How to make friends for dummies.

I was lying in my bed, watching the files from the drone footage of the Valley of Juru. Krypton's history was fascinating, if nothing else. We were a people whose history was steeped in mysticism, religion, war, and innovation. It was amazing to learn how the great houses came to be—like how Erok became the first on Krypton to use a clan name, naming himself Erok-El and his child Jor-El, who was the first of his name and of the noble House of El. 

Of course, as fascinated as I was with our history and as much as I understood its importance, what captivated me most in this story were the Wizards of Juru. They were real-life magicians. Yes, I knew I was on a "fictional planet" with fictional people and the promise of superhuman powers, but my mind couldn't let go of the idea of magic. I kept thinking about what I could achieve if I combined it with technology and science. 

But the wizards were special. They were part of our evolutionary tree, kind of like how mutants (the X-Men) were to humans. They gained their magic by living in the Valley of Juru, where concentrated magical energies allowed them to innately use magic. Because they were genetically identical to normal Kryptonians, reproduction between the two groups created offspring with the magic gene and a chance that the dominant gene would be expressed. There was a 50% chance that a child born to a normal Kryptonian and a Kryptonian magi would have magic. 

In the long history of Kryptonian magi quietly integrating with Kryptonian society, about 5% of Kryptonians had magic. I hadn't found a way to test this on myself yet, so I continued my research while multitasking by beating the AI I built in 3D chess. 

I was so bored. I had no friends, which was sad. Kryptonian entertainment was… well, it left a lot to be desired. The only people who knew how to have fun were the workers and laborers without house names. I knew where to go to cure my boredom. 

I was grinning as I printed myself an outfit to blend in with the crowd. It turned out okay—someone would need really good senses to notice it as new. I was silent as a ninja as I slipped out of my house. *Huh, I never did manage to bring myself to finish Boruto.* 

Avoiding patrolling security and surveillance cameras was easy with my awesomeness, and I was currently fake haggling with an old granny selling a banana-like fruit to avoid being discovered. I quickly discovered that it should cost 3 Marks by observing the other stalls while walking over. I was trying to plead my case for 2 and a half Marks, but the lady was tough. 

"Listen, you little rascal," she said finally, "you either pay 3 Marks or get out of my face." 

"Okay, old lady," I answered with a grin. "You're a tough nut to crack. I'll take two and that." I pointed to a packet that looked like raisins. 

She gave me the goods with a huff and a grumbled, "Kids these days. And I'm not a nut—that doesn't even make sense. Are you sure your parents know you're here alone?" 

"Yeah, I told my dad where I was going," I lied smoothly. 

"I know we haven't had such cases in a while on Krypton," she mumbled, though I could clearly hear her. "Maybe they're still on the list to get the girl some help." 

I decided I liked the old girl. 

As I was walking, I saw some kids playing what appeared to be a combination of football and kickball. The goals were painted on the walls, with 12 goal posts of differing sizes, distances from the ground and center, and short wall obstacles to make it hard to get to the target goal post. I was impressed as I watched. *Wow, these kids would make Ronaldinho jealous.* 

"I don't know you," a girl next to me said. She had quietly sat down beside me while I was watching the game. 

"I don't know you either," I answered. She looked about my age, maybe a little younger, and had curious eyes. 

"Well, I know everyone, and I don't know you," she said with a sharp whisper. "Are your parents strict and don't let you out of the house? Did you sneak out?" 

She was cute and adorable. 

"Hey, keep it down, will you?" I whispered back. "Please don't tell anyone." 

"Okay, I won't," she said, "but from now on, you're my friend." 

"Okay, then I'm your friend," I said with a smile. 

"You agreed too easily," she said, narrowing her eyes. "That means you're still hiding something. Zal says, 'If they cough it up too easily, there's a hidden stash in there somewhere.'" 

She was a smart girl. 

"Well, Zal sounds like a smart person," I said. "So, what's your name? Mine's Kara." 

She looked at me and answered, "I'm Elona, proprietor of information and secrets, at your service." 

"Well, Elona," I said, offering her the banana-like fruit, "do you want a banana?" 

"Why'd you call it a banana?" she asked, confused. 

"It's easier that way," I said with a shrug. 

"Okay…" she answered, still looking puzzled. 

"Let's go and play some 12 goals, shall we?" I said, standing up with a grin and offering her a hand.