I have arrived at the room full of chatter and unfamiliar faces, except one, who’s looking out the window. It was a girl with long blond hair. Her hair is tied in half-up pigtails with pink cat-styled hair ties. She also has a bright smile on her face, yet despite all of that, her eyes are not as bright as I remember. Mow, there’s not a hint of light in her eyes, despite her expression seeming genuine. It hurt me to see her like that.

I walked up to my assigned seat, which was, surprisingly, right next to her.

Fuyuki… I’m really sorry for leaving you; if I could’ve just convinced my father to stay even more. I should’ve tried even harder. Maybe it could’ve kept the light in her eyes. Well, it’s not like I can reverse the past and do anything about it. I don’t expect her to forgive me or anything. She may be only a couple of meters away now, but that doesn’t mean that everything will be the same as it was before.

My trail of thoughts came to a halt when a pleasant sound played throughout the entire school building. This marked the start of a school day. The door creaked and revealed a woman with long brown hair with a warm demeanor.

Everyone stood up and said “kiritsu” in unison. We then bowed and said "rei." The woman bowed back to us, and we sat down and said "chakusei.”.

“Good morning, everyone. Today, we have a new transfer student, Chizuru Takahashi-san. You may walk up in front and introduce yourself. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, but I am Akari Sato.”

Everyone whispered among themselves, curious as to why someone would transfer in the middle of the school year. I walked up on the platform and introduced myself while scratching my nape.

“Hello, I’m Chizuru Takahashi, and I guess I like reading shojo manga.”

Sato-sensei smiled and said, “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me or Furukawa-san, who’s seated next to you by the window. Furukawa-san, please guide Takahashi-san when needed to hold her adjust.”

Fuyuki instantly responded with a “yes” to Sato-sensei’s request.

Maybe she had already forgiven me. Maybe we can still go back to how we used to be...

I casually walked up to my seat and was greeted with a big smile from Fuyuki. Her eyes had more light compared to earlier, but not as bright as they were before.

“Hellooo! I’m Fuyuki Furukawa, but you can drop the formalities and call me Fuyuki.”

Oh…… she doesn’t remember at all…… Well, I guess it’s better than nothing and eliminates the possibility of her hating me…

This thought still stung as the fact that Fuyuki doesn’t remember me at all. I retained my blank expression, not wanting to reveal my emotions.

“I’m Chizuru Takahashi; I guess you can call me Chizuru if you’d like.”

Well, I better get used to her calling me Chizuru now instead of Chi-chan…

She didn’t seem to notice my inner turmoil and responded, “Can I call you Chizuru-chan instead? ”

“I don’t mind.”

Her eyes gleamed, and she let out a squeal.

“Yay! Wait, you said that you like shojo manga, right? "She leaned forward, excitement radiating around her.

I casually responded. “Yeah”

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“I love shojo manga too! Who’s your favorite author? ”

“I like the works of Kurai-sensei.”

Her cheeks reddened with my answer, which I thought was strange. She played with her hair, and her eyes were twitching.

"Oh, I think we should pay attention to class; you know Sato-sensei might notice that we’re not paying attention at all, and I feel bad because she’s such a nice teacher and we don’t want to make her upset, you know. Let’s talk more at lunch, okay?"

I got even more suspicious, but I didn’t ask her about it and kept my blank expression.

“Talk to you at lunch, I guess.”

We didn’t talk to each other for the rest of the subjects before lunch. After the painfully long lectures, lunch finally came.

•••

Lunch has finally arrived! I can finally eat with Chizuru-chan! She just feels so familiar and warm, despite her cute blank expression... hehe~ Just wait for me, Chi-chan! Wait Chi-chan? It feels oddly natural… I don’t think we’ve met before, though… Oh well…

I looked around the classroom and spotted my three female friends. I walked up to them hurriedly, trying not to waste any more time.

“By the way, I’ll be with Chizuru-chan today! ”

The three girls just rolled their eyes at me. The brunette then snickered. “Good”

“Well see you! ”

I waved at them, but they didn’t even bother to look my way. I felt my heart sink but immediately jumped when I heard a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw a girl with collar-length hair. Her hair was jet black and had uneven bangs, the shortest one touching her eye. She also wore a blank expression.

“Why are you friends with those girls? They treat you like absolute garbage.” Her fists were clenched tightly.

I scratched my nape while responding. “You know, to pass time too, and they’re not too bad.”

Her knuckles were now white. “That’s not the point; they still treat you like you’re a pest.”

My heart pounded when I saw her fists clenched so tightly.

Is she mad at me? Did I say anything wrong? Is she going to hate me after this?

My heart pounded even faster, my anxiety worsening as time went by.

What should I do? How do I fix this? I mean, if she leaves me, then so what? It’s just part of human life, right?

My anxiety never subsided; it only worsened even more.

Besides, you just met her. Maybe you’re just not compatible, and as I said earlier, people come and go, Fuyuki, so it’s not that bad.

“-ki”

“Fuyuki?”

I quickly snapped out of my thought. Chizuru-chan’s eyebrows were slightly lifted, and her right hand was trying to reach my shoulder.

“What happened? Your face looks pale…”

My eyes twitched. I awkwardly scratched my nape and responded. "Oh, it’s nothing; I just remembered that a shojo manga chapter was supposed to be released today and not tomorrow. Nothing major.”

She furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head. “Uhh okay…? Well, I guess we should go look for a place to eat.”

I hastily nodded. "Yeah, we should go now.”

We then aimlessly walked around the school until we arrived at a place full of greenery. There were unbloomed sakura flowers everywhere, white lilies planted on the flowerbeds on the left, and pink tsubakis on the flowerbeds at the right. There were also surprisingly empty beige Japanese-style gazebos everywhere. We sat on the gazebo in between the two flowerbeds.

“So what made you transfer here in the middle of the school year?”

There wasn’t any hint of hesitation when she answered my question. “Well, my parents had to go back to Tokyo to fix some things related to our company, and he couldn’t bear to leave me in Nagano, so they decided to just move here in Tokyo for good as Tokyo is also the capital.”

My heart twisted with her words.

“Ah, your parents really love you, huh? "I gave her a painful smile.

Her eyes widened, but she quickly regained her composure. There was an awkward silence that enveloped us. I then tried to break it, but she also spoke at the same time.

“You can go first,” I said.

“Oh, uh, it’s okay, I really don’t mind.” She averted her gaze from me, her cheeks showing a tint of redness.

"No, it’s fine.” I shook my head.

“But you’re younger.”

Confusion filled me.

“Huh?”

Wait what? Not once did we mention our birthdays to each other… I don’t even know how old she is… Eh, she probably just guessed.

The redness in her cheeks was clearly evident. “When’s your birthdate, by the way?”

“November 7, 2008”

She stuttered and said, “Ah, I guessed right, mine’s May 23, 2008. So you go first because you’re younger.”

“Fine, I’ll go first. Don’t you feel sad that you had to leave your friends in Nagano?”

She forced a smile and said, “Well, it stung at first, but I understand that my parents have to fix something for work, so I don’t really mind it that much.”

Chihiro-chan’s face turned pale.

I felt confused and concerned, so I asked. “Is there anything wrong?”

She hurriedly packed her lunch. “Lunch break just ended.”

I chuckled. "Oh, the bell? The bell rings 10 minutes earlier to give us time to go back to our classrooms on time.”

She sighed in relief. “I thought that we were gonna be late for a moment.”

I chuckled again. "Well, it does mean that we have to go back to class now.”

I finished packing and stood up. “Let’s go!”

She stood up, and we walked back to our classroom.