You had no idea how to approach Oshiro. The week deadline she set for you was up and you were still around, but she refused to talk to you or even acknowledge your existence. Despite Kimiko telling her you were cool!

She still wouldn't sit at the same lunch table as you, preferring her guy friends over her gal pals. "She'll be back," Minoru said cryptically.

Hinata confided in you during Study Hall that she secretly hoped Oshiro would never come back. "Does that make me a bad person? You don't hate me, do you?" She whispered in a panic. It took you an hour to reassure her that it wasn't bad to wish your bully would stay away and you didn't in fact hate her.

By World History, you still had no idea how to befriend the prickly girl. With not a single thought in your empty head, you found your eyes wandering the classroom and focusing on one girl in particular. You didn't know who she was, but she was remarkably pretty.

Your eyes skated over the curve of her cheekbone and jawline. Her face was as round and pink as a cherry blossom petal. She had these massive doe eyes, framed with spiky black lashes. Her lower lip was fuller than her upper, locking her mouth in a permanent pout.

As if sensing your gaze on her, she turned in her seat and locked eyes with you. You blushed, feeling foolish, before just smiling and waving under your desk. She smiled back, her teeth white as ivory and adorably jumbled, perfectly imperfect, before turning back around. You went back to looking at her.

Her finest feature had to be her hair. It was black, luscious as pearls, and hung down her back in a thick braid secured with two thin, baby blue ribbons. You desperately wanted to brush it, feel its weight and texture within your grasp, style it in different ways as if she were a doll.

A sharp pain in your side woke you from your daydream. You looked over to see Minoru's hand retreating. She had pinched you!

"Pay attention," she mouthed and nodded towards the front of the room where the teacher was giving her lecture.

You were always hyper focused after lunch these days, but you rarely focused on academics. You sighed and tried to avert your gaze... But found your eyes wandering to the girl with the thick, black braid for the remainder of the period.

...

"Sooo... Aina. I heard you've picked up a new hobby. Bird watching," Kimiko said at random during the next lunch period. Her tone was sharp but lacking its usual joking edge.

"You heard wrong," you replied, confused. You had been idly picking at your food for the last fifteen minutes. You didn't particularly like what Minoru had packed you for today, but it seemed rude to not eat it after all the effort she put in.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure. I heard a particular bird by the name of Sumiko Doma caught your eye."

"Who?"

"She's talking about the girl you were staring at in World History. Don't ask me why," Minoru interjected. You wanted to ask why. Why did Minoru tell Kimiko about the girl you had been respectfully looking at in World History? Kimiko wasn't there. She couldn't have known otherwise.

"Is she pretty?" Kimiko asked, staring you down with an intensity that made you uncomfortable.

You felt like you'd just been caught cheating. But that was ridiculous. You weren't in that kind of relationship with any of the girls... Least of all Kimiko, who you just managed to befriend.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Prettier than me?"

"Can we stop talking about this please?"

The fierce look on her face melted into a gorgeous grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. She really was a beautiful girl. You just didn't like the idea of comparing girls based on looks. It felt icky.

"Of course, dollface. I just wanted to segway into a little gift." With that, she pulled something out of her bookbag and slammed it in the middle of the table, right in front of you.

You thought for a second it was a short length of black rope. Next you saw it had a tapered thickness. Then you noticed the two sky blue bows on the top and bottom and, finally, everything clicked.

"What the hell, Kimiko?!"

"What? This was her main appeal to you, wasn't it? I know it wasn't her smile. Snaggle-toothed ass bitch."

"You've gone too far! That probably took her years to grow."

"It's hair. It'll grow back. Look at it this way: I've lifted a weight off her shoulders. Get it?"

You'd heard enough. You stood up from your seat...

"Sit back down!" Minoru snapped, one hand on your shoulder, pushing you back down.

... And promptly sat back down in your seat.

Still, feeling vindictive, you balled up some of your sticky rice in your hands and threw it at Kimiko. It bounced off her cheek, leaving a single grain stuck behind.

You expected her to be furious, to retaliate. And, in a way, she did.

She looked shocked at your little act of violence. Then she smiled like a kid on Christmas, stood up from her chair, and, as loud as she could, shouted, "FOOD FIGHT!"

And that's how you got detention.