"DIE DIE DIE DIEEEE !"
It was a very cold morning, around 6:30 A.M. Stein jolted awake, clutching his blanket to him. Today was the first day of school, and wanting to know what woke him up, he walked over to his puny window.
He saw a girl who was wearing a black sailor school uniform, with a skull on the shirt , which identified her as a DWMA student. She was right his apartment, and she was screaming in a very murderous voice at the ground, and whacking it with a broom.
He shrugged and drew back from the window, because there were a lot of weirdos at the school and he had to impress Marie, and that would take A LOT of time in front of the mirror.
If I wear it THIS way...
Stein adjusted the necktie of his uniform so that it was a bit looser, and checked his reflection.
Forget it.
He irritably straightened his tie, and started to make his lunch.
The girl outside stopped whacking the ground with her broom, and smiled. The stupid cockroach finally died. However, it twitched for a few seconds, and got up again.
She glared at the cockroach and grumbled "This isn't over...but I gotta buy lunch." She brushed of her skirt, and pulled up her thigh-high black socks.
She had tried to go for the cool look, and picked out an all black uniform, sort of like Trinity from The Matrix. However, she didn't look like Trinity, but more like one of those pullip dolls that went goth.
Her heart shaped face, and sleepy looking eyes only enhanced that image. Enma Han was a childish looking girl, and had a pretty face that made her look even younger. She had very dark brown hair that reached to the bottom of her shoulder blades, and curled only at the tips. She was about 2 or 3 inches shorter than average, which she tried to cover by wearing platform shoes and high heels.
Sometimes, her appearance gave her advantages, such as passing for a kid when she went to the movies. However, most of the time, it just embarrassed her that she was a head shorter than most of the guys at school.
She made her way to the convenience store, and looked at what was on sale. There was a 70% discount on salted peanuts, and a 50% discount on salad. She picked two bags of peanuts, and wrinkled her nose as she picked up a salad set. Yesterday had been hot dog and Oreos. The day before... "I don't even want to THINK about the day before..." she mumbled.
As Stein walked through the brisk autumn day, he saw a sign at the convenience store, advertising a 50% discount on salad. His refrigerator wasn't working, like most of the things in his apartment, so decided to buy a couple. The yellow flowers fell gently from the trees, and landed in his hair. He noticed a pretty one fall to the ground, right in front of the door.
It looks like Marie''s hair...
As he bent down to pick up the petal, at the same time, Enma, who was carrying a huge bag of continence store snacks, opened the door.
Both of the students had been too preoccupied with their own thoughts, and as Stein reached for the flower, Enma kept on walking, and then...
"WHAAAA?!"
Enma tripped over Stein completely, and fell flat on top of him. The groceries went flying and went right under the wheels of a motorcycle.
Enma quickly got up, and ran towards her groceries. The salad was a green mush, and the peanuts were strewn all over the street. Stein picked himself up, and looked at his uniform. It was all dusty, and there was a green stain on it that looked like convenience store salad.
Stein snapped his head up, and was ready to yell at this little kid to watch where she was going, but noticed that she was looking, shocked, at the green marks on the asphalt.
"H-hey...are you alright?" Stein started to say, and noticed how she was holding her wallet, like there was nothing in it. Stein also noticed that her shoulders were shaking, and thought Dang... I made her cry...
He reached a hand to help her up, but that was when she slowly turned her head towards him.
"HUHUHUHU..." She slowly advanced towards him, and said "That...was my LUNCH. And. You. Drove. Over. It. (Stein was about to add that he didn't drive over it, it was the dude with the motorcycle, but he decided to keep quiet) What. Are. . DO. About. It?"
Stein said quickly "Look, I'll buy you lunch, and I'm sorry about getting in your way. We should hurry up and go to school, 'kay?!" She instantly brightened and clapped her hands like a little girl. "Ooh! Can you buy me the croquette special? I'll pay you back later, since it's my fault that I fell on you. Oh! and there's that huge deal on Jell-O! You can also get me that mango popsicle if you have extra change, too."
That was how Stein met Enma, and how they came to be friends, facing the new year ahead of them. There was just something about falling on top of each other and sharing fast food that ensured friendship.
Normally, Stein wouldn't have been nice to a stranger. He remembered when he was younger, feeling that somehow he was different from everyone. People who obeyed the teacher, people who did everything that was asked of them with a smile. They all seemed to have something that he lacked. They all seemed to possess a bright sort of light. Every word and gesture felt as if it was meant to ridicule him, that he didn't have that sort of radiance, this brightness, that everyone else had.
I hated that light.
But there was that girl. That one girl who wasn't afraid of him. Her golden eyes contained neither disgust or hatred. With her kind smile, and personality, she became his only friend in that lonely world. With her, he made other friends, and people started to accept his presence.
Marie was the reason for his existence.
As Stein looked at this girl, Enma, he could tell that she too, was lonely. Something about how her smile shined while her eyes stayed cold and emotionless, something about how she tried to seem excited about something when she was indifferent, reminded himself of how HE used to be.
And he swore, that he would stay by this girl's side, no matter what. Her true laugh and smile was truly beautiful.
