"It's what you do, unthinking, that makes the quick tear start; The tear may be forgotten -- but the hurt stays in the heart."-- Ella Higginson

"C'mon, it'll be fun"

"Sorry, not tonight guys"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just want to be alone tonight"

With that, Yukari marched up to her dorm room, alone.

Alone. There was a word Yukari was becoming all too familiar with. Then again, as far as she could see it, that was a word she was familiar with from the start. No, it was more then a simple word, it was her.

These thoughts weren't apparent to Yukari, who was convinced she just wasn't in the mood. She hadn't been for the past month. Everyone was moving ahead though, and so was she. There was Cram School starting tomorrow night, she didn't need to be out hanging out with the others and tiring herself out.

"They need to get serious" muttered Yukari. She went right to bed.

Early to bed, early to rise. When Yukari got up, the dorm was near empty, which was usual. Everyone but Mitsuru slept longer then she did. She got dressed, went down and made herself breakfast. Mitsuru was in the living room reading. "Good morning Takeba" she said offhandly.

"Good morning" said Yukari. It was a pretty large breakfast for her. As she ate it, Junpei came down with a big yawn, fully dressed himself. Yukari didn't pay much attention to him, until from the corner of her eye she saw him looking at her.

"What are you looking at?" asked Yukari.

"Is there a guest here or something?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? Look at that, you have enough food there for two of you!" said Junpei.

"I'm hungry, all right? " muttered Yukari wolfing down her food, wantng to get out and away from Junpei as soon as possible. Junpe go his own breakfast ready and took it to his room. However Junpei's coment still stung. She wasn't eating that much. After eating she left the dorm without another word.

When she went out, it was usually either to Paluwonia mall or Iwatodai station, in a rare instance she would go to the movies. If you asked Yukari what she did, she would say "stuff" and it was the truth. She had no purpose in going out other then to pass time. The gorgeous weather helped brighten her spirits.

She enjoyed herself, although there appeared to be a certain emptyness to it all. In the end, her thoughts about Minato, that blue haired eye sore, who's smile lingered on her mind sometimes. She felt a stab of pain every time, so she just pushed it out of her mind.

"I have to move forward" said Yukari.

As soon as Yukari came home, she showered up. When she came downstairs, the gang was all there, which was par for the course of the evening. "Don't tell me you're acually going to that Cram School" said Junpei.

"Yes I am, so what?" asked Yukari.

"Why? Your grades are real good, aren't they?" asked Ken.

"Yeah, but I'm going to be a Senior and I need to improve. See ya later" said Yukari. She was quick to leave.

She forced her focus onto one thing, the session ahead of her. She quickened he pace, catching the nearest train to the school. She bretahed a sigh of relief, taking her seat. She didn't even look around to see if her fellow Cram schoolers were there, she looked down at her feet, a depression she couln't pinpoint still sulking in her stomach. "Stop it Yukari, just forget it" she told herself.

"Hey, you're Yukari Takeba right?"

Yukari looked up to see a group of three girls there. They all dressed in matching blue skirts, the one in the middle with long red hair of a height of close to six foot, the other averaged sized

Yukari turned away pretendng to ignore them. She didn't need conflic right now. "I asked you a question bitch" she said shoving Yukari back in her seat.

"What's your problem!" snapped Yukari, her patience having already been thin since heading on board the train. The big girl grabed her by the shirt, Yukari pushing back, then was met with a viscous slap. She fell to the floor of the train face first, hearing the sound of the girls spitting on her. She crawled away, getting to her feet and finding a new seat next to another girl.

"Who are those three?" asked Yukari regaining her senses. She recognized her as Yuko from the Track Team, it's manager. They weren't really friends but she met her when she went to see Minato's track run.

"I heard about them. They were transfered here from another district for beating up a girl at their other school. I hear they like to target the popular girls. You should forget about Cram school" said Yuko.

"Why are they even here?" asked Yukari.

"Parents probably forced them" said Yuko.

Yukari could not focus on her work at all. She kept eyeing the girls, the bullies. All she could think about was how much she wanted to go back to the dorm. The pressure made her want to cry in the room. Ratting on them would guarentee her another beating. The call for dismissal was a blessing and a cry of danger. She ran out with all the speed she could muster, constantly looking over her shoulder. She rushed onto the train and took the furthest seat in the back. The Three girls were last on the train. They spent the whole trip leering at Yukari threateingly. She looked over expecting Minato to put a stop to this. There was no one there however, and she mentally hit herself for thinking he was.

"How was Cram School Takeba?"

"Fine"

"Hey Yuka-tan, there's some left overs from dinner if you want some"

"No thanks Junpei"

"Hey Takeba, is something wrong? You look like you lost a fight"

"I'm fine Akihiko senpai. I'm going to bed, I'm tired"

"What? It's only nine, are you kidding me?"

"Good night"

Yukari had trouble finding sleep that night, with the threat of the girls looming over her head. Yet despite the threat, for whatever reason, she could not bring herself to stop Cram School. Maybe the next night wil be better, she figured.

TBC...