"Minamino! Hey, wait up!"
Shuichi turned around, and met Kentaro, a friend and classmate of his. "Huh? Kentaro, what's the matter?"
Kentaro skidded to a stop, puffing as he tried to regain his lost breath. After a while, he looked up at Shuichi, a gigantic grin plastered on his face. "Did you hear about that newcomer?"
"Newcomer? Why in the middle of the year?"
Kentaro shrugged. "I don't know. But a lot of the students are saying that this newcomer used to study at Malliern Academy. You know, that super expensive private school? Anyway, I hear that this newcomer's dad was rather displeased with the teaching methods at Malliern, and so moved his child here."
Shuichi smiled and shook his head as he entered the classroom, ignoring a group of girls, who giggled as he passed by. "Hmmm, I see."
Kentaro frowned as he watched his friend calmly sit down. "You don't seem interested."
"Oh, I'm interested. I just have more important things on my mind."
The bell rang, signaling the beginning of classes. All of the students moved towards their seats and waited as their teacher entered the classroom. Behind him followed a young girl.
Shuichi gazed at the girl observantly, while the whispers and murmurs of his classmates grew in volume. She was rather tall, perhaps just a few inches shorter than himself, and graceful of build. Her long black hair fell down her back, and her eyes were the velvety black of midnight. Her skin, on the other hand, was quite fair, providing a sharp contradistinction to her other features.
The teacher's voice cut through the rising din. "Class, I would like you to meet Miss Uchida Kyayorin. Miss Uchida transferred here from Malliern Academy because she and her father felt that her educational opportunities in the said school are limited. Miss Uchida, do you have anything to say?"
Kyayorin turned to him, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "I would prefer to be called Yorin than Kyayorin. Other than that, I have nothing else to say, because you mentioned them already."
Shuichi grinned, and the class tittered nervously while the teacher sputtered with embarrassment. Clever, Kyayorin. However, that tongue of yours will get you into trouble one of these days.
The teacher regained his composure. "Alright then, Miss Yorin. Your seat is over there." He pointed to the empty seat beside Shuichi.
Yorin smiled, and bowed slightly. "Thank you sir." She stepped down from the platform, and walked over to where Shuichi was seated. She smiled at him as she settled her bag on the floor, and sat down.
Shuichi leaned closer to her, and whispered, "You'd better be careful with what you say, Yorin-san. People here are very sensitive to what others say."
Yorin looked at him. "You are…?"
"Minamino Shuichi, but you can just call me Shuichi."
"Thank you for your advice Shuichi-san, but I don't care what other people think about what I say, and I will say whatever I want to whoever I please." A smile punctuated her statement, as if saying that she didn't really care about what she said about others and neither did she care about what others said about her.
Shuichi smiled sardonically. Once again, you have proven how clever you are. Oddly enough, I feel as though I have met you somewhere before.