Slowly, Mao slipped on her school shoes. After making sure they were secure on her feet, she stepped up. Yesterday had been a pretty hectic day. The foreigner had followed her around, being all nostalgic. Not that she didn’t get into the mood herself. Her childhood had been quite fun with Renee. It was a bit weird how she could not remember until now. The high school student glowered down at the floor as she walked. The problem was the other students. Whenever Renee disappeared off to the restroom, or something, her classmates would crowd around her desk, demanding answers.

 

Sighing out, the teen trudged into her homeroom. She ignored the looks she got from her classmates. Clearly, they were wary of approaching her now. It was no wonder they were like this. Once, Renee had come back because she had forgotten something. She had realized right away what was happening. It wasn’t enough that people ignored her presence. Mao didn’t like to stick out anyway. However, her old friend could have been a little more discreet with how she ‘told them off.’ Now, her classmates didn’t ignore her. They stared at her. If there was something she did not like, it was all eyes on her.

 

Hopefully, this whole thing would blow over soon. Mao did not want to feel others’ gazes on her skin. She sat down at her desk and immediately put her head down, not bothering to use her arms as a buffer. The impact was not painful. However, there was sure to be a red spot on her forehead. “My peaceful life is about to come to an end, isn’t it?” she thought. As if answering her, footsteps approached her desk.

 

“Mao-chan…!” The familiar voice of the foreigner reached her ears. The next sound came from a chair sliding across the floor. The teen lifted her head to meet the smiling face of Renee Scott. It was a small smile, but it made the young Inoue grimaced. She must have noticed because the smile dropped. Renee now sported her neutral expression, the face that was unapproachable. “Hey, what’s with you? You’re so different than what you used to be. I’m a little freaked out that no one else is talking to you! You were so outgoing when we were young.”

 

“Yes, well… Middle school tends to change a person,” Mao replied. Her eyes met her friend’s. “What about you? What happened to the sweet girl I used to know? The friendly one? She wouldn't have yelled at everyone yesterday.”

 

“…” For a brief moment, Renee turned her eyes away. “Like you said…” Her voice was hesitant. “Middle school tends to change a person.” Mao knitted her brows together. However, she wasn’t going to question it… yet. Just as Renee would eventually begin to question her. “So anyway, yesterday we talked about memories. How about you tell me about the inner workings of school?”

 

“What?”

 

“You know… What’s the chain of command around here? Does this school have a guardian or something?”

 

“I see you’re reading too much manga,” Mao noted. “Why do you ask, anyway?”

 

“Of course, every school has a special feature to it, right?” Renee asked. Mao shook her head. Her old friend seemed a bit mental. “Like that guy.” Mao blinked and repeated. The foreign teen nodded her head. She then discreetly pointed to the right. Her finger curled and uncurled several times before Mao actually turned her eyes. Renee had been pointing to the desk at the far corner of the room. That is where Matsumoto Jun sat. Luckily, her fellow classmate had yet to arrive. “Ah, I noticed that the entire female population of class despises me for taking that seat. Is he a popular here?” Mao found herself giving a sour expression.

 

“Of course he is,” she muttered. “He’s attractive, isn’t he?”

 

“Yeah, but so is the class rep.”

 

“… He’s… otaku.”

 

“Cute though.”

 

“Something is wrong with you.”

 

“So he’s the most popular kid in the school?”

 

“Not exactly—there are five in total.”

 

“Five…?”

