Oranges Can be Spicy Too!

Tick...

Tock...

Tick...

Tock...

Another day at Uranohoshi High is quickly approaching.

The red haired girl who hardly spoke a word had long since arrived in the classroom, which was common for her. She was... A quiet archiver, as the year level knew her. She was never seen studying in her spare time, because she did all of her work at home. It was simple for her.

The thing is...

She didn't necessarily choose this life. She was very quiet and a really kind hearted girl, always sharing a smile whenever she plucked up the courage to talk to someone. The life was mostly given to her. And she accepted, of course.

That was just her.

That was Riko Sakurauchi.

"Miss Sakurauchi." The male teacher called the roll.

"Y-yes sir, I'm here!" She unintentionally stood up.

"I can see, sit down, if you will."

She covered her face. She may be a genius but she was awfully clumsy.

Undeniably cute.

"Miss Takami."

The class was silent at that calling.

"Not surprised... Absent." The teacher marked.

Even he had an exhausted expression after that.

Riko looked behind her at the empty seat.

She had actually decided something, based entirely on the appearance, or lack of, of that Chika Takami.

You see, Chika was... A bit of a troubled girl. No one fully understood what was bothering her, but she always seemed to be glaring and had, to put it simply, no respect for school. It's not at all surprising that she wagged again.

To call Chika problematic would be like saying "Oh hey, trees!" When you're walking through the Amazon. Obvious to all. Most likely the cause of her lack of friends, too.

But this was something important to Riko. Important because she was the class representative. Important because since it was the third day of Chika being away, it was down to her to pay a home visit. Something about 'checking in on a fellow student...?'

Riko gulped upon realising that thought. Oh how she begged that Chika would be at school today. She was scared of Chika, like many others.

The period went by, rather slowly, and Riko had now gathered her books and belongings.

"Hey, Sakurauchi!" A man's voice called.

A classmate.

For those who don't recall, Uranohoshi is an all girls school. That is to say, it WAS. That is no longer the case, not for around 4 years.

"Oh, um... Kikomori, hello." Riko shyly bows.

"You can call me Yuuta. I don't mind really. Anyway, I was gonna talk to you about that Chika Takami. You know she's always pissed off, right? Me and some of the other guys were thinking you could use some bodyguards. Only for when you visit her later. We'd hate to see you get hurt..." Yuuta suggests, pointing to some other guys, who were making some weird faces.

"I-I... Well thank you, Yuuta-san, but I don't need a bodyguard. I'll be okay!"

Yuuta nodded and walked away, slightly disappointed.