Sunny day

Neo got up and looked around for whoever was following him, but even after looking in all directions, he could not find anyone. "Was it just my imagination?" he thought.

Turning his attention back to the people he had encountered, the boy felt the need to say something. "Sorry." Neo looked into their faces and was surprised. "Maeda? Shike?"

Both were dressed casually, wearing shorts and different colored tank tops. Shike had a cap on. They both put the crates on the ground.

"Yeah, are you okay?" Maeda asked worriedly.

"Yeah, it was nothing."

Shike smiled when he saw another familiar face. He seemed to have an ulterior motive.

"Oh! Good to see you, Neo. Are you free today?"

Neo looked at the boys suspiciously. "I guess I have some free time now. Why?"

"Can you help us?"

He knew this was the question that would come, but since he had nothing else to do, he decided to ask, just in case it was something too extreme, he could just say no.

"What do you need?"

Shike started to explain. "The flower shop owned by Nagoya's grandmother received a delivery request from the school. A student named Mônica, who is in charge of the school's plants, placed a special order for the weekend party."

"And there are several heavy boxes that Nagoya would have to carry alone, so he asked for our help," Maeda added.

"All right, I have nothing else to do anyway. I guess I can help you."

Behind them, a tall boy with broad shoulders and short black hair appeared, holding four crates similar to the ones the others were carrying.

"Ah, Neo, let me introduce you. This is one of the members of the baseball team, his name is Nagoya," Maeda said.

"Nice to meet you," Nagoya said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you," Neo waved since he couldn't shake hands with the boxes in his hands.

"Well, let's not waste time. There are still a lot of boxes, and if we keep talking, we'll never finish," Shike said a little impatiently.

They all agreed, and Neo picked up a box, noticing that it was a bit heavy. Maybe he could carry another one. He wondered how heavy the four boxes Nagoya was carrying must be.

During the trip, Maeda was curious about something they had received earlier.

"Did you get the invitation?"

"Invitation?" Shike asked confused.

"Yes, for the party next Saturday."

Both Nagoya and Neo said they had received it.

"Are you planning to go?"

"Well, I didn't even know about it, but I will go. There will probably be a lot of delicious food," Shike said, feeling hungry.

"I still have to ask my grandmother," Nagoya said a little shaken.

"I might not go," Neo replied thoughtfully.

They were curious and looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"I don't have any formal clothes."

They looked at each other and thought of a solution to the problem.

"Can't you borrow something from someone?" Maeda suggested.

"Do you have any spare formal clothes?"

Shike was too small, Maeda only had one and he wasn't sure if it would fit Neo, and Nagoya was too big.

"Well, don't give up. You can ask other people."

They arrived at the school, which was not far away. The gates were open. They showed Neo where to put the boxes and continued to carry them.

After almost a whole day of carrying boxes back and forth, there was only one box left, and everyone was already carrying the maximum they could handle, so they would have to make another trip.

But Neo, tired of carrying boxes all day, decided to make an effort and carry just one more. Needless to say, the boy could hardly walk or see where he was going. The others helped by giving directions and keeping him from bumping into a pole.

Every step they took made the crates feel heavier. The desire to finish the job kept him going.

When they reached the road near the school gate, Neo was relieved. The other boys led the way, since they didn't need as much help in this straight line.

They dodged a delicate looking girl coming toward them. She had orange hair that seemed to be on fire and was pulling a suitcase with wheels while distractedly using her cell phone.

Neo, on the other hand, couldn't see and ended up dropping all the boxes on the distracted girl. His first concern was the crates, not the girl.

She got up, screaming angrily, but seemed to be all right. "What do you think you're doing, you idiot?"

Seeing that the girl was upset, he tried to think of something to say. "I couldn't see, sorry. You could have moved."

His answer only made her angrier, and she seemed ready to hit him. That's when Nagoya appeared and acted quickly, grabbing Neo and running away. The girl stood there in disbelief for a few seconds. When she realized that the boy she wanted to take out her anger on was gone, she became even more angry and screamed in frustration.

Neo was carried to a place where the girl couldn't see them anymore, and then Nagoya put him down.

"And what was that for?" Neo asked, confused.

"That girl is trouble. I saved you."

"What do you mean?"

"Trust me, she's too hot-headed."

Neo couldn't imagine what he meant, but since Nagoya seemed determined, he decided to believe him. The two went to meet Maeda and Shike after making sure the girl had left.

"How could you leave the boxes at the entrance of the school and disappear?" Maeda asked.

"Yeah, we ended up taking them inside," Shike reassured.

"Neo and I had to take care of something separately."

Shike and Maeda were still suspicious of this answer, but Nagoya's offer wiped away any resentment.

"I'll treat you three to ramen for helping me," Nagoya said.

"Really? Thanks a lot, man," Maeda thanked him happily.

"Thank you guys. If I had to carry the crates alone, it would take me more than a day. So it's only fair to pay you back."

"Don't worry, we had nothing else to do anyway. If you need help, we're here," Shike replied somewhat awkwardly.

"Let's eat already, I'm starving," Maeda said impatiently.

"You're always hungry," Neo laughed.

"Of course. Eating is important, don't you think?"

The conversation continued as they walked until they reached Shibuya's Lamen. To their surprise, Takeshi and Tadashi were sitting there. Takeshi was surprised to see Neo and said, "Wow! What a surprise to see you here! You brought Neo too!"

Tadashi was sitting next to Takeshi and only noticed their arrival a little later when he was distracted.

"Yo!"

He waved and then went back to eating.

When they were all seated, it didn't take long until the owner of the restaurant, the uncle of the two boys, came and took their orders.

When the ramen arrived, Neo saw Nagoya eating three bowls of the same ramen. He couldn't believe how Nagoya could eat so much, since he himself could barely finish one bowl. He thought that maybe because of Nagoya's size, he had to eat more.

"Are you going to the party?" Maeda asked.

"Of course, do you think we would miss a party?" Takeshi replied.

"Do you have any spare formal clothes? Neo is not going just because of that."

"Seriously?"

Neo nodded.

"Unfortunately, Tadashi and I don't have any. We sort of share each other's clothes. I wouldn't be surprised if one day, you see me wearing the bottom half of his outfit and him the top half," Takeshi said.

Tadashi thought of a solution and said, "Have you thought about wearing some clothes?"

"With everyone wearing formal clothes, I wouldn't risk it. It would be too embarrassing."

"For the food, I would definitely go," Maeda concluded.

"Yes, Neo, unfortunately, luck was not on your side, but keep asking around; I bet you'll find someone."

When Neo left the restaurant, it was late afternoon, and he was exhausted from his physical exertions. When he got to his room, he just lay down and fell asleep.

When he woke up the next day, he felt refreshed and happy because he would see Saya. Now he didn't have to bring all the books and took only what he needed.

He arrived at the school and climbed the stairs to his classroom, only to be surprised by someone unexpectedly talking to Saya. It was a girl, and what surprised Neo the most was the color of her hair. She had orange hair, as if it was on fire.

The girl looked at his face, but didn't recognize him at first. Neo tried to sneak away and sit in his place, but it didn't work. When the girl was sure, she pointed her finger at him and said angrily, "You!"