the type of girl who’s going to be throwing wild parties here, but there are still some rules you have to follow. Keep the house clean, take care of the dog, and be in bed at a reasonable hour on school nights. I’ve opened up an account for you to use that I’ll deposit money into so you can buy groceries - do not use it to buy only pizza and fast food. I expect you to buy healthy food with it. Also, you can have only three friends over the house at one time and only one overnight, although I don’t want you making a habit of it.”

“And no boys over the house,” her mother added sternly.

Her father nodded. “Yes, and no boys over the house.”

With that, Nina’s parents proceeded to make the necessary arrangements to leave and, by that next Friday, they were packed and headed toward the airport. Nina waved as they slowly backed out of the driveway, calling out to them, “Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! I love you both!”

“We love you, too, Nina!” her mother called back. “Take care of yourself! We’ll call you when we get there! Bye!”

Once they were out of sight, Nina turned back to the house with a smile, surrounded by the peaceful woodland. However, the smile soon left her as a rush of cold air hit her. She shivered and crossed her arms before quickly going back inside the house.

Her little, floppy-eared, black dog, its blue collar with the name, “Wendy,” written on the license, sat in the living room, waiting for Nina. Nina gave the dog a smile and knelt down to pet it. As she stroked its fur, she said, “Well, Wendy, it’s just you and me for now.”

And so it began. The weekend quietly passed by uneventful and soon Monday morning came. Nina had a bowl of cereal and a small glass of orange juice for breakfast and fed Wendy. She then got dressed, putting on a pale yellow sweater and light blue jeans. She brushed through her long hair and braided it quickly. Then, she threw on her black jacket and shoes, wrapped her scarf around her, and put on her gloves. She then grabbed her backpack and books, and left to catch the school bus.

It was on her way to the bus stop that Nina felt the first sign that things would not remain uneventful for long. She heard something, in the woods beside her, as she walked down the rural road that morning on the first day of February. At first, she dismissed it as the wind. But as the sound grew more distinct, she realized it was not the winter breeze that was rustling the trees and bushes; it had to be someone - or something - walking through the woods. She assumed the latter, supposing it was one of the neighbors cats or maybe even a deer. But as she followed the winding road, the noise followed her, taking every turn she did. It did so for a good ten minutes before Nina finally stopped. And the rustling sound stopped as well, as if the creature in the woods had halted to wait for Nina’s next move.

Nina bit her lower lip worriedly as she began to think she had been mistaken in her assumption, her pale face growing more pale despite the cold that tried to turn her cheeks and ears red. Although she was freezing and her feet and hands felt as if they were going numb, she waited and listened, yet there was nothing. After a moment, she cautiously took a single step forward - and again, the rustling noise came from the woods beside her. Her eyes widened at this and she quickly stopped again, as did the noise. Slowly, she turned toward her left, where the sound came from. Taking a deep breath, she walked forward and towards the woods. The rustling grew louder. Nervously, she grew closer and closer and the sound drew closer to her.

And then, at the last moment, her fear overtook her curiosity and she ran. As fast as she could, she dashed down the street, not even looking to where she was running to. Her heart was racing both in fear and exhaustion when she reached the bus stop only a minute later. But her fear was soon alleviated as others began to arrive and the realization that the noise had disappeared completely sunk in, leaving only her out of breath with tired legs. She frowned, disappointed with herself for her cowardly actions and that she hadn’t accomplished appeasing her curiosity, but assured herself it was for the best, especially if it had been someone dangerous following her. The bus soon came after that and Nina was now headed for school.

---

“It must be so cool to have the house all to yourself!” Nina’s friend, Cara Kemp exclaimed, as they stood at their lockers later that morning. The pretty blond girl grinned excitedly and asked Nina, “So how was your weekend?”

Nina shrugged. “I don’t know; it was kind of boring, actually.”

“How could it be boring?” Cara persisted. “You were home alone all weekend!”

“Exactly; there was no one there except me and Wendy,” Nina explained, closing her locker. “The house seems so empty without my parents there; it gets lonely, I guess.” She frowned and leaned against her locker, pressing her books against her chest. “I mean, they kept calling me, like, practically every hour, but it’s still not the same thing.”

“Well, I’d be having the time of my life if my parents left me with the house all to myself,” Cara replied. “Parties galore and everything. Hey, maybe you should throw a party.”

Nina frowned at this. “Um…I don’t think so, Cara.”

“I should have know that would be your answer,” Cara said with a playful smirk as she went ot open her locker. “I guess you’re right in a way; why wreck your own house when you could always go and wreck someone else’s?” Nina forced a smile, but said nothing. “Which reminds me - there’s a party at Quinton’s this Friday and he invited me. I asked if I could bring a friend and he said sure.” Her playful smirk widened. “You want to come?”

