-Well, I can take it easy today.

Doremi said that as she walked peacefully through her usual route to school the following morning. It was one of the rare chances where she woke up in time, had a normal breakfast and could leave without any problems. As she walked through the streets, other kids from her school appeared as well with her same intentions. Between them, she distinguished one figure.

-That’s… Hey, Seiko!- exclaimed Doremi.

A few meters away from her, the dark-haired girl she met before turned around when she heard her name being called.

-Doremi!- exclaimed Seiko happily. -Good morning!

-Hi! What a coincidence! So do you live close to my house then?- asked Doremi.

-Oh, well… I can’t tell… I woke up earlier and went for a walk before going to school, so I’m not sure how close we can be- explained Seiko nervously.

-Really? I don’t think I can wake up that early- complained Doremi, making Seiko laugh.

The two girls kept talking about the previous day and the extra lessons Seiko had to prepare. As they approached the hill, the red-haired girl saw her group of friends walking towards the school.

-Oh, it’s them! Aiko, Hazuki, Momoko, good morning!- exclaimed Doremi running towards them.

-Hiya, Doremi!- greeted Aiko.

-Good morning, Doremi. You are here in time- greeted Hazuki.

-Yeah, I was talking to Seiko here...- began saying Doremi, but as she looked around, she couldn’t find Seiko. -Where is she?

Doremi looked back. Seiko was walking slowly, a few meters away from the group. A bit worried, Doremi run towards her.

-I’m sorry, Seiko! I didn’t want to leave you behind!- apologized Doremi.

-No, it’s OK, don’t worry- said Seiko nervously. -They are your friends, it’s normal…

-No, it’s not! I want to introduce you to them! Come on!- exclaimed Doremi, grabbing Seiko by her hand.

-Wait, what?- asked Seiko nervously as she was pulled by her friend towards the group of other girls.

-Sorry- said Doremi. -My mistake. Let me introduce her: she is Seiko, the new girl in our class. Well, you already know Momoko here, but you don’t know these two. The one with the ribbon is Hazuki and the one with the jeans is Aiko.

-It’s nice to meet you, Seiko- greeted Hazuki formally with a reverence.

-Nice to meetcha, Seiko!- greeted Aiko.

-Hi! Nice to meet you two! I’m Seiko Tengawa- said Seiko blushing a bit and making a small reverence. Then, she looked at Aiko: -I had never heard that accent before.

-What? You don’t know the Osaka accent?- asked Aiko in shock. -Girl, you need to see more world.

-Don’t be like that! You have to be careful with your jokes with someone new- scolded Hazuki to Aiko.

-No, please, it’s OK! She’s right, my old town was quite small. I never met someone from Osaka- said Seiko smiling.

As they walked closely to the entrance, a big black car approached and stopped in front of the main gate, close to the group of girls. One door opened and Onpu went down.

-Good morning, Onpu!- greeted all the girls except Seiko.

-Hi everybody, good morning- greeted Onpu with a smile. As the car left, she noticed Seiko. -Oh, who are you?

-Oh, yeah! She’s Seiko, our new classmate!- exclaimed Momoko. -Seiko, she’s Onpu!

-Hi, nice to meet… you...- greeted Seiko, but stopped as she realized something. -Wait, you are… Onpu Segawa, the child idol?

-Yeah, that’s me!- said Onpu as she passed her hand through her hair. -But please, no autographs, the school doesn’t allow them. I’m just one more student.

-No, I wasn’t planning to ask that, and I get what you mean. It’s nice to meet you too- greeted Seiko again.

-Oh, well…- said Onpu confused, but she quickly dismissed that. -It’s OK then.

The whole group got inside the school and then split into their respective classes. The morning went by normally as Doremi, Momoko and Seiko attended their classes until lunchtime.

-OK, let’s eat- said Doremi to Momoko. Then, she approached Seiko. -Hey, Seiko, we are going to eat with Hazuki and the others at the other classroom. Would you like to join us?