 

“Yes.” Mao sat up straight, causing Renee to do the same. “Matsumoto Jun is only one of them. Besides him, there is Sakurai Sho, Ninomiya Kazunari, Ohno Satsoshi, and Aiba Masaki.” Her friend gave a confused expression. Mao nodded her head gravely before explaining further. “Last year, these five got together and put on a mock concert for the school, and the school never forgot about it. Matsumoto-san, or MatsuJun as his fan base calls him, is a second year now. He became popular for his smooth, sophisticated cool presence. Some even call him king. Sakurai-san, also a second year, has the looks and gentlemanly ways of a prince. It’s not uncommon for him to be called a prince because of this. Ninomiya-san is a strange case. He’s a game freak, but the some girls absolutely adore him. He is attractive, I guess. His personality could use some work, though. Ohno-san is a mystery. I think that’s why he’s popular. He gives off the strong, yet silent type. I think he and Ninomiya-san are very close friends even though Ohno-san is a third year now. Then there’s Aiba-san.” The teen sighed heavily. “He’s an idiot in every sense of the word. However, his carefree personality has a charm to it. He is loved by all. He has no enemies.”

 

“These guys… sound extraordinary,” Renee remarked.

 

“Yes. Together, they have taken the school by storm, which is why they are called Arashi.”

 

“Waaah! So there is a special feature about this school! Mao-chan, you have to introduce me!”

 

“Huuuh?!”

 

“Oh right…” Renee’s excited mood deflated. “I forgot you’re a loner now.” For some reason, Mao had an urge to toss herself over a cliff and into dark water. This was the first time she had been called a loner. She had never thought of it like that before. “I guess that means I’ll have to introduce myself.” Mao snapped out of her daze.

 

“I honestly don’t think any of them would want to speak to an aggressive woman such as you,” she said bluntly. Renee seemed not to hear. Her brown eyes had shifted to the very back of the room. Mao heard the back door slide, causing her to turn her head. As expected, Matsumoto Jun walked further into the room. He had just shut the door closed. Without making eye contact with anyone, he made his way to his seat. Without fail, he would come to class by use of that door. And why would he? If he were ever to use the front door, he would be overwhelmed by the girls of the class with sweet ‘good morning, MatsuJun!’ every single morning. As he did not want the attention, he came and went like a ninja. He was the true loner of class. The teen’s passive eyes stared out the window. He would do that often. “In a way… I feel sorry for him.” Mao found herself frowning. “Does he ever get lonely?”

 

“Well, wish me luck! Matsumoto-san will be the first!” Renee stood up. “Victim!” She had the nerve to wink while speaking English.

 

“Victim?!” Mao repeated in a hiss. “Don’t think I don’t know what you just said!” Renee only stuck out her tongue, and began moving towards the lone wolf. “No, don’t talk-” The foreign teen was already by Jun’s side.

“Good morning, Matsumoto-san,” Renee greeted with a small smile.

Mao almost couldn’t believe her friend’s boldness. She suddenly flinched. For some reason, the temperature seemed to drop. The teen hugged herself and squeezed her eyes shut. “What’s this feeling?” she thought. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and looked to the front of the class. A strangled gasp escaped her lips. The girls of the class were casting evil stares in Renee’s direction. It seriously looked like their eyes were bright red. It felt as though a shiver went up her spine. “What have you done, Rini-chan?!” Mao cut her eyes back to her friend. She seemed to be waiting for a response. However, Jun only stared up at her, expressionless as always. “Well… At least he’s indifferent to her efforts.” She almost breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Then, unpredictably, Matsumoto Jun opened his mouth. “Good morning,” he replied. The atmosphere in the room instantly went from bad to worse. Mao could almost feel the heat being radiated from the eyes of the jealous girls. Renee ignored them all. She crossed her arms and smirked. Mao could only guess what the bold foreigner was about to say. Quickly, she stood up, intending to defuse the situation. Why would he even reply? Jun had never done such a thing in the past. Actually… Now that she was thinking about it, he hadn’t done so in the past simply because he was too unapproachable to be greeted. Well, now she just felt silly. Mao could have spoken with him long before now.

 

She stood by Renee’s side, interrupting whatever bold thing she was about to say next. “Don’t mind her, Matsumoto-san,” she stuttered out. A fool is what she must have looked like. It didn’t help matters when his light brown eyes flickered over to her. “She’s… new. She won’t disturb you anymore.”