“Quinton’s?” Nina asked, her cheeks turning pink at the mention of the name. She lowered her eyes, embarrassed, and hastily shook her head as she stammered, “Oh, no…I can’t.”

“Why not?” Cara questioned.

“Because…well, I have a paper to write this weekend, and - ”

“So? You’ve got the whole weekend to write it!” Cara insisted “It’s only one night. And your parents aren’t even in the state anymore, so you really can’t make excuses.” She then let out a frustrated growl as she yanked at her locker. “Why won’t this stupid thing ever open!” she exclaimed.

“You’re just going to break it if you keep yanking on it like that,” Nina said quietly and Cara gave her glare, although she said nothing in return. “Besides, I don’t really like parties, anyway. They’re kind of boring to me.”

Cara looked at Nina as if she was in shock. “How can a party be boring?”

Nina frowned awkwardly at this, trying to find an answer. “I don’t know…like how the music’s so loud that you can hardly talk to anyone.”

“But you hardly talk to anyone in the first place, Nina,” Cara replied.

“And I hate to dance,” Nina added. “And everyone’s so wild and goofing off and stuff, but it all just seems like chaos to me...except its boring. Like really boring chaos.”

Cara raised an eyebrow at this. “Whatever you say, Nina,” she muttered as she tried her locker combination again.

“I guess it’s just not my thing…” Nina clarified.

“But its at Quinton Delaney’s!” Cara argued. “I mean, he’s so cute and rich and perfect.”

Nina’s face turned redder as her body sunk and she mumbled miserably, “I know…”

“So how could you not want to go when you like him so much?” Cara questioned.

“I don’t like him that much,” Nina replied. “I mean, I hardly know him…”

“That’s such a lie and you know it,” Cara retorted and then pulled at her locker a second time. “Stupid thing! It still won’t open!”

“Maybe you should think about asking a custodian to fix it…”

“It should have been fixed before September!” Cara exclaimed through clenched teeth.

It was then that he arrived - the handsome Quinton Delaney, with each strand of his dark hair perfectly in place, his dark eyes sparkling, and a charming grin. “Need any help?” he asked Cara when he approached the two girls.

“Quinton! Hi!” Cara exclaimed, blushing slightly. Nina’s face, meanwhile, turned a bright shade of red as her eyes locked onto the handsome Quinton. She immediately stood up straight and she tried to speak, but she couldn’t think of anything worth saying. “My locker’s jammed; it won’t open,” Cara explained.

Quinton flashed Cara a cocky grin. “Don’t worry; I had this locker last year. I can open it for you.” Cara smiled and gracefully stepped to the side. Both girls excitedly watched in anticipation as Quinton approached the locker. “All you have to do is give it a slight tap and then…there!”

With a simple pull of its handle, the locker swung open. Cara grinned. “Thanks, Quinton!”

“No problem at all,” Quinton replied with his arrogant, yet charming smile.

“I can’t believe it! It’s amazing; thanks so much,” Cara continued her praise, causing Quinton’s grin to widen, and all Nina could do was give a hasty nod in agreement. “You remember Nina, right?” Cara then asked with a shove to Nina’s shoulder and Nina felt her stomach jump.

Quinton winced, his eyes falling onto Nina as if she were a complete stranger. “Oh, yeah…right…Nina…” he lied and forced a fake smile, Nina frowned in her own self-pity, knowing that he was. “Hi, Nina,” he then said, a confused look still in his eyes as he looked down at her. Nina tried to smile, but it came off as a nervous half-smile at best. After an awkward moment of silence, Quinton turned back to Cara and said, “Anyway, glad I was able to help, Cara. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
“Bye, Quinton!” Cara called out as Quinton headed down the hallway.

“Bye!” Nina finally managed to choke out, but it was too late, for Quinton had already disappeared within the crowd of students.

Cara smiled, saying, “I told you he was perfect,” before she began pulling out books from her locker.

And Nina just quietly exhaled, the crimson in her cheeks fading to a light shade of pink as she lowered her disappointed eyes to her feet once more as the last few moments played over and over in her head again. She hadn’t even spoken to him; no wonder why he didn’t even know who she was! She glowered in disgust with herself and then mumbled under her breath, “Why am I such an idiot?”

---

Groaning, Iggy stumbled out of his ship, duffel bag slung over his shoulder, and onto the grass at around noon that Monday. He turned himself around and groaned again at the sight of what was left of his crashed ship, its red paint scorched off and its tail steaming. The right wing was hanging off, as was the thick metal door, and the front window had shattered on impact.

