We were given an hour for lunch break and in exchange, classes ended later in the afternoon or early evening. When lunch break had started, Lynn stood from his seat and had stretched his body. When he was finished, Isaac had spoken up

“You guys wanna eat together?.”

“Fine with me.” Lynn had said. Both of us then had looked at Haru for her response, but it did not look like she had noticed. It was obvious that she did not include herself with us.

“You coming Haru?” Lynn asked.

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. You wanna eat with us?” Isaac had asked again. Pupil enlarged, it was certain that she was surprised.

“M-May I?...” She questioned

“Of course! Let’s get moving,” Isaac cheered her on.

The campus or the Triple A’s campus was rather different. They had enough dorms for every student and were offered for free as long as you were enrolled. Instead of a cafeteria, the school had many restaurants offered for free for all students. Most likely being paid by sponsors or by the government. Being unhealthy affects student’s ability; this was the decision Aqua Academy came to.

The school was separated in many districts. The main campus, clubs, food, dorms, and the many others. The men and women dorms were on opposite sides though. There were many choices of meals when we went around. In the end, we entered a sandwich shop close by because we still wanted spare time after lunch to look for interesting clubs.

“I think I’m going for the cold cut sandwich, what about you Lynn?”

“Hmmm… Since you’re going for the cold cut, I’ll go for the egg sandwich. What about you Haru?”

“Ummmm. Ummm... I think I want to try the Italian sandwich.”

As soon as the waitress came over, Isaac had placed orders for all of us. As for drinks, I had got lemonade, Isaac got raspberry tea, and Haru took iced tea. It was not long until our meals had arrived. When Isaac had ordered our sandwich, he had asked them to cut it into three equal pieces. It was so that we each could get a piece of a different sandwich. In total, we each had a piece of three different sandwiches. At first, it was strange because Isaac had stolen two pieces from both of us. It was actually amusing to see the face Haru had dropped.

“I always wanted to do this,” Isaac had spoken.

“This is the first for me also. I’m surprised though, it looks like you could be friends with anyone.”

“Haha… Not quite. Back in junior high, I was a lone wolf. Everyone was afraid of me. My white natural hair made me look like a criminal. Learned from my mistakes and I thought I’d take my chances before I naturally become one.”

“Ah… Figured, I had the same impression.”

“Isn’t that too sad though…” Haru spoke in a quiet voice, “I mean, being alone and all…”

“It wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t like I was being bullied or anything. I mean, I have you guys now,” Isaac smiled with his eyes closed. It was a bright smile. You would have never guessed that Isaac had been a loner. It was impossible to see that he was. The smile was so universal, even a newborn baby would know it by heart. His very own soul was reflected by his smile.

“W-We just met did we not?! You're making me feel weird! It’s not like we’re friends or anything. Are you stupid or wh-” Haru had sudden paused. Immediately, Haru had realized she had displayed a strange appearance. With an awkward face, she tried to escape with a forced smile and was soon to turtle into her shell. It had to be because of Isaac’s smile. Caught off guard, even my own eyes were surprised. Haru did also receive the assault front on. Of course it would startle her.

Both me and Isaac had turned to each and other and started to giggle and soon into laughters.

“Hahahaha!” we both bursted into laughter.

“Wh-what's so funny?!” Haru panicked after a short while of confusion.

‘Don’t be silly,” I responded, “we’re already friends aren’t we?”

“Of course,” Isaac responded wiping a tear that had escaped.

With a second surprise attack, Haru pupil enlarged. It did not matter if she was prepared or not. Throughout her experiences, she met with nothing but discrimination. Even if some did not mean harm, they were also yet matured. They would not know what it feels like to be bullied and discriminated against. Her reason for studying overboard itself was unknown, but surely, if she made it this far, it could not be for a selfish reason. Surely she had been enduring something alone as a child. With this, Haru has certainly taken a step forward, even if it was the smallest step.

“Stupid…” Haru had whispered quietly facing her head down. Even though her face was covered, surely we all knew the smile hidden behind it; the buried ray of smile that hides behind her unyielding mask. Surely, it was a smile that must be protected, and one day, it will certainly be shown with confident.