2
Next morning Mia got ready for school. She put the uniform on and looked at her reflection on the mirror. She was 1.50cm tall, short for her age but she didn't care, and Dominic always made her feel good by saying that it made her cuter.
She made it on time even though she got lost in the subway station. This is even worse than the metro in Paris. However, she bumped into other students wearing the same uniform as her and just followed them.
All the students gathered at the gym for the Entrance Ceremony. The teachers were introduced and the principal gave his welcome speech. It was motivating and encouraging, however Mia couldn't understand it all. She still had to work on her listening skills.
She tried to find Marui Bunta among the students but it was impossible, she couldn't spot the bright pink red hair of his.
"Class 2-F, class 2-D, no it's not that." She mumbled to herself looking for her class. "2-B. There it is" She opened the door and found Marui talking to a taller, light gray haired, blue eyed guy.
"Hi Bunta" she cheerfully said while approaching them. "I can't believe we are in the same class"
"Hey, Mia, right?"
"Yes, you remembered!"
"First day of school and you already call each other by first name." Niou said as he raised an eyebrow. Marui sighed at his comment.
"So, Niou, this is Mia" He introduced her to his friend. "Mia, this is Niou Masaharu. We've been in the same class since first year." She tiptoed to double cheek kiss him.
"Nice to meet you, Masaharu"
He gave her a weird look but Mia didn't notice. "Puri" what's with this girl...
She took her seat while waiting for the teacher to come.
"Hi" She turned to face the girl sitting next to her. She was a brunette with hazelnut eyes. Mia thought she was pretty. "I'm Matsuda Hikari" She warmly smiled.
"My name is Mia Morand. Nice to meet you Hikari"
"Nice to meet you too"
Takeuchi-sensei entered the room. He was in his mid 30's, tall and slim. His hair gelled back and his face was perfectly shaved. He introduced himself and presented the study plan for second year. Then he asked the students to introduced themselves. Besides, each one had to add something they like.
"Good morning everyone. My name is Mia Morand and I come from France. I like football and eating tons of pain au chocolat. Yoroshiku."
"Thank you Mia-chan. Who's next?" said Takeuchi-sensei.
The morning went smooth as expected, it was their first day anyway and lunchtime finally arrived.
"Let's have lunch together Mia" Hikari said.
"Sure" she stood and moved her desk closer to her classmate's.
"Can we join to?" Niou asked. Marui standing next to him. "Marui-kun can, but not you Niou." Hikaru replied crossing the arms on her chest. Marui took a seat next to the french girl and placed his bento on the desk.
"I already apologized for the nth time Matsuda. You can't hate me for the rest of your life."
"You deserve no forgiveness Niou Masaharu" She took a deep breath. "However, I'll make an exception this time. Take a seat."
"You have a beautiful heart Matsuda" She death glared at him.
"So Mia, when did you move to Japan?" The trickster asked.
"Last summer with mom and Julia, the woman who has been taking care of me since I was a baby"
"And what have you done since your arrival?" Hikaru joined the conversation.
"I made an intensive Japanese course in a language academy. It was fun, you know, I made friends from other countries and the teachers were nice. I still have a hard time writing kanjis though"
"Don't worry, even natives forget them too" Marui said.
Mia enjoyed the lunch Julia had prepared in the morning. Now it was time for dessert: tarte aux pommes.
"You should keep that away from this fatso. It might disappear in a blink."
"I'm not fat Niou! And I'm not stealing anything." In his heart he hoped Mia shared with him.
Mia giggled. "You can have this half Bunta, I'm already full" Marui thanked Kami and dug into the tart.
They cleaned up and organized their desks. Hikari and Mía when to the restroom.
"Have you ever wondered why girls always go to the restroom together? It's like a ritual" The red haired asked.
"So Hikari, why do you hate Masaharu?"
"You are wrong. I don't hate him, I despise him" They reached the ladies room. "It was in our freshmen year" She took a deep breath and continued. "There was this boy in our class, Tsubasa Jun. I had a huge crush on him and the feeling just made me feel so pathetic. Every time he talked to me, I couldn't control my nerves and I began stuttering and talking nonsense. It was too obvious. I know, I was pathetic.
"And then my dream came true. This february he asked me on a date for valentine's day. I was so excited that I spent a week carefully planning what to wear and what to say to avoid trivial topics and awkward silences" She said while fixing her hair and checking it in front of the mirror. "Anyway, friday finally came. But I had a strange feeling that something bad was going to happen that day.
"Class was over and I was ready to go home. Then Niou came from nowhere, grabbed my hand and lead me to gym. It was empty."
"I've heard about your date Matsuda" Niou said leading her to the center of the gym.
"It's none of your business Niou" The brunette reluctantly said. When they reached their destination he abruptly stopped and turned to face her.
