A few days passed, and it was Saturday at last. Mizuha sat down for breakfast with her mother, sipping coffee and eating toast. Her father was out on a business trip.
Her mother asked, "How's school been recently, my dear?"
Mizuha was excited. "It's great, Mom! I've made some amazing friends. They are all the best!"
Her mother smiled, seeing her daughter so excited.
"That's wonderful to hear. What have you been up to with your friends?"
Mizuha eagerly began to tell her what had happened.
"Well, Shimizu and I saved Eri-chan from bullies."
"Bullies?" Her mother turned pale, remembering her own past trauma.
"You're not being bullied, are you?"
"I'm fine, Mom - it's not me, it's my friend Eri," Mizuha said quickly.
Her mother felt relieved. "Oh, I see. Sorry, I must have shocked you. Please continue."
Mizuha, still a little shocked by her mother's reaction, continued her story to distract from it.
"Eri is a really sweet girl, and now she's part of our group too. We even had a lunch break together on the rooftop. The weather was perfect, and we shared our food. It was such a fun time!"
Her mother listened attentively, her eyes showing pride.
"It sounds like you've had some memorable moments. I'm so happy for you, Mizuha."
Mizuha nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! And Hikaru has been such a good friend. We walk to school together, and he always has my back. Shimizu’s always making us laugh, and Zul is so kind and supportive."
"That's great to hear, dear. It's important to have good friends who support you," her mother said, placing a gentle hand on Mizuha's shoulder.
Her mother was relieved that her daughter was doing well at school.
I'm glad this girl is doing fine lately, nothing to worry about, but I still need to keep an eye on her, just in case something bad happens, her mother thought.
After breakfast, Mizuha went back to her room to finish her homework. She worked diligently until her assignments were done, then turned to her drawing.
All my homework is done, and now it's time to get back to my drawing, shethought.
She had been working on a drawing of that special lunch break with her friends from a few days ago. The image depicted them sitting in a circle on the rooftop, sharing food and laughing together.
Mizuha smiled as she added the final touches, showing how close they were that day.
In her room, some of her drawings were framed and hung on the wall. A rack held trophies she had won in competitions last year.
My drawing is finished, so what should I do next? Mizuha thought while rolling around on her bed.
Suddenly, her smartphone beeped, showing an incoming chat from Shimizu:
Mizuha, prepare yourself. We are going out to town today. Eri and I will come to get you at your house in 10 minutes.
"Eh, this is too sudden, Shimizu!" said Mizuha, feeling a bit panicked that her close friends were coming over so suddenly.
Oh no, this room is a bit of a mess. I can't show it to Eri and Shimizu, she thought.
She quickly cleaned up her room and changed into more appropriate clothes.
Mizuha told her mother that her friends were going to visit soon, and her mom was glad to have them.
A few minutes later, as Shimizu and Eri arrived, Mizuha's mom opened the door and greeted them.
"Oh, Mizuha's friends, right? Umm, Shimizu-chan and Eri-chan, right? Please come in, Mizuha is in her room."
"Mizuha, your friends are here," her mom called out.
Wait, they are already here? Mizuha thought.
Mizuha ran down the stairs from her room to greet Shimizu and Eri.
"Oh, Shimizu and Eri-chan, welcome," said Mizuha with a forced smile, trying to hide her slight irritation.
Oh no, she's a bit angry, Shimizu and Eri both thought.
"Come on, you two, let's go to my room," said Mizuha.
Mizuha led both of them to her room and closed the door behind them.
"Geez, you two, why did you suddenly come here unannounced without telling me first?" said Mizuha, a bit angry.
"Eh, didn't I tell you already?" said Shimizu, trying to cover her mistake. Eri just nodded her head to support Shimizu.
"Eri-chan, you don’t need to agree with her. I knew she was the one who dragged you here," Mizuha said.
"Oh, you got it right, just as expected from my friend, Mizuha, haha," said Shimizu, laughing.
"As I thought…" said Mizuha.
"Then? How did you find your way here? I thought I hadn’t told you about my house yet," Mizuha said.
"Well, I asked your beloved Hikaru earlier," Shimizu said.
"Wait, you asked him?" Mizuha said.
"Also, what do you mean 'beloved'?" Mizuha asked, her face turning slightly red.
Yeah, he told me about it, even though he hesitated at first. That stubborn guy!!!" Shimizu said, irritated with Hikaru.
"I see..." Mizuha said, then sighed.
I’m sure they had a little argument before Hikaru agreed to tell her, Mizuha thought.
"But even so, 10 minutes beforehand is still too sudden! Give me some time to prepare, guys," Mizuha said.
"It's a surprise, right?" Shimizu said while laughing at Mizuha.
"Geez, Shimizu, you dunce!" Mizuha said with a pout.
Eri suddenly started laughing at the face Mizuha made.
"What's wrong, Eri-chan? Why are you laughing suddenly?" asked Mizuha, confused.
"Oh, it's nothing, but this is the first time I've seen you angry, Mizuha. That face you made is funny.
At school, you seem cool, friendly, and like a model student. But here, you seem different," said Eri, wiping a tear from laughing earlier.
"Different how?" Mizuha asked, curious. "I think I'm the same both at home and at school, I guess."
"Hmm, wait a minute..." said Shimizu, looking closely at Mizuha. "Something's different about you today!"
