"It's kind of fascinating, isn't it?" Miharu questioned, as she gazed up at the blue sky above. "Every day is the same for those clouds up there. They will all just circle the globe in the same pattern, all just to return to the same spot the next day. You think that maybe one cloud is just tired of the same old thing every day? Like, maybe it wants to flow in the other direction. Or maybe even travel upwards. Or just find any way to escape the endless cycle of consistency."

"Miharu, what are you talking about?"

As Miharu was seated up against the wall outside, a girl with long brown hair had been lying on the ground, with her head rested on top of Miharu's lap. This was her friend, Lentia.

"I think the weed is finally getting to her." Sitting a few feet down, was her other friend, Retun. And placed between his lips, was a blunt with marijuana rolled up inside.

These three students, Miharu and her friends Lentia and Retun, were all seated up against the wall, in a secluded area behind their school building. This way, they wouldn't be caught skipping class for one of their "smoke breaks".

"Were you guys even focusing on what I was trying to say?" Miharu questioned.

"Actually Miharu," Lentia spoke up, "clouds never return to the same place each day. The cloud droplets will eventually evaporate, causing the cloud to disappear-"

"I don't need a science lesson, Lentia." Miharu interjected. "I'm just speaking metaphorically. Sometimes...I just feel like life is a boring endless cycle, ya know?"

"No, we don't know." Retun responded. "Because when we're high, we don't turn into such a deep thinker. Unlike you." After toking the blunt once more, he handed it to Miharu.

With a slight chuckle, Miharu agreed with him. "Yeah I guess you're right. Maybe I am overthinking."

But in truth, even if she weren't intoxicated at the moment, the same thoughts would be filling her mind.

For a while now, Miharu's life had been moving in a consistent loop. On the weekdays, she occupied herself with school, followed by her after-school job. But once the weekends would arrive, she would blow off steam by partying until she passes out; only to end up with a heavy hangover the next day. That same cycle would repeat itself the next week and so on. And had been ongoing for about 2 years now. 

At first, she didn't mind the redundancy. But after a while, she began to realize how much she yearned for something to change. The only problem, was that she was unsure as to how to go about it.

After toking the blunt a couple more times, Miharu passed it down to Lentia.

After toking it herself, and exhaling the smoke, Lentia suddenly spoke up with one of her random odd questions. "Hey guys, I have a question. Do you guys think water is wet?"

"Huh?" Retun questioned.

"Don't answer her." Miharu said. "She always asks stupid things like this, when she's too high.

"Its' not stupid. The thought was just on my mind for a long while now, and I-"

"Hey what are you three doing?!"

Lentia's odd query was interrupted, as a high pitched voice had called out to them.

Approaching the group of class ditchers was girl, who was wearing the same red school uniform as them. She had short maroon hair and large circular glasses, that covered half of her freckled face.

This was Kapia, the Class President. And because she held the title, she had always felt required to enforce any and every school rule possible. Even if she had caught a student in the halls, one minute after the bell rang, she would be looking to write a detention slip.

"Oh hey Kapia!" Lentia cheerfully greeted, as she sat upright off of Miharu's lap. "We're just out here having some of Lucifer's lettuce. Want to join?"

"Absolutely not!" Kapia exclaimed.

"How come?"

"Because I'm the Class President! And you know that this is illegal!"

"So is downloading music on the Internet. But I still do it anyway." Miharu said.

"Keep joking around. Because when the principal finds out about this, you're all going to be in huge trouble. Especially you, Miharu. I wouldn't be surprised if you get expelled this time."

"You know Kapia, I think you definitely need some of this." Miharu said, as she took the blunt from Lentia and held it out for Kapia to take. "You're always so uptight. Why don't you have a hit?"

"Never! As Class President, I would never lower myself to the level of you potheads. Now you all wait right here, while I go and look for a teacher."

