The next morning, Freya left her small flat, leaving the pear on the table wrapped in papers. On the bus, she checked her bag many times, each time finding it pear-less.
The whispers from her schoolmates by the gate shifted her way, bad-mouthing her no doubt. If she wrote all the rumors about her, she could print it as a thick book and still have enough for the rest of the pentalogy.
However, upon opening her locker, the pear sat there wrapped in the paper. She let out a disappointing sigh.
'Back to square one, huh?' In the corner of her mind, she expected this.
She closed it, heading to her class when a group of girls circled her. Freya's face darkened, sending shivers to less bold bullies.
"We've noticed your rude behavior toward your schoolmates." The girl stood there with a big frown, and chin held high.
'Translation, The Greek Gods, right?' She already slapped a few guys before and did her best to keep everybody away from her, and none of Ueno's lap cats searched for her.
"We can't tolerate it anymore!"
Freya lifted her eyebrow, unimpressed by her hardly intimidating posture.
"We have a big concert this Sunday, and you, as a part of this school, are going to help stage it! Make yourself useful for once." Poison seeped from her voice, but it had no effect on the ginger girl. She had heard better hissing from newborn kittens.
She merely nodded, making her way through the crowd. As if a bunch of fangirls could scare her. She knew what genuine fear could do to a person. Her mood sank to the point that absolute zero burned compared to her.
This weekend she wanted to go to the Satos. One morning per school week wasn't enough. They needed all the help they could get. She arrived in her classroom, preparing for the lesson and writing on her ancient mobile phone.
It had everything from buttons, a small monochromatic display, an antenna sticking out, and that's how she loved it. No need for useless dating apps, games, or sure to win cash scams.
She finished typing, "Hi, I can't come. Need to help with school concert -_-. Freya-chan", and sent it to the Satos whose number was among the fifteen she had, including default ones.
As the bell rang, she noticed Aiyoku wasn't in his place. She glanced at Rigaku next to her, but not even Enigma machine could decipher his thoughts behind that stoic face. Kagetsu, sitting in front of her, didn't seem to be bothered either.
The sensei came, and she shoved those worries aside. No need to bother what one Greek God was up to, fewer problems for her. She busied herself with the studies and pushed both brothers away when they approached her.
When the triplets offered her help, she refused, giving them death stares. And that was how the rest of the day went until she could leave the school grounds late in the evening.
Her body arched. Her back was especially killing her. Ueno's gang ordered her different tasks, even for classes she had never attended. She cleaned, dusted, and mopped classrooms for special lessons for hours.
'Tidying them for presentation... my back.' Most visitors didn't get past refreshment tables and the first set of toilets, much less touring the entire school.
No matter what they threw her way, she took it with her head held high. This girl wasn't weak, and she would have never bent in front of them. She only regretted not being able to be with horses this weekend, specifically with Star. Freya loved her the most, and they had turned into great buddies.
She picked up her phone, looking at the messages. Sato-san replied to her it was okay not to come and to enjoy the concert. She did not know what terror was about to start.
Freya hated people, but in this case, she despised herself the most. She pretended she had a few friends here, with Mr. Smith-san being the only actual person.
Only the last part of the message, "We have a new helper! :-D Don't worry!" made her happy. She hoped to meet them soon, and perhaps they could share more than just a working place but a small friendship.
With a better mood, she headed home, almost falling asleep a few times. She had never waited for her bed as now. With a yawn, she thrust a key into her mailbox, checking it.
An envelope greeted her. 'Awesome!' She picked it up, recognizing the tiny drawings across it. Her adoptive family wrote her a letter since she had no computer, and text messaging wasn't ideal either.
She had forgotten her need for sleep and headed first to read it.
"Konnichiwa Freya-chan, how are you? I know you study really hard, but, please, don't forget to rest and eat well. Midori is asking about you. She can't wait when you visit us."
Freya smiled. Midori was one sweet girl and very good at drawing. She dreamed of becoming mangaka, but her mother, Megumi, wasn't so sure. She would prefer her to be a housewife. However, young Megumi used to be a delinquent, going against her parent's wishes, becoming a vet instead of a doctor. It might run in the family.
"Haru also won his first sports competition in the running. He ended up the third, but you should have seen his smile. He didn't stop grinning even after days."
The girl giggled. Haru was two years younger than his sister and loved running like nothing else. Despite being this young, he had a dream of winning a medal at the Olympics.
