"Eri, over here!"
Eri's head jolted up, her eyes meeting those of two friends—Nariko and Umeko. They'd known each other since they were children, and now, they'd be going to the same junior high together in Shibuya. With a grin, Eri rushed over to meet them.
"Hey! What class are you two in?
"We're both in 1-B," Umeko replied. "What about you?"
"Really? Same here! Looks like we can keep being together forever," the redhead said.
"Yeah. We just have to find the class!"
"According to the signs I saw, it's this way." Eri took the lead, asking the other two girls about their vacation as they walked. They didn't have much time to answer, though, for as Eri passed a corner, another girl bumped straight into her.
"Oh! I'm sorry!"
Two pairs of brown eyes met, the newer ones hiding behind a pair of glasses. The other girl soon averted her eyes and replied, "N-no, I—"
"Hey, you should watch where you're going! Eri already apologized to you, you know," Nariko challenged, a glare piercing through the newcomer. "Come on, Eri—there's no need to even acknowledge a rude girl like that."
Eri's friends walked on, leaving her to say any final words to the other girl. She forced her mouth into a smile and bowed before saying, "I'm really sorry. It won't happen again." Then, she hurried off to follow her friends.
As their class gathered in the classroom, though, the three soon found a surprise—that girl from before was also in their class. Shiki Misaki, they soon learned from roll call. Not only that, but randomization of desks put Eri by the window with only Shiki Misaki next to her—away from Nariko and Umeko. "It's okay," Eri told them after class. "We can still talk between classes and hang out after school. Don't worry about it!"
And thus, their first year of junior high began.
It didn't take long for Eri to become the most popular girl in class. With outgoing kindness, a smile, and the brains to back it up, the other students flocked around her. Only Shiki Misaki didn't try getting close. She instead buried herself in magazines while the other students made noise around her.
One day in particular, Eri caught a glimpse of the magazine—a fashion magazine for D+B. As she opened her mouth to say something, though, another student cut her off. "Hey, Misaki! Stop being rude. Judging by your test scores, you could probably learn a thing or two from Eri instead of wasting time with this." He grabbed the magazine faster than anyone could react, tearing it out of Shiki's grasp and ripping it in two. Both Shiki and Eri stared as the pages fluttered to the ground, awestruck. Eri's eyes then darted back up to the lone girl, only to find sadness playing on Shiki's face.
Why? Why did he do that? Eri thought, though the other students soon closed off her view from her neighbor, their laughter filling the air. Is it my fault—because I'm the one sitting next to her?
The teacher came in, calling everyone back to their desks. The crowd around Eri soon vanished, and she glanced at Shiki once again. She found the girl using tape to try and repair the damaged magazine, examining it to get the pages in the right order. Her precision went a step further, though—she taped the pages with such detail that the rip barely showedonce she'd finished. She then taped the other side and moved on to the next page, taking the same care in her repair. A small smile met her lips as her eyes fell on a cute shirt, and she paused in her task to read up on it.
"Misaki," their teacher called out. Shiki jumped to her feet as the teacher repeated a question. She had no answer, though, and the snickers of her classmates resounded and turned her face red. When Shiki finally managed to stutter something out, the teacher told her she was wrong, which only beckoned more laughs as the girl sunk back down.
"Yumi, what about you?" Hearing her family name, Eri stood. She glanced at Shiki, trying to think of the best way to respond. Unsure of how to save her classmate's name, Eri closed her eyes and gave the correct answer before sitting down. That action, however, just encouraged more whispers. Even though she couldn't hear the words, Eri's heart sank, sadness plaguing her as she realized she'd just knocked Shiki Misaki even further down the class' social ladder.
Weeks passed like that—every now and then, Eri would pick up on some of the laughter following that quiet girl next to her. Nothing changed until one unforgettable day, when the class agreed to bring personal projects in to show each other.
On her way to class, Eri stopped upon noticing something strange in the hall—white balls of fluff. She knelt down to pick them up, examining them as she wondered where they came from.
"Is that the fuzz from that toy?" she heard Umeko's voice above her. Both Umeko and Nariko stood there.
Eri rose up with the fuzz in her hands, confused. "Toy?"
"Yeah—a weird cat doll Misaki brought in for our class thing. I don't get it. How does she think she can participate with the class now, after how much she's ignored us?"
"You should throw that fuzzy stuff away," Nariko added. "The whole doll belongs in the trash, really."
Eri kept a smile on her face and tilted her head, but she didn't say a word. Instead, she wondered, Why are they being like this? They're kind people…
"We should get to class—maybe Yamashiro's already there," Umeko suggested, mentioning the most popular guy in class. Eri gave a nod and agreed, but she kept the fluff in her hands. She, at least, had to make things right.
Shiki Misaki wasn't in class. Not yet, anyway. Eri stared at her neighbor's desk while her friends gossiped about something—she didn't even know what. She excused herself for the bathroom, though, and hurried out and down the hall. She checked the library, the bathroom, even some club rooms. No matter where she looked, Shiki Misaki was nowhere to be found.
