Chapter six, 2016, summer's end: 2

Summer break came to an end, and school started anew with all the promises and problems that came with change.

In this case problems came to Christina a few days into the new term. It came in the form of some seniors with more time on their hands than brains.

Christina passed the vending machines outside the cafeteria and headed for the stairwell to their new club room. In her tow Hitomi-chan and Noriko followed, which gave the three of them the airs of a high school queen bitch with her entourage. Entirely unintended as Christina and Noriko ran into the beauty from Ulf's class just moments earlier.

Christina was about to climb the stairs when someone suddenly called to her from the corridor.

"You there, the idiot who doesn't know proper Japanese!"

Apparently a someone who suffered from a defunct short term memory given how the last attempt at bullying Christina Agerman, the billion dollar empress, eventually went down.

She walked over to the senior who made the call. "Can I help you big sister?" Christina said using children's Japanese. This time she didn't plan to allow anything to degenerate as far as it had done late spring.

The speaker and her friend rolled their eyes, and behind them a few of their classmates started giggling. "You? Help us?"

'Morons. Don't they ever learn when they're beaten? Well, it's time to kill this one immediately.' She hadn't expected anyone to try bullying her so quickly after the last attempt. "My Japanese is bad. You are ugly. I can learn Japanese surprisingly fast, but can you learn to be beautiful?" Christina made an effort to put on her best smile while the two seniors in front of her blanched.

The corridor had gone eerie silent when it was clear that a freshman had not only accepted the challenge but also delivered a counter-attack. Christina decided to make the most of it and walked close enough to the two girls that she had to bow slightly to look down at their faces.

Behind her she heard Hitomi-chan gasp. She was an airhead, so it couldn't be helped, but she was an exceptionally beautiful airhead. Christina doubted even the seniors would dare to push this too far if two out of the three celebrated freshmen beauties were involved.

Behind her Christina heard Noriko laugh her heart out. She must have come to the same conclusion. The sound of a sharp slap told Christina she had cajoled Hitomi-chan into a high-five. 'Good girl, Noriko.'

A tiny package filled with brains and good looks. 'How did you become such an important friend to me?' It was strange, especially as Noriko was hell-bent on stealing Ulf from her. 'But I can respect that. You told me so to my face.'

Well, it was time to maim these girls for a long time coming. It had to be now when Noriko had set up the scene for Queen Bitch with retinue going to shop. 'I almost feel sorry for you, but I'm not taking any more crap.'

"My, my," Christina said and turned her attention to the other girl. Christina grabbed her arm before she had time to protest. Yes, it was a skin condition, and one she knew the girl had fought for a long time.

Pretending to study the arm Christina thought of a killer. And had one. She looked the girl straight in her eyes and summoned up all false concern she could conjure. "I'd recommend Tanshin's premium moisture lotion. It could almost help even someone like you." 'There's no way she can afford anything Tanshin's.'

The eyes Christina held locked with her own filled with tears. "You bastard!"

Christina just smiled falsely. 'Relentless. I have to be relentless.' "You know, I can ask my agency for some. They'll give it to me if I tell them I need to help a destitute friend with a skin problem."

The third year capitulated and sagged. Both friends had to rely on each other for support as they walked away through the corridor in defeat.

"What the hell?" Christina heard from another third year who stood there waiting for a freshman to be humiliated.

"What happened?" Noriko asked.

Christina turned to answer, but Hitomi-chan beat her to it. "Kuri-chan was really awful." Hitomi-chan shuddered before she continued her explanation. "She saw how dry skin that girl had, and then she suggested that the most expensive lotion I've heard of won't be enough to fix it."

"Sums it up pretty well," Christina agreed when Noriko gave her a questioning look. No wonder Hitomi-chan knew. 'She's got the looks to explain an avid interest in cosmetics.'

"Kuri-chan, I don't agree with what you did. Couldn't you see how much treatment she was using already?" Hitomi-chan said.

'You've got it easy. No one ever tried to bully you.' Christina placed her hands on Hitomi-chan's shoulders and bowed down to meet the beauty's eyes. "I did. I'm a professional after all. I did exactly what would hurt her the most, wouldn't you agree?"

She received a glare filled with distaste. "Just remind me never to make an enemy of you," Hitomi-chan murmured before Christina let her go.

They climbed the stairs. In a way Hitomi-chan was right. With her sudden fame came a need not to make an enemy of her, something the seniors from earlier hadn't understood. But what about friends? Those she had were all in the club, and she couldn't even call all of them her friends.

She was respected. Christina truly felt she was, but that was her meticulously arranged beauty in action, and when that wasn't true she still held the position as president for the club. With Ulf as vice-president there were very few complaints about how the club was run.

So why was it so much easier to attract resentment than friendship? She was since long openly a couple with Ulf, so it couldn't be that the seniors thought she was pilfering their hunting grounds.

"Noriko, wait!"

That voice belonged to the only one anyone could have thought she would pilfer. The latest addition to their club, Nao-sempai who had just transferred in from Irishima High. He was Nao-kun when they worked as models but Nao-sempai in school. Attending class 7:2 where the girls were going hysterical over the new addition to their class. And he had his sights on Noriko.

"Not waiting for the likes of you," she called downstairs and hurried up.

Christina shook her head and climbed another step. If what Ulf had told her was true this was going to be even more fun to watch than Yukio and Kyoko earlier.

Nao-sempai had already confessed to Noriko and been rejected once, which didn't dial down his courtship campaign one notch.