First Friend

   Class ended. Or more accurately, most of the students just left out of boredom. The only ones that stayed until Daichi finished talking were Hao Hao, Emily, and the girl next to Hao Hao on her left side. Long orange hair in a ponytail with a red ribbon.

“And that concludes the lesson.”

They all stood. Gathering their things into their bags and preparing to leave. Hao Hao didn’t have anything to pack, and so she got up and went straight for the hall. Away from everyone was her plan. She hated crowds. Even small ones, and she definitely did not want to talk to them all at once.

The girl with orange hair rushed into the hall. She said, “Hey, um… Hi there.”

Hao Hao turned. The girl was looking at her, trying to talk to her. She said, “I… I heard your Hao Hao?”

Hao Hao nodded.

“Nice to meet you Hao Hao. I’m Alice. Welcome.” They shook hands and walked together down the hall. Well, Alice followed Hao Hao as she was trying to escape. Shy Hao Hao didn’t much like one-on-one conversations either.

“So, when did you move here?”

“Recently.” She said.

“How do you like it so far?”

“It’s… different.”

And she meant that. Looking around at this place, it wasn’t like anything she’d ever seen before; not even in pictures. She loved how dark it was. The blue candlelight gave the room a hauntingly elegant tone.

“If you mean this school, I definitely get it. I’m new here too.”

“Really?”

Alice nodded. How odd; before Alice there were only six students in that room. How did they fund this place? Hao Hao reminded herself that they had other classes probably full of people. Just because she couldn’t hear them didn’t mean they weren’t there. The hall was still mostly empty for now though, which made her a little more comfortable than she otherwise would be.

“What do you like to do?” Alice asked.

“Oh, well…” Hao Hao was about to go quiet, but then they passed by a window. Outside she saw the trees, and a few daisies about the pushes around the ground. She said, “I like flowers.”

“Flowers. They are nice. Do you like growing flowers?”

Hao Hao didn’t have to think about it. She said, “Back at home I used to have a garden.”

“Oh? What types of flowers?”

“Roses and cosmos, mostly.” As well as petunias, hydrangea and daisies, but she didn’t want to give anyone a reason to make fun of her already.

“That’s cool!”

Really? Hao Hao thought flowers were cool, but most everyone else found them boring; a pretty picture at most. Others bullied her for her hobby. Her parents scolded her for spending time caring for and singing to flowers. They told her she was supposed to study hard and get a good, well-paying job when she was older.

They came up to the library. Two other students stood by the door. One was the one with dark skin and long blue hair, and the other was the girl with long black hair and cat ears. Closer now, Hao Hao could see she had vibrantly light pink eyes as well, and a tail too.

They waved and said hello, and Alice did too. Hao Hao ducked her head down and pretended to fumble with her glasses but didn’t leave. That would be rude.

“Hao Hao, this is Sumi.” Her hand went to the girl with long blue hair, and then moved to the cat girl, “And this is Cleo.”

“Nice to meet you.” Sumi said, smiling brightly. Cleo said nothing, her tail whipping back and forth like she was upset. Very convincingly cat-like, Hao Hao noted. How did she get it to move like that?

“Me and Hao Hao were just talking about flowers.” Alice said. “It’s very interesting.”

“Is it now?” Sumi asked.

“Yes! Hao Hao used to grow flowers back at home.”

They looked at her. She went quiet, barely managing to nod to them. Honestly, it wasn’t just crowds or one-on-one conversations. Hao Hao felt particularly nervous and, almost out of place, talking to girls. She felt like… they were judging her. Even if they were being perfectly nice to her.

Alice continued on, “What do you two think? About gardening?”

“Gardening?” Cleo said, almost scoffing, “I don’t want to get dirty.”

“Ah, come on. It could be fun.” Alice insisted.

“I don’t know.” Sumi said, “I’m busy with reading a book series right now. Maybe after?”

Alice looked between them. “Ah, okay.” And thankfully, Alice took Hao Hao’s hand and said to them, “Talk to you later.”

Sumi and Cleo waved as the two of them left. Once they got out of earshot Alice said, “Ah…. That’s a bummer.”

“Oh, um…” Hao Hao said, regaining her voice a little bit now that it was just the two of them again, “What is?”