"Kapia, what are you going to gain from being such a snitch? Once all is said and done, you'll probably get nothing but a pat on the back from the principal. I mean, we're not really doing anything wrong here. We're just relieving some stress from a long day of school. So if you're not going to join, then you can go somewhere else."

After her statement, Miharu toked the blunt once more and blew a gust of smoke into Kapia's face.

That became the last straw for Kapia, as she finally reached over and snatched the blunt from Miharu's hand.

"How can you be having a long day of school?" She questioned. "Its only 4th period? Your day had just started-"

"Hey, is someone smoking back here?!" A voice, in the distance, had called out.

When they all had turned their heads, a man in a custodian uniform emerged from around the corner; attempting to sniff out the source of the marijuana scent.

"I'm absolutely positive that's marijuana, I'm smelling." He muttered.

"Excuse me sir! Over here!" Kapia called out to him. Despite being caught in the act with Miharu and her friends, she still remained completely unafraid, considering that she truly was innocent, and had an outstanding reputation that would help defend her name. 

"Aha. Looks like I caught me a rule breaker." The custodian said, as he approached.

"Breakers." Kapia corrected. "And I just wanted to point out, that I was doing anything. I had come out here, to because I spotted these three smoking on school grounds."

"Huh? What three?"

"These three students sitting right behind-"

As she turned around and pointed to Miharu and her friends, the spot that they had been sitting in, was seen to be completely empty.

Because, while her attention had been diverted, Miharu, Lentia, and Retun had taken the opportunity to sneak off, before the custodian could arrive; leaving Kapia alone. And to make matters worse, she just so happened to still be holding the blunt that she snatched from Miharu.

"Those assholes." Kapia muttered under her breath as she was left to deal with the custodian and having to plead her innocence.

Conveniently, Miharu's smoke break would be cut short, just as 4th period had ended. Meaning, she and her friends would be able to squeeze themselves back into their class schedule, like nothing even happened.

After the three of them split up and headed to their 5th period class, Miharu would just arrive at the classroom, with about a minute to spare.

As she walked into the room, she found her teacher, Mrs. Karamus, standing at the front of the room. And standing alongside her, was an unfamiliar student in a school uniform.

Right away, Miharu had noticed his charming good looks. She also recognized how tall he was, looking to be over 6'0". He had dark brown hair that was slicked back and had plain pink eyes.

As soon she stepped through the door, the stranger turned his head, and noticed Miharu as well;  now making direct eye contact with her.

Though it may have been for a split second, it was enough to leave an awkward feeling in Miharu's heart. If she had stared back at him for any longer, she would've been likely to blush. So she instantly turned her head away, to break the awkward contact, before proceeding to her desk on the side of the room.

Just as she had taken her seat, Mrs. Karamus had begun speaking. 

"Before class begins, I want to introduce a new student to Bensana High School. This is Daijo, and he has transferred here from the State of Shinpo. Please treat him with respect and kindness." 

"Hi Daijo." The class said in unison. Primarily the female students. 

Ms. Karamus then turned and faced Daijo as she continued speaking. "Please feel free to sit in any open seats. And welcome to our school, as well as our State of Bensana."

"Thank you for that introduction." Daijo said, with a warm and charming smile on his face.

As he walked towards the desks, the eyes of every female in class followed his every move. All eyes, except for Miharu's, who couldn't care less. She had remained at her desk with her head down; barely paying attention to what Mrs. Karamus was speaking about in the first place.

"Excuse me. Is this seat taken?" A mellow voice had asked her.

Miharu picked her head up and opened her eyes to the sight of the new student, who had been standing over her. He was pointing to the seat to the right of her as he asked the question. And, once again, those plain pink eyes were staring right into hers.

"I said is this seat taken?" He repeated.

"Oh... uh, sure go ahead." She replied.

"Thank you so much." He said, as he took his seat. "So, I noticed that you had your head was down. I guess that means that this is a pretty boring class?"

