Chapter 02: Miuna
�You�re already dressed?� Reina said hoarsely.
�You bet. Rika�s awake, so she�ll let you go into her room and change. She said something about hair, too.� Toshiro shrugged.
�Okay.� Reina pushed her blanket aside and stood up, stretching and walking slowly back to Rika�s room.
�Morning, sleepyhead,� Rika commented from her desk, where she was busily putting on her makeup. �Go ahead and put on your uniform. When you�re done, tell me. I want to do something to your hair.�
�Does it involve cutting or dyeing?� Reina asked timidly, to which Rika laughed.
�No, no, it doesn�t. But if you want it to, I know a good person.� Rika went back to swooping lip gloss over her lips until she could practically see her reflection in them. Reina slithered into her skirt, making sure it was the right length, and tucked the tail of her shirt into the skirt�s waist. She put on the blazer, slipped into a pair of socks, and adjusted them until they were perfectly straight on her calves.
�I�m done.�
Rika turned around and smiled at Reina.
�You�re beautiful as you are. Please know that. I don�t mean any harm by any of this, and if you don�t like it, I�m not offended. Come on over here and have a seat.� Rika vacated her chair and let Reina sit in it. �First of all, you have to make those socks floppier. Just move the elastic bit at the top from right below your knee to about halfway down your calves. It looks really cute when paired with loafers, trust me.� She watched as Reina did this until the socks were baggy enough for her liking. �Good, good. Now for the hair.� Rika gathered a bunch of Reina�s straight black hair in her hand, picked a gold elastic with a plastic star off of her desk, and placed it in the bunch, anchoring it right at Reina�s head. �Voila, the side ponytail. Do you like it?�
�Eh, sort of,� Reina shrugged.
�Yeah, they�re cuter in back. Leaving some of your hair down and putting the ponytail in is good, too.� Rika deftly moved Reina�s ponytail from the side to the back. �There. That�s good, isn�t it?� Reina nodded. �You should consider buying some earrings, too. I don�t think you should borrow mine because that�s kind of gross.� Rika pressed her lips together in concentration. �Jellybean, down at the Town Center, has some good ones. Check it out sometime. Well, you should be going now. Grab the other bagel from the kitchen counter and get on the road.�
�Thank you very much, Rika.� Reina bowed deeply, feeling her ponytail bounce around.
�You�re very welcome, Reina. You look cute.� Rika waved to Reina as she left the room and joined Toshiro back in the kitchen.
�Yoink!� Reina called out, snatching a bagel off of a plate on the counter. She shoved it in her mouth and took a bite. �Mm, this is a good one.� She followed Toshiro to the foyer, where he put on his shoes and she slipped into a pair of Rika�s old loafers. It was only when both of them were out in the hallway connecting the various apartments that Toshiro even addressed this concern.
�You need your own shoes sometime,� he pointed out.
�Yeah. I need a lot of things,� Reina said with a shrug. �How far is this school?�
�Kind of far. Those shoes aren�t made for walking.� Toshiro pointed to the loafers.
�Then sneakers will be something I get first,� Reina said huffily. �Lead the way.�
�No problem.� Toshiro led Reina to a small elevator. �We live on the eighth floor, so there�s a bit of a ride downstairs. It sucks when the elevator isn�t working.� He pushed the down button.
�I imagine.� Reina watched as the display above the elevator stated which floor it was currently on. �What floor is the top floor?�
�10th. There�s a pool on top.�
�A pool? Sweet!� Reina exclaimed breathily. �Does Rika have any bathing suits?�
�She most certainly does.� A chime sounded out as the elevator came and the doors swooped open and Reina followed Toshiro on. She stayed silent throughout the entire trip, but became a chatterbox as soon as the duo left the lobby.
�So, who is the girl you�re having the problem with?� Reina asked, picking a small flower to look at as she walked.
�Her name�s Miuna.� Toshiro felt his face getting hotter just talking about her. �Miuna Kimura.�
�Is she cute?� Reina asked, shoving her nose deep into the flower.
�She�s adorable.� Toshiro grinned.
�What does she like to do?� Reina asked, taking her nose out from the flower. It was now covered in yellow pollen.
�She wants to be an idol singer someday. Her voice is like an angel�s.� Toshiro looked over at Reina. �Your nose is covered in pollen.� He used the back of his hand to wipe it off as he laughed. �There we go. Anyway. Miuna wants to be an idol, meaning that she looks and sounds gorgeous.�
�I thought she was cute.�
�She�s cute and gorgeous.�
�Big difference,� Reina remarked sarcastically. �Do you talk to her much?�
�Kind of. She�s always surrounded by two different girls.�
�Girls do that for protection. They�re afraid of being alone sometimes,� Reina said matter-of-factly. �Are her surrounding girls nice?�
�Kind of. Sayumi giggles a lot, while Eri just smiles at everyone and everything.�
�Tell you what. I�ll befriend these girls and will get closer to Miuna for you. It might be a slow process, but I�ll do it. I promise!� Reina pointed to the sky.
�No need for dramatics,� Toshiro cautioned.
�Sorry.� Reina withdrew her hands into the pockets of her blazer.
When Toshiro and Reina got to Kanpeki First, Reina was momentarily delighted by the sight of the campus. Though it was just a normal three-story whitewashed school building, like many others all throughout Japan, the charm of it all fascinated her. Toshiro, who was concerned about the fact that Reina wasn�t really a student, was assuaged when Reina casually revealed that she placed her file in the database as if she were simply a new student from another small town in Niigata. When the first bell sounded and Toshiro went off to the room marked 2-A, Reina went to the front office to collect her books, schedule, and uniform supplies. She emerged halfway through first period and promptly showed herself to room 2-A.
