"Hey!" Riko greeted loudly when Kei answered her call. "Good evening, Mr. I-don't-know-who! May I talk to my handsome best friend, Kei Inoo?" 

 

She heard a sigh on the other line. "Riko, why did you call?"

 

"Can't I call my best friend anymore?" She asked. She's hurt by his question but she knew that he has bigger problems so she doesn't want to add anymore. "Just kidding! I called because I know you won't."

 

"Hmm?" 

 

"You're getting cold!" She giggled just to lighten the mood. "Anyway, did something happened? You seem a bit down lately."

 

Kei didn't answer so she added, "I'm your best friend. Tell me what's bothering you."

 

"Meet me at our usual place. 7 pm." 

 

"Okie dokie!" After that, she ended the call. She glanced at the wall clock inside her room and saw that their meeting time is twenty minutes from now. She stood up and prepared. 

 

Riko went out of their house and walked for a few minutes until she reached one of the big trees inside their compound. She saw Kei sitting on the big root while staring at the tree's leaves with a box on his lap. 

 

She pushed him gently. "Hello there, Inoo Kei." Then, she sat beside him on the big root. 

 

"Want some?" He showed her a box with three pieces of donuts.  

 

She pouted when she saw that it was strawberry flavored. "You know I hate strawberries." 

 

He chuckled and shrugged. "These are all mine, then." 

 

She watched him as he started eating donuts. As soon as he ate half of the donut, she spoke. "So? What happened?" 

 

"Nana," he bit his donut. 

 

"Again?" She tilted her head. 

 

He nodded. He put his donut down. He faced her. "I don't get her. And she doesn't get me too." 

 

"Sorry for saying this." She frowned. "Don't you think you need to end your relationship with her? I mean, you guys so much problems lately." 

 

He closed his eyes tightly for a while then opened those again. "I don't want to lose her. She's the only one I have! My family is living away from me and they barely see me. I'm getting a bit distracted in my studies because of her. If I lose her, what will happen to me?" 

 

She got a bit hurt by that. Nana isn't the only one he has. "Kei, there are really times that you'll have problems. But don't let those put you down. Don't be too dependent of her. And if you lose her, I'm still here. I'm your best friend and remember that I'll always stand by you." 

 

He faced her and she saw that his eyes are watering. "Rikooooo," he whined. 

 

She playfully punched his arm. "Don't be such a baby!" 

 

He hooked his arm in her neck. And embraced her tightly. He laughed when she tried to remove his arm. Since the day they became friends, Riko is the one who can make him feel happy whenever he's feeling down. 

 

 

Kei woke up when he heard his phone beeped. He looked at the time and saw that it was already time to prepare for school. He rubbed his eyes and opened the message. It is from Riko. 

 

'Wake up! //sends you virtual taps on the face' 

 

He smiled with his eyes half closed. Riko is like his alarm clock. She never fails to send him messages to wake him up every morning when there are classes. On the other hand, he's also her alarm whenever it's weekend because she tends to oversleep. 

 

He stood up from his bed and prepared for school. He's living alone in a small house in a compound and he barely sees his family because they're away from Tokyo. But because of that, he learned how to do things like cooking his own breakfast, cleaning the house and others.  However, when it comes to his studies, his parents are a bit strict. They want him getting high grades and the expect so much from him. 

 

As soon as he's done, he went out of his house and headed to his best friend's house. He saw Riko waving at her mother. He went near and waved at her mother too which earned a laugh from Riko. 

 

They rode the same bus and arrived at the school. 

 

When they're at the school gate, he saw Nana waiting. "Hey, go ahead of me. I'll just talk to Nana." 

 

Riko nodded and smiled. "Good luck!" Then, she ran away. 

 

He went near Nana. "Good morning." 

 

Nana showed a small smile. "Good morning Kei. We need to talk." 

 

"Sure," he agreed. 

 

 

Riko continued glancing at Kei who's seated at the last row. His eyes are red and at times, he's wiping something off his eyes. This morning, he was just silent. After the first subject after lunch, he suddenly seemed so upset. She knew Kei is a cry baby at times but she also knew that when her best friend cries, all she need to do is to make him feel that he's not alone. 

 

She secretly took out her phone.

 

'Don't cry in class! Why are you crying, by the way?' 

 

On the corner of her eyes, she saw Kei touched his pants' pocket and secretly took out his phone. 

 

She felt her phone vibrated after some minutes.

 

'She dumped me.' 

 

Her lips parted and formed a small 'o'. She immediately typed a reply.

 

'Wanna talk about it? 

 

After a while, her phone vibrated again.

 

'Talk to you after class.' 

 

She tried to focus on what their teacher is telling yet she couldn't help but glance at Kei. Somehow, she's relieved to know that her best friend broke up with Nana. 

 

She knew that Nana's a good girl. However, she knew that Nana and Kei's relationship won't work anymore. They're just hurting each other. The past weeks, the two had been having fights over some petty things. She doesn't know why. 

 

As soon as the classes ended, she immediately dragged Kei out of the room and out of school. They walked until they reached a donut shop. She went to the counter and let Kei find a seat. After buying, she brought the donuts to their table. She moved her chair toward Kei. 

 

"Go," she said. 

 

"She dumped me early this morning." He took a deep breathe. "And I tried to be okay even if it hurts. But then, after lunch, when Mr. Matsumura distributed our test papers," he took something out of his bag and showed it to her. "I failed." 

 

She sighed. "Kei, it's okay. You can always do better next time." 

 

"I lost Nana!" He shook his head. "Then if my parents found out about the test I failed, I might lose them too. What should I do? You know my parents. They're strict when it comes to my grades. I don't know what to do anymore. I might lose everything I have." 

 

"Kei, I'm here," she said. "And no matter what happened, I'll always be beside you." 

 

Kei looked genuinely touched by what she said. "Thank you." 

 

"You know what, we have the same life. The world is divided by light and shadows, hardships and success. We can never appreciate light without darkness and success without hardships. But remember that there is never anything we can't do." 

 

She embraced her best friend. "I'm always here for you. We'll walk together, okay? I'll help you fix your grades. I'll help you forget Nana. And no. I don't like you. Eww." She moved away. "I'll just make you happy using my magic." 

 

"I know that, Riko." He laughed. "And seriously, thank you. I'm glad I have a friend like you."