The bell rang.
Chairs scraped across the floor as students stood up and streamed out of the classroom in a noisy wave. Hayato rose from his seat too, stretching his arms overhead. "You guys brought something?"
"Nah," Tatsuya replied with a small nod.
"Me neither," Takashi added.
"Let's go buy something from the cafeteria then," Hayato said, already looking toward the door.
"Hey, where are you guys going?" Suzuki Yui asked from her seat.
Hayato turned his head. "Why don't you take a wild guess?"
"I know you're going for lunch," Yui said, lowering her gaze, her cheeks turning a faint pink. "I was asking where you're going to eat… so, you know…" She tightened her grip on her bento box. "I could come with you guys… if it's okay."
"We don't mind!" Takashi answered instantly, eyes lighting up. He glanced at the other two. "Right?"
Tatsuya gave a quiet nod. Hayato let out a long sigh and stepped a little closer to her. "Yeah, we don't mind… but are you sure? You'll miss the chance to make new friends on the first day if you keep hanging around with us."
"It's okay. I'm not like you — I can make friends anytime I want," Yui said, smiling softly. "And I've already made three friends today."
Hayato started walking ahead. "That doesn't count. We were already friends."
Yui's eyes widened for a split second. A small, private smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she fell into step beside them.
Takashi leaned toward Tatsuya and whispered, "You also noticed, didn't ya?"
Tatsuya nodded silently.
"Should we tell him?" Takashi whispered again.
"Nah. Let's see how long it takes him to notice," Tatsuya replied.
"What are you guys whispering about?" Hayato asked, glancing back.
"Nothing," both of them answered in perfect unison.
They continued down the hallway together, Yui swinging her bento box lightly, the four of them chatting and laughing.
Then Hayato's laughter slowly faded. "We're… walking the wrong way, aren't we?"
"Yeah," Tatsuya said flatly.
"Yeah… we totally are," Yui added.
"Turn around slowly so no one notices," Hayato whispered urgently.
They kept walking forward a few more steps, then one by one ducked behind a pillar and turned around, trying to look as casual as possible before heading back the right way.
They continued down the correct hallway. The smell of food grew stronger. Yui walked on Hayato's left, still lightly swinging her bento. Takashi bounced with excitement while Tatsuya stayed quiet on the right.
Hayato glanced sideways at Yui. "We'll catch up with you after buying lunch. Why don't you go hold seats for us?"
"Okay…" Yui said softly, drifting ahead toward the seating area.
The three boys headed to the counter and bought three sandwiches and drinks. As they were about to leave, another student reached past Hayato and grabbed a can of cold coffee from the machine.
Hayato froze, then looked at him with pure disgust. "What are you gay or something?"
The guy frowned. "Huh? Are you gonna assume I'm gay just because I grabbed a cold coffee?"
"Or… maybe because YOU ARE GRABBING MY CAN," Hayato said, pointing at the guy's hand between his legs.
The guy slowly pulled his hand back. "Well… I was hoping you wouldn't notice."
"Well, it's kinda hard not to notice," Hayato muttered.
Tatsuya grabbed Hayato's collar and dragged him away. "Come on… let's go. It's not worth it."
"Tch, you're not worth it," the guy whispered, kicking the air.
From the corner of the cafeteria, Yui waved her hand loudly. "Hey… come here!"
They walked toward her. There was a seat free beside Yui and three in front of her. Tatsuya and Takashi exchanged a small nod.
"Spill your juice on the third seat," Tatsuya whispered.
"Push me from behind so I can make it look like an accident," Takashi whispered back, walking in front of him. They both picked up the pace.
"Hey, slow down. There's still time before the bell," Hayato said.
Takashi gave a slight nod. Tatsuya walked up and gave him a light push. Takashi stumbled forward but was still away from the chair. He looked back at Tatsuya, judging him.
"See? That's why I told you guys to slow down," Hayato said as he approached.
Takashi immediately stepped forward, poked a hole in his juice box with the straw, and spilled it over the seat. "Oh no… I accidentally spilled my juice," he said in a low voice and quickly sat down on the dry seat next to it.
Tatsuya and Hayato stared at him silently for a moment. No one moved.
The fuck is this idiots doing this time? Yui thought to herself.
Tatsuya walked up and sat next to Takashi. "Ahh, well… why don't you sit with Suzuki? The seat here is ruined now."
Hayato nodded and sat down beside Yui.
Yui's eyes lit up. She glanced at Takashi and Tatsuya and gave them a quick thumbs-up under the table. They both returned the gesture with matching grins.
Hayato sat there, poking at his sandwich, still trying to figure out what was going on.
Yui turned toward him, a small playful smile on her lips. Without warning, she punched his shoulder — not too hard, but firm enough to catch him off guard.
"Ow—!" Hayato yelped, losing his balance. His chair tilted and he toppled sideways, crashing onto the floor with a loud thud, tray clattering beside him.
The nearby tables went quiet for a second.
Yui leaned over the edge of the table, resting her chin on her hand, looking down at him with an innocent smile. "Oops. My bad."
Takashi and Tatsuya tried (and failed) to hold back their laughter.
Hayato lay on the floor, rubbing his shoulder and glaring up at her. "What the hell was that for?!"
Yui shrugged, still smiling. "Just making sure you're awake. You looked like you were spacing out."
