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“Really?” Kaede asks, her brow furrowing. “Are you sure it was D? I’m pretty sure I got C on that one…”
Kaede watches Shuichi rub the back of his neck with an almost sheepish smile, the exact face he makes whenever Kaede is wrong but he doesn’t want to be rude about it. To let him know she’s not actually upset, Kaede pats him on the shoulder, and Shuichi’s smile becomes more genuine.
“I almost got C, too,” Shuichi agrees. “But the question said to round to the nearest hundredth, not the nearest tenth, so…”
“Oh.” Kaede puffs out her cheek as they round the corner, making their way towards the dining hall. “That explains it, I guess… ugh! They really shouldn’t be allowed to put multiple choice answers like that, it’s totally cheating!”
Shuichi pats Kaede on the shoulder in turn, his eyes crinkling. “At least you know you know how to do it, right? So on the final…”
He falls silent suddenly, and Kaede blinks at him while she waits for him to continue, but when Shuichi’s gaze darts over to something in front of them, Kaede quickly realises why he’s stopped talking; some paces in front of them, right by the entrance to the dining hall, are a few of their peers. One, a second year with blonde pigtails and pretty eyes, Enoshima Junko, who Kaede likes to think she’s pretty good friends with.
The other… Ouma Kokichi, their classmate, who is leaning up to peer into Junko’s face, his grin sly and sharp, like it always gets when he thinks he knows something you don’t. Junko seems unintimidated from the outside, rubbing a strand of hair between two fingers, but Kaede watches a bead of sweat drip down her freckled cheek and realises she’s probably just good at keeping her composure.
It probably isn’t any of Kaede’s business, but anything where Kokichi is involved and leaning in close to someone like that is definitely an issue. Kaede lengthens her strides, forgetting about Shuichi in her rush to get to Junko’s side.
“I’m just saying,” Kokichi continues, apparently not having noticed Kaede yet. “It’s weird, isn’t it? Not that I spend a whole lot of time looking at girls’ bodies, but sometimes your eyes are a completely different colour… there’s no explaining that, is there?”
Junko blows a strand of hair out of her face. “What, so you’d rather stare into a girl’s eyes? Talk about being a nice guy.” She shakes her head, a single painted eyebrow raising. “What’s your point, Ouma? I like, totally can’t tell what you’re trying to accuse me of here.”
“Isn’t that funny?” Kokichi smiles. “You say that, but I think you actually know exactly what I’m trying to accuse you of.”
“I don’t,” Kaede says, folding her arms. Kokichi doesn’t jump, but his expression is carefully neutral when he turns to look at Kaede, which she knows to mean that she’s taken him off guard. Kaede narrows her eyes and takes a step forward, so she’s in his personal space just as much as he’s in Junko’s. “Girls wear contact lenses sometimes, Ouma-kun. It’s not that deep—and it’s definitely rude to be commenting on a girl’s appearance.”
“Awww… you’re right!” Kokichi bounces around to Kaede’s side, his hands wrapping around her bent elbow so he can hook their arms together. Kaede sighs, but allows it, giving him a suspicious look as he hangs off her. “The truth is, I was just trying to make something up so I can have a chance with Enoshima-senpai-chan. Otherwise she’s totally out of my league, you know?”
“That’s probably more of a you thing than a me thing,” Junko remarks, bluntly. Kokichi gasps, his eyes going wide and welling with tears.
“Th-That’s so mean! How could you say that to me after I confessed my feelings?”
Kaede is inclined to write that off as a lie, but knowing Kokichi, causing problems where there aren’t any could very well be how he flirts with people. So Kaede sighs again, pulling her arm out of his grasp. “Is that all, Ouma-kun?”
“Hmmm… I guess so!” Kokichi skips away without another complaint, though he pauses by Shuichi, who stands a few paces back from them in the hallway. Kokichi leans over to mutter to him, and Kaede shakes her head, deciding that he’s not important anymore.
Instead, she looks at Junko, whose arms are folded across her stomach in a defensive gesture. Kaede feels her gaze softening.
“Are you okay, Enoshima-senpai? Ouma-kun has absolutely no concept of boundaries.”
Junko lets out a bit of a laugh, shaking her head. “It’s fine. That’s probably a part of his charm, y’know? There’s some girl out there looking for a fixer upper, and she’ll have a total field day with him.” Despite her words, Junko still seems a bit shaken, straightening up off the wall and smoothing out a few creases in her uniform, fluffing out her hair. Noting this, Kaede reaches over and squeezes her shoulder. It’s firm under her hand. Junko must be pretty strong, despite being a model.
“Don’t worry about him or whatever he was saying! It’s not that weird for a model to wear contact lenses.” Kaede smiles. “Besides, I think you’re pretty no matter what colour your eyes are, you know?”
“Pfft.” Junko glances at her, lip twitching. “You do, huh?”
“I do!” Kaede nods fervently. “You have such striking eyes, and your freckles are super cute… plus, you’re so elegant when you move! You’re pretty much a girl’s dream!”
Kaede doesn’t think there’s anything about that statement that’s weird, but Junko gives her a lingering look regardless, a single eyebrow raised again. Eventually, Kaede catches a hint of pink in her cheeks and ears, and feels herself smiling wider.
“Sorry, was that embarrassing?” Kaede isn’t really all that sorry. “I would’ve figured you get those kinds of compliments all the time.”
“I do.” Junko plays with her hair again. “But mostly that’s all based on the photoshopped pictures and videos… besides, you’re uh… pretty sincere, Akamatsu.”
Beaming, Kaede says, “Well, I try to be!” She looks at the dining hall, then back at Junko. “Are you hungry? Do you want to join Saihara-kun and me for lunch? We were just talking about our math test last period.”
“That’s with Ito, isn’t it?” Junko nods slightly, falling in beside Kaede, so Kaede looks back at Shuichi to make sure he’s following before walking over to open the door. “That man’s tough. I’m pretty good at math, luckily, but he even gave me a run for my money.”
“Haha, maybe I’d better ask you to tutor me, then,” Kaede teases. “I feel bad relying on Saihara-kun for help all the time.”
Jogging a little to catch up with them, Shuichi insists, “It really isn’t an issue.”
Junko’s eyes dart between them. Then she says, “If it is, though, I don’t mind. I can help you with your homework.”
Oh. Kaede had been joking, but she feels her face warming at Junko’s words. It’s probably silly, but Junko is so matter-of-fact at times, the casual agreement makes Kaede’s heart flutter. She finds herself smiling, reaching again, this time to grasp Junko’s hand and squeeze.
“I’d really like that!”
Not that Kaede needs the math help that much, but any excuse to spend more time with Junko… she’ll definitely take it. Especially seeing the lopsided smirk that Junko sends her way, so far from picture perfect but so pretty nonetheless.
(So absorbed in this smile is Kaede that she doesn’t notice Shuichi’s gaze where it rests, suspiciously, on ‘Junko’s’ face. Kokichi’s words from before keep playing in his head, but Kaede seems to like this girl too much to listen to any concerns about her… perhaps Shuichi had better just keep an eye out.)