"Eh, every class is boring to me. But English really puts me to sleep, more than any other."

"English? I thought this was History class."

"History?" Miharu repeated. She took a quick look over to the chalkboard at the front of the room, and noticed the words "11th Grade History" written across the top of the chalkboard. "Oh wow I forgot this was history." She was still slightly stoned from the marijuana.

Daijo let off a sly chuckle, at the sight of Miharu's blunder.

"What did you say your name was, by the way?"

"It's Daijo." He answered.

"Well listen, Daijo, I hope you're a smart student. Because I'm going to need someone to cheat off of, when it comes test time."

"Okay, it's time to start class." Mrs. Karamus announced, as class was about to commence.

Despite her announcement, Miharu and Daijo still continued to whisper to each other.

"Well lucky for you, I am pretty smart." Daijo said to Miharu, as Mrs. Karamus was speaking through lesson. "I'm more than glad to help out such a pretty girl like yourself."

"Thanks, I apprecia- wait, what was that second thing you said?!" Miharu had completely forgotten that she was supposed to be whispering, and had blurted her question out loud for the entire class to hear, including the teacher.

"Miharu!" Mrs. Karamus exclaimed. "I almost forgot what those blue eyes of yours look like, since you're always asleep in my class. But if you're choosing to be awake today, I would ask you to not disrupt the class and distract our new student on his first day." She then turned back to the board and continued on with the lesson.

Miharu then turned to Daijo who mouthed out the words "sorry" before he turned towards the front of the class and directed his focus to the lesson.

Miharu, on the other hand, brushed it off and laid her head back down for the rest of class.

An hour would eventually pass, and 5th period would come to an end. By that time, it would be the start of 6th period. Which meant that it was now lunch time.

Miharu had been standing at her locker to grab her lunch, which was just a bunch of snacks that she had bought from the convenience store, on the way to school that morning. After she got what she had needed, she was now ready to meet up with the rest of her friends for lunch.

But when she had shut the locker door, she was caught by surprise, after finding the new student, Daijo, standing there, ready to greet her.

"Oh hey, I was looking to talk to you." Daijo said. "It's Miharu, right?"

"Uh huh. Yeah." She replied.

"Well Miharu, I just wanted to say sorry for earlier. I didn't mean to get you in trouble in class."

"You call that trouble? That's not even a slap on the wrist compared to the trouble that I get myself into."

Miharu then locked her locker door and began to walk down the hallway. Almost instinctively, Daijo began walking alongside of her in the same direction.

"So you're heading out to lunch, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah. In this school, everyone has lunch scheduled at 6th period. I'm just going to meet up with my friends at the courtyard."

"Your friends huh? Well that sounds fun."

By the choice of words and tone that Daijo had used, it was certain that he was completely alone on his first day school.

"It makes sense that he has no friends. After all he is new." Miharu said to herself. "It might go against what I stand for, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to invite him." 

"Hey Daijo, do you have anywhere to sit for lunch?"

"Not at all." He replied. "It's my first day. And I just arrived last period, so I don't know anyone here, except for you."

"Well if you want, you can sit with me and my friends. I mean, it would suck to have to be by yourself on your first day of school. Plus, it would give you a chance to make some new friends."

"Well that would be great. You know Miharu, but you're a very kind person."

"I know. I'm just such an angel." She sarcastically replied.

"I'd say so. You have the beauty of an angel as well."

Daijo had secretly complimented Miharu in class as well. That time, she swore that she misheard him. But this time, she heard him loud and clear, causing her face to blush.

"Ok listen here. You're new, so I'll cut you some slack this time. But don't say things like that to me or I'll toss you in the damn trashcan." She said with an angry, yet blushing face.

Daijo let out a slight amusing chuckle before replying, "Sure. I understand."

Miharu and Daijo continued to stroll through the hallway, and made their way downstairs to the first floor. From there, they went on to exit through the front doors of the school building.

