The rays of light peeked in through the shades and filled the room with a soft yellow light. I sat up in bed and rubbed my tired eyes, morning was fast approaching. I looked down to Byte, who was still sawing logs on the floor. ‘If everything goes according to plan, then it won't matter if i stayed the night here with him in his room. I just hope Reiji’s plan doesn't go awry’ I thought to myself. I jumped down and grabbed my bag from the foot of the bed that had my school uniform in it. On my way to the changing room I gently nudged Byte to get him awake. We needed to be ready as soon as possible so we could meet with Yua and Reiji, then go to school and talk to the principal before Mei got the chance. Once we were ready to leave the building, we heard someone calling from outside the window. I looked down to the ground below, only to see Yua, who looked golden compared to last night, and Reiji, who still looked like a zombie who wasn't prepared to leave his grave. Byte and I rushed down the stairs to meet them and say our good mornings. After we talked for a while, the normal goofy look that Yua had on her face warped into a serious one. 

“You both ready to do this, it's showtime” Yua said in a fake gruff tone as she nodded at the both of us. 

“Yes, I think Reiji’s plan is a great one and we are very thankful” Byte said in his usual tone with a small smile on his face. 

“T-the plan should go without a hitch” Reiji said as he yawned and held a thumbs up. 

“Ohhhhhh Rei-Rei, you're so smartttttt” Yua teased and she grabbed Reiji's cheeks. Reiji was too tired to even attempt to fight back. Byte watched them for a few seconds, then turned to me and raised his fingers as if he wanted to pinch my cheek. 

“Do it and suffer” I warned as Byte lowered his hand. ‘That was so mean, why did I say that?’ I thought not a minute later. 

After a short walk from the dorms we arrived at the school. We made haste to the principal’s office, only to discover that he was nowhere to be found. 

“Well this isn't good” Yua said as her eyes darted around the empty room. 

“This isn't right, where's the principal?” Reiji asked as he faced the three of us.

“Oh, you didn't know?” a shadowy figure called from the doorway. We all turned to face and see who it was, to see a familiar dark grin and wretched evil eyes. Mei Suzuki. 

“The principals in a conference meeting until around the time class ends today, that's why I was gracious enough to give you till the end of the day to fulfill the request my dear” Mei chuckled in a sweet tone. “BUT IT APPEARS I'VE BEEN TAKEN FOR A FOOL” she exploded as her grin warped into a face frenzied with anger. “But no matter” Mei sighed as her face became calm once more, “as soon as the principal returns i'll just shove you both right under the bus. I have no need for you anymore Biito, I'll find a new boyfriend. One that behaves and listens to his girlfriend like a good little boy” she said as she turned and walked away. I wanted to defend him, I didn't want to stay silent. I wanted to show that conniving piece of crap that we meant business, and we didn't plan on letting her get away with this. I gritted my teeth and prepared to walk after her, when Byte suddenly stopped me. 

“Erika, let's just go” Byte asserted. I let the tension leave my face and nodded in agreement. After the dust settled we told Reiji and Yua bye and went to our separate classes. 

The day seemed to drag on for ages and I couldn't focus. I was too busy worrying about Mei, and how the meeting with the principal would go. I slid my phone out from my pocket and texted Byte. 

E: I'm nervous

B: Me too, but we need to have faith in Reiji 

E: I know, I'm glad he was able to help, we would have been toast if not for him. 

B: Right, so let's place our faith in him and patiently wait until the time comes, it's almost last period already, so not much longer.

E: Right, thanks for helping calm my nerves

B: Yeah, now put your phone away you're in class and supposed to be learning

E: You really know how to ruin a moment don’t you?

I then popped my phone in my pocket and calmly took notes for the rest of the class. 

Before we knew it, last period was over as well as the school day. Byte and I huddled outside the principal's office a few lockers down. We looked up and down the hallways but there was no sign of Yua or Reiji anywhere. 

“What're we gonna do? We can't go in there without them?” I agonized. 

“We can't let Suzuki get the jump on us either, we are going to have to go in and hope that they can catch up within the next few minutes” Byte replied as he started to walk toward the office. I picked up the pace and caught up with him so we could walk into the room together. As we approached I could feel my heart drop, as I saw the principal conversing with none other than Mei herself. ‘Even though we hesitated for only a few moments, she still beat us here, how?’ I thought to myself. 

“Funny you should walk in here Ms. Saito, I actually have a few questions for you” the principal said with his gaze fixated on me. My face was completely frozen with fear as I sat down in one of the chairs in front of the principal's desk. We had been here before, but this time things were completely different. 

“Ms. Suzuki informed me that Mr. Biito texted her late last night and told her to retrieve her things from his room or they would be thrown out, and that he was breaking up with her. And when she went to retrieve her items that you were there in his room with him. This is atrocious behavior coming from students at my academy, and this will not be accepted” the principal barked with a stern look on his face. 

I wanted to tell him he was wrong, and tell him what really happened, but I felt the fear rising in me, and I found myself unable to speak. 

‘This is it, we are done’ I thought. 

“That's not it at all Mr. Principal” Reiji said as he burst through the door, with Yua following closely behind him. My eyes lit up with excitement as I looked at the both of them and Byte broke into a smile. 

“According to the handbook for the dorms here, as long as someone is family they are permitted to be on dorm premises even at night, without needing permission from the school. Biito and Erika are cousins, they have the same last name!” Reiji declared. This part of his plan was fool-proof. No one could prove that Byte and I weren't related in some way. 

“While yes this is true, this still doesn't change the fact that Mr. Biito still threatened to throw out a student's belongings if she didn't break the rules of the dorm and come get them in the middle of the night” the principal replied while eying Byte. 

“I foresaw a situation like this popping up so I did some more research on my own after we all went home last night, check this out. It turns out that the dorms cameras also record audio, unlike most security cameras used in other practical facilities. So check the camera footage yourself Mr. Principal and see if what was recorded lines up with her story” Reiji countered. 

After the principal reviewed the footage he found out that Mei was lying and expelled her for trying to ruin the school careers of two perfectly fine students. He then apologized to us for once again letting a bad egg in his school be a burden on us, and for not looking deeper into the subject matter for himself. We decided that to celebrate our small victory over Suzuki we would go to the coffee shop, as a group this time. While we were walking out of the school I could see Byte was slowing down, so I slowed my walking speed to match his.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, I'm just starting to run low on power” Byte replied as he slowed to a stop. I raised my hand up and patted his head, rustling his hair. Before I knew it we were standing as close as possible. 

“This time, you saved me” Byte mentioned as he smiled at me. 

“Yeah, I suppose I did” I said as I blushed. Before I knew it my face was gravitating toward his, it seemed as if everything was starting to become a little warmer. But just as his face was about to meet mine I heard an obnoxious girl's voice call from up ahead “hey, if you guys get there last, you have to pay for the coffee!” 

Suddenly Byte dashed on ahead and looked back at me, “If I beat all of you there, then mine will be free for sure!” 

I smiled as I looked toward the three of them running together, then started to run after them as the yellow sun splashed on my cold face.