-What?- exclaimed Seiko as her face turned red. Then, she got nervous. -I mean, yeah but… they don’t know me yet… Are you sure they want to? Maybe you’d be more comfortable without me…

-Nah, don’t worry!- exclaimed Momoko in English. -The more, the merrier. I’m sure they would love you to join us.

Blushing, Seiko nodded and grabbed her lunchbox to go with the other girls. As they all ate their lunches, they talked about the classes and other things. Even though Seiko found it hard to join the conversation sometimes, Hazuki and Onpu asked her so she could take part as well, and little by little, Seiko showed her relaxed, cheerful side. The same routine happened for two more days, and with every day, Seiko was getting more used to hang out with Doremi and the other girls during lunch or recess. One afternoon, after the classes, everybody left except Seiko, who was preparing to leave. As she walked to the door, Doremi appeared in front of her.

-Doremi!- exclaimed Seiko surprised. -What are you doing here? Did you forget something?

-Yeah, actually… You!- exclaimed Doremi with a smile. -I promised I would walk home with you, but I forgot because I’m usually in a hurry. But the other girls will cover me, so I can go with you.

-What? You… you did that for… me?- asked Seiko bashfully. -I’m sorry, I… I didn’t want to… be a bother…

-Really, it’s fine!- exclaimed Doremi as she didn’t give relevance to her actions. -Let’s go!

The two girls walked together down the school hill and through the streets. As they talked about the classes, Doremi complained about Tetsuya for mocking her, and Seiko giggled seeing her face. Then, the dark-haired girl smiled gently.

-Hey, Doremi… I know this is weird, but… I wanted to thank you. I had fun these days- said Seiko, making Doremi blush a bit.

-Bah, don’t mention it!- said Doremi while scratching the back of her head. -You’re really fun. I’m happy to have you as a friend.

Seiko stopped walking and her face changed by hearing that word. She was a bit shocked.

-You… see me as a… friend?- stutted Seiko.

-Sure!- exclaimed Doremi happily.

However, Doremi looked closely at Seiko. The dark-haired girl blushed a lot and smiled shyly. A tear was coming out from one of her shiny eyes.

-Hey, are you alright? Did I say something?- asked Doremi worried.

-No- said Seiko while negating with her head and removing her tear. -It’s just… Well, I… I wasn’t sure if I could make friends… You know, new town, new people… I was… scared… But you saying that… That made me really happy. Since we just met, I didn’t expect you to say that.

-Well, of course! My friends are important, and you are my friend now- said Doremi with a smile.

They walked together through some streets, but then Seiko said she need to go the other way, so bid farewell to Doremi and walked alone. After walking for a while, Seiko arrived at a small apartment block in the east side of Misora Town. She went upstairs to the second floor and got in front of her door. Once inside, there was nobody home, but that was a usual scene for her. The girl went to her room, left her bag on the bed and then picked up her dirty clothing from a basket.

-Time to wash all this. I need clothing for school- said Seiko.

It wasn’t that hard for her to prepare the washing machine, as she had already seen how it was done. Seiko also took notes in secret to make sure she could do it by herself. A few minutes later, the washing machine was doing its thing and the girl was thinking what to make for dinner. Then, the door of the apartment opened.

-Hello, Seiko! Are you here?

Hearing that familiar voice, Seiko walked to the entry door to find Ms. Seki. She was carrying some plastic bags with a supermarket logo.

-Hi Ms. Seki!- greeted Seiko. -What are you doing here?

-Well, I’m checking on you, of course!- answered Ms. Seki with a smile.

It was a silly question as Seiko already knew that. Ms. Seki went to the apartment every day before dark to check how the girl was doing, bring her food and do some chores. However, it was their own way of greeting each other and they got used to that. The teacher took off her shoes and walked in, but stopped for a moment.

-Wait, is that… the washing machine?- asked Ms. Seki. -I told you you should leave chores to me.

-It’s OK, it’s not that hard. I can handle myself, really- said Seiko with a smile.

-Aaaah, what am I doing with you?- complained Ms. Seki. -Well, in that case, I’m making dinner tonight!

-Really, you don’t have to do it. I don’t want to trouble you- said Seiko nervously.

