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The next day, the morning went by as usual as Mizuha walked to school. She couldn't shake off the lingering thoughts of the vision she had experienced the day before.
"What was the thing I saw suddenly yesterday?" she wondered. "Why did I hear those desperate cries for help?" Her mind was occupied, trying to make sense of it all.
Suddenly, she felt a jolt as someone jumped from behind her and called out, "Mizuha!" Startled, Mizuha turned around to see Shimizu standing there with a grin. "Oh, it's you, Shimizu. Good morning!" she exclaimed, still recovering from the surprised.
Shimizu's smile faded slightly and said "You seem a bit off today. Are you okay?" she asked, her concern about Mizuha.
Mizuha quickly reassured her, "I'm fine. Just had a lot on my mind. Nothing serious," she said, smile covering her worried.
Shimizu looked at Mizuha with a mix of worry and acceptance. "Alright, if you say so. But if you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know."
As they continued walking, they saw Elly and Zul walking together ahead of them.
"Hey, Elly! Zul!" Shimizu shouted, waving to them.
Zul and Elly turned around. Elly's face brightened as she saw them. "Oh, Toyama-san, Yuki-san, good morning," Elly greeted them warmly.
Mizuha smiled and said, "No need to be so formal with us anymore since we're friends now."
Elly immediately looked at Zul, who gave her a reassuring nod. "Then, good morning, Mizuha-chan, Shimizu-chan," said Elly start calling Mizuha and Shimizu by their given name.
Mizuha responded with a warm smile, "Good morning, Elly-chan." Mizuha felt glad because Elly seemed to look better than yesterday and appeared more cheerful than before.
The four of them walked together to school until they reached their classroom, just as the first bell rang to signal the start of the first class.
After a few classes, the bell rang, signaling the arrival of lunch break. Mizuha, with Shimizu close behind, made her way to Elly's table.
"Elly-chan! Come join us for lunch on the school rooftop. The breeze up there is really comfortable!" said Mizuha.
"Is it okay for me to join you guys?" said Elly, flirting.
Shimizu hugged her shoulder from behind. "Don't worry, you're one of us now. We're friends, right?!"
"If you say so, then I'd be happy to join you guys," replied Elly with a smile.
Elly turned around, smiling at Zul. Zul nodded and smiled back, feeling relieved that Elly could speak properly with Mizuha and Shimizu now, just as she did with him.
At the same time, as usual Hikaru arrived from his class , ready to take Mizuha and the others to the rooftop. "What are you guys waiting for? Let's go!" he said. "Oh, it's you, Hikaru. Please wait a moment; we have another person joining us today," said Mizuha.
Hikaru then went to Zul. "Good for you, Zul. It seems Elly is alright now; she's no longer looking down like before."
"Yes, you're right. Thanks to Mizuha and Shimizu, Elly is doing better. They're the ones who saved Elly. As her childhood friends, it's a shame for me that I did nothing to help her," Zul said, feeling a bit guilty.
"You two, what are you doing? We are going now," said Shimizu. "We're coming," replied Hikaru, laughing a little at Zul. The five of them then made their way together to the school rooftop.
"Hey, look, Sakamoto-san is joining them today too," said one of their classmates.
"I can't believe it! That shy and timid Sakamoto-san is now very close to Toyama-san, who everyone fears. I think she used to be the one who was scared of Toyama-san," replied another classmate.
"I envy them. Not only are they close to Toyama-san, but they're also very close to the famous Hikaru, who everybody loves (especially the girls)," said another classmate.
"Is it because of Yuki-san's influence? She seems very easy to be friends with, even with someone like Toyama-san. She seems to bridge the gap between people without judging them based on their appearance," said another.
"I think so," said another classmate.
Just then, another girl passing by overheard their conversation and said, "Yuki Mizuha!?"
After that, the group settled on the rooftop. Today, not only they were there, but another group of students was also eating there.
"Seems like other students are eating here too today, not just us," said Mizuha.
"This place has the best conditions and allows us to feel the breeze. That's why everyone comes here."
Five of them formed a circle as they opened their bento boxes.
Hikaru's eyes widened as he surveyed everyone's lunches. "Wow, everything looks great!"
"Mizuha, what bento did you bring today?" asked Hikaru.