They now found themselves standing before a large area of grass, trees, and benches outside of the school. It was surrounded by a 10 foot brick wall that had extended around the entire perimeter of the building, as well as the yard.

This was the courtyard, that Miharu had spoken of. During lunch, this was the area where most students would come to eat, relax, and hang out.

And in the very center of it, was a long semicircular bench. And sitting there, was Miharu's friends Retun, Lentia, along a few others that have yet to be introduced.

"Hey guys." Miharu greeted as her and Daijo arrived. The two of them had taken a seat beside each other on the close end of the bench.

"Hey Miharu, who's that you got with you?" Lentia asked.

"Ooh, who is he?" The girl besides Lentia asked in a flirty manner. She had long green hair and wore a school uniform that was slightly unbuttoned, leaving her cleavage to be partially exposed. "I can tell that you're new here." She said to Daijo.

"Yes, I'm Daijo." He said as he shook the girl's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well. I'm Calce Catrea. Scholar student, future lawyer, and I'm also single." 

"Daijo, let me introduce you to our friends, and Calce here." Miharu said.

After she and Daijo took their seats at the very end of the bench, she began her introduction; starting with the person closest to her, which was Lentia.

"This girl right here is Lentia Roderici. And she is my best friend." Miharu said, as she put her arm around Lentia.

Lentia was a very skinny brunette with plain light pink eyes, similar to Daijo's. Her and Miharu had been best friends, almost sister-like, since they were 8 years old.

The two of them weren't very compatible, considering that Miharu was known the be somewhat of a rough and rude individual. Meanwhile, Lentia gained the reputation as a sweet and friendly oddball.

But despite that, they both somehow connected, and remained close, through all the years.

"Me and Lentia have been close for a long time." Miharu continued. "Once you get to know her, you will see how much of an amazing person she is. She is a true friend that will always have your back no matter what."

"Now as for the guy beside her, he is Retun Priiyo." She said as she pointed to the boy with brown hair and purple eyes. "He's a cool dude and really good athlete. But if you find yourself a girl that you like, make sure to keep her very far away from him. He's a man ***** who will try to have sex with anything with boobs."

"I guess that means that Lentia is off limits." Retun jokingly said.

Lentia, who was highly self-conscious of her small chest, became embarrassed and covered herself with her arms.

"W-Well it's not like you could have me, anyway." She replied.

"Please. I could have you and Miharu, if I tried."

*Smack!*

Retun instantly regretted what he had said, after Miharu had struck him beneath the eye with her water bottle.

"Ow! What the hell, Miharu?!" Retun complained, as he rubbed his face.

"You could never have me or Lentia." Miharu stated. "We're not a bunch of easy bimbos, like Calce."

"**** you too, you delinquent." Calce, the green-haired girl, had snapped.

"Hey, don't call me a delinquent, grass-head."

"I'm sorry, but do you two have some type of dispute going on?" Daijo questioned.

"I wouldn't call it a dispute." Miharu answered. "She just dislikes me, because I know how to restrain myself from taking my underwear off for every cute boy that I meet. Oh and by the way, Daijo, you should make sure to wash your hands as soon as possible. We don't know what type of STD you could've caught after shaking her hand."

"You can't catch STDs from shaking hands, you idiot. Not that I have any anyway." Calce informed. "And at least I won't be in a jail cell in 2 years. Unlike you."

"That's where you're wrong. Because you probably will end up in a jail cell. Only you'll be there for prostitution."

"At least guys are attracted to me. I mean, Tione is more of a girl than you are. He probably has a better chance of getting a boyfriend than you as well." Calce said.

The boy, Tione, that she had been referring to, was the individual sitting to her left. He had shoulder length light purple hair and red eyes. Many would often mistake Tione as a female, due to his short stature and feminine-like facial features. But in truth, he was indeed a boy.

