Chapter 13 (1/2)

Part 1

The date: Tuesday. The time: Lunch break o'clock. The mission: Introducing Snowy to the entire group. The problem:

”Are you sure this is a good idea? Maybe we should do it another time...”

I let a shallow sigh escape my mouth and turned to the girl fidgeting behind my back. We were standing just outside the cafeteria entrance. It was only a few minutes after the lunch break started, but the place was already packed with placeholders. The rest of the gang was already inside as planned, courtesy of my assistant's efforts.

After a short (and in no way heated) discussion during our morning commute, we came up with a simple plan. No bells, no whistles, no elaborate Rube Goldberg machines that would've dropped Snowy into the midst of the group (which, by the way, would have totally worked if we could only find a mouse to power a conveyor belt).

As it stood, the plan was deceptively simple: just introduce Snowy in a controlled environment and make sure everyone gets along before we return to a hands-free approach and stop interfering with the group dynamics. Of course, the last part was easier said than done, but Judy was very adamant about it, so I grudgingly agreed. It didn't mean I would stop hanging out with the guys, just that I would stop shepherding them. In theory, at least.

Anyways, I took Snowy by the shoulder and pulled her to the front. She stepped there without any resistance; though getting her to actually move forward took a bit more effort.

”Listen Snowy, the sooner we get this over, the easier it will be for everyone. Think of it as removing a band-aid in one pull. It might sting a little, but once it's over the net pain will be much lower than if you tried to pry it off slowly.”

”I don't like doing it either way,” she protested as I kept pushing her. ”I still don't think this is a good idea.”

I silently groaned and stopped pushing, and instead I grabbed hold of her shoulders again and turned her around so that I could look her in the eye. ”Snowy.”

”Y-Yes?” Correction: I tried to look her in the eye, but she steadfastly refused to let me, as she kept sheepishly gazing at her shoes like they were the most interesting thing ever.

I continued, disregarding her lack of eye contact. ”They are nice guys. I wouldn't be friends with them if they weren't. Just talk to them.”

”But.... what if they--”

I hushed her by placing a finger in front of her lips before she could get started. ”Don't worry. I will be right behind you. Just make sure you act naturally and everything will be fine.”

She nodded, probably more by reflex than as a sign of actual agreement, and after some further urging, we finally got past the door. The dining hall was about as busy as it usually tended to be around this time; its air was filled to the brim with inane placeholder-chatter, the kind that quickly mixed and melded together into an indistinct buzz of white noise.

I scanned the premises and I quickly found the gang sitting at a table slightly removed from the rest in the near corner, not too far from the pre-made foods counter. I gave the girl at my side one last reassuring smile and began walking... only to stop, turn back and start dragging her along.

We successfully reached the table without causing too much of a commotion (hey, at this point I took that as a small victory). I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little worried about the girls' reactions, but thankfully my fears have proven mostly unfounded.

Let's count the reactions from right to left, shall we? First off was my loyal (if slightly overbearing) assistant. Her reaction was pretty much as expected, meaning exactly zilch. Then there was Angie at her side, who looked surprisingly uninterested in the newcomer, preferring to instead stuff herself like she was starving all morning. Josh was smiling awkwardly, though probably more due to surprise than disliking the development, while the princess on his left was also trying to smile, though it never reached her eyes. Last but not least, there was the class rep, and to my disappointment, she was pretty hostile by the looks of it, though not so overtly that one would notice without looking closely enough.

Well, four out of five was still a good ratio, right? Anyways, once we were close enough I dusted off my charmingest smile and waved at them in the most casual and friendly manner I could muster.

”Hey guys, guess who I ran into!” Saying so I stepped aside and presented Snowy with a small flourish. After she didn't move for a few seconds I firmly patted her on the back to get her to do something.

She looked at the people at the table like a deer at the headlights of an incoming truck. For several seconds she kept glancing back and forth between the faces, never lingering on one for more than a split second until she at last locked eyes with Joshua. After some hesitation her eyes softened, her lips cured up and with a husky voice she uttered, ”Hi darling, I missed y—”

She got so far before my knuckle made contact with the crown of her head. She twitched in surprise and then crouched down while protectively grasping her head. That surprised me. I didn't actually hit her. I only placed my fist on top of her head. Hell, I barely even touched her!

Anyways, when she looked up at me I extended the same hand towards her, palm out and fingers spread.

