It was the end of summer vacation and the start of a new school term. Haruka yawned as she walked to the train station, rubbing her eyes. She was half away and she pinched herself in an attempt to keep herself alert. She had to be aware of her surroundings; lately, there had been reports of women being sexually harassed on the trains and while the police had been cracking down on the crimes, not all of the offenders had been caught. That morning, as Haruka was preparing to leave the house for school, her mother warned her to be careful.

Haruka had her earbuds in her ears and she rhythmically bobbed her head to the music as she stepped into the train along with a sea of people on their morning commute to work. Haruka slowly lost herself in her music but she snapped back to reality when she remembered her mother's warning. She reluctantly took out one side of the earbuds and looked around to make sure no one was attempting anything. Haruka squeaked when someone's cold fingers grazed her thighs. She immediately turned around, expecting to see someone staring at her, but there was no one. Haruka tugged her skirt down; it wasn't even that short. Haruka grimaced and cursed her bad luck. She made sure to not stay in one place, occasionally moving around the sea of bodies but staying close to the doors. There was a pervert on the train that was targeting her and she had to get out of the train.

When Haruka stepped off the train, she felt humiliated and violated. She had thought her plan was a good one but apparently, the pervert had caught on to her movements and wherever she went, her legs were touched. Thoughts raced through her head as she continued on to school. There were so many people on the train that it was hard to identify the person who was touching her. Haruka stuffed her earbuds back into her ears and turned the music up, hoping it was just a one time incident and that she could erase that morning from her mind.

Masami immediately noticed that something was wrong. Haruka usually greeted her enthusiastically but she came into the classroom with earbuds in her ears. She only responded when Masami talked to her. Her expression was troubled and her smiles were forced when Masami said something funny in an attempt to cheer her up.

During lunch, Masami tried to get Haruka to talk about whatever was bothering her.

"What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine."

Masami shook her head; she didn't believe Haruka at all.

"Haruka, I know you. We've been friends for a long time and my instincts tell me that something happened. Please tell me; I want to help you."

Haruka shook her head and brushed off Masami's concern,

"You're worrying for nothing, Masami. I'm telling you, everything's fine. There's nothing going on at home or at school that is worrying me. I'm not even worried or stressed to begin with!"

Masami noted the tone in Haruka's voice; Haruka didn't lie often but when she did, she always spoke in a certain way that indicated she was lying. People who weren't close to Masami wouldn't know that but Masami knew Haruka very well and Masami was absolutely positive that something or someone was bothering Haruka.

"Haruka-"

"Seriously, Masami, if something was bothering me, wouldn't you be the first person I'd tell?"

Masami pursed her lips and decided not to ask about Haruka's problem. She could see that Haruka was stressed and she didn't want to stress her friend out even more.

"You're right," Masami sighed, "I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"It's all right, Masami. I know you're just looking out for me."

The two girls finished lunch in silence.

At the end of the school day, after classes were done, Kyosuke approached Haruka.

"Why haven't you answered my texts today?" he asked.

"Huh?" Haruka checked her phone and sure enough, Kyosuke had sent her multiple texts, "I'm sorry, I probably didn't hear my phone go off. Anyway, I have to go home so I'll see you tomorrow."

Kyosuke stepped in front of Haruka, causing her to bump into him. She scrunched her nose at him and rubbed her forehead.

"You're usually not in a hurry to go home. Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened. Will you please let me go?"

Kyosuke wasn't convinced but he let Haruka pass him without a word.

Scenarios replayed themselves over and over again in Haruka's mind when she reached the train station. The stepped into the train and took deep breaths to prepare herself. If the pervert tried touching her again, she'd grab him and punch him. She'd make sure to make eye contact with him and report him to the police. But when her plans failed on the train and she got home, she refused dinner and crumbled in her bed, tears drenching her pillow.