 

“I was only saying good morning, Mao-chan!” Renee grumbled. “Besides-” She turned her eyes back to the ever pokerfaced Jun. “We’re sitting beside each other for awhile, so it’d be in our best interests to become friends, ne?” For a moment, Mao wanted to faint. The man she thought was detached and uncaring was actually agreeing to her proposal. She would remember and treasure Renee’s boldness forever. Still, she could swear she heard hissing coming from behind her. If she turned around, would she see copies of Medusa? Her friend bowed her head, seemingly unaware. “Yoroshiku~!” Jun mirrored her actions. Mao felt compelled to do the same.

 

“I… I hope we all get along, Matsumoto-san…” she whispered, averting her eyes before she had a chance to see him stare at her. His gaze made her chest tight. She did not want to start hyperventilating right in front of him. Without another word, Mao linked arms with Renee and dragged her away. As if on cue, Kuriyama-sensei walked through the door. Seconds later, the school bell rang. Moments later, the teacher had settled down the class and homeroom began. Once again, her thoughts drifted from school to Matsumoto Jun.

 

She sighed as she blankly stared at the back of a fellow student’s head. Resting her chin in her palms, Mao used her elbows as props. Why had it been so easy for Renee to approach him? Was it because the two of them had neutral expressions that made unapproachable, and she had just sensed that he really was? Mao briefly closed her eyes. It made her head hurt to think about. She released another sigh. Where to go from here? After all this time, she had gotten an excuse to speak with Jun. She sincerely hoped that she wasn’t awkward if she chose to speak with her in the future. The teen produced a flat look as a thought occurred. “With Rini-chan here, the possibility of hernot talking to him is low.”

 

Her face softened as she smiled. Then again, that was how Renee Scott behaved. In fact, they had suddenly become friends because of her in the past. At the age of ten, Mao had been playing in the park, swinging by herself. It had been summer with the sun scorching the Earth. Just as she had been about to leave the swing set and go find her father, Renee had appeared, smile on her face. She had been equipped with two small water guns. They had stared at one another for several moments. Finally, she had opened .

 

My name’s Renee! Let’s be friends!

 

Her enthusiasm had been contagious, and so Mao had rapidly nodded her head. The handing over of one of water guns had sealed the friendship. Later, the two had found their fathers together, talking about their jobs. They were translators. Well, her father was still a translator. She wasn’t sure if Renee’s father was still doing it. However, since she was back in Japan, she could assume that he was. Anyway, they had become instant friends as well. They had been the ones who orchestrated the cicada contest. Mao briefly wondered if they had continued communicating even after their daughters had stopped.

 

Mao briefly glanced out of the corner of her eye. The standoffish expressions had returned to Jun and Renee’s faces. Once more, she sighed. “Is this really okay?” she thought. Finally, she actually focused on the front of the glares. She reared back in shock. Well, not actually shock. She knew there would be negative consequences because of Renee’s actions, but this was intense. She found herself grimacing. “This is really not okay.” Why had she become friends with such controversial people? “So long days of my youth…” She wailed mentally.

 

More than likely, the stress would give her grey hairs.

 

0-0

 

A loud shrill whistle made Renee cringe. She openly complained about the noise, drawing unwanted attention. Mao placed a finger in front her lips, shushing her friend. Honestly, this was not the first time she had complained. For some unexplained reason, she despised the gym uniforms. It was a simple—white T-shirt and dark red shorts. Sure, the shirt and shorts was a little tight on her, but that was no excuse. Clearly, her body was different than most girls in school. There was no need to complain about it. When Mao had brought this to her attention, Renee had responded by grabbing her from behind, saying ‘Grow a little more, Chibi Mao, before you start scolding!’

 

Mao found herself twitching just thinking about that incident in the locker room. Instinctively, she hugged her chest. On top of being violated, Renee insulted her, too. It was her irritation, but still…! She could have shown politeness. After all, she was a bit sensitive about her lack of chest. Especially in comparison to her friend. Mao mentally wept as she straightened up in line. Renee huffed once more before following suite.

