A Flower's Sunshine
"Rin-chan!" Hanayo sighed for umpteenth time, wishing that the newest addition to her class would just quieten down; she should've expected trouble the moment she spotted Rin at the back of the class. The cheering in the class got louder as the novice teacher blushed, "Q-Quieten down everyone! N-Now would anyone else answer the question?"
But apparently her childhood friend wouldn't let her have a good time, with her arms waving in the air and the familiar grin on her face. She sighed once more, wondering if it was a good thing that Rin never changed this few years.
"But sensei! You asked a question and Rin wants to answer nya!" Rin shouted from the back of the classroom, fist bumping the two girls beside her. She ignored the mild twist in her gut and the nervous feeling that was eating away at her, greeting like an old friend.
"R-Rin-chan!" She didn't miss the way Rin's eyes seemed to twinkle, with the encouraging smile that she always relied on, though it seemed that Rin actually made it worse this time.
"Sensei is being unfair nya!" Rin said once more, lightly pounding on the table, ignoring the cries of laughter. Obviously embarrassment didn't work that way for Rin.
"O-Okay fine, then tell me the answer then," Hanayo tapped the whiteboard with her marker, if her gut feelings were right…
"Eleven nya!" Rin cheered, not bothering with the numbers that were on the whiteboard.
"That's wrong, Rin-chan," She sighed, vaguely disappointed, maybe there was still a need to tutor Rin after all.
"That's the number of times I confessed to you," Rin chuckled, eyes filled with mirth as roars erupted from the class.
"R-Rin chan!" The novice teacher internally screamed, guess the only thing that changed was that Rin got even bolder these few years. "Leave the classroom!"
"But why Hanayo-sensei?" She had to suppress a shudder at the weird mix of her name and the honorific.
"Because you got the answer wrong," Hanayo tapped the whiteboard once more, before pointing at the exit. "Alright class, we will continue with page sixty-nine!"
"Did Rin give you trouble again?" The teacher's office was rather quiet at one in the afternoon, before Maki rolled over on her chair, placing a rice ball on Hanayo's lap. "There, cheer up!"
"Maki-chan…" The math teacher gave a hug in return, if only Rin could be half as mature as Maki. "I should put up a notice that no Rin-chans are allowed in my class."
The teacher then proceed to pull out various coloured markers from the drawer, as Maki giggled by her side. "Really Hanayo?"
"Maki-chan, not you too!" Hanayo huffed, colouring Rin's name in yellow, finishing the notice with a cat at the end. "It's stress relieving okay!"
Maki shrugged, before patting Hanayo on the head. "Don't stress yourself out though."
The month of June brought summer unwillingly, the glare of the sun was stronger than ever, piercing through the curtains of the teacher's office. The water dispensing machine by the door side whirled as Maki filled the last cup of water, delivering it to the math teacher's desk.
"Hey Maki-chan," Hanayo pushed aside the curtains to reveal the school field, before tapping the window nervously. The piece of glass didn't stop the heat from seeping through, and Hanayo felt the warmth of the afternoon air on her fingertips.
"What is it?" Maki questioned, picking up her newest score to work on, erasing the last line of the lyrics.
"N-Nothing!"
And the red-head tried her best to ignore the duty board that was pinned on the office walls, the sinking feeling that she knew what Hanayo was referring to, because she already knew who was out on the field.
"Alright one more lap around the field!" Rin shouted across the withering patch of green, this season seemed to burn out more than just her. The P.E. teacher took her seat at the benches by the side before lowering her cap, wishing that she didn't see what she saw.
"Sensei! Are you going to crash our math class again?"
"Probably not," Rin chuckled, "Now finish you lap!"
The mid-afternoon sun shone brightly, akin to a ball of fire in the skies, and Rin had to tear her eyes away from the glare that was reflected from the teacher's office's windows.
One in the afternoon meant that Hanayo and Maki would be the only ones in the air conditioned office, having their lunch break together.
Rin sighed before blowing her whistle, signalling the end of her lessons.
"How unfair nya…"
"Maki-chan!" The burst through the doors never failed to give Maki a shock, even though she should've expected it on every Wednesday.
"Rin," The music teacher gave her fellow colleague a nod before tossing a towel over, which Rin caught with ease.
"Y-You could have the water from my bottle. The water dispensing machine is out of water," She continued, watching Rin's gratified expression as she retrieved the red bottle from the pantry.
"I heard you crashed Hanayo's class again today," The music teacher commented. The silence that took over was brief, but it was enough to make her uncomfortable. Maybe she should request for more periods to take over.
"I did nya!" Rin's voice echoed around the empty office, before she tackled Maki into a hug, nuzzling the obviously annoyed music teacher.
"Rin-chan! You're so sweaty, get off me!"
"You called me Rin-chan!" Rin responded, mouth agape and wide eyed.
"So what if I did!" Maki retorted, reaching out for another towel she had prepared in advance.
"Does this mean- You know- That thing! So you agreed?" Rin slid herself across the music teacher's desk, noting the lyrics from before were no more.
"No."
"But why!"
"Because Hanayo loves you."
The sound of Maki's heels clicking away from the office signalled the end of their conversation, even as Rin shouted from behind the closed doors.
"Kayo-chin loves you too!"
Having empty periods in the afternoon meant that Maki would finish class latest, the satisfying sound of her keys clicking in the lock did gave her immense relief, she was one step closer to her impending hot shower.
"Maki-chan!" Two voices of different pitches greeted her the moment the door was unlocked, and Maki was surprised that the two teachers were still dressed in their school get-go.
"Hanayo? Rin? Why didn't you take your showers?"
Scores fluttered down and the music teacher dropped her files as both of her arms were yanked away, and soon she found herself tackled on their giant shared bed, courtesy of the Nishikinos.
"Did Maki-chan get jealous today or something nya...?" Rin was the first to make a move, while Hanayo stood by the corner with an apologetic face plastered on.
"M-Maki-chan, you know, I really love you too!" Hanayo piped up, before finally sitting on the bed. "I-If you asked me to pick between Rin-chan or Maki-chan, I-I wouldn't be able to choose. So… So-"
"I-I…"
This time round Rin reached her other arm over, grabbing Hanayo in a group hug, and kissing the both of them on their foreheads. "A flower needs more than just sunshine nya! A flower needs rain too!"
"Are you saying I'm the rain?" Maki snorted, "Looks like a pillow fight is in order..."
"And the sun would be lonely without the rain too," Hanayo chirped in, sneaking a kiss on Maki's cheeks.
"Alright alright! I get it already! This is creeping me out, both of you are sounding like Umi…" Maki began, before her words were stopped by Rin's endless chanting of her name.
Hanayo chuckled as her two best friends readied themselves with the pillows, reaching over for their palms. Looks like the month of June brought over something else, something that brought warmth to their hearts too.
"Both of you are my sunshines."
And she knew she could never ask for anything more when she saw happy smiles on the faces of her two favourite people.