”Five seconds. You lasted less than five seconds before you lapsed into your vamp act. Were you even trying?”

”S-Sorry...” she rushed to answer at once while still clutching her head like she expected I would hit her. That made me feel bad. Maybe I accidentally touched on some kind of trauma? She must have taken the momentary silence during which I was thinking as further proof of my disapproval, as she continued; ”I... I just didn't know what else to say. I... sorry, it won't happen again.”

I let out a sharp breath and shook my head while extending my hand again, this time in order to help her onto her feet.

”You don't have to be that sorry. Just make sure you keep it in mind.”

I helped her up, and it was around this time I realized we were still being watched by the gang. I sighed and propped Snowy up, absently straightening her sleeves in order to gain a few seconds of thinking space. Ultimately I turned to the table with a smile I hoped wasn't too forced and cleared my throat.

”We started off on the wrong foot. Let's try this again.” I patted Snowy on the back, in a mirror image of the first introduction, but this time I did the speaking. ”You are probably all aware of it, but this is Neige, the new transfer student, and Josh's ex-stalker.”

”Ex-stalker?” the class-rep interrupted, with her stern expression indicating that she was already in her authority mode.

”We... worked things out.” Unexpectedly enough, it was Josh who came to my rescue.

”Really? When?”

”Yesterday, on the roof,” I answered in his stead and swiftly continued before she could interrupt again. ”Anyways, as you can see, she is a little awkward around strangers, so I thought I should help her out a bit, as a favor from one transfer student to another.”

”You never helped me.” This time the princess was the one doing the interrupting, though if her tone was any indication she was more sulky than confrontational.

”Really? Didn't I help you make your first friend in school?” She gave me a puzzled look, so I pointed at myself. ”Me?”

She blinked at me and averted her eyes while murmuring something about being unfair under her breath.

”Angeline, say something,” the class rep pleaded to her last possible ally, who was in the process of stuffing her head with chicken wings like there was nothing out of the ordinary happening around her.

”Hrmf?” She quickly swallowed and tried again. ”I'm okay with her. Josh already explained what happened.”

”He did?” The class rep sounded downright betrayed. It was at this point that I gently nudged Snowy forwards. I wiggled my eyebrows to tell her to capitalize on the situation and say what we agreed on beforehand, preferably before the class rep would come up with some other objection. She somehow seemed to understand the gist of it. She stepped forwards and bowed her head to the table.

”I... I'm sorry about the trouble I caused you. I'm really sorry. I just... I want... I would like to be friends with you if it's not too much of a bother to ask...”

She actually slurred the last sentence and the final words trailed into a mumbled whisper, but it seemed the recipients of the apology could get the intention nevertheless. I smiled at Snowy reassuringly as we both awaited the judgment of the jury. To my sincerest surprise it was not Josh or even Angie that offered the olive branch first, but the princess of all people.

”Oh, fine...” she grumbled. ”If we are at apologies, I'm sorry for tackling you. It might have been something of a minor overreaction on my part.”

I wanted to point out that her apology sounded a bit insincere when she was glaring like that, but I decided it was better to keep quiet for the moment. The class rep gave the princess a classic ‘Et tu, Brute?!' look, followed by a ‘we are going to talk about this later, prepare yourself' frown aimed at yours truly, but in the end she sighed and dropped her shoulders in resignation.

”Have a seat.”

Snowy's face lit up at once, though her eyes were still cautious, like a scared bunny that was offered a piece of carrot and didn't know whether she should take it or not. I gave her another gentle push and she finally walked over to the empty seat next to Judy. My assistant, completely passive until this point, shook her head and pointed at the other empty seat next to the class rep.

”This one is reserved for the chief.”

”Chief..?”

Judy nodded and pointed at me. Snowy mouthed a small ”Oh...” and obediently took the other chair. I followed suit, taking my ‘reserved' seat with a small frown, but the moment I got my backside into position I slapped my forehead.

”I forgot to buy lunch!”

”Yes,” My assistant stated stoically at my side while she unpacked a small lunchbox and placed it in front of me. ”I have you covered.”

”Thanks?” I replied by reflex and raised the lid, revealing three sandwiches wrapped in floral-print napkins. In retrospect, I don't know what else I was expecting. I was ready to dig in, but then something occurred to me and I looked at the white-haired girl fidgeting near me. ”Snowy doesn't have anything either.”

