A Warm Welcome

"Where is she?" Koharu muttered angrily. "She was supposed to be here 10 minutes ago!"

"Told ya Mio's not fit for this group..." Fuma said nonchalantly while leaning against her locker.

Himari scoffed, rolling her eyes. "She hasn't even been a part of the group for one day and you're already doubting her..."

"I just don't think she's a good fit for this group."

"Wata-chan..." Koharu muttered in annoyance, now looking at her. "It's her first day and she hasn't arrived yet. What are you stressing for?"

"I'm not stressing!" she blurted out.

"Then why are you already doubting her so much?"

"It's just... forget it... forget everything I said, okay?"

Koharu rolled her eyes and scoffed while Himari just shook her head and crossed her arms.

It didn't take long before the girls spotted me running through the hallways while waving.

"There she is..." Koharu muttered, looking pissed.

As I ran down the hallway, someone suddenly crashed into me, sending both of us to the floor.

"Owww... my butt..."

I looked up, and of course, it was Ritsu. The clumsy, nerdy guy who never watched where he was going.

Seriously... this guy...

Before I could stop myself, I grabbed his collar and slammed him against the locker behind him. The metal rattled loudly.

"LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOING NEXT TIME, WILL YA?"

He flinched, his whole body tensing. "I-I'm sorry... I-I just didn't see where I was going and—and—"

"Then LOOK next time!" I snapped. "You wear glasses for a reason, don’t you? Or are they just for decoration?"

He froze, completely shaken.

"I-I... I just—"

"Do yourself a favor and get out of my face."

He didn’t wait another second, he bolted down the hallway.

From down the hall, the three girls had been watching the whole thing unfold.

By the time I turned around, they were already walking toward me.

"Damn... you really showed him, huh..." Koharu said, clearly impressed.

Crap... they saw all of that...?

Heat rushed to my face. I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to play it off.

"Yeah... I mean, he should watch where he's going, right?"

"Yeah. That idiot never pays attention," Himari said, rolling her eyes.

"That's 'cause he's always got that stupid book glued to his face," Fuma added.

"Alright, alright. Forget about Ritsu. Let's welcome Mio to the group first and show her the surprise," Koharu said, interrupting the conversation.

I raised an eyebrow.

Surprise? What?

Fuma gave Koharu an annoyed look. "You've planned a surprise for her?"

Koharu shrugged and spoke up. "What? I just thought about welcoming her with a surprise."

Fuma rolled her eyes but decided to keep her mouth shut.

"Follow me," Koharu said, gesturing for us all to follow her.

We walked across the hallways, and I was nervous, but also a little excited to see what the surprise was.

"So... what's the surprise?" I asked, looking curious.

Koharu shrugged. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you now, would it?"

A blush appeared on my cheeks as I realized how stupid my question was.

"Oh yeah... hehe... my bad..."

God, I'm stupid...

We stopped in front of my locker.

I frowned slightly. "...Huh?"

Koharu smirked. "Go ahead. Open it."

Confused, I reached for the lock and entered the combination.

The door creaked open—

And I froze.

My locker was completely decorated. Glitter covered the inside, a small paper reading WELCOME TO THE GROUP was taped to the back, and a red bowtie hung neatly in the center.

"SURPRISE!" Koharu shouted.

My jaw dropped. Not just because of the decoration, but because… How did she even get into my locker...?

"W-Wait... how did you even—"

"The locker?" Koharu shrugged with a smug grin. "I have my ways."

...That’s not reassuring at all.

"O-Okay..."

Himari then approached me and teasingly scratched my head. "Welcome to the group, girl."

I was a little annoyed at the scratching, but I let it go. "Yeah, yeah... thanks."

Fuma rolled her eyes in annoyance, probably jealousy, and she walked away.

"I'm going to class..." she said, walking slowly.

We all looked at her, and Koharu scoffed. "Yeah, do whatever you want..."

She then reached into the locker, grabbed the red bowtie, and stepped closer.

"Hold still."

Before I could react, she fixed it neatly around my collar.

I blinked. "Uh... what’s the bowtie for?"

"It shows you're one of us!" Himari said with a cheerful smile.

"Yeah," Koharu added, adjusting it slightly. "So people know not to mess with you."

I looked down at it for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Okay... and, uh... thanks for the surprise, Sato-chan."

Koharu grinned. "Of course, newbie," she teased. "We're going to class. Wanna come with?"

I thought for a bit but decided to stay. "I'm gonna stay here for a bit..."

Koharu shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Koharu and Himari finally left, leaving me all alone in front of my locker. I was still thinking about how Koharu got access to my locker without me knowing.

"I might need to change my code..." I muttered before walking toward class.

I entered class and instantly laid eyes on the girls sitting at the back of the class. Himari waved at me and gestured for me to sit in the chair next to her.

I made my way toward the seat beside Himari, but before I could sit down, a voice stopped me.

"Mio, what are you doing?"

I turned to see Mei staring at me, clearly annoyed.

"You're supposed to sit next to me, not them."

Before I could answer, Himari leaned back in her chair.

"Plans changed, Mei. She’s not your desk partner anymore."

Mei frowned. "Yes, she is. Sensei made a seating plan, and we’re supposed to follow it."

"Sensei doesn’t give a crap about the seating plan," Koharu said lazily, not even looking up from her phone.

Mei crossed her arms. "Then I’ll tell him when he gets here."

"Fucking snitch..." Fuma muttered under her breath.

I quietly sat down, pretending not to be involved.

The bell rang, signaling that class had started. The teacher, Nagi Katō, walked into the class and dropped a few books and documents on his table, then finally proceeded to take a seat.

Mei raised her hand, and the teacher obviously saw her, but he decided to ignore her. He was the type of teacher that just did NOT care about anything at all and just hated his job and hated being a teacher.

Mei decided to speak up anyway. "Sensei, Mio is—"

"I know... and I don't care," he said nonchalantly.

"But—"

"But nothing!" he interrupted. "You kids annoy me every day. It's unbelievable," he muttered out of annoyance and exhaustion.

"Turn to page... three hundred... three hundred and..."

Ritsu, the same guy from before, interrupted the teacher. "Three hundred and thirty-one."

The teacher looked at Ritsu and scoffed.

"Dork," he muttered before speaking up again. "Turn to page... whatever he said and read the text."

The classroom was then filled with the sounds of pages being flipped, but as they were, A knock echoed through the classroom. 
The door slid open, and a boy stepped inside. He had short, messy black hair and wore his uniform neatly, a red tie resting perfectly against his shirt.

The teacher looked up lazily. "Can I help you?"

"Uh... is this class 1-B?" the boy asked with a small smile.

The teacher blinked, then straightened slightly.
"O-Oh... yeah. This is 1-B. You must be Kai Kobayashi, right?"

"Yeah, that’s me."

My eyes stayed on him. That name... I’d heard it before. And the way he looked—

Why does he seem so familiar...?

Then it hit me.

No... No, there’s no way… K-Kai...?