Mizuno Ami’s Journal

Usagi-chan leaned over the wall scowering the street below us for signs of something. I really hope it’s not just a cute boy, “Have you heard about her?” she said, apparently continuing some train of thought in her head and expecting us to follow.

“About who?” Rei-chan asked.

“The new girl.”

“New girl?” I asked.

“At school,” Usagi continued.

“Well. then I have no hope,” Rei, from her stance leanig against the wall and drumming her fingers against it looked a little annoyed.

I chewed on my thumbnail, “I’m truly sorry, Usagi-chan, but I really don’t know,” I said, after thinking over everyone I’d seen over the past few days.

“Your points canceled out,” Rei said, turning to look at me from the other side of Usagi-chan. Her right arm was crooked on the wall, and she leaned in towards the bridge a little to avoid Usagi who was craning over so far she looked as though she might well fall.

“What?” I asked, “Usagi-chan, be careful!”

“You called her ‘Usagi-chan’,” Rei explained, “but then you so formally said you were ‘hontoni gomen‘ that the negative points canceled out the ones you gained. Usagi-chan doesn’t need such formality.”

Usagi-chan blew a raspberry at Rei-chan, fleetingly taking her eyes off the street below, “I don’t know if you’re on my side or not, Rei-chan!”  she pouted, “I don’t think she’s such a brute.”

“Who?” I asked, “Rei-chan or myself?”

Usagi-chan laughed, “No, silly, the new girl, the one I’ve been talking about this entire time.”

“An event,” Rei-chan said, “Normally you drift off topic like prayers in the fire.”

“What’s her name?”  I asked, hoping to continue to keep the conversation on topic.

“I don’t know,” Usagi-chan said, whiny tones in her voice, “I just heard she’s really tall,” she turned back  around so she was facing between Rei-chan and myself, “and um…” her hands falter near her chest area, “um…she’s tall,” she turned back towards the bridge, “You would know her if you’d seen her. She doesn’t have our uniform yet.”

A spotlight went on in my brain replaying lunch earlier that day and the girl who was sitting on the opposite side of the roof. I found myself waving my hands as I recalled the image, “I have! I’ve seen her…I think…” I stopped, blushing as I realized what I was doing and grabbing one hand with the other.

Rei-chan laughed a little, but stopped fairly quickly as if she too doesn’t want to let loose for fear of what might be said, settling on a bemused look.

“…but…” I continued, “the point was that I’ve seen her.”

Usagi-chan turned to me and grabbed hold of my hands excitedly, “Truly? Where?”

“Eating lunch near where I do, if her uniform is tan and white that is.”

“Yes! Yes!” Usagi-chan beamed, jumping up and down and pulling my arms, “Oooh, that’s great, great! Maybe I can meet her there. You have to agree it’s not fair that people should assume such things!”

“What things?” Rei asked, “Maybe she just wants to be left alone, Usagi-chan. You can’t browbeat everyone you meet into hang out, it’s not fair.”

“It’s not fair for them to think she’s a brute!” Usagi-chan retorted, “Did she attack you Ami-chan?”

“Well, no…but we were just eating outr lunches. There was no call. She looked over at me once or twice and we smiled at each other, but if she wants to eat alone who am I to say anything?”

Rei-chan nodded, “Leave it, Usagi-chan. Besides how are you going to have time to get to know anyone else? We have our duty, we have our classes, you have other friends, right? It’s just one more person to keep all this,” she pointed to Usagi-chan’s brooch, “a secret from.”

Usagi-chan’s face broke into a very heavy pout, and she sighed loudly, “You’re mean, Rei-chan!” she exclaimed, “Telling me not to be nice to someone!”

It was Rei-chan’s turn to sigh, “I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t be nice to her. I’m just warning you to be careful. Do you really want to be lying to anyone else? You’ve already said how hard it’s been with Osaka-san and your family…”