The first day of school went by like a breeze. Everybody was packing their bags the moment the bell rang, but some students decided to stay for a little bit.
Nano Shinonome said goodbye to her three friends and sat back down on her desk to pack up her things. It's a little unusual to know that there wasn't any homework that needed to be done today, even with the amount of material all the students had to take in from their lectures. Because of this, Nano didn't have to take a lot of things home for tonight.
Suddenly, Tadashi walked up to her. "Hey there!"
Nano let out a startled noise, much to his pleasure, and looked up at him. "O-oh! Hi, Tadashi-kun! What's going on?"
"Nothing much!" He felt more comfortable talking with Nano than before. "Did you have a good day today?"
"I did!", said Nano happily. "I'm so glad we don't have to do any homework today. I have more time to catch up on my new book that Mai gave me." She showed him the book in question. "I had some time to read it today during study hall, but it's a tough read! I barely scratched the surface… haha…" Nervous sweat drops poured out from her.
Tadashi lowered his head in guilt. "Yeah… about that…" Nano looked up in confusion from his tone of voice. "Nano-chan, do you have time today to help us unpack some more? We're not quite done yet, it seems…"
Smiling once more, Nano lit up her expression. "No problem! I can help! I'm sure Hakase will help too!"
Tadashi clapped his hands together. "Awesome! I'm gonna have to get changed out of my uniform before we all get started. You and Hakase are invited for dinner, by the way!"
As if the robot couldn't be any happier, her smile began to shine even brighter. "Really?! Thank you! I'll let Hakase know!" She pulled out her phone and began to text to her pint sized professor.
Her friendly neighbor let out a laugh. 'She's so cute,' he thought to himself. "Anyways, there's some 'business' I need to take care of. Hang tight, I'll be ready in about fifteen minutes." As he said this, he went to the opposite corner of the classroom to meet with two others.
Nano blinked in confusion, but thought nothing of it and continued to pack her belongings. Once she was finished, she stood outside of the classroom to talk with Annaka and some others to pass the time.
—
Nakanojo and Tanaka sat at their corner, messing around like usual.
"Hey you, lemme show you some magic," said a confident Nakanojo as he pulled out a deck of playing cards and waved them out. "Pick a card, any card."
The afro boy looked at the mohawk blonde skeptically. "I thought you didn't believe in the supernatural…?"
"Oh, I don't," replied Nakanojo, "but card magic has nothing to do with the supernatural, as it's just tricks that involves skills with sleight of hand and deception." He says this as he pointed his index finger at his temple. "Anyways, pick a card."
Sighing, Tanaka decided to play along with his friend's game. Picking a card, he kept it to himself and looked at it. Three of clubs.
"Alright," said the magic mohawk as he adjusted his grip on the cards, "now place the card in the deck face down." Tanaka complied and did what he was told. Instead of making some extra moves, like what was to be expected, Nakanojo put the cards in his pocket, placed his feet on his desk, and moved his hands behind his head. He was in full relaxation.
"Um…", said Tanaka, nervously, "aren't you going to finish the trick?"
Nakanojo held his hand up politely, "All good things come to those who wait."
This seemed to bother the afro boy, as he was fully anticipating the effect of the trick. Now he needs to wait? It didn't take him long to be annoyed.
Just then, Tadashi came over to see the other two boys. "Hey, guys! What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing," said Tanaka, "I'm just waiting for mohawk to finish his damn card trick." He crossed his arms, turned his head aside, and huffed in frustration.
"I told you," said Nakanojo, reassuringly, "all good things come to those who wait!" He then turned to Tadashi. "So, Fujiomi-kun, did you join any after school activities?"
Tadashi 'blinked', "Me?," he replied. "Oh, I didn't join anything yet, but…" Both Tanaka and Nakanojo looked at Tadashi curiously. He was getting something from his bag. "One second…", it took him a while to find what he was looking for. He finally pulled something out, saying, "I did have three clubs in mind." He was holding Tanaka's three of clubs.
Words escaped the afro boy at this point. He just got played by his best friend and the new transfer student, and he knew it. Sarcastically, with a deadpan expression, he clapped his hands slowly.
"By the way," said Tadashi, to Tanaka. "I don't think I've introduced myself to you, yet. I'm Fujiomi. Tadashi Fujiomi." He extended his hand for a handshake. It took Tanaka a while to exchange his handshake, due to how much he felt betrayed from that forced card 'magic' he just experienced.
"Call me Tanaka," the afro boy muttered. He cleared his throat, "I'm assuming you and Nakanojo met already?"
"Oh yeah!", exclaimed the transfer student, "We got to talk to each other in art class, and we planned out the card trick to pull on you. Sorry about that!" He scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously.