 

Kanzaki-sensei blew the whistle again, probably to annoy the students. The burly man was petty like that. He then gave out the instructions. Today, half of the class would be jogging around the track. The other half would stretch. Then after twenty-five minutes, it would switch. After nearly five minutes of talking, he finally split the class, and then released them. Both Renee and Mao were in the same half, so they remained close to do the stretches. Just as the foreign teen raised her arms to stretch up, she spotted Matsumoto Jun. He was also in the same group.

 

To Mao’s slight chagrin, Renee waved him over. And to her utter glee, he actually made his way over. With each step, Jun decreased the space between them. With each step, the more the glaring became apparent. “Scott-san.” His head nodded in acknowledgement. Almost painstakingly slow, he shifted his eyes to her. Mao froze under his piercing gaze. Why was he showing her such a look of intensity? “Inoue-san,” Jun greeted.

 

“He… Hello,” she replied uneasily. She was sure chill bumps riddled her skin. Mao cleared before attempting to speak again. “Matsumoto-san, you… don’t usually participate in gym class.” He nodded his head. “If it’s alright for me to ask, why are you now?”

 

“Found a reason,” Jun answered. “The uniform usually makes my legs itch, so I don’t like running in them. It’s annoying.” The boys’ uniform consisted of a white T-shirt and, instead of shorts they wore, dark blue sweatpants.

 

“I know what you mean,” Renee scowled as she pulled at her shirt. “Why can’t I wear pants, too?!” Mao, aggravated, yanked on the foreigner’s ear. “Ow…! Ma-”

 

“Shut up! You’re in Japan, so act like it! Learn some manners!”

 

“Inoue-san,” Jun’s voice caused the teen to release her friend. An embarrassed flush crossed her cheeks. However, the male gave a tiny smile. “You’re livelier than you let off.” Mao’s eyes expanded. Quickly, she averted her gaze. Was he implying that he noticed her… before Renee came along? She shifted uncomfortable at the thought. Did that mean he noticed her when she occasionally looked his way? Mao almost ran away, but she held her ground. “Anyway, we should stretch now. The others are looking our way.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Renee murmured. “Mao-chan, let’s stretch on the ground first, ne?” Mentally sighing, the teen dropped down. The cement was, of course, hot. Wincing, she waited for her skin to adjust. “Yikes, so the ground’s hot, huh? Never mind then, let’s stretch while standing.”

 

“I want to strangle you…!”Mao thought, throwing eye daggers at her friend. Renee only snickered and held out her hand, wanting to help her up. Begrudgingly, the help was accepted. The two began performing stretches in mirror of each other. Then Mao smirked. Her pace increased, causing Renee to narrow her eyes. She matched her friend’s pace with ease. “You think you can keep up? My flexibility is the best!” Without bending her knees, Mao stretched down, gripping her separated ankles. She looked up to see Renee had done the same. She appeared almost bored. Scoffing, she stood up straight again. The foreign teen bent her body back. Mao’s chin dropped in surprise when Renee’s fingertips touched the ground. “H-Ho-How…?!”

 

“You try doing the Matrix for years and see where that gets you,” Renee replied with a smug grin once she lifted herself. The corner of Mao’s lips twitched, and then she reached out, stretching out the foreigner’s cheeks. “OW! Mao-chan, that hurts!” She tried to pry the fingers from her cheeks, but Mao held firm.

 

“It’s supposed to!” she said, giving her own smug grin. “You deserve this for showing off!”

 

“You started it!”

 

“I did no-”

 

Laughter interrupted Mao. Once again, her eyes went wide. In the midst of friendly competition with Renee, she had completely forgotten about his presence. That was how it usually went between them. Most things turned into competition. Honestly, she was hoping for these little events because life wasn’t quite so dull anymore. However, she had ignored and forgotten about Matsumoto Jun. Flushing, she slowly turned towards the laughing teen. Her cheeks grew warmer as she continued to stare at him. Jun—he had such a nice laugh. His white teeth peeked out from behind perfect shaped lips. Mao swallowed hard and turned her eyes to the sky. “Sorry, sorry.” His chuckles faded, yet the smile remained. “I wasn’t expecting that, Inoue-san.”