”I got her covered too,” Judy interjected and she subsequently produced another, slightly smaller box.

She handed it to me and I forwarded the package to its intended recipient while I whispered, ”You are the best.”

Judy nodded and simply whispered, ”I know.”

”T-Thank you very much for your kindness.”

We both looked over and found Snowy staring at Judy with teary eyes. I smiled at her encouragingly in place of my still stoic assistant, but before I could say anything the princess reached over and deposited a croissant into my lunchbox. When I looked up at her she promptly looked away.

”I bought too much, so I thought I would share.” When I didn't stop looking at her she glanced at me, flushed red, and then immediately averted her eyes again. ”Don't get the wrong idea! We are going to have PE this afternoon, and you are going to need the energy.”

”I see.” I nodded with a smile. She was such a tsundere. ”Thank you very much.”

”You are welcome.”

”Do you like croissants, Lili?” The question came from Josh and it piqued my interest three ways at once.

”I... don't dislike them?” Snowy answered uncertainly, her eyes jumping between Joshua and me.

”I figured,” Josh crossed his arms and nodded to himself like he made a major discovery. ”You were looking at them so intensely.”

”I wasn't really...”

”Here.” To my surprise, the princess actually gave her one. ”D-Don't take it the wrong way though. It's just part of my apology. For the tackling.”

”I understand...” Snowy replied, though if her tone was any indication, she actually didn't. The better question was though, why was the princess periodically glancing at me while she was doing this? Maybe it was her way of showing she was making an effort? I gave her a thumb up, but she only glared at me in return, so maybe not?

”Can I have one too?” Judy interrupted, stealing another croissant from the princess' plate before she could answer.

”Hey!”

”You said you bought too much. I'm just helping.”

”Oh really? Then I suppose with that extra food you don't need this sandwich!”

Saying so the princess reached over the table and snatched away one of Judy's sandwiches. My assistant let out a crestfallen ”Oh,” and looked at me with the eyes of a hurt puppy.

”Chief, she stole my wages.”

I wanted to point out to her that she started it, but then one of my sandwiches was suddenly exchanged with a chicken drumstick. I looked up and found Angie grinning at me with said sandwich in her hands, and when I raised a brow she simply declared, ”Smorgasbord!”

”That's not how a smorgasbord works,” I protested dryly before turning to the class rep, who was quietly playing with her food across the table in a rare display of abject sourness. ”Could you talk to her before things get out of hand?” To my sincere astonishment, she huffed at me and shook her head. ”Oh come on!”

”It doesn't matter to me.”

”You say that now, but it's only a matter of time before your food will be in danger too.”

She gave me a critical look and poked her plate with her fork. ”I have spaghetti. You can't exchange that.”

”Ooooooh! That sounds like a challenge to me!” Angie exclaimed with a grin as she began rummaging through her bag and in a second she produced a small plastic fork.

”Wait, no!” Suddenly drawn into the commotion, the class rep put her own fork between Angie and her food with an unspoken ‘You shall not pass!' Initially Angie tried to circumvent her defenses, but the class rep had proven to be a formidable opponent and she couldn't even get close to her plate.

”Don't be so stubborn! Just a little taste!”

”Stop it! You are being childish!”

”That's it!” Angie suddenly declared with a fork raised high like a royal scepter. ”I request reinforcements!”

”You what?”

”Quick, Neige! Grab a meatball while she isn't looking!”

”O-Okay...”

Snowy automatically reached out and plucked a meatball from the side of the class rep's plate with her bare fingers, but then she froze with a difficult expression.

”Ummm... What do I do now?”

”Eat it!” For a moment Angie sounded like a general giving absolute orders, but Snowy only shook her head.

”But... I have nothing to give in return. I received all my food as gifts, it would be rude to give them away... but it would also be rude to take this meatball without giving anything in return... Uuuu... I don't know what to do...”

I secretly smiled and was about to help her out when Josh came to the rescue once again, placing a slice of beef onto the class rep's plate.

”Here, I will cover for you.”

”Beef? With spaghetti?” The recipient spoke while poking the slice of meat with her fork.

”Sorry, I don't have anything else.”

”I... I'm sorry for imposing on you,” Snowy practically bowed to Josh, but then she also did the say for the class rep. ”I'm sorry for the inconvenience.”

The class rep seemed conflicted for a moment, but at the end of the day her frown softened and she lightly shook her head.

