It'll take me a while to get used to this.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

The end of the video call
was his cue to get ready for school.

Putting on a plain black sweatshirt,
pants, and a black cap,
Ryuu checked in himself in the mirror
one last time to reevaluate his outfit.

Finally deciding that his outfit looked alright,
Ryuu sluggishly put on his socks and shoes.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

He took his sweet time walking down the stairs,
unused to the metal feel of the handrail
since the one back home was wooden.

He started observing their new house-
An intricate chandelier adorned the ceiling in the living room.
There were a couple of paintings here and there.
This place was no doubt more spacious and grand
compared to where he lived before.

Despite having many lights in the living room,
none of them were open,
so Ryuu assumed that no one was there.

But he was mistaken.

As he was about to proceed to the kitchen,
someone suddenly spoke up.

"Ryuu, "

His mother spoke up.
She was lounging on a couch not far away from him,
sipping a cup of coffee.

"Good morning."

Ryuu felt weird,
he felt like something wasn't quite right.

She never greeted me "Good morning." before...
she never even cared to acknowledge my presence.
What's gotten into her?
First she smiles at me and gives me a compliment,
then she greets me "Good morning."...
this is one strange morning.

Nevertheless, he decided to act normal
and greet his mother back.

"Good morning, mother.
I'm about to head out for school.
I'm just gonna make myself a sandwich before I leave."

Just as he was about to go to the kitchen,
his mother spoke up again.

"Oh, I'm afraid you won't have to.
Hanae is going to take you out.
You're going to have breakfast together."

Fuyuko said,
not leaving any room for Ryuu
to ask questions or decline.

Right on time, the doorbell sounded
and Ryuu's mother got up from the couch.

"I believe Hanae's waiting for us.
Come along now.
We wouldn't want to keep her waiting."

Fuyuko motioned for Ryuu to follow her
and he complied.
She answered the door and greeted Hanae,
Ryuu greeted Hanae as well,
and in return Hanae raised up both eyebrows-
which was her usual way of greeting her peers.

"Well, I'll leave you to Hanae now.
Goodbye."

And with that,
Fuyuko ushered Ryuu out the door.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

The walk to whichever place Hanae was supposed to
take Ryuu to was very long and awkward,
So Ryuu decided to speak up.

"How long do we have before school starts?"

He decided to go for the safest way to start a conversation.

"Geez, what's with that?
You act like we've never met.
You don't have to be so stiff around me."

She laughed gave him a firm pat on the back
which was enough to make him slightly sway.

"Whoa.
You're strong. "

Hanae simply shrugged and smiled.

"I take boxing lessons every Friday."

The awkward silence once more returned.

"And I may have been...
in a gang before."
Hanae made a slight pause before saying it,
unsure of how Ryuu would take the information.
She was relieved to see that he was amazed by it.

At least he doesn't judge me for it.

She smiled to herself,
thankful that not all people had a negative mindset.

"You're so cool."

Ryuu said,
accidentally gushing in the process but he didn't care.
In front of him was a girl
who probably had a better chance at survival than he did,
and he was amazed.
He'd always wanted to be badass or physically strong,
but it just wasn't in his nature.
Meeting someone who was like that sort of inspired him.

"Where do you take classes?
Is it far from our house?"

He asked giddily.

Hanae could see the eagerness in Ryuu's eyes
and she was happy that he was interested in what she liked too.

"It's not too far.
My house is actually really close to yours.
We could walk together there this Friday if you'd like."

"Sounds great."

Ryuu replied.

At least she isn't that hard to talk to.

"And we're here."

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

They stopped in front of a retro diner
with a neon red sign that read : "The Deep End".
It's color scheme was mostly red and black.

Hanae smiled with both hands on her hips,
a proud and nostalgic expression across her face.

"Umm...no offense Hanae,
but this place seems kinda edgy."

"Edgy is totally my style."

Hanae smiled and signaled for Ryuu to follow her.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

What Ryuu saw when he entered the diner wowed him.
The inside looked very cozy and less edgy than its exterior.
The inside's color scheme was yellow and white
with slightly pink tinted lights-
it was the very definition of don't judge a book by its cover.

"This place is-"

"Awesome?"

Hanae easily predicted what Ryuu was about to say
because his feelings were written all over his face.
Ryuu nodded.

"My cousin owns this place.
I kinda helped with the color schemes.
At first she thought it was really weird,
but later on she caught onto my idea."

Hanae turned around and looked at the counter.

"Speaking of my cousin,"

Ryuu was shocked to see Hanae jump behind the counter
and tightly hug the lady behind it.
The lady hugged back,
clearly glad to see Hanae.

"Ryuu, meet Haru.
The best cousin I could ever have!"

Ryuu noticed how comfortable Hanae was to her cousin.
He smiled and held out his hand.
Haru smiled back and shook his hand.

"I'm Kurosawa Ryuu.
Pleased to meet you."

"I can say the same.
I'm Haru Hisakawa."

She was three inches taller than Hanae,
probably 5"8.
In her early 20's, with sharp eyes
and tight lips.
Her jet black hair reached just above her waist
with light blue highlights at the end.

"The bubble tea here is great,
you've gotta try it Ryuu."

Hanae said
and Ryuu decided to go with the flow.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

Ryuu and Hanae sat down and waited for their order.

Soon enough, Haru came with their order.

"Two plates of waffles
and two winter melon bubble teas?"

Haru said, repeating their order
before placing it on their table.

"Enjoy your meal."

She said, before walking away,
tray in hand.

"Let's eat quickly.
I don't wanna be late for the first day."

Ryuu said,
with a mouth full of waffles.
Hanae snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Typical."

She said in a joking manner.

"What??"

Ryuu replied, laughing.

"I just don't wanna get a tardy slip."

"Oh don't worry about that.
You're a new student anyways.
They could cut you some slack.

Oh, and how's the food?"

"Awesome.
I could eat here all day."

"It's not too far from your house,
anyway."

"I'll take note of that."

Not long after their conversation ended,
their plates were empty and they set off.

Hanae gave Haru one last hug,
and Ryuu waved goodbye to her.

╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳╳

As they walked out the diner,
Hanae suddenly spoke up.

"Haru...
She's had a hard time."

The sudden change in her tone
shocked Ryuu.
Her voice slightly cracked 
every now and then.

"Ever since she was a kid,
she'd been fending for herself.
Haru's mother died after giving birth to her.
Her father, who loved his wife very much,
refused to even look at her.
He blamed Haru for her mother's death.
Eventually, at the age of eighteen,
Haru got fed up and ran away.
After dropping out of school she immediately started working.
It didn't matter what the job was because she had a goal—
the diner was her goal, and she reached it."

"You must be proud of her."

"Very much.
When I graduate,
I want to support her financially.
So that she wouldn't have to stress about bills too much...
so that she can get the break she's deserved for a long time."

"Sounds like a plan."

Ryuu said with a smile.

"It sure does.
Let's pick up the pace.
School starts in a bit."

Hanae replied, looking back for a moment
before quickening her steps.
Ryuu nodded and followed briskly.

This is it...
the first day of school.