The English teacher, a young woman called Fujimoto-sensei, forced Reina to introduce herself to the class before allowing her to sit down, so Reina simply fibbed her way through an introduction, explaining that she just moved from a smaller town in Niigata and not much else. Fujimoto-sensei was satisfied and allowed Reina to select an empty desk. Naturally, she chose to sit near Toshiro because that was the only person she knew.
�Everything�s going smoothly,� Reina said reassuringly as she sat down. Toshiro nodded in approval. �You�re impressed, aren�t you?�
�Very much so. Can you use your powers to help me with my math work sometime?� Toshiro asked.
�Only if you ask nicely,� Reina replied, wagging her finger in the air. �Introduce me to Miuna now!�
�She�s over there.� Toshiro pointed, with his whole hand, across the room, to where three girls sat in a cluster, practicing an English sentence over and over. On the left side was a girl with bobbed black hair who had the thickest accent of all. On the right side was a girl who constantly worried the end of her thick braided hair as she spoke. In the middle, though, was the girl Reina instantly recognized as Toshiro�s unrequited crush. She was the best at speaking English, her finger lazily twisting around the ends of her wavy light brown hair, her eyelashes enhanced by generous applications of mascara, a tiny nose ring glinting on the right nostril.
�Miuna�s the one with the nose ring, right?� Reina whispered.
�The very one.�
�She�s pretty, just like you said.� Reina felt a pang of jealousy. �Which one is Eri?�
�Eri�s the one with the short hair. Sayumi�s the one with the braid.� Toshiro pointed them out to Reina, who nodded slightly.
�And they�re blocking you from Miuna, right?�
�Yeah.�
�No problem. I�ll get you closer, I promise.� At that moment, Reina stood up, took her book, and went over to the Eri-Miuna-Sayumi triumvirate to introduce herself. �Excuse me. Where are you guys right now in this book? I used a different book at my old school.�
�Oh, we�re in chapter seven,� Sayumi answered politely.
�Thanks. So, what are your names again? I�m Reina Ogawa.� Reina was getting accustomed to her fake family name.
�Sayumi Takahashi,� Sayumi answered, smiling.
�Eri Yasuda,� Eri answered, smiling.
�Miuna Kimura,� Miuna answered. �Reina, is it?�
�That�s right.�
�Well, I�m the student council representative for 2-A, so it�s my pleasure to welcome you to Kanpeki First. If you have any questions, don�t be afraid to talk to me.� Miuna grinned.
�Thank you. How good is the lunch food here?� Reina queried.
�Oh, that�s Sayu-chan�s specialty!� Eri joked. She and Miuna giggled, but Sayumi blushed slightly.
�It�s true. I have a few extra kilos I�d like to lose.� Sayumi shrugged. �But the lunch here is excellent for a public school. You�d be surprised. So, where do you live?�
�Sunshine Tower,� Reina blurted out, remembering how she saw a placard with the apartment tower�s name in the lobby just before Toshiro led her outside.
�Oh, that�s a nice place,� Eri said politely. �Hey, doesn�t Tajima-kun live there?�
�I think he does,� Sayumi replied. �You know Tajima-kun? You were sitting right next to him.�
�Yeah, he helped me move in. He�s cool.� Reina smiled. The triumvirate�even Miuna�nodded in agreement.
�Hey, Reina, do you like to swim?� Eri asked.
�Yeah, I�m good at it. Why?�
�Because that�s what we have next period,� Eri declared.
�Agh! I totally forgot. This is so not a good week to have swimming,� Sayumi groaned.
�Painters?� Miuna cryptically suggested.
�Rough,� Sayumi cryptically replied.
�Maybe you can sit out. Nakazawa-sensei is pretty cool about that,� Eri told Sayumi reassuringly. �Nakazawa-sensei is the girls� swimming coach. If you�re a good swimmer, she�ll try to put you on the swim team no matter what,� Eri explained to Reina.
�That�s cool. I might like to do that.�
Reina stayed to shoot the breeze with the triumvirate until the bell rang, signaling the start of second period. The girls and boys were separated so they could change into their suits, which for girls were simple black one-piece racerback suits with the class number on the front. The triumvirate showed Reina a way to get to the pool, where Nakazawa-sensei was already waiting for them, furiously writing something on a clipboard. She had short cropped hair�probably so it wouldn�t get in the way of her swimming�and wore exactly the same racerback suit as the students, but without a class number. The triumvirate, except for Sayumi, who went to talk to Nakazawa-sensei, sat on the side of the pool and let their toes get wet, so Reina followed suit.
�You�re pretty cool, Reina. You know that?� Eri asked as she drew circles in the water with her foot.
�Really? I am?� Reina asked. �I�m flattered.�
�Yeah, I agree with E-chan on this one. You should come to Caf� Parfait with us sometime after school,� Miuna offered. �It�s in the Town Center. Have you been there yet?�
�No, but Toshiro was telling me about it.�
�Oh, it�s the best! You can go there for pretty much anything,� Eri squealed. �I love the clothing stores.�
�Can you get a job there?� Reina blurted out.
�Oh yeah. You can get all sorts of jobs there.�
�I�m going to go there after school today,� Reina declared right as Nakazawa-sensei�s whistle blew to signal the beginning of the swimming class and everyone leapt into the pool at once.
CONTINUE to Chapter 03: Formulating a Plan
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