Mikan, Hotaru, Anna, Nonoko, and Sumire definitely came across as different from the rest of the students of Alice Academy.
For one thing, their clothes. Sure, it was understandable that they wore casual clothing on their first day; uniforms tended to be delivered late. But to wear that type of casual clothing? At Alice Academy, the school for the rich, casual attire consisted of luxury designer brands, not hoodies and leggings from fast fashion brands.
Ah, so they're scholarship students, everyone in the class reached this conclusion at the same time.
Natsume, Ruka, Yuu, Kitsu, and Koko noticed something else about them though. Even though the girls smiled and greeted the class politely, they had their guard up. The boys could tell because they acted the same way.
"Take a seat anywhere that's open," Narumi told the girls.
There wasn't much of a choice when it came to seating. The class only contained one more empty row: the one in front of the boys, who liked it that way. Without anyone nearby, they could talk about whatever they wanted to.
The girls could have scattered to the various empty seats in different rows, but as mentioned before, they liked to be together. So, before anyone could object, they sat down in the empty row. Their new classmates stared at them.
"Is something wrong?" Anna asked.
Are we being outted already?
"Nothing! Feel free to sit there," Koko leaned over his desk to welcome them cheerfully. The other guys and the rest of the class looked at him strangely.
"Didn't realize we needed to ask for permission," Sumire muttered under her breath, eyeing the girls in the class who were now sending glares in their direction.
"Okay, class, I need to head over to a staff meeting now, so today will be a free period. Girls, if you have any questions, feel free to ask anyone in the class," Narumi waved goodbye.
"Will do," they called after him.
After Narumi left, the students got up from their seats to talk in their small cliques. Sumire and Hotaru heard their group being mentioned in nearby conversations, conversations that didn't sound all too friendly. Mikan, Anna, and Nonoko came off as oblivious, simply observing the classroom.
Suddenly a girl stopped in front of their row, arms crossed and lips pouted. The girls looked at her suspiciously. Anna, being the friendly one of the gang, greeted her.
"Hi! Do you need something?"
"First of all, I'm not planning on becoming friends with you five, so you can drop the act," the girl hissed.
Anna immediately became silent. The boys behind her felt a little bad seeing the new girl shot down so quickly, but dealing with Luna Koizumi seemed like too much trouble. So, they decided to just sit back and watch the event unfold.
I'll intervene if things get out of hand, Yuu planned. But Anna's friends had other plans.
"Wow, look at that, Sumire. A class bitch," Mikan whistled.
"Didn't know those existed anymore," Sumire chuckled.
Luna pivoted to face them, red in the face. "Excuse me?"
Now things are getting interesting, the boys thought. Even Natsume looked up from his manga.
"Okay, calm down. Mikan and Sumire, didn't we agree on no insults and no fights just a few minutes ago?" Anna attempted to mediate.
"Oops," Mikan and Sumire said passively at the same time. This earned a laugh from Koko and Kitsu.
Anna went back to Luna. "Sorry about that. They're just-"
"No fights? I knew it. You're from Kabukicho, so you must be gangsters. Tell me, how did you get into this school? Did you threaten someone?" Luna sneered, her voice shrill.
Now it was Hotaru's turn to talk. "We're not gangsters, no. We're exterminators, and we were called in to get rid of insects like you."
"Did you just call me an insect?"
"Would you like me to say it again?"
"Listen, my name is Luna Koizumi, and I—"
Nonoko interrupted her. "To be honest, we don't give a shit about who you are." Kitsu laughed again.
Luna didn't know how to respond. To think that she, the Queen Bee of the class, was shut down so easily!
"Maybe you should go back to your seat, Luna," Anna suggested kindly and firmly.
"Oh, shut up. I'm not done here—"
She was interrupted again, this time by Mikan. "What Anna means is, maybe you should go back to your seat before things get messy."
Mikan's threatening tone combined with a patronizing smirk from Sumire convinced Luna to retreat.
"We'll continue this later," she warned them. Then she turned to the boys behind the girls. "Boys, let me know if these five bother you! I'll deal with them, okay, Natsume?"
They didn't even look at her, but her smile didn't falter as she turned and walked back to her seat.
Mikan swiveled around in her seat to face the boys. "Well, so much for being low-key. Was that entertaining enough?" she joked. Obviously Koko and Kitsu's laughs hadn't gone by unnoticed.
"Hell yeah it was," Koko answered.
"It's refreshing to see someone other than Natsume put Luna in her place," Ruka commented.
"For sure," said Yuu and Kitsu simultaneously.
"Which one of you is Natsume?" Mikan asked.
The boys pointed at the boy sitting diagonally behind Mikan. He looked at her. "You have my condolences," she offered solemnly.
"Hm." He didn't really know how to respond to that.
The rest of the girls swiveled around. "Can we get some names?" Sumire demanded.
"Of course, milady," Koko joked. Sumire looked at him as if he had just grown a third eye.
"Don't call me that."
After a few seconds of getting to know who's who, Ruka asked, "So, why'd you guys transfer here?"
Immediately Mikan started to answer. "Funny story. Sumire here was ex—" She was interrupted when Nonoko clamped a hand over her mouth.
"We got a scholarship," Hotaru finished.
"Ah, yeah. We got a scholarship," Mikan murmured after Nonoko released her grip.
"That's pretty amazing. This school is competitive after all," Yuu praised.
Natsume stared at Mikan, who gazed at a spot on the desk while the others talked around her.
They're definitely hiding something.