An ebony haired girl sighed. She sat in her classroom, her dark green eyes staring blankly at her mathematics tutor as he wrote on the chalkboard, monotonously explaining an equation that the fifteen-year-old had already worked through. Unlike the rest of her classmates. They listened intently, trying to translate the mathematical gibberish they heard into coherent language.

The girl, Akane Nakamura is a very bright scholarship student. She'd already completed the maths problems the class had been set, and the weekends' homework, within the first forty minutes of this lesson. Which was also, thankfully, the last one, of the week. Inevitably, her attention drifted to other points in and around the classroom. In fact, she spent the remaining minutes just staring listlessly out of the window, tapping her pen on the edge of her desk.

"Nakamura!" Mr Fujimoto's annoyed voice bellowed, bringing Akane's attention back to the room. She'd jumped, dropped her pen, and quickly turned to her frustrated and tired lecturer. He was a stout man, with a balding head of wispy dark hair. His coal black eyes stared at her scornfully as she blinked back, wide-eyed, and blushing in embarrassment as the rest of the class turned to look at her.

"Nakamura, I asked you to explain why Mr. Matsumura's formula wouldn't work." Inwardly, Akane groaned and discreetly turned to the brunette as he gazed back at her appreciatively, from his seat, three seats across and one row down from her.

Being the new student in school, and a girl, meant she caught a lot of the male attention. Most wouldn't mind this or would even be flattered by it, but Akane couldn't wait for it to fully die down. It's not that she wasn't interested in boys, some of them were very attractive and certainly caught her eye. She just didn't have the time, need or patience for a relationship. So, she kept them at arm's length and only interacted with them when necessary, or when made to by a certain someone.

Turning back to her tutor with an apologetic look, she admitted,
"I didn't hear what he said, Sir." Looking to the blackboard she added, "But the formula on the board won't work because the two hasn't been carried," she said, tilting her head, and gesturing to the mistake. The tutor twisted around and reluctantly, modified the equation.
"That is correct," he grumbled grudgingly, turning back to face his students, thoroughly exasperated by the teenage girl who had graced them with her presence.

Akane had been absent for his last three lessons, but she'd brought the homework he'd set in the last lesson, completed and correct, three days early!
"See me after class Nakamura." Akane nodded, understanding her teacher's obvious frustration towards her. The last bell rang some moments later, causing the students to immediately start packing away their things and ignoring their teacher's instructions to complete their homework by Monday. "Don't forget there will also be a quiz on what we covered this week. It will be in your exams, so study your books! Nakamura..." he added, beckoning her with his finger and watching her over his wire-rimmed glasses as she began to be surrounded by her friends and admirers.

"I'll wait for you Akane," Miu Hayashi offered. She was the certain someone mentioned previously. She was also Akane's first and best friend at school. She had light brown hair that brushed the base of her neck, and big, deep blue eyes. Her heart-shaped face was complimented with a small button nose and thin, pink lips. Her skin was light but not as pale as Akane's, with a minimal dusting of blush on the apples of her cheeks. Despite her petite size and deceptively cute and innocent appearance, Miu always reminded Akane of a coiled spring waiting to be let loose.

"Don't worry about it. I'll catch up with you later."
"You got him mad just to ditch out again, didn't you?" Kimiko Inoue accused with her arms folded over her generous chest, and a frown set on her oval shaped face. She was the same height as Akane and had a pretty face like Miu, with her long, straight nose and slightly pouting lips, but she was more serious than either of them. She had impossibly straight, waist-length, golden, blonde hair with very light blue eyes, and just a light coating of mascara to compliment her slightly tanned skin.

Akane didn't answer her friend's accusation as she walked passed with an innocent look. Kimiko sighed, irritated, as she turned to Miu.
"You know she did it on purpose, right?" she asked as Miu swung her bag over her shoulder, offering just a shrug in reply. Miu agreed, of course, thinking, it wouldn't be the first time, but she was adamant today, Akane was coming with them, no matter what!

As they descended to the lower levels of the teaching room, their tutor's voice became clearer.
"Your work is exceptional, but you cannot keep skipping classes. You may be bright, Miss Nakamura, but this is still a school, and classes are mandatory, not optional. I expect you to attend all your classes from now on! Is that clear?"

Akane nodded before she handed Mr Fujimoto her homework and watched as he struggled to keep his annoyance in check.
"It's the homework assignment you set today," she said in a contrite tone of voice. He took the papers offered with a tired sigh, before Akane added, "Will that be all Sir?" She discreetly gestured to the door where her roommate, Miu, and her Class President, Kimiko, stood waiting impatiently. Mr Fujimoto nodded and wearily waved her away. "Thank you, Sir."

Akane left the classroom and was hurriedly whisked away by her friends down the corridor and out the school building, into the late afternoon sun.
"We're going to miss it, Miu! Just forget it she won't come," Kimiko complained, exasperated by Akane's unwillingness to co-operate. Miu waved a hand over her shoulder to silence her friend as she continued trying to convince Akane to accompany theme.

"Akane you've been in this school for two whole months, and you have refused me for the last time, now you are coming, and that's final!"
"But I'm not interested," Akane groaned for the millionth time, hoping she could wear her friend down like she had done many times before.
"You see! Now that's just not normal," Kimiko argued with her hands resting on her hips in aggravation, her blonde hair flowing long and thick down her back. Her silver-like, blue eyes were trained on Akane in an exasperated stare.

Miu sighed in disappointment when she realised she wasn't getting what she wanted with conventional methods. It's time to bring out the big guns!
"Then you leave me no choice, Akane," Miu revealed as she released Akane's shoulders, that she'd been shaking lightly for the last few minutes. She stood with her head bowed and her eyes, obscured behind her brunette bangs. Akane gasped and leant away from her friend, as her stance stirred recognition in her eyes.

"Wait? What are you...? No!"
Miu lifted her head to show deep, blue, puppy-dog eyes, brimming with tears and a sad turned down mouth. "Not the face Miu. Come on, cut it out! You know I hate the face!" But Miu persisted making her eyes bigger and even going so far, as to make whining sounds.

"Oh, for the love of …" Kimiko sighed while holding a palm to her face in frustration. What on Earth is this girl doing? Despite Kimiko's lack of confidence in her shorter friends' persuasiveness, it appeared her tactics were getting the desired effect.
"Ok, ok I'll go with you this once. Now, will you please stop it, you're freaking me out!" Akane cried, scrunching her face up at the unappealing look her friend was contorting her face into.

"Yeah!" Miu squealed, returning her features to normal. She linked her arms with her friends, dragging Akane to her feet, and began pulling them both to the exit of the female dorm building.
"See, I told you she'd come today no matter what," Miu declared after sticking her tongue out at Kimiko childishly. The Kicked Puppy Look. Who knew it would work on Little Miss Stubborn?
"Whatever! You'd better hope we get good spots, Nakamura, after waiting around for you." Akane poked her tongue out at her friend also, earning a humph in response.

Akane didn't want anything to do with this bizarre ritual her friends participated in so religiously. If you've seen one pretty boy, you've seen them all, no big deal, were her thoughts on the matter. None the less, she allowed Miu to pull her eagerly down the long lane towards The Moon Dorms, and the amazing Night Class.