”No need to apologize. It wasn't really your--” she started, but then her attention was momentarily drawn away by having to fend off Angie's latest sneak attack on her plate. ”Stop that! You are making a commotion!”

After a few stern words and glares she actually got Angie to stop, though not before she stole her last meatball and replaced it with three chicken nuggets.

I wanted to point out that she should've done that when I first asked her, but at that particular moment my mouth was too full of croissants to talk. By the way, they were actually quite delicious. I wondered if they were from the unreasonably fancy menu of the cafeteria or the princess bought them somewhere else, and in the end I decided to ask her later.

Anyways, once the class rep finished reprimanding Angie she turned back to Snowy, this time with a small smile on her lips.

”You should eat that.”

”Oh...” Snowy looked uncertainly at the meatball in her hand, and she reluctantly bit it in half. ”Hm? It's delicious.”

This was the perfect opportunity to encourage her to interact with the others a bit more, so I promptly gave her a push.

”Yeah, the standard menus are pretty meh, but the cafeteria makes some nice stuff like that too. You should ask for recommendations.”

”Oh, me!” Josh raised his hand with an ear-to-ear grin. ”I have some recommendations!”

”Except from him,” I corrected myself while pointing at my friend with my thumb. ”He would bankrupt you in a week.”

”That's harsh! I didn't bankrupt you, did I?”

”You tried.”

”That's a baseless accusation! Slander, even!”

”Very well, we shall settle this in court. My lawyer will soon contact yours.”

”Errr... Could we just settle it as part of a friendly basketball game during PE?”

”That works too,” I answered while preparing to take a bite from one of my sandwiches, but I stopped halfway. ”Wait, now that you mention it... It's Tuesday. Do we even have PE today?”

Part 2

As it turned out, yes, we did. Apparently it was Monday's PE switched with our last history class for some reason. It might have had something to do with my previous afternoon being spent restraining the princess, but I honestly didn't notice the switch. Some observer I am, right?

I silently snorted in self-derision and hurled the javelin in my hand a little angrier than before. It flew in a beautiful arc, staying straight and true until the moment it hit the ground with a loud ‘thunk', embedding its tip into the grassy ground a good five meters ahead of the second-best throw, which also happened to be mine.

”Wow...” Joshua let out an awed whistle and patted me in the back. ”You broke the school record. Again.”

”You are a natural!” Angie agreed, though I still didn't know what she was doing hanging around on our side of the field while the girls also had their own evaluations going on in parallel. It was about throwing these small, yellow balls made of rubber as far as they could. I didn't really see the point of it aside from providing a simple number they could pin a grade upon, but I was no PE teacher, so who knew? Maybe it did build the arm muscles. Or failing that, character.

Meanwhile, Angie continued to buzz around me, even going as far as to poke the biceps of my throwing arm.

”Maybe you were a hoplite in your previous life?”

”Hoplites didn't throw their spears,” came the instant rebuttal from the class rep on my left, and no, I didn't know what she was doing over on our side either. She still seemed to give me the evil eye from time to time, but otherwise she was back to normal, which was a relief. Anyways, it was Josh's turn on the field, so he grabbed one of the brand new red-white striped javelins from the pile at our side and winked at us.

”Just you watch! I think I've got the basics of your technique down!”

With that said, he raised his javelin, took a running start, and threw it with all his might. The moment it left his hand it began wobbling in the air, and while it certainly flew a respectable distance, it still fell short, and to the right, of my second best throw by about two meters. He clicked his tongue in frustration but still smiled.

”It's progress!”

”Yeah.” I nodded and picked up another javelin even though it wasn't my turn. I waved Josh over and showed it to him. ”You need to hold it a bit closer to the head, like this. Also, you need to focus on where you want to throw it and adjust your strength accordingly. If you just toss it with all your might without giving it a clear direction, you are never going to hit anything.”

”But this is about distance, not accuracy.”

”You know what I mean.”

”Yeah, yeah...” Joshua waved his hand and then grabbed hold of the javelin in mine. ”Like this?”

”No, not that close. A little lower, closer to the middle... yeah, that's about right.”

”Are you giving free lessons?” This time it was the princess who came over. Her bangs were pulled into a loosely hanging ponytail, probably so that they wouldn't interfere with her activities. It actually suited her. ”Where did you even learn to throw like that?”

