The summer is here now and most of the girls who reside in the Strawberry Dorms are off to the seaside today; including Nagisa. I'm glad she got this treat for passing her exams but I do wish I could go with her. I've become quite fond of her presence and I'm not too sure how I am going to feel when she isn't here.

I suppose this holiday for the girls will give myself and Miyuki a chance to talk away from eavesdroppers and try to finally sort out all our personal problems. The night the girls left Miyuki and I had spoken briefly and planned to spend the night together like we used to; just the two of us, talking late into the night.

That night I sat up waiting for Miyuki. I prepared some tea for us to drink and sat by the window. She arrived at my door just before 10 o'clock, luckily I knew we wouldn't be in trouble if we were caught meeting after hours since it was now the holidays and the girls were all away so we couldn't be a bad influence.

'We've always spent the holidays together, every year since we came here.' That was the first thing Miyuki said when she came into the room. I could see she wasn't sure where to place herself, and that she was uncomfortable in my presence, but I didn't care. These problems needed to be sorted out urgently. I couldn't risk losing Miyuki, not yet. 'And every year we have enjoyed ourselves and spent the time being the best of friends. What happened Miyuki? It all used to go so well and then it all went wrong.' At this she looked lost for words, like she couldn't decide on something. So I thought I'd ask again: 'Please, just tell me. I want to make this right.'

It all came out then. It was me; I was the one who had changed, Kaori changed me. This hurt me so much when she said it but I knew it was true. I had stopped being so light-hearted and instead I became reckless. I think I stood there just staring at Miyuki for about 5 minutes before I ran into her arms. I couldn't stop the tears that came, and neither could she. We had both been grieving alone for so long that we had forgotten what it was like to lean on each other. It was nice reconnecting with my best friend; she was the only person who knew me really. Sure, a lot had changed but still she had been watching me, she knew how I reacted better than I knew myself. It was hard for me to take this in but once we stopped crying we were able to keep talking into the night. I had wanted to question her about her feelings but I really didn't think it was the right time.

Something was up with her though, I could sense a barrier between us, and something prevented me from talking about it. Surely that wasn't right... or maybe I was just afraid of what her reaction would be. I suspected she had feelings beyond friendship for me but I couldn't be certain. Now was definitely not the time to find out. I couldn't even discuss Nagisa with her unless Miyuki brought up that particular subject, it wasn't right.

The next day we ate breakfast together and discussed our plans for the day. As Etoile I was expected to spend my time wisely before the holidays officially begun to finish up my work. This isn't what I wanted to do though so I decided to bargain with Miyuki, to come up with a plan of action that would suit the both of us. To do this I proposed a trip to the city. She agreed to this on the condition I would stay in school tomorrow, which I agreed to of course, knowing I would be able to persuade her to have fun again tomorrow. We arranged to meet each other in an hour by the school gates and get the train into town.

I left her to go and check I looked ok and to find my money before going to sign myself out at the reception. As I waited by the gates I saw a strange man walking towards the school. This scared me for some reason, the man brought with him a sense of foreboding, not to mention that I was sure men were not allowed on Asterea Hill except in special circumstances. As he drew closer I put on my best business face and introduced myself. 'Good Morning sir, I'm Hanazono Shizuma, what is your business here today?' In reply all he said was: 'Good Morning, please could you take me to the reception?' Sighing I gestured for him to follow me. I disliked rude people, especially rude men as judging by the looks I was receiving from this man he clearly considered me to be inferior purely because I am female.

'Shizuma!' I turned around to see Miyuki coming towards me from the direction of the Strawberry Dorms. About five metres away from me she stopped and ran away. Confused at the shock on her face I turned to look at the visitor only to see him following her movements with a determined look on his face. 'Excuse me sir, it isn't often men visit the school, she must just be afraid.' Shaking his head and forcing a neutral mask to cover his face he replied: 'Of course, must have been a shock for the young lady. Where's the reception then?' Baffled by this I led him directly to the office. When we got there he exchanged a few words with the receptionist who sent for Sister. I couldn't hear a word he said unfortunately but it looked quite serious.

When Sister came more muffled words were exchanged before the older woman turned to me and asked me to get Miyuki. Jumping to her defence immediately I said: 'she didn't do anything wrong! She wasn't expecting anyone to visit the school. She was just shocked that's why she ran away!' The group looked at me with confused faces for a moment or two before Sister finally said: 'what on Earth are you talking about Shizuma? This has nothing to do with that. This is her Father.'

Dumbfounded I stared at him. Miyuki doesn't run away without good reason. Her Father appearing out of nowhere was definitely not a good sign. I nodded quickly to the assembled adults before going to the Dorms to find my friend.

'Miyuki?'

Heya, Happy Holidays everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't uploaded anything for a while, I've just been very busy lately! Here's a special present for you all - just click the link - MUCH LOVE!

Anna x

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