"Can you guys not bring me into your daily conflicts?" Tione complained. Even his voice was more high-pitched than the other boys that were his age.

"I'm sorry Tione." Miharu apologized, before she continued her introduction. "Daijo, I almost forgot to introduce you to this lovely young lady right here."

"I'm a boy!" Tione interjected.

"Oh calm down. You know we're just messing with you." Miharu said. "But anyway, this is Tione, and he is a person that anyone will enjoy hanging around. He doesn't start drama, he's friendly, he's supportive, and he'll always have your back too. Yet, he always tells us that he's a boy. But I've never seen any physical proof, so I'm still not 100% positive."

"Why can't you just believe me?" Tione wondered.

"So there you have it, Daijo. This is the whole gang." Miharu concluded, as she disregarded Tione's request.

"Did you forget to mention us?"

From behind the bench, two more students had been approaching.

One of the boys was very tall; standing at 6'4". He had flowing brown hair and plain pink eyes also.

The boy walking alongside of him, was not as tall, but much bulkier; similar to the built of a football player. His hair was a short buzz cut, and he spouted some slight facial hairs on his chin. He too had the same plain pink eyes.

The tall individual was Duza. He was Lentia's brother, who was older by a year. And he also happened to be Miharu's secret crush.

Though, she did her best to keep her feelings of him confidential. After all, for Miharu to be zealous over a boy, was completely out of character for her.

As for the boy with the short haircut, his name was Quiru, Duza's best friend, who didn't get along well with most people, due to his "glass-half-empty" personality. 

Miharu was tongue-tied as, she watched Duza approach. She began to blush, out of habit. So she turned her head away, in order to avoid having her red face be seen.

"Well if you guys had shown up on time Duza, we would remember to mention you." Retun said to the two of them. "But now that you're here, you can meet the new guy. This is Daijo."

"Oh, a new guy huh?" Quiru questioned. "Well let's hope you enjoy your stay as this shitty school."

"Quiru, cut it out man." Duza said, as he nudged his friend. "I'm sorry about him. Quiru is a negative dude." Duza then reached his hand out and formally greeted Daijo with a handshake. "The name is Duza Roderici. Star of the basketball team, as well as Lentia's older brother. I'm sure you've noticed by now, but this school is pretty confusing. So if you ever need a guide, or someone for you to shadow, don't hesitate to talk to me."

Out of the corner of his eye, Duza noticed Miharu, who had her head turned away, and was doing whatever she could to avoid having her blushing face be seen.

"Hey Miharu, are you good?" He asked. He bent down and got closer to her, which only caused her to blush even more.

"Me? Oh, I'm doing just fine. It's um... just very hot out here, ya know?" Miharu replied nervously.

"Hmm." Calce said, with a conniving grin on her face. Duza may have been clueless, but she had Miharu all figured out, almost instantly, and saw it as an opportunity to tease her. "You know Duza, I don't think Daijo will need your assistance. It seems like someone had already beat you to it."

"Oh really? Who?" Duza asked. He and Quiru both took their seats beside Calce, as she began to explain.

"It's Miharu. The two of them have been joined to the hip ever since Daijo arrived."

Miharu's blushing faded away immediately, as she glanced over at Calce with anger in her eyes.

"Oh really?" Duza asked. "Well that's kind of her."

"Isn't it? I mean, it is kind of shocking, since she is usually so rude to others. But, then again, Daijo is very handsome. Maybe the only reason for Miharu to be acting so friendly to him, is because she has a little cru-"

*Smack!*

Calce was unable to even finish the word 'crush', because she had been cut off, after being struck right in the nose by flying water bottle. Just like what had happened to Retun.

And once again, Miharu was the culprit.

"Calce shut the hell up and worry about yourself for once." Miharu snapped. "Not everyone is willing to throw themselves at a boy, the very first moment they meet them. Unlike you. And for your information, he just arrived in 5th period. We walked from class to lunch together, and that's all. So don't start making up stupid rumors like that out of thin air."

