Strawberry Scramble!

Let's mix it up a little, shall we?

Aoi Nagisa rushed towards the gates of Astraea Hill, her breath ragged as she continued the formidable ascent. Upon the apex of Astraea Hill stood three schools: St. Lulim, St. Miator, and St. Spica. Due to the nature of her parents' business, which involved much travel, Nagisa was to attend one of the three distinguished schools until her graduation. She had been told that Astraea Hill normally discouraged transfer students beyond the second year, but because of her parents' circumstances, Nagisa was accepted to attend. The incoming fourth year cursed inwardly as she ran, had she not accidently turned off her alarm clock, she wouldn't have had the need to run almost the entire way from the train to the school. It was bad enough being a fourth year transfer, now she had to worry about being the tardy, irresponsible fourth year transfer.

After a conquering the multitude of steps that reached towards the top of the hill, the exhausted red headed girl allowed herself a moment of rest. She inhaled sharply, not because of her lack of breath, but because of the sight before her. Slightly stunned, Nagisa walked between the crowds of girls wearing different uniforms. The transfer student briefly glanced down at her own school uniform, feeling out of place, strangely less dignified, and a little sweaty.

At least I remembered to put on some deodorant before I left… Nagisa thought to herself. 'Speaking of remembering, I'm gonna be late!'

Although she saw other girls make their way to the main entrance of Astraea, which meant she wasn't going to be as late as she thought, Nagisa ran towards the entrance through sheer excitement. However, the excited transfer didn't make it much farther past the entrance. A large crowd of girls had assembled before her, all of them whispering in excited tones. Nagisa shifted the bag on her shoulder in exasperation. The gate entrance swelled with a wall of girls, mostly the ones wearing stark white uniforms.

"Hey, what's going on?" Nagisa questioned no one in particular. None of the girls had bothered to answer her; they were completely engrossed with what stood beyond the crowd. Nagisa stood on her tippy toes to see what the commotion was about, but she was still too short to see beyond other girls who were doing the same. Nagisa looked to her watch, characterized by some cute cartoon character whose hands pointed out the time. She soon became restless and began to forge her way through the crowd, apologizing to each indignant gasp. Her venture wasn't without struggle, as almost every girl in the crowd was pushing to get to the front anyways. Eventually she saw a clearing, and practically leapt towards it. Her foot caught another's and Nagisa was sent tumbling out of the mass. The girls behind her were thrown into disarray as they began to collapse into one another.

She held her arms out before herself to break her fall, but instead of connecting with harsh pavement, she jumped straight into someone else. The other person stumbled back a bit, but otherwise maintained their composure. Nagisa sighed in relief before remembering her predicament. The corners of her mouth twitched sheepishly, Aaaah, I've done it now… she looked up slowly to see look upon her unwitting savior. The face that looked down at her appeared boyishly handsome and framed with short locks of blue hair, but for some reason, he was blushing furiously and his mouth was slightly agape.

Nagisa looked down towards her hands that were on his chest. Both of her hands were settled on what felt like two lumps. On impulse, Nagisa gave two brisk squeezes. The person before her inhaled sharply and the recovering crowd of girls that surrounded cried out in dismay. Yeah, definitely not a guy!

Nagisa quickly let go of the other girl's breasts, and snatched up the bag that had fallen off of her shoulder during the chaos. With a renewed burst of energy born from desperation, she sprinted towards what she hoped to be the administration building. She didn't notice that one of the many keychain charms connected to her bag had fallen off.

The other girl stood dumbfounded as she watched the red headed girl in the foreign school uniform dash off into the distance. Her crowds of spectators were equally at a loss of what to do. One of the girls that Nagisa had accidentally 

tripped still sat on the pavement, horrified. The crowds then began to shriek among themselves, forgetting that they were in the face of their idol. The lone girl in the midst of it all took the time to pick something off the ground before briskly walking to her class.

Nagisa stood outside of the administration office, her hands resting on her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. She stole a glance at her watch, despite the earlier situation; she had managed to make it on time. Doesn't change the fact that I just violated someone. Nagisa straightened up and sighed heavily. She could already tell it was going to be a long day.

She straightened the tie to her uniform before entering the ornate wooden doors. She was grateful for the burst of cool air that emanated from within.

"Oh, you must be Aoi Nagisa, correct?" An elderly, kind voice questioned.

Nagisa turned to see a nun behind the desk; her weathered hands were folded in front or her, she wasn't at all surprised to see Nagisa's haggard visage. "Huh, ah, yes! That's me!" She rubbed her head, laughing sheepishly.

The nun just smiled, "I have your paper work right here." She gestured towards the small stack of papers on the desk before her. "So you'll be in Miator? After you sign a couple of things, you will need to get fitted for a uniform."

"Hnah? Miator?" Nagisa interjected.

"Oh! Excuse me." The old nun chuckled, her face wizened with numerous laugh lines. "Did I say Miator? I must be getting old. Please fill these sheets out and proceed to the second room on the left. You'll get fitted for your uniform." The nun handed Nagisa a small envelope with a number written on it. "This is your key for your dormitory room in Astraea Hall."

After getting fitted for her new uniform, Nagisa walked towards the dormitory. She still spotted girls in different uniforms from time to time, but was especially careful not to look straight at the ones in white. Every time she walked by a click of girls in white uniforms, she got the feeling they were whispering about her. Eventually, the feeling drove Nagisa to paranoia and she lengthened her stride.

She eventually arrived at what she thought to be the correct building. She looked to the key in her hand and back at the building. She had never lived in a dormitory before, and the one before her was formidable. To save herself from any potential embarrassment, she called out to a student in a pink uniform who was exiting the building, "Hey! Is this Astraea Hall?"

"Haha, Astraea Hall? Wow, I almost never hear that name. This is Astraea Hall, but everyone here calls it the Strawberry Dorms."

Nagisa rubbed her head again, a nervous habit, "Ah, really? Thanks."

She went to pass the girl, but she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, "Tsk…wait a minute. You must be the new transfer student. Your uniform is just so cute! Hmm. I think I may just be inspired."

"Huh?"

"Never mind that, my name is Minamoto Chikaru. By the way, the dorm rooms are assigned by school and class year. What's your name?" The other girl asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

The transfer straightened out, puffing her chest. "Aoi Nagisa! I'm going to be attending St. Spica!"