; chapter II : farewells ;

Nothing much in life ever surprised me. In fact, I can count how many times I've been caught off guard with just a hand. The first time was when I learned about my mother, my twisted family history, and how I had a half twin living in Japan. The second when my father suddenly declared that we'll be moving to Africa so he can fulfill his newly realized dream to become a researcher and expeditioner. Third was the culture shock when I first arrived in Africa, fourth when Father practically ordered me to fly all the way to my Japan, and most recently, the Chairman's declaration of my sudden transfer to Miyabigaoka. Guess what? I can finally graduate to two hands.

A loud bang greeted me as soon as I entered the Student Council Room, scaring the living daylights out of me. Before I can find out the source of the sound, darkness enveloped my whole sight, rendering me temporarily blind. I lost my balance at the surprise of the unforeseeable event, and a millisecond later, a sprawled out Hanae lay still on the floor.

"What the hell?" I groaned, spitting out confetti from my mouth while wiping away the paper pieces blocking my view.

The sight that awaited my eyes had me blinking in quiet astonishment. The very first thing I noticed in the room was a huge banner hung on the curtain rods reading, "We'll miss you, Hanae! T-T". Instead of the usual arrangements where the tables are set up in a rectangular shape around the room with a big space in the middle, the tables were now put together at the center to form one big table. A simple strawberry cake stood at the midst of the table, along with a few bags of chips and cans of soda. My eyes slid over from the decorations to the crowd of people before me. Some were holding in laughter and others held a hand over their lips in shock.

A mop of black hair entered my view and suddenly, I was standing back on my feet, as if nothing ever happened.

"We're sorry, Hanae!" Misaki-kaichou bowed a perfect 160 degree bow. She glared at the people behind her whom I recognized were the friends I made during my stay here. "Come on, you guys too. Apologize!" They bowed as well, all muttering their apologies.

I glanced at each of them carefully, taking my time to memorize each detail of their faces, realizing that I'll miss these people so much when I transfer.

Before I could stop myself, my face scrunched up and a single tear slid down my cheek. The atmosphere turned panicky as people stood awkwardly while some actually laughed.

"Hanae! Stop crying, will you? Let's save the tears for later." Misaki-kaichou laughed, ruffling my hair. I sniffled, covering my hideous tomato face.

"Don't look at me." My thick voice demanded, turning my back before wiping my eyes and cheeks. I couldn't help it! It's been a long time since I was shown this much thought and love. Actually, it's been too long. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and faced them once more.

"What do you know? Hanae could actually show emotion. How surprising!" Onii- san mocked me which I returned with a blank look.

"I'm human too, you know."

All of them burst into laughter. What a sight, they probably thought, Hanae still wouldn't let go of her trademark expressionless face even with bloodshot eyes and a red nose.

"I really don't know what to say." I said, meeting the eager expressions before me. "Except, thank you so much for this and I'll definitely miss you guys too." I opened my arms wide.

'Aww's' filled the room as we were all soon crushed into one big sandwiched hug.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's dig in!" Misaki-kaichou shouted which was promptly followed by several cheers as the table was surrounded by hungry kids.

A smile graced my lips at the lovely sight. This simple going away party really moved me to no end. Just knowing that my friends care about me was enough to make me feel full. I sat at a chair near the windows while observing everyone, engraving this memory into my mind. The sight of happy faces, the sound of cheerful chattering, and the faint scent of everyone's cologne all mixed together, I'll surely remember even the littlest detail of this day.

I felt someone occupying the empty seat beside me, making me turn my head to face them.

"Are you enjoying?" Onii-san asked, overlooking the crowd of people. My eyes locked on the same scene.

"Yes. Yes, I am." I said softly.

"That's good," he nodded. "Misaki told me the details. Do you really want to transfer to Miyabigaoka? You know I can always transfer in your place." I shook my head roughly. That's exactly why I did what I did, I didn't want to burden my brother any further by separating him and Misaki-kaichou.

"Yeah, I mean Miyabigaoka is. . . a nice place?" The end of my sentence turned out to be more of a question rather than a justification. Wow, nice going Hanae. Now that's a dead giveaway that you don't want to move away.

"Hanae." He faced me, staring intently at my profile.

"I really do want to do this. I'll receive better education there than I do here in Seika. And honestly, no matter what anyone says, it's a win-win scenario for me." I stated matter-of-factly in a more confident voice. Then I met his striking green eyes. "Trust me on this, Onii-san."

The 'Onii-san' card worked and his hard expression softened. "I do, it's just that I'm worried for you." Well, that's perfectly reasonable. I'm worried for me too.

His tone turned deadly serious. "There are some sick things that happen there, particularly within Miyabigaoka's Student Council. As much as possible, I want you to avoid them. They can only mean trouble to Seika's students, and that includes you." I was surprised by the steel lining his voice. Could Onii-san have some kind of bad past with them? Miyabigaoka's a reputed school though, surely their Student Council's not as bad as he says.

"Hanae-san! Usui-san! The cake's been cut!" Yukimura-san called out, waving his hand to call us over.

The first one to stand up was Onii-san but before he walked over to the green-haired boy, he uttered one last sentence that sent a shiver up my spine. "By all costs, don't come near their President."

I follow his broad back with dejected eyes. What's with that?

"I guess Misaki-kaichou forgot to tell you one last detail," I whispered to myself. "I'll be working in Miyabigaoka's Student Council."