"Really!? What is it!?" said Eri.
"Ah, that's it, the glasses, she's wearing glasses," said Shimizu.
"You guys just noticed!?" Mizuha exclaimed, shocked.
"Hey, it's not that obvious!" Shimizu protested.
"But Mizuha-chan, do you have bad eyesight?" asked Eri, now curious.
"Yes, that's right, but at school, I wear contact lenses," replied Mizuha.
Oh, this is interesting, Shimizu thought with a mischievous grin.
A sudden idea came into her mind.
"Wait, don't move!"
"Click!" Before Mizuha could react, Shimizu took her picture with her smartphone.
"Done, Glasses Mizuha. I'll send this to Hikaru," teased Shimizu.
"Geez, Shimizu, can you stop?" Mizuha said, her face bright red as she immediately took off her glasses and put in her contact lenses.
At the same time, Mizuha's mother heard them laughing from outside Mizuha's room and felt relieved.
Thank God, she's made friends, her mother thought, smiling.
"Back to the topic, where do we want to go after this? You said we were going to hang out in town, right?" said Mizuha.
"Hehe, I'm glad you asked. First, just prepare yourself. We are going to many places today," said Shimizu, standing up excitedly, clearly excited about her plan.
"Hey, Eri-chan, do you know where she's going to take us today?" Mizuha whispered into Eri's ear.
"No, she hasn't told me anything about it yet," replied Eri with a chuckle.
"Well, I guess we'll find out!" Mizuha said, standing up. "Alright, let me get ready and we can go."
After Mizuha gathered her things, the trio made their way downstairs.
As they were about to leave, she called out, "Okay, Mom, I'm leaving!"
Her mother replied, "Take care, dear. Don't return too late, okay?"
"Yes," Mizuha replied before they left.
At first, the trio went to the bookstore because Shimizu wanted to stop by and buy her manga.
"Alright, you guys, we're going here first. I'm going to buy my favorite manga," said Shimizu.
"Oh, what a coincidence! I also want to stop by to buy my drawing equipment," said Mizuha.
"I think I'm going to buy my favorite novel too," said Eri.
"Eh, Eri-chan, do you read novels!?" said Mizuha.
"Yes, I do," Eri said softly.
"I have this favorite novel I just started reading. This novel has just been published; its first volume just came out. Today I'm going to buy the second volume. I’ll show you guys that novel once we're inside," Eri said.
After that, the trio entered the bookshop, and Eri showed them her favorite book, 'Something in the Rain' by Mizuno Sensei.
"I really like this novel. The story means a lot to me," Eri said.
Mizuha noticed Shimizu's face turning bright red upon hearing Eri's praise.
Hmm, why is she blushing? Wait, is that novel hers? Mizuha wondered.
"Hey, Shimizu, is that novel yours?" Mizuha whispered.
"Yes, that's the published novel I told you about that day," Shimizu replied. "I never thought that Eri would be a fan of my novel too."
"Good for you, Shimizu. You've got a fan, especially from a close friend."
"I guess I'll buy it too—both the first and second volumes. I'll give it a try, okay? Mizuno-sensei…" said Mizuha.
Mizuha, not you too!!! Shimizu thought to herself.
After that, the three of them separated to their respective sections to buy the items they wanted. Eri continued searching for her favorite novel, Shimizu went to the manga section, and Mizuha went to the stationery section to buy her drawing equipment.
Mizuha pulled out her phone to check her shopping list as she browsed the art supplies.
Brush done, watercolor done, drawing block done, pencils done — that leaves only the blank notebook, she thought, checking off each item on her phone.
After a few minutes of browsing, she made her way to the notebook section.
Notebook, notebook... Ah, found it, she thought, spotting the perfect one on a higher shelf.
Just as she reached for her notebook, her hand bumped into someone else reaching for the same notebook.
"Ah, sorry," Mizuha said.
"Me too, go ahead and take it first," the person said.
"Huh!? Hikaru?" Mizuha exclaimed. It turned out the person was Hikaru, reaching for the same notebook.
"Mizuha!? What are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you today," Hikaru said.
"I'm hanging out with Eri-chan and Shimizu today, so we stopped here first," Mizuha replied.
"That's a coincidence. I'm hanging out with Zul today, and he wanted to stop here first," Hikaru said.
"Oh, I see. This is a nice coincidence, right?" Mizuha said with a small smile.
"Well, since we're all here, why not hang out together too?" Hikaru suggested.
"Oh, that's a good idea, my boyfriend. Why didn't I think of that?" Shimizu teased, suddenly interrupting their conversation.
"Wagh, Shimizu, you!" Hikaru said, shocked by her presence.
"Oh, Shimizu, welcome back! Done with your manga? Where's Eri-chan?" Mizuha asked.
"Yes, I'm done. I haven't seen her yet; she must be with Zul right now."
"How about you guys? Are you done with your items?" Shimizu asked.
"I'm done, just need to pay for it. How about you, Hikaru?" Mizuha said.
"I think I'm also done. Let's go to the counter to pay," Hikaru said.
The three of them made their way to the counter and saw Eri and Zul, who had already finished paying for their items and were standing together, waiting for them.
After that, the five of them left the bookstore and discussed where to go next.
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To be continued……… Part 2
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