Euphorbia

"Oh..."

"Oh..."

On my way to the school's cafeteria, I stumbled into a familiar person. When I said familiar, what I only meant was her face, since I just met her a few days ago.

"Hi there, junior," she greeted amiably, waving her hand toward me.

"Do you know her, Miss Fujihara?" in a hushed tone, Ueno asked from my back. Didn't expect she was the one who'd ask that and not Eimi.

I glanced at Eimi and Ichikawa arguing at each other. *Oh, I see.* It seemed like Eimi did something to make Ichikawa mad again. What good friends.

"Good day, Senior," I greeted back and then gave a slight bow.

"You don't need to be so formal, you know."

"But we're still on the school grounds and talking too casual to a senior is quite...how can I say this." after a moment of thinking, I ended up with, "rude?"

She then froze for a second and let out a laugh.

"What an adult, I see."

For some reason, she—saying those words to me didn't sound like a compliment. "Anyway, don't mind those things and start talking to me without any formalities."

"Even if you said that..."

"Oh right." She clapped her hands as she remembered something. "You're going to the cafeteria? Lemme join!"

"Ahh..."

Privately, I wondered if it would be okay to let her join us. She's a year above us and we just met a few days ago hence, we had nothing to talk about. Would it be awkward if strangers were put at one table?

Discreetly, I glance at the three asking for help. But since the two were still busy, Ueno was the one who answered my call. "Isn't it good, Miss Fujihara? That way when the exam came, we would have reliable intel," she voice her intention.

"Right..."

Hesitant, I agreed. Though, I was certain I did not need others' help when it comes to academics. Reading books gave me enough knowledge to survive high school, in the least, that was what I believed.

"Yup, you surely found a great intel, first years," Senior nodded with a huff.

Not sure why she looked so proud about that. Wasn't it better to learn things by yourself?

"Is that a no, Sakura?" she asked sheepishly.

For some reason, her voice rang in my ear as she mentioned my name. Other than Eimi, no one in school called me by my first name, so it was quite unusual to hear it from someone else.

Taking that into account, now I wasn't sure if calling someone by their first name all of a sudden would come out rude or something...being too friendly?

Oh right, I never called Eimi by her family name but her first name with a *Miss.* Now that I think about it, I was pretty dum...erm, naive back then.

I shook my head slightly and waved a dismissive hand. "Ah, no—I mean, it's okay." Since it seemed like there was no harm in letting Senior tag along with us. Other than ordering food and dining, what else would we do in the school's cafeteria, right?

"Then, that's decided. Let's!" she prompted and walked ahead of us.

As we paved our way to the cafeteria, I felt Eimi make a beeline to my side. As I felt a pair of eyes looking at me, I glance at her.

"I will pretend I didn't notice that," I said to no one in particular but she quickly reacted.

"Waah!" she exclaimed and took a half step away from me.

Did she really admire my skin *that* much? I already told her I didn't take any skincare but she seemed still quite curious about it.

Then her gaze lowered to the ground, she looked as though a child getting reprimanded for her wrongdoing. For a second, I had an urge to pat her head but decided to let my hand settle at my side since I might offend her if I suddenly nuzzled her hair.

"Sakura." She lightly tugged my uniform and called out meekly.

"Yes?"

"I heard there's a new flavor of bun in the cafeteria."

"Haa..." It made me wonder why did she inform me about it, then it occurred to me that she might want to try some of it.

"What? Are we all going to the cafeteria just to buy bread?" Ishikawa cut in.

I had packed a lunch box for me today so I only planned to buy bottled water or something that could drain my food to my stomach.

"How about you, Miss Fujihara?" Ichikawa asked only for me to show her my lunchbox in my hand.

"Oh I forgot, you always have a lunchbox with you."

"Right."

Since it was easier to pack a lunch box than lining myself up with a large crowd along with their noises. Plus, I wouldn't worry about what would my big sister eating today.

As I swept my gaze away from them, it fell to Senior's back who was as though leading us to the cafeteria. *She wasn't that tall for a second year*, I thought as I scanned her from head to toes. If I were to say, she was just as tall as me...or almost?

Upon further inspection, I realized: *Is she alone?* Then again, I remember the day we first met, though we had a strange encounter, she was alone too. After that, a lot happened and I forgot most of it. Obviously, my lack of interest struck me again and made me forget things that didn't actually catch my attention.

The day we first met, I caught her peeking at me while clapping her hands. At first, I thought she was in the same year as I was, but when she stood up, her ribbon fluttered and stated that she was a year above me. Though, I wasn't sure if a normal second year would do the same as she did.

I tilted my head as I pondered. As if she sensed my gaze, she turned her back and looked at me. I recoiled, but she just smiled at me. Likewise, I smiled at her, though I wasn't sure if mine wasn't looked terribly forced.