"Thank you again, Hanazono-san."
Serin stood on the pavement at the entrance to Astraea Hill, with respectable distance between herself and her new acquaintance, Hanazono Shizuma. They'd stepped out of the car moments before, and the sleek, black, feline-esque car had driven off, purring smoothly as it made its exit. The voices of maidens buzzed about the courtyard that lay before them.
"Shizuma." The radiant woman spoke, her one word in a very corrective tone.
The grace of her voice still enough to make Serin feel dazed. She was a bit taken aback by the girl's correction, and it was apparent on Serin's face, if only for a moment. But, she recomposed herself, and smiley softly, politely. "Shizuma-san." Serin nodded, taking the girl's correction into order. Still, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. "She doesn't seem the type to be unformal..." This troubled the fourth-year, but she'd speak no more. A few moments passed of silence between the two girls, and it was during this time that Serin noticed her new acquaintance seemed so... Serious. Yes, that was it! Forlorn, and serious. But, it was none of her business; so with a nod and a wave, Serin took her leave, entering the open gateway to Astraea Hill.
Not more than a minute on the compound and Serin was dazzled by everything around her. The nature, the pretty girls, the adorable uniforms! Such beauty! Though she'd come to the hill on a mishap, Serin found herself excited beyond compare. Her green eyes were wide, and glistened with the fascination she felt within her. The hill was lovely, and her heart swelled with eagerness to begin her new year. Her spirits fell a bit within the following moments, though, for she remembered that she was transferring into the beginning of the second term: and catching up with everything that everyone had done during first term would probably prove to be a hassle. She'd heard that her new school, St. Miator Girls' Academy, was nothing less than prestigious.
"Watch me not live up to the expectations for her..." Serin sighed. She was then angry for a second, a look of annoyance passing on her face. It disappeared the next minute though, when she stopped walking, and looked up. Her green eyes widened a bit, and she froze.
"Why are so many people staring!?" Serin looked around, and did indeed find many pairs of eyes glancing in her direction. Many girls seemed to whisper and talk among themselves, too, and Serin felt she was quite possibly the subject of their conversations. She looked down at herself, looking at her front, and turning to examine her back, too. "Do I have something on my dress?" No, she wasn't dirty, as far as she could tell. Realizing staying where she was wasn't going to help her, Serin continued walking, at a bit of a faster pace, so as to avoid the gossiping girls around her. "All I have to do is get inside, find my dormitory, maybe then I'll be fine. You can do this, Serin. You don't need help this time."
And so she told herself for the next ten minutes, before she found herself lost once more. "Why is this so difficult..." She moaned, her face fallen. She was determined to find things on her own, but after walking straight forward, she'd found herself with a decision: to go right, or left. Initially, she'd chosen to go left, and this didn't help much at all. A second of debating, and she'd given up. Serin looked around, and spotted long, straight, jet black hair.
Approaching the girl, Serin tapped her on the back of her shoulder. "Uhm, excuse me," She started, and the girl turned around to face her. Serin started slightly, catching a face-full of large, bouncing breasts underneath the girl's (very beautiful, Serin noted) uniform. "Uh.." It took a second for Serin to realize that she was most likely staring, with her mouth fallen open just a bit. She jumped, quickly composing herself, her face flushing slightly in her embarrassment.
"Yes?" A look of annoyance seemed to come over on the busty, black-haired girl's face.
"Oh, she caught me." Dejectedly, Serin dropped her eyes, looking away. "I'm sorry," She started, figuring an apology best in order, "But I'm a transfer, and I'd just wanted to know the way to St. Spi- no, St. Miator's Girls' Academy." She nodded, as if reassuring herself of her given information.
The raven-haired girl's expression seemed to soften at Serin's words. "Oh," She spoke, "You're new at St. Miator?" A second later, she smiled. "How interesting..."
"How is that..-" Serin was cut off by the busty girl once more.
"St. Miator gets all the new transfers." The girl smirked, "But, you know, it's already almost curfew..." She said, looking down at her watch. Serin looked down at hers as well. 5:37 P.M. What was curfew? But the girl had already started speaking once more. "Hey, Hikari!" She had turned, and was calling someone
"What the hell!" Serin clutched the strap of her bag tightly. There really was no need to introduce her to the entire school... Though she exaggerated, Serin really just wanted to get to where she needed to be. As the black-haired girl called someone over, Serin took the opportunity to admire the girl's uniform. So white, and pristine... "Will I be able to wear that? Oh, they're so beautiful...!"
Serin quickly re-assigned her gaze as the girl she was speaking to turned back around. Another girl, wearing the same uniform had approached. This girl was a lot smaller in stature, though, with long, blonde hair that curled daintily at the bottom. Serin's green eyes met those of the blonde girl's: a bright, innocent blue. Serin smiled, bowing slightly in polite acknowledgement to the stranger.
"Hey, Hikari," The black-haired girl spoke, "This girl is a new transfer to Miator." She beckoned towards Serin, who stiffened a bit in response.
The blonde girl, whose name appeared to be Hikari, looked from her raven-headed friend to Serin, a smile spreading acrossing her face. "Another new girl to Miator!" She clasped her hands, her smile lighting up her face. "Welcome to Astraea!" She tilted her head, and Serin smiled slightly. This little girl was cute, like an angel in the form of a doll. "I'm Konohana Hikari, and this is my friend, Yaya-chan." She gestured to the tall, black-haired girl that Serin had first spoken to.
"Nanto Yaya." The black haired girl corrected, her topaz eyes on Serin. "We're both from Spica, the school that's down a ways there." She pointed in the direction that Serin had been walking before she'd spoken to her.
"So I had been going the wrong direction... I would do that." Serin cursed herself within her mind, but looked back up at her two new acquaintances a moment later. "It's nice to meet you both, Konohana-san," She looked at the blue-eyed doll, "and Nanto-san." She returned her gaze slightly upwards at the taller girl, making a point of avoiding lingering on the girl's chest. "I'm Oshiro Serin." She nodded, introducing herself.
The two Spica girls looked at each other for a moment, then giggled. Serin, confused, said nothing. Upon seeing the look on Serin's face, Yaya spoke. "Hikari and Yaya are fine." She said, placing a hand on her hip. "And I hope 'Serin' will be okay for you."
Hikari pulled on Yaya's sleeve. "Yaya-chan, it's already almost curfew..." She said, her voice full of worry. Serin couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Hikari's persona. She seemed so innocent, so... Pure.
Yaya nodded, and looked at Serin. "I think you should come back with us, to Ichigo-sha." She paused before continuing, "You don't have the best timing, but I'm sure your roommate can show you St. Miator tomorrow." Yaya turned around, with Hikari on her arm.
"Come on, then, Serin-chan!" Hikari chimed, smiling at Serin.
Serin, a bit befuddled, took a second before nodding, and following obediently behind her new friends from St. Spica. After walking a few moments, she sighed. "So, those would have been my uniforms..." Her face fell as her thoughts penetrated through her expression.
"Hey, Serin-chan?" Serin lifted her eyes as she heard Hikari's voice. "We're here."
Author's Note:
Significantly shorter than the last part of the chapter, but hopefully sufficient enough for any readers. I know it's still not exactly fast-paced, but I promise the next chapter will hold a thing or two of particular interest! Tamao should make her appearance in the next chapter, for any of her fans.
Serin bids farewell to Shizuma-sama (little does she know of the status Shizuma holds upon Astraea Hill), and wonders why everyone's whispering so avidly about her afterwards. She meets the curvy Yaya, and little Hikari. There are also a few hints here and there about Serin...
Please bear with me, and thanks for reading! xo