On her way back to class, she ran into another pair of classmates—Ai and Mina. "Hey, Eri," Mina greeted. "Are you headed to class?"
"No, not yet," Eri answered, offering them a smile. "Have you seen Misaki anywhere?"
"Misaki?"
"Yeah. Short brown hair, glasses…"
"Oh, her! I think I saw her heading to the roof earlier."
"Thanks, Mina! I'll see you in class!" Eri picked up her pace, her destination finally set. She ascended the stairs and soon emerged onto the roof.
There, she saw Shiki Misaki sitting against the fence. The girl held a large black cat doll in her lap, and her hands moved to stitch the doll's ear back on. White stuffing poked out of a torn arm, and the other seemed to not be attached yet period. Shiki herself glanced up at Eri when the door opened, but she turned back to her work, biting her lip as if nervous.
Did our classmates do this…? Eri pondered.
After a moment, Eri approached the other girl. "Hey—Misaki, isn't it? I think this is yours." She held her hands forward to offer the fuzz, and Shiki looked up with wide eyes.
"You… brought that for me?"
"Yeah." Eri knelt down next to her, smiling like usual. "This goes in your cat, right? Some of my friends mentioned it. I'm sorry they did that to you."
Shiki's mouth stayed agape for a moment before she found the means to speak. "Wait—you? You're sorry? But like, aren't you the most popular girl in class? The ring leader of everyone—not that I assumed you were bad or anything or well a ring leader, but! Everyone follows your every word or something, so I just—I wasn't expecting…"
Now, Eri stared flabbergasted. Her head took a moment to register the amount of words her classmate spoke—far more than she'd ever heard from Shiki Misaki before. She let it settle into a laugh instead and replied, "No, it's okay. I guess it does look pretty bad. Honestly, I should've stood up for you before, but I'm not sure I've even seen how bad it really is."
"Ah—well—! It's not that bad, really!" Shiki replied, waving her hands. "I mean, I should pay more attention in class, and I really do want to make better grades! I just get kinda bored, and then my mind and hands wander…"
"You're pretty skilled with your hands, though." Eri reached over and gave the doll's ear a light shake. "Did you make her?"
"Him—his name's Mr. Mew. And yeah, I did." Shiki held the doll out, a smile gracing her face. "I brought him not only to show him to the class as my special thing, but also to finish him up. But…" She trailed off, her smile fading. "Well, no one likes him…"
Eri shook her head. "That's not true." When Shiki looked over at her, she continued, "I like him."
"You…you do?"
"Yeah. You did a really great job on him."
"Thanks…" Shiki took the stuffing from her classmate and eased it into Mr. Mew's torn arm. After tearing her current thread with a seam ripper, she knotted it and began work sewing the arm on. "He was kinda fun to make. Sewing's really only a hobby I just started, though—he's my first project."
Eri petted Mr. Mew's head and said, "That's not a bad thing. Hobbies are what you truly love to do. And, I think you could really make something of a hobby like this."
"Wait… Make something? What do you mean?"
Eri's mind flashed back to the magazine. "What about making clothes?"
"I wouldn't even know where to start," Shiki admitted. "I mean, I can figure out the basics, but I don't even know how people make things so cute."
Eri settled in to sit next to her classmate, her hands diving into her bag as she did so. "Hey, want to see what I brought? You'll be the first."
"S-sure!"
"Here." Eri pulled out a sketchbook, which she opened up to show drawings of people. "I like drawing humans, but my favorite part is really designing clothes for them."
Shiki took the book in her lap, surprised. "These are all amazing designs! They look like real clothes people might wear."
"Thanks, but I don't know the first thing about sewing, so I could never bring them to life." Eri turned a grin on her classmate and continued, "Why don't you try instead?"
"Me? You want me to make this?" Shiki's head turned from the book to Eri and back to the book as confusion played on her face.
"Uh-huh. I want to see it. So… would you mind?"
"N-not at all!" Shiki hugged the book close, beaming. "I'd love to—thank you!"
"No, I should be the one thanking you. Borrow my sketchbook for a bit, and make something from it for yourself. Just promise you'll show me when you're done."
"Of course! Thank you, Yumi…"
Eri shook her head. "No—we're friends now, right? Call me Eri."
"We're… friends?"
"Yeah. Mind if I call you Shiki?"
This time, Shiki shook her head. She then returned to stitching Mr. Mew's arm back on, far happier than Eri had ever seen her before. "I don't mind… Thanks. I'll do my best on the outfit!"
"I look forward to it."
The two girls laughed and discussed different styles. Even after the bell rang telling them to get to class, they still found themselves continuing their conversation through little notes passed between each other. From there, their chats only grew, and the days spent talking soon turning into weeks. That one share of hobbies had transformed into lasting friendship, and through that friendship, a joint dream was born—one that, with any luck, would someday enable them to design and create new fashions for the world.