“Did he have to go and shoot at my ship? Its not like he was going to get the stupid thing back that way, anyway!” he bitterly snarled. Iggy then sighed and grumbled, “It’s not like the ship’s even worth fixing now, as if I could fix it. Especially now that I’m here on Earth…stupid, hick planet. Maybe I should just go into retirement now or something…”

The handsome white-haired fire demon, Ignatius Gladwyn, appeared to be only eighteen or so, although he was already a few hundred years old. His white hair was shoulder length and straight, which he now had tied back in a ponytail behind him, although some of the shorter, unruly strands would not stay back and therefore wildly fall on the sides of his face. His skin was tan and his eyes a deep green, while his chin was sharp and angular. He had thin eyebrows and big ears, with a narrow nose. He wore average clothes - a red jacket, white T-shirt, black pants and black boots, and was slightly taller and more muscular than the average male height and built, but, for the most part, even with his shiny white hair, appeared to be an ordinary human being despite his alien, demon blood.

“Well, if I’m stuck here, I might as well make the most of it,” Iggy told himself and, after a short pause, added, “Hey, at least I landed in America instead of some stupid third world country…but where exactly am I in America?”

Iggy now fell to the grass, his duffel bag dropping to his side. Sitting crossed-legged, he opened his bag. The first thing that caught his eye was a brilliant red ruby, sparkling up at him. He smirked disdainfully at it as he picked it up and held it in front of his eyes, the red reflecting like flames onto his cheeks in the sunlight. “To think I went through all this trouble for a stupid rock like you,” he said, before tossing the ruby onto the grass behind him. He then pulled out a small computer from his bag and said, “Now, let’s see where we are…” After a few clicks of the keyboard, a holographic map of America appeared above the keyboard, generated by the computer. “Okay, so we’re in northern New York…not like I’d really know the difference, anyway.”

With a sigh, he shoved the computer and ruby back in his bag. He then rose to his feet and brushed the dirt off his pants. “And what am I supposed to do with this thing?” he asked aloud, gesturing to his destroyed ship that lay in pieces in the woods. “If the cloaking devise wasn’t damaged…” he trailed off bitterly, muttering, “along with everything else.”

“Stupid Universal Union and their stupid Earth Conservation Resolution,” he continued to complain. “Although I guess there are worse things I’ve violated than a few environmental laws…but if it wasn’t for that stupid resolution, the technology on this planet wouldn’t suck so much and I’d actually be able to get a new ship, instead of being stranded here…”

He sighed and was silent for a moment. Scratching the back of his head as he stared at his ship, he decided, “Well…it’s so destroyed that they probably won’t be able to figure out what the hell it is, anyway. Besides, it looks like its about ready to explode so then there wouldn’t be any evidence at all that it was ever here. But now what am I supposed to do?”

He looked around him, but could see nothing but woods. Then, with a shrug, he picked a direction and began walking with only his duffel back hung on his shoulder.

---

Nina sat alone in a booth at a diner after school later that day, slowly eating her hamburger and fries while reading Hamlet. She picked up a French fry and put it in her mouth as she read. Then, taking a sip of her soda, she turned the page.

Iggy entered the diner then. His stomach was growling. “Man, I’m so hungry…there’s got to be someone I can steal some food from…” He scanned the diner, looking for someone sitting alone. He soon spotted Nina. Grinning, he walked over to her booth. Clearing his throat, he addressed her, “Hi.”

Nina looked up in surprise to see what looked to her to be a young, handsome white-haired boy standing over her with a ravenous smile, his eyes set on her meal. She glanced down at her food, wondering if there was something wrong with it, and then back up at him with bewildered eyes. Blushing and completely bewildered, she asked, “Can I help you with something?”

Iggy let out an awkward laugh as he found himself blushing as well. Rubbing the back of his neck, he exclaimed, “I didn’t think this was going to be so hard!” He let out another embarrassed chuckle, tan cheeks turning even redder. Nina smiled and let out a soft, but unsure laugh in response. “It’s just that…well…could I maybe have a couple of your…um…” Uncertain of what they exactly were, he lowered his eyes to Nina’s French fries and gestured to them.

“You mean, my French fries?” she offered and he nodded.

“Yeah, can I have a few?” he asked hopefully.

Nina frowned as she looked up at his pleading eyes, guilt forming in her own. “Well, I…”

“Please?” he added and Nina sighed, finding herself reluctantly giving into the desperate boy in front of her.

“I guess you can have some…” she trailed off.

Iggy’s ravenous grin returned as he dropped his duffel bag under the table and took a seat on the opposite side of the booth. “Thanks. I can’t remember the last time I ate!” He laughed loudly and grabbed a handful of French fries. Nina watched in a startled and confused daze as he stuffed down the fries. “Hey, these are pretty good,” he said as he chewed. Swallowing, he asked, “Do you have anything to drink?”

“My soda…but I already drank from it,” Nina answered.

“That’s all right,” he said, shoving another couple of fries in his mouth. “I can have it, anyway.”

“But…I want it,” Nina replied honestly.

Iggy swallowed and frowned, glancing downward as he mumbled, “Oh…sorry.”

