Days passed by quickly as Seiko enjoyed her new friendship with Doremi and the others. Not only they hang out all together during school days, but keeping their word, the girls had some free times now and then, and they all organized activities where Seiko could also spend time with them. As the dark-haired girl suggested, they would meet sometimes in the park to play some games or talk, and they went shopping in a few occasions. During those moments, Seiko found out new sides of their new friends and saw what things they shared in common. Also, Seiko got to visit their homes sometimes and met their parents, which welcomed her friendly.

And during those times when the girls had to work at the patisserie, Seiko would go to the store and spend some time with them. She would sat down in a table doing her homework and eating something, but when there were no customers, the girl got the chance to talk to their friends and see how they cooked their sweets or took care of the baby. Everyday, when she got home, she would talk with Ms. Seki about what happened every day.

-The other day, Doremi and I had to study a bit for the coming test. I needed some help as well, but Hazuki was there to help us- explained Seiko. -Aiko tried to skip study time.

-Oh my, I hope Senoo doesn’t slack that much and pass this time- answered Ms. Seki. -So, are you enjoying your life here?

-Yep, it’s so great!- exclaimed Seiko. -Doremi and the others are… great. I like them a lot. I never thought…

-No, don’t think about that- interrupted Ms. Seki. -What matters now is that you are enjoying.

Seiko nodded happily as she ate her dinner.

Over a month passed since Seiko’s arrived to Misora Town. That afternoon, she was spending time with her friends again at the patisserie. It was getting a bit late and some customers had just left the store, happy after their recent purchases. The whole group reunited at the kitchen.

-I think those were the last customers for the day- said Hazuki.

-We gotta prepare some cookies for tomorrow- suggested Aiko. -Ya know, we’re running out of them.

-Oh, are you making cookies this late?- asked Seiko. -I can help you if you want. With more hands, we will be over faster.

-I don’t know...- said Momoko. -You don’t know much about cooking sweets… but you could help us bring some ingredients from the storage if we need them, OK?

After that, the girls split in two groups, with Doremi and Aiko making butter cookies and Momoko, Hazuki and Onpu making chocolate chip cookies. Seiko sat down on a chair, watching the girls work hard. As they needed something, Seiko quickly got them whatever they wanted. The process was slow, but she did help them go a bit faster.

-Oh, no, we’re running out of flour...- said Doremi.

-I’ll go get it. It’s outside, right?- said Seiko.

The girl left the kitchen and walked towards the back garden. She followed the path that lead to the storage, where Doremi and her friends kept all the ingredients. Seiko always found funny that all the packages and boxes had music notes on them, but at least there were small labels saying what was each thing. Seiko picked up a big bag of flour and walked slowly back to the kitchen.

-Heh, I wonder if this is like a brand thing?- wondered Seiko. -Maybe it’s a chain store with a music theme? Never heard of it.

Seiko was getting closer to the door when she heard something.

-Hey, don’t you think Seiko is a bit… clingy?

Seiko froze in place at hearing those words. It was Aiko who said that in the kitchen.

-What do you mean “clingy”?- asked Momoko. -I’ve never heard that word…

-I mean, ain’t she spending way too much time with us?- asked Aiko. -I mean, she’s fun, fo’ sure, but she comes to the store too many times.

-Well, she’s been here just for over a month and we hang out together at school and outside. It’s normal that she spends time with us, right?- said Doremi.

-However, it is true that she spends too much time in the store- added Hazuki. -She doesn’t seem to have any other activities or doesn’t go to other places.

-See? That’s what I mean!- exclaimed Aiko. -Ain’t she got anything else to do? Her parents know she’s here? I mean, with her around, we can’t do our stuff and they can’t come out!

-Maybe she has some kind of problem- said Onpu. -I feel like it takes her a while to make friends, and now that she got us, she isn’t trying to meet anybody else.

-Should we tell her to leave?- asked Momoko. -I mean, since we are working here…

-Remember what happened to you when you arrived- said Doremi. -It’s not nice to say those kinds of things to other people…

-Still, I think we should do something- added Aiko. -We need our time and space… She’s being quite a bother honestly…

Seiko was still outside the kitchen, hearing all that at the other side of the wall. She was totally speechless, her breathing was erratic and her eyes were wide-open. All those words kept repeating inside her head, specially:

“She’s being quite a bother”

-A bother… I’m a bother… I’m...- repeated Seiko to herself.

Seiko was still too deep in her thoughts until something made her come back to reality.

-Hey, isn’t she taking too long? I will check- said Doremi at the other side of the door.

Nervously, Seiko run back to the storage and knelt down, moving her arms as if looking for something. Doremi appeared at the door.

-Hey, Seiko, are you OK? Did anything happen?- asked Doremi.

-No! No, I’m… I’m fine!- exclaimed Seiko nervously. -I just couldn’t find the flour but… here it is! You can go back, I’ll take it!

-Don’t be silly! I’m already here, let me help you- said Doremi.

-No, it’s fine, OK? I can do it, see?- insisted Seiko while picking up the flour sack.