"Wow Miharu, you sure don't hold back." Tione commented.

"I just speak what's on my mind." She said, as she went back to eating her lunch. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Daijo."

"Oh, it's fine." Daijo timidly replied. "Coming from where I'm from, I'm pretty use to violence."

"Because you're from Shinpo, right?" Duza asked. 

"Yeah. How did you guess?"

''You didn't even have to say it. I could tell by your eyes."

Shinpo, was the name of a State that was adjacent to Bensana. Most Shinpoens tend to have similar physical features, such as plain pink eyes, and dark colored hair.

Like Daijo, many citizens of Shinpo had immigrated to Bensana for various reasons. The most common reason, was to escape the overwhelming crime and violence that went on in within their State.

Because of typical lawlessness, the Shinpoens have developed a false stereotype of being criminals; despite only a very small percentage of them actually being so.

This had led to them suffering discrimination in Bensana. So much, to the point where the Bensana State Government had even required all Shinpoen immigrants to wear a necklace with a serial number on it, in order to keep track of them. Lentia, Duza, and Quiru currently were currently wearing their own necklaces as well.

"You're right. I am." Daijo said, answering Duza's question. "I just moved a couple of weeks ago. Once I was officially settled in, I was able to start my first day here."

"How are they treating you so far?" Quiru asked. "You better get use to the discrimination. Because it's going to-"

"Quiru man, come on." Duza complained, as he nudged him again.

"Actually, this place has been very welcoming to me." Daijo answered. "This school as well. I'm enjoying everything, and everyone, so far."

As Daijo's eyes shifted over and glanced at Miharu, he flashed that charming smile of his once more.

"Okay, this is guy is getting too comfortable with me?" Miharu's spoke to herself. "I think it's time for me to head out now."

After taking one last bite of her snack, Miharu grabbed her book bag, and stood up.

"Wait, where are you going? Lunch isn't over yet." Retun said.

"I'm going home." Miharu answered.

"But the day isn't over yet."

"Has that ever stopped me before?"

"You know Miharu, you need to start putting more effort into school." Calce suggested.

"And you need to put more effort into keeping your legs closed." Miharu replied.

"I'm just saying. If you keep slacking off like you always do, then you'll just end up dropping out and end up like your-"

Before Calce could finish her comparison, Miharu shot her a with a threatening death glare. A glare that nonverbally challenged her to finish that sentence, if she was willing to face the consequences.

"Never mind. Just go and do what you want, delinquent. Don't come complaining to me when you're homeless." She muttered.

After Calce retracted her comment, Miharu threw her bookbag over her shoulder and turned towards the entrance of the courtyard.

"Daijo, it was nice meeting you." She said. "I hope you can survive the rest of the day without me."

"I'll try." Daijo kidded. "It was nice meeting you too."

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Miharu finally said before walking off.

Daijo stared at Miharu as she walked off. His eyes were glued to her for every single step, until she exited through the courtyard entrance and was completely out of sight.

"Hey Daijo." Calce said, to get his attention. "Take my advice when I tell you, Miharu is bad news."

"Oh cut her some slack." Duza interjected. "She's not all that bad. Sure she's got a little bit of a hot streak. But once you get to know her, she's a cool person."

"Well I have gotten to know her. Longer than all of you, in fact. And for most of those years, she's shown me that she is nothing but lazy, short-tempered, and rude."

"For most?" Daijo repeated. "Was there a time, where she didn't behave like that?"

"There was..." Calce answered, as she stared at the ground. "But she went through something, that changed her forever." There was a long silence in between sentences. Almost like she was nervous to explain the reason why. 

"Calce, don't say it." Lentia butted in.

"You're right. It's not my business to tell. But just know, that you're better off not talking to her."

"I don't know." Daijo replied. "There's something about her. Something that I find...intriguing."