-No, I’m not accepting any excuses. I will prepare dinner and the bath so you can do your homework and take the bath, understood?- insisted Ms. Seki.

Knowing that there was no way of changing her teacher’s mind, Seiko agreed. While Ms. Seki prepare dinner in the kitchen, the girl did all her homework in her room, and later on, she took the bath. After that, the meal was on the table ready for them both. As they began eating, Ms. Seki asked her student.

-So… it’s been a few days already since you began school. How are you doing so far?- asked Ms. Seki.

-Oh, I’m fine. I’m having a bit of trouble with History, but everything else is good- answered Seiko.

-Well, if you need some help with that, just ask me, OK? And how about the other kids in the classroom?- kept asking Ms. Seki.

-They’re nice. Everybody is so different… There are these boys that can’t stop making lame jokes, and that Reika is a bit… snobby and bossy, but everybody else is nice- explained Seiko.

-I’m glad to hear that. I see that you are getting along with Doremi and Momoko- mentioned Ms. Seki.

-Yeah, they are really kind!- exclaimed Seiko with a smile. -They have been helping me a lot since I arrived. Doremi can be a bit clumsy now and then, but she is so kind to me. And Momoko is kinda in the same situation as me, she moved recently here and needs to learn a lot of things. They have introduced me to some girls they know from the other class.

-Oh, you mean, Hazuki, Aiko and Onpu?- asked Ms. Seki.

-Yeah, how did you know?- asked Seiko.

-They were all in my classroom last year- explained Ms. Seki. -They have been friends for quite a while and they are a very open group. I’m glad to see you are friends with them.

-What? Me, friends?- exclaimed Seiko shocked, and later her face got red. -I… I don’t know… I’m not sure if we… we are friends yet. I just met them… and played with them a bit… I don’t know…

-But that’s how you make friends- said Ms. Seki. -Now you are living your life. You are a nice girl and they can see that. I’m sure they already see you as their friend.

-Well, Doremi did say that I was her… friend, but...- said Seiko with a shy smile.

-See? I’m sure the others think the same- insisted Ms. Seki.

Hearing those words, Seiko blushed and smiled.

-Do you… really think that?- muttered Seiko.

The teacher nodded and smiled to the girl. Nobody said anything for a while as they finished their dinner. Both cleared off the table and Ms. Seki washed the dishes. As Seiko walked away from her, the teacher said:

-You know, Seiko, I was thinking…

-That again?

Seiko asked that as she smiled to the teacher, who just turned around to face her student. The girl had a sly smile, as she knew what Ms. Seki was thinking about. Instead of getting upset, the teacher smiled as well.

-And every time I want to- answered Ms. Seki. -It’s silly that you are living here alone. My apartment is big enough for both of us. I can clear the office and make it your room.

-I know, but it’s OK- said Seiko. -I’m fine by myself here.

-I don’t know… Even if Misora Town is quite safe, there are incidents sometimes. I worry that something may happen to you- insisted Ms. Seki.

-Thanks for worrying, but really, I’m fine. I don’t want to be a bother- replied Seiko.

That word made Ms. Seki’s expression changed to a sad face. The teacher left the dish she was holding inside the sink, cleaned her hands and approached Seiko, putting one hand on her shoulder.

-I have told you many times, you are not a bother, OK?- said Ms. Seki looking at Seiko’s eyes. -I’m here for you. I will be here anytime you need me. For me, your well-being is really important.

Seiko smiled shyly, but didn’t say anything in return. Ms. Seki finished washing and prepared herself to leave. As she put her shoes on, she said:

-Well, see you tomorrow in class- said Ms. Seki. -And again, if you change your mind, you are welcome at my home, got it?

The girl nodded as Ms. Seki left. Once alone, Seiko went to her room and got prepared for bed. She could hear the far noises of the cars, but it was rather silent. It was unsettling for her during the first days, but Seiko had already gotten used to that silence. It was better than what she had before. Still, her teacher’s words repeated on her mind.

“If you change your mind, you are welcome at my home”.

-It’s OK- muttered Seiko before falling asleep. -I can’t be… a bother…