"I know you want it to be perfect. You look good already but I think something's missing." And with that he raised his hand and pretended he was going to caress her hair. "There you go" Instead, he stuck a big wad of chewing gum on her head. "No, wait" Then he took a pair of scissors out of his front pocket and in less than a second he had cut the lock of hair where the bubble gum was stuck. "My job here is done Hikari-chan" He turned back to find the exit. "Enjoy your date" He added waving the hand.
Hikari stood there in the middle of the gym startled. No, shocked, still processing what had just happened. She then ran to the closest washroom and "NIOU MASAHARU!" She screamed as soon as she spotted where Niou had stuck the gum. She could see her scalp and started panting. Thankfully, no one was around or else, she would have murdered the first person who dared to stand close to her.
"I locked myself in my room for a week, meaning that I didn't go to the date and of course Jun-kun hated me for ditching him" They left the washroom and headed to class.
"And what happened to Jun?"
"His dad got a job in Okinawa, therefore he had to move along with his family"
"I see. But it seems to me that Masaharu likes you" The new girl giggled. If looks could kill Mia would have died in the spot.
"Don't dare to say that again."
"You'll try any sports club Mia-chan?" Her new friend asked. "You should try Volleyball like me." Classes had ended, some students went home right after the bell rang, and others like Hikari, who already belonged to a sport club, headed to their respectives courts. Mia learnt that Marui and Niou belonged to the tennis club since their first year at Rikkai Dai.
Rikkai's tennis club had won the nationals the previous year. Mia also learnt from Hikari that three freshmen had made it to the regular team.
"I'm not interested in any club now." The french girl lied. She would kill for playing football again, but after Dominic passed she decided to quit.
"Do you have any plans for today? You can come and watch the practice if you want, then we go home together"
"Sure." She followed Hikari to the gym. Mia hadn't realized how big the school was. It took them several minutes to reach the venue.
Hikari changed into the Volleyball uniform. Mia took a seat on the bleachers and noticed the amount of girls handing the forms to a senior in order to join the club. Her classmate joined a group of girls who were practicing passes. Mia's baby blue eyes followed the ball, none of the girls missed a single pass. She recalled Hikari saying that she would train hard to become a regular in her second year.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed and she pulled it free from the front pocket of her backpack. It was Carolina on FaceTime who was curious about Mia's first day at school.
"Hey my sweet pie. How's it going?" Mia greeted first.
"Mia, my sugar, I should be the one asking. How was your first day?"
"Smooth, I'd say. I made some friends in class and well, the school is huge, close to the beach and look" She changed the angle of the camera. "I'm wearing a uniform. What do you think?"
"You look so cute Mia, I mean it. Besides, you never wore skirt to school here and there it is mandatory" She chuckled.
"I know" She rolled her eyes. "but it's not that bad, you know"
They talked for a several minutes, before Carolina's class started, since it was still morning in Spain. Mia promised to send pictures of the cherry blossoms to her friend on her way home.
Next day Mía woke up late, which meant she had to take the subway again to make it on time. However, this time she knew the right way. Before entering to her classroom, a flyer written in french posted on the school newsboard caught her attention.
French tutor wanted. She read. Interested? Come to the teachers room at break or lunch time and ask for M. Bonnefant.
She took the flyer and put it in her school bag.
"Hikari, come with me" Mia demanded. It was already break time.
"Where?"
"I'll tell you on the way"
"Fine" Hikari stood up from her desk and sighed.
The door of the teachers room was opened, however she knocked the door frame to catch someone's attention.
"How can I help miss?" The math teacher approached.
"I'm looking for M. Bonnefant. It's about the french tutoring"
Hikari waited outside for her friend hoping it didn't take to long. She wanted to go back and finished her melon bread before Marui found it.
"I got it!" Mia triumphantly said. "I'll start next week"
"It was too easy"
"It seemed no one else was interested. Anyway, I have to introduce myself in today's french class after lunch. M. Bonnefant will excuse me with Suhara-sensei for my absence during the first minutes."
"Good afternoon everyone. My name is Michel Bonnefant and I'll be your level B2 french teacher." M. Bonnefant introduced himself. "Enchanté"
A blue haired boy was looking out the window, not paying attention to what the teacher was saying.
"Before introducing yourselves I want you to meet your french tutor for the year. Come on in" He made a sign and Mia entered the room.
Who needs a french tutor anyway.
"Bonjour a tous". The boy turned his head as soon as she started to talk. He noticed how impeccable her accent was. She is pretty. He thought when he saw the blond, blue eyed girl. Short but pretty. A smile formed on his lips. "Je m'appelle Mia Morand, née et élevée à Paris.
"Je serai votre tutrice de français pendant cette année. Les tutoriels seront les jeudis de 15h30 à 16h30 à partir de la semaine prochaine. Profitez bien et enchantée"
"Merci Mia"
"Merci à vous. Au revoir à tous." And with that she exited the room.
Tutorials may be interesting this year.