“No, I…” Nina picked up her glass and offered it to him, “Here. Take it.”

Iggy smiled and took it from her. “Thanks,” he said before chugging half of it down.

“Wow, you sure were thirsty,” she commented.

“Haven’t drunk in awhile either,” he lightheartedly replied. Then, noticing a book in her hand, he asked, “Hey, what are you reading?”

“Huh?” She glanced down at her book and replied, “Oh…it’s Shakespeare. Hamlet. I’m reading it for class.”

She handed the book to him. He flipped through the pages and said, “Hmm…never heard of him.”

Nina’s face turned surprised again. “You haven’t?”

He shook his head. “It’s probably because I’m not from around here.”

“Yeah, but everyone’s heard of Shakespeare,” Nina quietly rebutted, although Iggy was too busy studying her book to hear.

“So what’s it about, anyway?” he asked, reaching toward her food again.

“Well, it’s about - hey!” she cut herself off mid-sentence as she watched him take a large bite out of her hamburger.

He glanced down at the hamburger he held in his hand and then at Nina, who scowled at him in annoyance. Letting out an embarrassed laugh, he said, “Sorry…uh…you still want it?” He then offered her the hamburger, a large bite already taken from it.

With a bitter sigh, she replied as pleasantly as she could, “That’s all right.” Iggy smiled smugly in his victory as he began munching on the hamburger again. Nina slouched back in her seat, crossing her arms as she watched him devour the rest of her meal. “Where did you say you were from again?” she questioned.

Finishing the hamburger, he swallowed and casually said, “Oh, you probably wouldn’t have heard of it…besides, I’m usually traveling, anyway.”

“That sounds like fun,” Nina replied.

Iggy shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess. Ship’s busted now, though, worthless piece of junk…”

“Oh, so you’re like a sailor then?” Nina suggested. She frowned, however, and asked, “But there’s no water around here…”

“No, I…” He sighed, shaking his head. “I forgot that you wouldn’t know about…well…” Trailing off, he grabbed the last of her fries and Nina frowned in perplexity. However, before she could interrogate him any further, he inquired, “What about you? Where are you from? Here?’

Nina shrugged at this. “I’m not exactly sure, actually. I was adopted when I was five, but I can’t remember anything before that.”

“That sucks. So you don’t know anything about your real parents then?” he asked as he chewed. Nina shook her head, but smiled.

“It’s not so bad; I mean, it doesn’t really bother me, anyway,” she explained. “To me, my real parents are my adopted parents.”

Iggy grinned now. “Hey, that’s kind of like me.”

“You mean, you were adopted, too?”

“No, but I don’t know who my real parents are.”

“Really?”

He nodded, swallowing and smiling. “Doesn’t really bother me, either, though.” Sticking another fry in his mouth, he asked, “So, what’s your name?”

“It’s Nina,” she answered. “Nina Smith.”

After he swallowed his final bite with the last of Nina’s soda, Iggy replied, “Thanks, Nina.”

She smiled now, her cheeks growing pink once more. “You’re welcome.” Hesitating slightly, she asked, “So…what’s your name?”

“Mine?” She nodded. Iggy now frowned. “Ignatius Gladwyn,” he muttered bitterly, glancing downward. “Yeah, I know; it’s a stupid name…”

“It’s not so bad…” Nina replied as sincerely as she could, but with a waning smile.

“Yeah, it is. I hate it, anyway.”

Nina gave in and began to admit, “Well, it is a bit…”

“Dorky?”

“Old-fashioned!” Nina corrected euphemistically.

Iggy shrugged in reluctant agreement. “I guess…but, well, you can just call me Iggy.”

“Iggy?”

“Yeah.” He grinned, then stretched out his arms then and rose to his feet. “Well, I ought to get going. It was nice meeting you, Nina.”

“Oh,” she answered glumly, although she smiled, anyway. “It was nice meeting you, too, Iggy.”

“Here’s your book,” he said, handing it back to her.

She graciously took it with a polite “thanks.”

A long, awkward silence fell between the two as both looked downward, Iggy at his feet and Nina at the table counter. After it passed, Iggy finally said, “Well, bye, Nina. Thanks again for the meal.”

“You’re welcome,” Nina replied. “Bye, Iggy.” As he turned to walk away, she asked. “Oh, wait!” Iggy turned back. Nina’s cheeks flushed and she quietly asked, “Aren’t you going to be cold with only that thin jacket on?”

But Iggy just gave her a smirk and mischievously answered, “Don’t worry; I never get cold.”

Nina frowned as Iggy left the diner, disappearing as quickly as he had came as if only a fleeting dream she’d never see again. Her disillusioned eyes fell to the empty glass and then drifted toward the empty dish as she leaned her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her palms.

Her leg brushed up against something. “Hmm?” Curiously, she bent down and peered under the table. And there sat Iggy’s duffel bag.