Chapter One
"Na-o-mi!" I didn't even have time to turn around before Seiko Shinohara, my best friend jumped onto my back, clinging to me tightly. I almost fell over, but managed to stay on my feet somehow. "Seiko! What are you doing again?" At least she didn't try to touch my butt like last time. "You didn't wait for me!", she said accusingly as she got on down on her feet again , "you're a big meanie!" I scratched the back of my head. "I'm sorry Seiko, I was just a little absent minded. But you know, tomorrows the first day of the summer holidays! Let's meet and I'll buy you ice cream." Almost immediately a light lit in Seiko's eyes. "Yay! Ice cream eating with Naomi!" She jumped like a little girl in excitement. "Let's meet in front of my house at 2.00 pm." "Understood!", Seiko called before continuing to run down the street.
"That ice cream was so super tasty!", Seiko shouted. She ate it so fast, it looked like she swallowed the whole thing. "Ack!" I turned around. "What's wrong, Seiko?" "My brain feels like it's frozen!" "That's what you get for devouring the ice cream like a little demon." Seiko didn't response to that. She just continued rubbing her head. I looked at my watch. It was 7.05 pm. I sighed. "I have to go home. I need to start with the tons of homework today." "Oh, I have to get going myself! I have to prepare dinner for my younger siblings 'cause my dad's going to be late today" ,Seiko said. "Ah, I see." After her mum had disappeared, Seiko had taken a motherly role in her family. "Bye", she called and ran off. That girl really needs to slow down sometimes. So I slowly walked down the promenade towards the direction of my home. The sky still bright and blue, without a cloud to be seen. On a very steep green space, I stopped. Didn't I just see the shadow of a person there? Curious, I approached it . Yes, there was someone. I moved a little further until I was on the edge. Maybe someone spilled water there, I think I even saw an open, half-empty bottle there. However my foots suddenly slipped and I feel down. "Aagh!" During the fall I turned 180°, so I couldn't see what hit. All I knew was that it was definitely a person, because I could feel hands grabbing my shoulders. Together we rolled down that hill until our fall came to a harsh stop as we forcefully hit the small road at the bottom. "Ouch..." I rubbed my head. Then remembering the situation I quickly got off the person. "Ah...I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to..." "Don't mind it." It was a boy around my age running his fingers through his disheveled brown hair. On his clothes I could see small pieces of shingle and dust. My clothes probably didn't look better. "Are you hurt?" "What? No, I'm fine!", I quickly responded before adding:"Uhm...What about you?" He shook his head. "No, nothing serious either besides maybe a few scratches or a couple of bruises" "I'm sorry..." His eyes didn't show any signs of anger. "You don't have to apologize every two seconds. By the way what's your name?" "It's Naomi. And you...?" "Nice to meet you Naomi! The name's Satoshi."