A/N:
Part 3 of the short series. I do apologize if the main characters are a little OOC. Are you enjoying the ride so far? I hope so.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ramblings here.
Exam Week: Lucky Charm [Part 3/4]
"Here."
Kyoko Hori's light brown eyes met mine as she looked up from where she was sitting alone on a patch of grass outside the History Department building. Spreading a small blanket where she can sit, the contents of her book bag scattered all about her in a semi-circle, and wearing such a serious expression while reading a book, she reminded me of Alice Lidell.
It also helped that she's wearing a sky-blue blouse today and a white headband that made her hair looked richer in color.
My heart gave a skip when she smiled in return; taking hold of the ring-bind review book I took the trouble of photocopying for her. Inside are my complete notes that I compiled for this semester, with important facts highlighted in neon green.
"You spend quite some time with notes, I can tell." She flipped through the notes, her fingers brushing over the highlighted portions. She gave another smile, this time a shy appreciation for what I've done.
"Thank you, Izumi."
I shrugged nonchalantly, although I feel like jumping inside. When she smiles like that, I feel like I can pass today's Physics exams.
"I got to go." I stood up from my squatting position; Toru would be waiting for me outside the Physics hall. Slinging my backpack, I was feeling a little reluctant to leave her alone here. What if someone flirts with her while I'm taking my exams?
"Wait!"
I stop in midstride, turning around.
She gave a come back gesture. I took a quick seat near the edge of her blanket. I really have to go soon. But just one word from her made me obey like a puppet.
She extended her hand and I could see a gold colored square object resting on her palm.
An omamori. Decorated with five-petaled flowers in red, gold, pink and fuchsia. The words gakugyou ommori were stitched in the middle.
A goodluck charm.
"Today, I passed by the a Japanese temple and saw this. I thought of you, so I decided to buy one." She was beaming like a kid that scored a well-coveted toy.
A felt my face go warm. Feeling fuzzy as the word I thought of you continued to ring inside my head over and over again.
"Thank you." I said, softly, shyly, accepting the charm and looking at it for a long time.
She gave a nervous giggle. "Go on. Don't you have a Physics exam? You're my best pupil. Make your teacher proud."
I gave a laugh. "Yes ma'am." I stood up and jog away from her.
Not only did she painstakingly take the time to teach me the easiest formulas I can remember, she even bothered to buy me a charm to help boost my confidence.
How can I ever make this unique and extraordinary girl be mine?
A/N: Obviously, an omamori are those small goodluck charms that you can buy in Japanese temples. If you've read enough shoujo mangas, you're bound to have encountered a few of these being given by the heroine to the boy they like.
The one I described here are from some random photo I saw when I googled it. There's this website who mentioned that these goodluck charms have a god inside it. And it is recommended that a person should only have one at a time, otherwise gods inside these charms will fight and the luck will not work on the user. The omamori must be returned to the shrine where it was originally purchased after a year. Otherwise, it's been said that the charm will lose its effect.
The best charms come from Daizafu Tenman-gu, a Shinto shrine from Kyushu. I should put that place on my bucket list of places to travel.
Let me know what you think.