Snippet #2356612

Now she was standing with the others again, Andromeda noticed Orion. “Oh. Orion. I didn’t say hi to you did I? I’m sorry, I got... distracted there. I think the little flag is just a random prize.” She looked at her left foot, then the right one, then the left again, right, left, right, left, right... Left. They must all think I’m a weirdo. Right. I don’t care what people think. Left. That’s not true, I care what I think about my mind. Right. Why??? Left. I want friends. Right. Animals don’t have friends. Left. I’m not an animal. Right. It’s why I prefer them over humans. They don’t try to control each other. They don’t play mind games. Left. That’s not friendship. And even animals can know that.

She looked back up, trying to catch what the others were saying. If she wanted to make friends, she could start by not assuming everyone who interacted with her must want something. If there was any reason Corki chose to surprise her instead of the others, it could be that they were both female. People often preferred to make friends with the same gender.

An image appeared in her mind. Rows of white, round chestlike things, some of them with people in them, but most of them empty. What kind of place was that? One of those chests was for her, there was a girl of about her age and height in the one opposite to it, a girl with ink stains on her arms and an unique smile... the same smile that was now on the face of a Skipper named Corki. The lid closed, and she entered a world called Sunnyside.

The realization hit her like a landslide. This was not real life, this was just fantasy. An escape from reality.

((OOC It looks like you guys figured out what this puzzle is. The next ones will be easy, but more and more original and crazy.))