He stole my lunch money again. This time, twenty dollars that was supposed to last me all week.
    "Hey! Give me back my lunch money!"
    "No way, brat! Why don't you go and play dress up in your dollhouse?"
    "Stop being so mean! What did I ever do to you?"
He laughed in my face and walked away, never answering my question. It was the same every day. Well, until the day that he moved away, forever. Or, that's what I thought.

. . . 8 年 後 . . .

"Hello students! I'd like to introduce a new student in our homeroom class! He has transferred to our school all the way from Kyoto! Isn't that exciting?" My teacher beamed.
Everyone in the class started to talk amongst their friend groups, since it is not very often we get new students in our school. Schools in our area in Hiroshima Prefecture usually don't get that much attention.
    "Hey, do you think the new kid is gonna be a nice one?" My friend Mika asked me.
    "I'm not sure, but I hope that we can become friends with them." I replied with a smile.
    "Class, I'd like you to meet Kazuki Mishima!" The teacher exclaimed. A boy with ginger hair and bright green eyes walked through the doorway, smiling shyly as he waved to the class.
Kazuki Mishima... That name struck fear in my heart. I knew this boy. He was the one who stole my lunch money every day in elementary school. The one who gave me a fear of walking alone in the school hallways. And now, he was going to my highschool?!
    "Is everything okay?" Mika asked.
"Mika, I know him." I replied flatly.
    "Maybe we'll have someone new to talk to, then!" Mika replied excitedly.
"No, I mean that he was my elementary school bully." I muttered softly.
"Oh..." Mika squeaked, her smile quickly fading.
I thought about the situation. Maybe he stopped his hostile ways and turned into a nice, normal, polite boy. I mean, it's been about eight years since he moved away. I still couldn't imagine Kazuki Mishima as a polite young gentleman.
"Kazuki, why don't you sit over there in the empty seat next to Aiko?" The teacher requested as she pointed to the desk to my left side.
I started to panic, but I tried my hardest to hide my fear as he walked over to his new seat. He looked at me, but I refused to look back at him, making sure to avert my eyes at all times.
"Hi, I'm Kazuki, nice to meet you. Do you mind telling me your name?" He asked. I finally looked over at him. He was smiling, and a small blush tinted his cheeks a tender pink.
"Aiko Hayashi." I said flatly. "But you can just call me Hayashi."
I wasn't understanding why he didn't remember me, but I was hoping that my name would ring a bell and help him realize who he was speaking to.
"Nice to meet you Hayashi-Chan." Kazuki greeted.
Hearing him use that honorific with me made me want to scream at him, but I resisted. I was still surprised that he didn't know who I was, even after seeing my face and hearing my name. The same name that I had in elementary school...
"It's just Hayashi." I snarled, trying my best not to sound too harsh.
"Oh, okay." He said in a hurt tone.
I turned around and faced the front of the room, trying to pay attention to what my teacher was saying, but all of my focus was on the reality of meeting my enemy again.
"Hey, what's up with her? Is she always in a bad mood?" I heard Kazuki whisper to Mika.
"No, she's just upset about something today, that's all." Mika replied.
"Is it something to do with me?" He asked worriedly.
I saw him look over at me through the corner of my eye, but I didn't turn back towards him.
"Hey, Aiko - I mean, Hayashi?" Kazuki said.
"Yes, Mishima?" I replied rather coldly, still not taking my eyes off of the teacher.
"Do you mind showing me around a little during lunch time?" He asked nervously.
"Let me think about it." I answered.
For the rest of homeroom, I pondered his question, and thought about how I was going to answer it.
"Hey, Mishima." I said as we walked out of homeroom to go to first period.
"Yes?" He replied.
"Mika and I will show you around the school after we finish eating our bentos. Meet us on the roof near the benches." I said in an bitter-sweet tone.
    "Thank you so much!" Kazuki beamed as he bowed. "See you in fourth period!" He said as he walked towards his first period class.
I almost forgot that we have fourth period together before lunch. Great, just another opportunity for the teacher to seat him next to me...
During the rest of my classes before fourth, I thought about Kazuki. Had he really changed that much? He seemed so sweet now, But I wasn't so sure I could trust him yet, if not ever. Does he even know who I am? I mean, I knew who he was, so why wouldn't he remember me? I tried not to think about it too much and pay attention to class, but nothing that had been going on made any sense, and I couldn't help pondering over it. Even if it meant missing half of the things going on in my classes...
I walked into my fourth period class, Modern Japanese, and took my seat in the second row. I noticed that Kazuki was sitting a few rows over, so I was okay. I took out my homework and a blank sheet of lined paper for notes and laid them out on my desk. That's when I noticed a small note taped to the side of my desk, which could only be from one person. Kazuki Mishima. It was even written on the outside. 'To: Hayashi Aiko - From: Kazuki Mishima' it read. I rolled my eyes and peeled the tape off my desk and opened the note. I could see Kazuki occasionally glancing over at me as I read it.