Mizuha smiled, gesturing to her bento. "My mom made this for me - rice with hamburger, sausage, and vegetables."
"That looks delicious," Hikaru commented.
Mizuha offered, "Want to try some?"
Hikaru blushed slightly but nodded. He took a bite and his eyes lit up. "It's really good!"
Shimizu proudly displayed her contribution. "I've got sandwiches with different fillings. Anyone want to try?" Mizuha took one to taste it. "Um, delicious" said Mizuha.
Meanwhile, Zul passed some of his karaage to Elly. "Here, have some of mine."
Elly accepted gratefully. "Thank you, Zul." Zul replied with a smile.
Shimizu's attention was drawn to Elly's bento. "Elly, is that tamagoyaki? It looks amazing!"
Elly nodded shyly. "Would anyone like to try some?"
As everyone sampled Elly's tamagoyaki, Mizuha exclaimed, "This is delicious! Where did you buy it? Or did your mother make it?"
Elly blushed. "Actually, I made it myself."
"What!? It's so delicious!" said the group, shocked that Elly made it by herself.
"How did you do this!?" asked Shimizu.
"I learned from my mother, who learned from my grandmother," said Elly.
"Oh, I see, a recipe passed down through generations," said Hikaru.
"Elly-chan, can you teach me how to do it?" said Mizuha.
"Sure, next time I will teach you how to do it," said Elly, blushing.
As lunch continued, they passed around portions of their meals, commenting on the different flavors and dishes. The atmosphere grew warm and friendly, with laughter and chatter filling the air as they enjoyed their shared each other meals.
While looking at her friends enjoying the moment, Mizuha suddenly got an idea of what to do next. She grabbed her smartphone from her pocket and took a photo of this moment. "Click!!" went the sound of her smartphone camera shutter.
Mizuha smiled after taking the photo of her friends. "Ah, she took a photo!!" shouted Shimizu suddenly. Then Hikaru spoke, "What do you want to do with this photo?"
"I want to make a drawing of this moment of us together."
"Ah, I forgot, you're like to draw, right?" said Hikaru.
"Eh, I never heard of this, Mizuha-chan. Can you show me some of your drawings after this?" said Elly.
"Sure, I will show them to you after we return to class," replied Mizuha.
"I'm sure you will be amazed by her drawing; she is a great artist," said Shimizu, complimenting Mizuha.
"Oh, you Shimizu, you also are a..." said Mizuha.
"Mizuha… shhh," said Shimizu, suddenly stopping Mizuha, her face a bit red.
“Oops…” Mizuha covered her mouth with her palms. “I almost spoiled Shimizu’s secret for them,” thought Mizuha.
"I'm sorry," said Mizuha with a hand sign to Shimizu.
"Huh!? What are you two hiding?" said Hikaru, glaring at both Mizuha and Shimizu.
"It's nothing, right, Shimizu?" said Mizuha, making a poker face.
"Right, it's nothing special… hohoho," said Shimizu.
Both Mizuha and Shimizu were hiding a secret that Shimizu is a novel writer who has already been published. They both promised not to share this secret with others yet.
"You two are weird today. Okay, it's fine if you don't want to share with us. It's your secret, right?" said Hikaru.
Suddenly, a sakura petal drops on Mizuha's head. Hikaru notices it and tries to remove it from Mizuha's hair.
"Mizuha, hold still for a second," said Hikaru.
"What is it, Hikaru?"
Hikaru gently removes the petal from her hair. "Here, you had a sakura petal in your hair," said Hikaru.
Mizuha blushes. "Oh, thank you, Hikaru."
"It's nothing special," replied Hikaru, also blushing.
Suddenly, Shimizu notices them with a smirk on her face. "Eh, why are both of you a bit red? Did something special happen between you two?" teased Shimizu.
"It's nothing special," said Mizuha, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Elly had smiled while looking at Mizuha, Shimizu, and Hikaru's conversation. Suddenly, Zul spoke to her, "It's nice, right, having friends like them."
"We never had this before, right?" said Zul, smiling at Elly.
"You're right, Zul. I hope our friends will stay like this forever," said Elly, feeling happy with this moment. After that, all of them finished their lunch and preparing to return to their class, to continue school day for the rest of day.
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