“Their reaction.”

“Ah.” Hao Hao said, but she didn’t actually follow what Alice’s line of thought was.

Alice sighed, “It’s okay. If we want to start a gardening club, we have a few people to ask still. Kirai definitely won’t join, but maybe Daichi or Joy? And Mae. I really should ask Mae the next time I see her.”

“Wait, um… did you say something about starting a club?”

“Yeah.” She said, smiling brightly, but that only made Hao Hao retreat further. Eyes back to the floor. Alice said, embarrassed, “Oh, right, sorry. I’m just in my own head. I need to ask you: will you help me start a gardening club?”

Hao Hao blinked at her uncertainly.

Alice sighed, “Sorry, I’m not trying to force you. I just… forget it.”

And so, Alice walked away. Clearly upset. Hao Hao hadn’t intended to upset her, and yet, that’s what happened. She leaned against the wall.

Shui appeared. It said, “You like the idea of a garden, don’t you?” It asked.

“Yeah.”

She could say it when she was all alone (just her and her spirit,) but the idea of talking to Alice about it made her nervous all over again. Doubly so because she seemed so upset.

“But?” Shui asked.

“I can’t say it to her.”

Doubt welled up like a blister. Her anxiety is so bad that even voicing it to Shui felt nigh impossible. She looked down either hall, just to make sure no one was looking while she talked to herself.

“People can be hard to talk to.” Shui agreed. “You seem to talk to me fine though. Would you like to try talking to another spirit?”

“I can do that?”

It bobbed up and down, “Yes.”

How interesting. Hao Hao couldn’t deny that she was curious. She asked Shui, “Are they quiet like you?”

“Not always.” Shui admitted, “But you can stop talking to them if you get too nervous, and Alice is a nice person, so her spirit should be nice too.”

Hao Hao agreed, and so her and Shui went to look for Alice, eventually finding her in one of the club rooms. Painting canvases line the floors, and paints stocked the shelves of the cabinets. Alice was painting slowly, a frown on her cheeks. Her spirit was next to her. Looking out the window.

Hao Hao asked from the hall, “How do I talk to just her spirit?”

“I’ll get her.” Shui said.

It floated into the room. Hao Hao waited by the door until the two of them floated back. Alice’s spirit was similar to her own, except that it held a paint brush, and it had a red ribbon attached at its neck; no ring above its head.

“Hi there. Your name is Hao Hao?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

Unlike Shui, this spirit spoke in a clearly feminine voice. She said, “You can call me Color.”

“Alright…” what an odd choice of name. Hao Hao wondered then if spirits actually had names, or they just came up with something on the spot when asked. Alice painting in the other room is the obvious inspiration.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Well, I think I upset Alice before.”

“Oh.”

“And I, um… want to apologize.”

She shook her head. “It’s not your fault. Alice has just been looking for someone to help her start a club for a long time.”

“Does she even like gardening?” Hao Hao asked.

“Not really, but she loves the idea of any club as long as it’s social. She won’t admit to you, but she could use a friend.”

Hao Hao nodded. That made sense; this school was far less friendly than her other one. She thought that was just because it was smaller, but now that she thought about it, the students also kept to themselves more. No one had tried to introduce themselves to her but Alice and Emily, and only Alice stuck with Hao Hao longer than a couple of sentences.

Hao Hao looked at her wisp. It bobbed encouragingly. She said, “Guess I should go in there then.”

“Would you? That might just lift Alice’s spirits right up.”

Hao Hao nodded, resolving herself as she stepped through and knocked on the door. Alice looked up and put down her paintbrush. She said, “Hao Hao…”

“Alice, I… um, I wanted to tell you that I like the garden club idea.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.”

Alice was apprehensive, “You’re sure you’re not just saying that? Because it’s okay if not. I get it; clubs aren’t for everyone…”

“I want to start one.” Hao Hao said with a sudden wave of confidence. Short lived, however, as she clarified shyly, “Well, um, help start one.”

Alice smiled brightly.

“I’m so glad to hear that! All we need is one more member, and then Emily should be willing to help us get it going proper.” She explained, and then she screamed and said, “I’m so happy!”

Hao Hao went quiet at the girl’s excitement, but to see her so happy did actually put a smile on her face.