Hayashi Aiko.
It was a pleasure to meet you, and I am very grateful that you are willing to show me around my new school. I would like to thank you again, and I hope we can get to know each other a little better as well. I am not sure why you act so cold around me most of the time, but I am eager to get past it and get to know the real Aiko Hayashi. You seem like you are a really sweet person, and I would really love to have you as a friend. Meet me after school under the sakura tree?
~ Kazuki Mishima

    At first I didn't take the note seriously, but then I realized that he was being completely honest about his feelings, and actually wanted to befriend me. I looked over at Kazuki and held up the note, and he replied with a hopeful shrug. I rolled my eyes and gave him a reluctant thumbs up.
"Aiko, Kazuki! Please pay attention!" The teacher said, obviously noticing our mute communication.
"Gomennasai, it won't happen again." I said, bowing at my desk.
"Gomen, Sensei." Kazuki quavered, bowing as well.
I payed attention for the rest of class, not even looking over at Kazuki. I was kind of mad at him for getting us in trouble with his dumb note, but I was kind of grateful for the note at the same time.
At the end of class, Kazuki stopped me in the hall.
"So?" He asked expectantly.
"Is this your way of asking me out?" I inquired semi-coldly.
"Not exactly, I just want to get to know you, that's all." He replied, shrugging.
"I'll consider it a little later on." I proclaimed. "See you in about 20 minutes." I said as I started to walk towards the locker hall to grab my bento.
"See you then!" Kazuki called after me.

◊ ◊ ◊

    "Maybe you should give him a second chance, Ai. It's been eight years!" Mika said, picking up a piece of sushi with her chopsticks.
    "But I still don't think I can trust him." I replied, poking my food with my chopsticks. "I can't forget about what he did to me. I had to have lost at least a hundred dollars to him."
    "Well, maybe that is more than a little harsh, but maybe if you befriend him and gain each other's trust, then he will pay you back." Mika suggested.
    "Maybe, but he doesn't know that I'm the Aiko Hayashi that he bullied eight years ago. He just thinks I'm a cute girl that happens to be in the same homeroom as him." I explained with a sigh.
    "Sure, you've got a big problem on your hands, but maybe you could take advantage of the situation." Mika reasoned.    
    "You could just tell him who he is to you, and maybe this will give him a chance to earn your trust back. You know, he seems like a really sweet guy."
    "I guess, but maybe he'll see me as who I was before." I said worriedly. "I don't want the past to come back."
    "It's okay. Just go for it. He'll accept you for who you are. In fact, I think he might have some feelings for you."
    "Shut up." I snapped, playfully punching her arm.

◊ ◊ ◊

'Time to talk to Kazuki. I'm gonna nail this. No need to be nervous.' I told myself as I walked up to the roof. There was a million hornets swarming in my stomach, but I ignored them and kept on going. There was no predicting what could happen.
    "Hey, Hayashi!" Kazuki exclaimed, spotting me and walking over.
    "Hey, Mishima." I replied without much enthusiasm.
    "Should we get started on the tour before the end of lunchtime?" Kazuki asked.
    "Actually, I wanted to talk to you." I said, sitting on one of the benches.
    "Oh, okay!" He said, confused, as he sat down a few feet away from me on the bench to give me some space.
    "Do you ever think that you've met me before?" I interrogated. I was expecting for him to finally realize that my face looked familiar and acknowledge it.
    "No, you just look like a new face to me. Why? Have we met before?" He asked.
    "Actually, yes. About eight years ago. Do you remember?"
    "Gomen, but I'm not following."
    "Well, I know that I've met you before."
    "When?"
    "Eight years ago in elementary school. Specifically in the third grade."
    "W-wait, you're..." He stuttered, his whole face turning white.
    "Now do you remember me?" I asked.
    "I'm so sorry about what happened back then! I was just a dumb kid!" He cried, bowing and begging for my forgiveness.
    "I'm still kind of upset about it." I said quietly.
    "I promise I'll repay you! All the money I stole, I'll repay." He assured.
    "Arigato gozaimasu, but if you don't have the money to, you don't have to."
    "I will, just because I feel it's the right thing to do."
He was being so sweet that I couldn't help forgiving him. I felt that he deserved a second chance, and a second chance is what he was going to receive.
"Please forgive me Hayashi." He pleaded.
"I forgive you. And from now on, Kazuki, you can call me Ai." I concluded.
"Thank you." He said with another bow.
The end of lunch bell rang, and ended our conversation.
"See you after school?"
"3:45 under the sakura tree!"

    Sometimes, it's good to give people second chances. It gives you a chance to get to know the other person a little better, and it also brings the goodness out of you as well. Sometimes, it's good to face your problems, and in this case, my problem wasn't only faced, but it was solved with the simple, but rewarding, power of forgiveness.

♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

Thank you all so much for reading! ♡
I put a lot of effort into writing this story, which was originally a narrative for my English class, so I hope you enjoyed it! Leave a comment if you would like, and if you would like me to write more little stories like this, just say so!
Again, thanks so much, and I appreciate your support! ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