"Yuicchi, your lunch," Dai-chan said and handed me my lunchbox wrapped in pink cloth. Oh right, I forgot my lunch when I left early this morning.

"Thanks, Dai-chan."

"How sweet! They have nicknames for each other!" Sakura and Arima sat with us. Yoemon was not in sight though.

"We were kids when we met so that's natural." I took a bite of my side dish.

"Yuicchi was really cute ever since back then and I thought 'Yuicchi' was the perfect name for her."

I choked on my food. "Jeez, Dai-chan, don't you get embarrased when you say that?"

"Hahaha, Yui-chan you're totally blushing!" Sakura laughed. Who wouldn't be blushing if someone said that, huh?

I ate quickly and excused myself. I heard two girls talking about Dai-chan in the bathroom.

"Did you see that new guy in 2-A?"

"Yeah, he's so hot!"

"And so tall! But he was definitely all over that darn plain girl."

"I know right?! He should just leave her."

"Wanna go make friends with him?"

Hahaha no. I don't want Dai-chan being friends with girls like this. I took off my twin braids and swiftly went inside one of the cubicles without being noticed.

"What was that?" Said Girl 1.

"Don't scare me, Maki."

I inhaled and let out an ultra evil laugh. The girls screamed when they saw my head poking out of a cubicle door and left. I continued laughing until I got to the door where I was caught by a small girl with an angry expression, her face beet red. Did I make her mad?

The bell rang and I had to rush to the classroom. Someone caught me laughing alone in the bathroom. That girl must think that I'm crazy or something. Gah, how much more embarassed can I get today?

I shouldn't have asked. I got even more embarassed when I found a letter in my shoe locker. I got a lot of teasing from Sakura and Arima. Dai-chan had a pointed look and asked me not to go to the meeting place.

I went there anyway, but I was surprised when I saw the girl from earlier.

"Um," I said. "Were you the one who put the letter in my shoe locker?" I thought it was a guy because of the messy handwriting. I didn't think that it would be this cutie.

"S-senpai!" She blushed. "I-I-I'm your fan!"

Did she say fan? Me? I have a fan?

"U-um," I hugged her before she could say anything else.

"I don't know why you're a fan but. . . I have a fan! And you called me senpai! Wait, what's your name?"

"I'm Rika Haruta. We went to the same middle school and I admired you when you performed in that stage play!"

I brought Rika over to where the others were waiting. I introduced them and asked if Rika could walk with us home. They agreed.

"Oh yeah. Sakura, have you seen Yoemon anywhere? Haven't seen him since this morning," I said. I never had the chance to talk to him the whole day. He could be getting beat up at this moment. I texted him to come to the school gates right this instant and he came after around five minutes.

He didn't look like he was in the middle of beating up someone or getting beat up. Actually, he looked like he was sleeping before he came.

"What's up? Who is this little monkey?" He said, pointing a finger at Rika. Rika, on the other hand, almost bit his finger. I like this girl already.

"I'm Yui-senpai's adorable kouhai! Wanna fight?!"

A vein visibly popped on Yoemon's forehead and he looked ready to fight Rika.

"Guys, it's the first day of the new term. No fighting, please. We'll do proper introductions on the way home." I broke in.

• • • • •