"The summer break is closing, so why not come over here to take a rest? We have enough space, and we have plans to visit many great places. Megumi is also sending you best wishes, and if she finds out you lost weight again, she'll feed you back into shape."
Her hands traced her waist and sides. 'I guess so.' Whether it was good, she couldn't tell. She never had time to eat properly, buying pre-made meals or simple sandwiches instead.
"We cherish you as our daughter. We realize it's hard, but know this. No matter how bad it gets, you have our support, and you can come back to us anytime.
With love, your uncle Hiroki."
A stray tear slid down Freya's face. 'They are so kind.' She placed the letter aside, checking every doodle on the envelope. Small animals, a slime from RPG games, stars and moon, and hearts decorated it.
'Mangaka, huh? It's nice to have a dream.' She put back a strand of her ginger hair. 'Do I have one?'
Landing a well-paid job after graduation seemed like a general goal more than anything else. The chances of ending up with an annoying boss were high.
'I'll think about it later.'
Her eyes glanced at the wrapped object on her table. The pear didn't surprise her. Its stalking behavior became a routine for her now. Even with all the creepy and cursed mystery around this fruit, she couldn't help but smile at it.
Her head almost hit the deck as it swung down.
'No good, I'm getting sleepy.' With an enormous yawn, she prepared her futon, changed into pajamas, and crawled into the bed without eating a thing. 'I'll eat tomorrow, I promise, Mrs. Megumi-san.' With those words, she hugged her plush jester, falling asleep within a minute.
\\_(''>_<'')_//
Meanwhile, on the farm for crippled animals, Mrs. Sato-san snickered.
"Look at him." She tilted her head toward the person sleeping next to Star.
"He didn't seem as much, but he worked himself to complete exhaustion," her husband added. "And you would think he was a pianist or like with those girly fingers."
Mrs. Sato-san puckered her lips. "Doesn't matter. We need to wake him up. I'm sure his family is worried."
They approached the new helper, nudging with his body. "A-kun, wake up."
No matter how many times she spoke to him, he didn't move, only mumbling something from his sleep.
"At this rate, not even water can snap him awake."
Mrs. Sato-san glared at her husband, sensing that was his next idea of what to do. "Just kidding." He quickly stepped back. "Let's cover him, so he won't get a cold." He turned around to get a blanket.
Mrs. Sato-san patted Star, who moved her head closer. "Seems you will have company this night."
Star neighed, tossing her head up and down, expressing her happiness.
When the Satos tucked the helper, they left, closing the door. The darkness filled the building, and Star turned to the side, laying her head next to the young man.
\\_(''>_<'')_//
Freya woke up later than usual, and she still had trouble moving. Whatever dreams she had, they sucked her dry. Sweaty and half-dead, she dragged herself to the bathroom, taking a shower to wake up and hopefully washing away all the worries.
Feeling better, she checked the fridge that she hadn't opened in a while. Skipping on most breakfasts and dinners saved her some money to buy school lunch and necessities. 'I don't even know if I'm hungry or not.'
Despite the scholarship, she had little pocket cash to go by. She refused payment from the Satos, but Mrs. Sato-san gave her part of her caked goodies she couldn't say no to. Her culinary skills also brought a gigantic smile to Freya's face every time she shared a meal-time with them.
She also disliked asking her uncle for more pocket money since he had to raise his two kids and pay bills.
The cooling space was almost empty except for a fizzy-drink, a pack of ham before expiration, and yogurt. She took all of them, eating the yogurt while taking bites of the ham. Hardly a common combination, but she couldn't afford to be picky when the hunger could hit her twice as hard any minute.
Slurping the drink tossed her into a strange mood, remembering the joyful times with her parents. She caused her share of troubles, being wild, or going against orders. But they were a happy family.
Visiting amusement parks, going to the swimming pool, or seeing a movie in the cinema until one pathetic human ruined it all for them, leaving her separated from her father forever and losing her mother years later.
Only thanks to her father's brother, who accepted her and agreed to support her financially, and this scholarship she lived on. As long as she would have excellent results, she could get a high-paying job, repay the Satos and her relatives, despite having seen them only a few times.
Living on the other side of Japan made visiting each other rather problematic. She stood up and turned a page of her calendar.
'Maybe I could visit them on Christmas instead of summer break. I may have enough saved to buy a return ticket by that time.' She frowned. 'Just don't get a nasty cold, girl,' she reminded herself. That fever refused to release her for days.
With the last bite, she changed her clothes and headed to school, playing slave to them, but they couldn't break her.