A bit confused, Doremi nodded and both of them went back to the kitchen. Seiko left the sack on one desk and remained silent for a few seconds, but then she said:

-Hey, girls… Sorry, but I just remembered, my… parents told me to go buy something from the store before getting back home, so... I should go before the store closes. Sorry for not helping you- said Seiko.

-Nah, it’s OK!- said Aiko. -We’ll finish things ‘ere and leave soon. See ya tomorrow at school!

-Yeah… school… tomorrow… I’ll see you there!- exclaimed Seiko.

Seiko waved her hand without looking at the other girls and left the store just like normal. Once she lost sight of the store, she began walking faster, and then running. Her heart beat fast and she panted.

-All this time… all this time… I was…!- thought Seiko to herself.

After what seemed to be an eternity, she got home. Seiko left her bag directly on the floor and knelt down, still panting and sweating. She didn’t know what to do. She was too nervous and shocked to do anything. All her mind did was remembering all the moments she shared with those girls and their words echoing at the same time. Suddenly, the girl felt all those moments were fake, that they never wanted her to be there with them, that she was just being… a bother. A word she feared as a nightmare.

-So, no matter where I go… or who I am with… I am a… bother...- muttered Seiko.

Her words seemed to echo inside the empty apartment. Very slowly, Seiko dragged her bag on the floor up to her room and threw it on the bed. Then, she went to the kitchen and began preparing dinner: she already got fish for that night. As she was preparing everything, Ms. Seki arrived.

-Hi Seiko! I’m here- exclaimed Ms. Seki from the entry door.

-H… Hi!- exclaimed Seiko from the kitchen, with some effort.

-Already preparing dinner? You should have waited for me! I’ll help you- offered Ms. Seki.

-No, it’s OK, you can sit down. I can do this myself- said Seiko without turning around.

-Don’t be silly. If we do this together, it will be over soon- insisted Ms. Seki.

-Thanks, really, but I don’t need help. I can do this on my own- insisted Seiko.

-Don’t worry, I’ll just...- said Ms. Seki.

-Please!

Seiko yelled that out loud accidentally. Realizing that, she turned around and saw Ms. Seki. She was confused, frozen in place. The girl got nervous.

-Sorry! I didn’t mean to yell… I mean… I’m sorry, I guess I’m nervous for the upcoming test and… I’m sorry...- said Seiko nervously.

-Hey, Seiko… are you alright?- asked Ms. Seki worried. -Did anything happen?

-Yeah, yeah, I’m fine! Really, it’s just for the test, I got nervous all of a sudden- insisted Seiko. -I just need to sleep tonight… But please, sit down! I will finish this.

Still dubiously, the teacher sat down and waited for Seiko to finish making dinner. Even then, the girl insisted in preparing the table all by herself, which made Ms. Seki worry a bit more. As they ate, everything went normally.

-So, are you really OK?- asked Ms. Seki. -If you have any last-minute doubt, I can help you, but don’t get used to it.

-Yeah, I’m fine- said Seiko. -Just… I just need to read one thing before going to sleep. Nothing important.

-I see- said Ms. Seki. -By the way, were you today with Doremi and the others?

Seiko got nervous at hearing that question, but tried to hide it as much as she could.

-Y… yeah. I was in the store with them, helping them a bit- answered Seiko.

-That’s nice. They all work really hard in the store. Are you going back tomorrow?- asked Ms. Seki.

-Ehm… No, I don’t… think so… I mean, I should study a bit more and, well, they will work better without me around them all the time- explained Seiko a bit nervously. -The last thing I want is to be… a bother for them.

-Don’t worry about that. They are your friends. I’m sure they are happy to have you around- said Ms. Seki.

-Yeah… friends...- said Seiko with low voice.

As soon as they finished their meals, Seiko rushed to clear off the table. Even when Ms. Seki offered her help to wash the dishes, the girl still refused. After everything was done, the teacher got ready to leave, with Seiko waiting at the entrance. Ms. Seki put on her shoes and picked up her bag, but waited for a few seconds.

-Seiko… is there any problem? Be honest- asked Ms. Seki seriously.

-What? Yeah, no problem, really! Why are you insisting so much?- asked Seiko nervously.

-Well, if you say so… But if there is anything you want to talk about, call me. At any hour. Understood?- asked Ms. Seki.

Seiko didn’t say anything, just nodded with a smile. Ms. Seki left the apartment, still worried about the girl. As soon as the teacher left, the smile in the girl’s face disappeared. Slowly, she turned off all the lights and went to her bedroom. Her head was still a mess, remembering those words over and over again. Then, she remembered.

-Oh, yeah… the diary...- muttered Seiko.

The girl stood up, sat down in front of her desk and picked up a notebook from one of the drawers. She opened it directly at that day’s page and got ready to write… but she didn’t write anything. The conversation at the store didn’t leave her head. She began going through the previous pages, skimming through the content. A faint smile appeared on her face, but it quickly disappeared. Then, she went back to the current page, wrote a very short sentence and closed the diary. After that, Seiko went back to the bed, covered herself with the blanket and turned off the lights.

-There is just… one solution...- muttered Seiko before falling asleep.