Kindness and bad omens

“Blergh! W-What just hit me, is this mud!?! Hey Nina, what was that for!”

“Don’t even start, you jerk! How dare you act rude and say all those things about Ein!”

I couldn’t help but raise my voice as I scolded Marcus for what he was doing, his cronies began to look nervous.

“Uh–oh, it’s Nina! Marcus be careful, apparently she beat up three boys at once!”

“Eep! She’s so scary, I heard she’s strong enough to wrestle a boar!”

“W-What! Who’s saying all this rude stuff about me!”

Has someone been spreading false rumors about me? I mean sure I did fight three boys last week, but that was all one on one. On top of that, when did I ever get in a fight with a boar!

“Lenny! Manny! Control yourselves! I know she may look scary, but she’s not that terrifying!”

“What was that about me being scarier than a bear!”

“I Never Said That!”

I swear these boys make me wanna pound something. I started moving closer to them, they responded by taking a few steps back. Eventually Marcus gulped and decided to speak up.

“Wait, please listen! I know what this looks like, but you don’t know him like I do! Please you gotta-”

“Liar! Ein was on the verge of tears because of you! Don’t you dare act all innocent about this!”

“Dammit! Why Won’t You-”

“Uh, Marcus, we have to go. We have to go right now!”

Before Marcus blew his lid, his friend Lenny tapped him on the shoulder. Marcus stopped glaring at me for a moment and immediately looked like something crossed his mind.

“Crap, we’re gonna be late! I’ll deal with you later, come on guys!”

“Bite me, you coward!”

Marcus ran off with his friends, I shouted jeers at them as they ran away. I began hearing some snickering from behind me, and turned only to see Ein standing there now smiling.

“Oh it was you Ein. Wait a minute, how dare you laugh at me!”

“Oh! Sorry Nina, I couldn’t help myself.”

“You sure got that right, do you always want those guys to pick on you! You gotta grow enough nerve to deal with them, at least hit them back!”

I suddenly found myself scolding Ein for not sticking up for himself. I admit I feel bad because he was just bullied but someone has to tell him. In response to my reprimands Ein sighed and looked at me with a somber expression.

“I know I should defend myself Nina, but you know what the people here think of me. I don’t want to provoke something.”

“This isn’t about provoking something, this is about standing up for yourself! Now quit being such a loser and-”

“More importantly, Nina, I think you’re forgetting something.”

How dare this guy interrupt me, wait a minute. Am I forgetting something? That's when a familiar voice sounded in my head.

Crap, we’re gonna be late!

The reason Lenny tapped Marcus on the shoulder, the reason why he was scared of being late. I looked up and saw a man walking by with a mallet, the mallet used to ring the town bell.

“It’s almost 12, We’re Gonna Be Late For School!”

“Heh, you finally remembered.”

“Don’t laugh at me Ein, this is partly your fault. Let’s see, hey Ein could you look me over?”

“Huh!?!”

“Not in some weird way you numbskull! I want to make sure I’m clean before I head in, the last thing I want is for her to scold me in front of the class again!”

I still get shivers just thinking about it, you’d think she’d hold back considering our relationship. After circling me, Ein told me I was spotless. That’s a relief, luckily I wore these gloves and the apron-

“Oh no!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I was pulling weeds for Granny Erina! What do I tell her!”

“What’s with all this ruckus?”

Granny Erina came out with a tray and a pitcher. The tray had two glasses on it, and the pitcher held her freshly homemade fruit juice.

“Sorry Granny, but I have to run!”

“Awww, and I just finished preparing a little treat for you.”

“Well one glass won’t hurt.”

I quickly took off the gear I borrowed and began choking down the juice I was given, as I did so I heard Granny offering Ein a glass too. He tried to refuse but Granny wasn’t hearing it, she’s practically everyone’s grandma after all. After finishing we thanked Granny and ran, but then we hit a little snag.

“*Huff huff* I don’t think I’m gonna make it-”

“Don’t get pessimistic on me now Ein!”

Ein was running low on fumes, while looking back I noticed the bell ringer pulling back his mallet.

“That’s it, Come Here!”

“Huh!?!”

I grabbed the squeller’s hand and ran while tugging him along. Funnily enough now it seems like Ein has gotten his second wind, I guess boys really do get a boost when a cute girl is around. We made it over the hill and made our way towards the school house, and that’s when-

“Why are you two holding hands?”

“Shut up you jerk!”

Marcus and his cronies were about to head inside, Marcus was whipping water off his face. He probably washed the mud out of his mouth at the stream close by, as for my face its red because I finally realized what I look like. I look back at Ein to see his cherry red cheeks and his eyes starring away.

“Well don’t just sit there, explain to them you idiot!”

“What’s there to talk about?”

“I Swear I’m Gonna Clobber You Ein!”

I heard the bullies snickering on the steps, their gonna spread rumors about his aren’t they. I was gonna return the favor with a glare, but before I could do that.

“What’s with all this-Oh my!”

The door cracked open, and out came our usual teacher for the next two hours.

“Well well well, looks like someone heeded my advice well.”

“Please don’t tease me like this mom.”

Yep, my mom is our teacher at the school house. Which is why she wants me to maintain a good appearance. Now mom is gonna tease me later, can this day get any worse!

****

No one seemed to notice, but in the middle of the road there was something strange. There seemed to be a dead squirrel sitting there, with both its eyes gouged out. The stick used to do the crime was hidden in some bushes close by, the perpetrator must’ve thrown the stick in a hurry. However, leaving the corpse out in the open like this, that was a reckless decision. It appears the argument between some children on the road acted as an excellent cover.