Tanaka couldn't be mad at this point. Tadashi seemed like a harmless, innocent person that wanted to have some fun. "Well," Tanaka replied with a smile, "you two sure got me good." Both Tadashi and Nakanojo shared some laughs, even Tanaka let out a few chuckles.
Nakanojo clapped his hands together, "Fujiomi-kun, why don't you join Tanaka and I for lunch everyday? Seems like you get along real nicely."
Tadashi blinked in surprise. He didn't think he would potentially make other friends besides Nano in this school, especially not this easily. "S-Sure! I would like that!" His excitement shone. "By the way, you can just call me Tadashi. I'm not that formal."
"Good," said Tanaka, "neither are we."
Tadashi smiled again. "Good. Also, uh… Nakanojo… maybe tone down on your ghost stories and conspiracy theories during our, uh… friendly discussions." He too, was starting to get annoyed, but couldn't help but have some fun teasing his newfound mohawk friend about it.
Nakanojo shot a glare and smirk at Tadashi. "No promises."
At this point, the three boys were packing up to head home. They exchanged LINE usernames with each other and promised to keep continuing some antics inside and outside school. The boys felt rather… mischievous. Not in a malicious way, but their playful antics will soon end up getting them and others into some comedic predicaments. (Stay tuned for that.)
"So, Tadashi," said Nakanojo, suddenly, "wanna hang with us at the arcade tonight?"
"Oh, uh…", said Tadashi nervously. "S-sorry, but I already have plans to be with my neighbor tonight."
"That's fine!", replied Tanaka. "Who's your neighbor?"
Nakanojo quick shot a glance at Tanaka, "Why do you care? It's not that importa-"
"Tadashi-kuuun!~" A soft, playful voice called from across the classroom. The boys turned to the direction of where it came, and a black haired robot schoolgirl was seen at the other side smiling bright. "Ready to go?"
Her neighbor smiled back. "In a bit, one second!", he called out. Tadashi turned to the boys. "Yeah, Nano-chan is my neighbor across the street. We still have some unpacking to do, and she offered to help out. Catch you two later tomorrow!" He said this as he walked over to his robot friend. "Let's go!"
"Hai!", said Nano. The two were seen walking out of the classroom.
Both Nakanojo and Tanaka looked at each other with curiosity and surprise, and looked back at the exit.
"Nano-chan is his neighbor, huh?" Tanaka said to nobody in particular.
"Maaannn," groaned Nakanojo as he slouched. "I'm so jealous… I would kill to have such a cute girl next door where I live…"
Tanaka turned to his mohawk friend with a smug expression, "Why don't you use your ouija board to summon a spooky lady for you?"
Nakanojo shot a rageful expression back at his afro friend, "ARE YOU MOCKING ME?!"
—
The afternoon was bright, and the soft breeze cooled the late summer heat. Many students were walking home from school, passing by many vehicles alongside the road. It was another day for their ordinary lives, but oddly enough, there's a beauty in all of that.
Tadashi and Nano walked along an alleyway to get back home. Nobody else was around. As they went along their route, they casually conversed about their day.
"So then I walked up to Tanaka and Nakanojo on cue," explaining Tadashi, "and he asked me about my potential extra-curricular activities."
Nano's head tilted aside. "I thought you weren't doing anything after school…?"
He let out a laugh, "I don't, but hear me out. I had an extra poker card in my bag, and when Nakanojo asked me if I was doing anything after school, I pulled out the card and told them I thought of three clubs I could join. The card was the three of clubs."
Nano giggled, "You're such a dork, Tadashi-kun." Both shared a laugh.
"Hey," replied Tadashi, "it takes one to know one."
Nano let out a whine, "What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Ehehe, gomen, gomen, I'm only teasing you, Nano-chan.~"
She playfully crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and puffed out her cheeks in a pout. "Hmph!" Tadashi was very well amused by this, and it didn't take long for Nano to let out her breath and continue laughing. There was no way she could have kept that face.
Tadashi shot a quick glance at Nano's key without her seeing it. Looking ahead in a blank stare, he thought to himself. 'It's amazing… even though Nano-chan is technically not a real human, she's more human than most people I know.'
Nano looked at Tadashi and caught him staring. "What's wrong?"
He let out a startle and caught himself, "A-ah, nothing! Just thinking."
She looked at him curiously once more, but thought nothing of it. She looked ahead and pointed out their homes in the distance. "Look, we're close!" She started to run through the alleyway.
"Hey! Wait up!" Tadashi chased his robot friend.
Later that evening, the Shinonome and Fujiomi families shared another dinner together and finally completed unpacking the boxes that were left over. Mission accomplished.
Another peaceful day passes at the Fujiomi household.