”The Chief is a man of many talents,” came the needlessly mysterious explanation from my assistant. ”Throwing things to great distances is merely one of them.”

”Now that you mention it,” Josh spoke while hefting the javelin in his hand,” You suddenly became ridiculously good at sports. You are a menace on the basketball field too.”

”And table-tennis. Don't forget table tennis.”

”I'm trying to, but you keep reminding me!” he grumbled as he stuck the javelin into the ground next to his feet and faced the girls. ”By the way, how is the evaluation going on your side? Are you going to finish soon?”

Judy shook her head and pointed at the princess at her side. ”Eleanor lost the balls, so we are on break until they find them.”

”I didn't lose them! They are right over there on the field! ... Somewhere...”

”That was a little vague,” I mused as I looked over the girls' side, and they indeed seemed to be in the process of combing the field. ”How did you even lose them?”

”Her throws were all over the place,” Angie told me while waving in the direction of the field. ”Aaaaaall over.”

”That much?” She nodded, earning a contemplative 'Huh.' from me, and after a moment of thinking, I lightly shrugged. ”I thought she would be good with balls, being a tennis player at all, but I can certainly imagine it. She is pretty clumsy.”

”Hey! I'm standing right here!” the subject of our conversation protested aloud while stomping her feet. ”I can hear you! Also, I'm not clumsy!”

”You kind of are, but don't worry. It's one of your charms. Right, Josh?”

”Um... Sure?” he responded a tad uncertainly, probably because he wasn't even following our conversation.

”See, the male population is in agreement. A little clumsiness from time to time is totally all right.”

The princess stared at us for a while, but in the end she turned around with a small huff.

”I'll go and help to look for the balls!”

Just like that, she left our side of the field, and Angie and the class rep closely followed after her.

”Well, there she goes,” I muttered to no one in particular, but then I noticed my assistant's piercing stare and I raised a questioning brow at her. ”What? Did I say something wrong?”

”No.”

Following that curt answer, she turned around and left as well, leaving me scratching my head.

”You know,” Josh remarked while gathering up some discarded javelins, ”It's because of moments like these that I can't decide whether you are good or horrible with girls.”

I gave him a flat frown. I thought we were over this already. However, before I could raise the point, Josh switched gears and let out a heavy sigh, stopping me in my tracks.

”How are we going to have our basketball duel like this?”

”You were serious about that?” He gave me a look that could be roughly translated as ‘Duh?', and after a moment of consideration I turned to him again. ”How about after school?”

”Not today. I already have plans with Angie.” Noticing the subtle signs of curiosity I was giving off, Josh took a deep breath and continued, ”There is this new gyros place that opened up in the neighborhood recently, and she's been pestering me about it for ages. I gave in this morning, so we are going there after school.”

”Date?”

”Obviously not.”

I chuckled to myself and waved a dismissive hand as we got into the line for the next throw.

”Fine, fine. You were the one who wanted to play. I can wait until you have a free afternoon.”

My friend stopped in his tracks for a moment and after a few seconds of thinking his mood seemed to considerably brighten.

”Actually, we really should do that soon. It's been ages since we hung out, just the two of us.”

”All the more--” I got that far before the words froze in my throat. There was a small yellow blur in the corner of my vision, and at once my body reflexively twisted itself to the side with little input from any conscious thought. In fact, I did it so abruptly that I nearly lost my balance and fell on my butt. I managed to catch myself at the very last moment and shook my head with a frown.

”What the hell?!” Josh exclaimed at my side while holding his forehead, and I could already see a circular red bump forming on it. His question mirrored mine perfectly.

”Sorry!” the princess cried out in panic as she rushed up to us. ”Are you all right?”

”I'm fine, but that came out of nowhere!”

”Sorry...” she apologized again, and by this time the initial surprise subsided enough for the little wheels in my head to start spinning again and connecting the dots. I dodged something yellow. The girls were throwing balls over there. The princess came running over. Q.E.D...

”Excuse me, but weren't you supposed to throw balls in that direction?”

The princess shuddered and gave me a glare that somehow also looked hurt. Don't ask me how that worked; she was a virtuoso when it came to glares after all.

”I-Indeed. It just... slipped out of my hand.”

She kept glaring at me as if she was daring me to say anything else. I decided that there was no point in teasing her over an accident like this, so I shrugged and grabbed hold of Josh instead.