 

“So-Sorry…!” She bowed her head.

 

“What’s this, Matsumoto-san? You have a great smile and laugh. You should do it more often,” Renee commented. “Then again, you might kill the female population.”

 

“Rini-chan…!”

 

“Thanks for the compliment, Scott-san.”

 

“Scott-san, Scott-san…! Enough of that! Since we’re friends now, you can call me Renee.”

 

“Renee-san,” Jun nodded his head. His expression finally returned to neutral. His eyes turned to Mao. She almost squeaked. “Since you’re not as bold as Renee-san, I’ll continue to call you Inoue-san, ne?”

 

“Its fine!” she replied. “I’m fine with that. We can’t all be as audacious as Rini-chan.” The two shared a chuckle.

 

“Hey, hey, why do I feel like I’m getting insulted, Jun-sama?” Renee pouted as she crossed her arms.

 

“Jun-sama…?” he inquired.

 

“Yeah, you’re the king, right?” The foreigner ignored the elbow nudging her ribs. “I mean, Mao-chan told me that’s what people call you ever since your first year.”

 

“Oh, that…” Jun murmured. He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I remember.” He looked to Mao again, causing her to flinch. “Did you… like it?” Stiffly, she nodded her head. “You don’t call me king, too, do you? Or MatsuJun?”

 

“No… You’re Matsumoto-san.”

 

“Ah, I see.”

 

Mao felt constrict a bit. Was that… disappointment in his voice? A sudden sense of guilt threatened to overwhelm her. She had said the wrong thing! Nice one, Inoue! Now he probably thought she was completely indifferent to him. Mentally, she sighed wearily. The grey hairs were beginning—she could feel them growing. “Say, Jun-sama, do you still talk with those other four?”

 

“No, we went our separate ways after that,” he answered, turning back to Renee. Mao relaxed now that she wasn’t under his gaze. “It was too troublesome. If we happen to eat lunch together after that, we weren’t at peace because the girls would crowd us.”

 

“Ahh… That bites. So you’re not even friends anymore?”

 

“We weren’t really friends in the first place.”

 

“…” Renee slowly turned to Mao, putting on a disappointed face. “Mao-chan, my first victim is useless!” The girl was quick to whack her friend over the head.

 

“Don’t call him that!” Mao cleared before turning to Japanese. “Please don’t mind her, Matsumoto-san.” She ignored the wailing coming from Renee. “Most of the time, you can just ignore her.” Jun smiled. Mao froze again. That time, he had shown his teeth.

 

“You know English?” he asked. She nodded her head. Before she could speak, though, Renee wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

 

“Yup, both of our dad’s are translators as a side profession,” she stated. “Mao-chan and I met because of our fathers.”

 

“How long have you two been friends?”

 

“Six years,” Mao answered. “But we did stop communicating at one point. It was a surprise that she suddenly showed up here as a transfer student.”

 

“Yeah, I found you good, didn’t I?”

 

“That’s because you’re a stalker, aren’t you?” Mao giggled lightly at her friend’s sour expression.

 

“I’m no good with English. Maybe you could tutor me, Inoue-san?” Jun asked. Once again, her fellow classmate had left her breathless. So it was Renee that answered for her.

 

“Yeah, she will! Sometimes, she’s better than me,” she said with a grin. “You’re in capable hands, Jun-sama!”

 

“I’m glad to hear it,” he chuckled.

 

“We… We should get back to the exercises,” Mao mentioned once she had composed herself. “Kanzaki-sensei is eyeing us.”

 

“Good idea,” Renee smirked. There seemed to be a certain gleam in her eye. Mao couldn’t say that she liked her expression. She also didn’t like the hushed cackling either. A shiver went through her spine. Great, this was just what she needed—more chill bumps.