A Beautiful Day |Books#1-4| Unedited Version

Chapter Four: Going Back

Just in time, the two arrived in Mr. Praum's class. A few minutes were left before they were late. The two had argued as they were heading to Mr. Praum's class as Noel became easily distracted inside the school. Kotaro gave Noel the directions to Mr. Praum, but Noel refused to listen to a single word. Noel wandered off in the hallways, and Kotaro had no choice but to follow her. That didn't matter as long as Kotaro was here in time. He still couldn't forgive Noel.

Jeez, this girl doesn't ever listen to me, does she? I've been showing her the way to class, but she was like, no, it's this way, it's this way! I'm done helping her now, Kotaro thought, panting heavily, At least we made it in time to class, that's all I care about. He could hear Noel panting right next to him. She was exhausted, just like him. He peeked to see her current state. Wow, she looks even cuter when she's out of air.

Noel noticed Kotaro flash a glance at her. She pushed him away before sitting on a random desk. Kotaro went to sit at his own desk, but Mr. Praum stopped him. "Who's this girl? Is she your girlfriend?" Mr. Praum teased Kotaro.

"Huh?! What, no!" Kotaro never considered Noel his girlfriend. He knew if he and Noel were a couple, the two would never fit well - like water and oil. Noel pulled out her tongue out at Kotaro. "That rude girl over there is the new student! Her name is Noel."

Their relationship wasn't going too well. "You may take a seat then. And Noel, can you stand up here for me, please?" Mr. Praum called. Noel stood up from her desk and walked to the front of the room. "Now, why don't you introduce yourself to the whole class?" Mr. Praum insisted. Noel introduced herself, and Kotaro noticed how brave she sounded. Not a single bit of nervousness came from her. Did she really want to go to school to see Kotaro, or did she really want to learn? Kotaro didn't know the answer, but he cared less.

"Hello, everybody, my name is Noel Natsuki. As you can see, I'm Japanese American. My dad's side is part American while my mom's side is part Japanese. I hope I can be friends with the rest of you!" Noel introduced herself. Then she pointed at Kotaro. "Except him," she implied. Kotaro frowned. Gee, you're at least honest. I'll give you that..., Kotaro thought. "Um? Mr. Praum, may I please sit next to him?"

Mr. Praum wished not to refuse, but there was already someone sitting next to him. The student had requested the bathroom. "Well, you're going to have wait until one of the students comes back. He already sits next to Kotaro, so you're going to wait. Is that fine with you?" Mr. Praum explained. Noel nodded her head. She didn't complain and went back to the seat that she was sitting in. As she took a seat, she heard someone calling her. She turned around.

"Hi, Noel, my name is Skarlet Rose," the person whispered to Noel. Noel waved at Skarlet. "So, I heard you like Kotaro, but I want to know how you fell in love?" she asked while whispering. Noel recognized Skarlet from her first class - she sat next to Kotaro. Noel frowned as soon as Skarlet talked about her being in love with Kotaro. Her presence here was not to seek love but do as she was ordered - take Kotaro back to Densetsu.

"Um, Kotaro is my childhood friend! He saved me from a stray dog, you see? As you can see, Kotaro came to the rescue and he became my knight in shining armor!" Noel confessed. Pshh, all of that was just a lie, but I hope she will fall for it! Noel thought. "To this day, I still recognize him, but I don't think he remembers me now. I'll love him even though he doesn't remember me...," Noel finished. Yeah, kind of like that one boy that I fell in love with. I still remember his name...Menma. Noel thought.

Skarlet was intrigued and touched upon hearing Noel's fake story. "That is beautiful! I didn't know Kotaro was such a hero! He's usually a troublemaker, so I have to take care of him. Since you're here, my job's done." Skarlet whispered. "Hey, please take care of him for me, okay?" she finished. Noel agreed, nodding her head.