The four of them sat together, laughing.
Yui opened her bento. Hayato unwrapped his sandwich. They continued their chat over lunch.
"Suzuki, are you free after class? We're all going to the soccer team," Takashi asked, biting into his sandwich.
"You're all joining the football team?" Yui asked.
"Nope, just him. We're just emotional support," Hayato said.
"Ohh…"
"You wanna come to support me?" Takashi asked, his eyes big and sparkling.
"I would love to, but I was planning to go to the volleyball club after class," Yui said nervously.
"Ohh, you play volleyball?" Tatsuya asked, impressed.
"Yea—" Before Yui could reply, Hayato interrupted. "Yeah, I've seen some of her plays. It was great."
Yui's face turned red. "Stop… I'm not that good," she said, punching his shoulder. The force made Hayato fall from his seat again.
"Ohh, then I have an idea," Takashi said, biting hard on his sandwich. "Takhuya schlous coume whitc mei—"
Tatsuya smacked the back of his head. "Don't talk while you're chewing."
"Sorry. I was saying Tatsuya should come with me and Hayato can come with you. We can split," Takashi said.
"Yeah, since you haven't made any friends yet, it would be good to take someone you know with you for support," Tatsuya added.
Hayato got up from the ground and sat down. "It's okay with me."
"Then it's settled! Yay!" Yui jumped up from her seat and high-fived Takashi.
Takashi took the last bite of his sandwich. "It's kinda spicy, innit?" He shook his juice box. "Ahh, it's empty. I think I poured it all back then." He turned his head toward Tatsuya. Tatsuya looked at him with a wicked smile. "Oh, do you want some, my dear friend?"
"Can I?" Takashi asked with a big smile.
Tatsuya laughed slightly, took the juice box in his hand, looked straight into Takashi's eyes, and sipped hard on the straw, getting every drop. "Well, too bad. I just finished it." Tatsuya laughed hard.
Takashi grabbed his collar and pulled out his bat, pointing it at Tatsuya's face. "You bastard!!"
Tatsuya pointed his gun at him. "I dare you to swing."
"Maybe I wi—" A juice box got thrown into Takashi's face. "Take mine and shut up, both of you," Hayato said. They put back their weapons.
"Hey look the guys on that table have a gun" a kid sitting several tables apart whispered to his friend.
"Stop being jealous dude, be happy with what you have" his friend whispered back.
Takashi sipped on the juice. "You ain't done with the sandwich yet?" Takashi asked, looking at Hayato.
"Sorry for not engulfing everything like you," Hayato said. He then noticed Yui glancing at him. "You like spicy foods, don't ya? Want a bite?" He said, extending the sandwich toward her.
"Ah! Thank you," Yui leaned in, brushing her hair over her ear, and took a bite. Hmm… it's tasty, she thought to herself. Wait… he let me bite from the side he was eating earlier. So does that mean… uwa… Her face started blushing hard.
"You sure she likes spicy stuff? Her face is turning all red," Takashi said, looking concerned.
"I— it's a… it's an indirect ki—" The spice got into her head and she started coughing.
"Woah… you okay?" Hayato jumped up from his seat. She grabbed his collar. "Wa… water, i need water."
"Give the juice now," Hayato said, looking at Takashi. He flipped the juice box. "It's kinda empty now."
Hayato crossed his arms. "Cool…. How do you finish everything so fast?"
"I don't think it's the right time to be impressed dude," Tatsuya said, pointing at Yui, who was on the ground coughing. "Go buy water," Tatsuya instructed Takashi.
Takashi ran to the machine. Hayato held Yui close to him. "You okay?" Yui took full advantage of the opportunity and clung to him.
"Well, you stopped coughing. You might be fine now," Hayato said, loosening his grip on her hand.
"Ah… no no no," she started imitating coughing. "See, it's still there kinda."
"Ugh!! Get a room," Tatsuya muttered.
Takashi came running back, breathing hard. Hayato extended his arm for the water. "Which one you want, cold or normal?" Takashi asked, looking all serious.
They all stared at him, disappointed. Yui stood up, walked up to him, and punched him straight in the face. He fell to the ground. Then she started kicking him. "You idiot!"
Tatsuya and Hayato immediately rushed to her, pulling her back. "Leave some space for us." And they all started kicking Takashi.
Suddenly someone tapped on Tatsuya's shoulder from behind. He turned back. It was a girl with long black hair and glasses. "You guys wanted water?" she asked.
Tatsuya held the bottle in her hand, slightly touching her hand. He looked into her eyes with a gentle smile, grabbed the bottle, and drank a little. "Hmm… it's delicious," he said in a deep voice.
"That's actually normal water," the girl replied.
"Shh… nothing given by you is normal, my dear. What's your name?" Takashi said, shushing her.
"Umm… it's Hina, but I think you got a bigger problem to take care of," she said, pointing toward his back.
"Ahh…" Tatsuya slowly turned around. The three of them were standing there, looking at his little drama. "Let me guess, you guys are gonna beat me up now, aren't you?"
"Hell yeah, I'm gonna enjoy this shit," Takashi said, popping his knuckles.
Tatsuya gave the bottle back to Hina. "How about we talk this out?"
"Yeah, we could do that," Takashi stepped forward. "Here, have a chat with my fist."