Miss Moral Compass

Chapter 3: Fujisaki-kun's Circle

"Wow!" Akiko's excitement had gushed out of her lips. She thought that during lunch time, Junko and Ren would be heading towards the cafeteria. But after Akiko got her bento box from her locker, and after Ren had gotten a juice box from a vending machine, they lead her to the field where a couple of students hang around, eating their lunch as well. The view was pretty and the air was fresh, which made Akiko happy.

"This is nice."

"We often eat our lunch here. The cafeteria is sometimes crowded and noisy, we tend to go to other places to enjoy our food," Ren says and then started rushing over to a brown-haired boy who sat on the grass with a bento on his lap. Ren started to speak to him as he takes off his black jacket and lay it on the grass next to the brown-haired boy. Akiko absent-mindedly scanned Ren's body. Even though he looked quite thin with his jacket on, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, he sure has a fit physique.

He must be an athlete, Akiko thinks before looking towards the empty-handed girl beside her. Akiko's eyes widened when she saw Junko holding a PS Vita, walking casually like she does this often.

"Tsubomi-san," Akiko starts. "You shouldn't put out devices during school hours. You'd get suspended if a teacher sees you."

"It's okay," Junko said, eyes focused on the screen. "I do this a lot. I won't get caught easily."

Akiko sighs as she looks ahead, getting near the two boys. "Why don't you have lunch? It's not healthy to skip main meals."

"Eh, I don't really care," Junko said. "I usually eat mint gums so it's no problem."

"Alright then. I'm just expressing my concern," Akiko says as she looks back at Junko. The pink-haired girl looked at her, before her small lips formed a small smile. Something tells Akiko that Junko doesn't smile often, but she paid no attention to the thought. Akiko smiles back, remembering how her mother would smile at her.

Junko stops near Ren and sat down mindlessly, not caring if her skirt would pull closer to her body. Akiko noticed this as Junko sat criss-cross, but she just left it. Another reason she had difficulties in making friends at her old school was that she was too... vocal. Ren and the other boy looked like they're no perverts... but then again; it was too soon to judge.

"Hello there," the brown-haired boy greeted after swallowing his bite. "I'm Michio Chiba from Class 2-A. Nice to meet you," he offers her a charming smile, which made Akiko swallow. He probably has this effect on girls, she mentally notes before her lips broke into a goofy grin. The way he smiled was welcoming and charming; if she was a boy-obsessed girl then she would've melted into a puddle. He was ordinary-looking, but the way he smiled was almost like the ones she would see in romantic-comedy movies where a handsome boy would talk to a girl.

"I'm Akiko Akeyama, nice to meet you as well," she says as she kneels next to Junko and sits down on her ankles. They formed a circle.

"So, what do you think of your first day so far?" Michio casually asks as he pops a fried meat into his mouth with his chopsticks. Akiko starts to open her bento box and grasped her chopsticks.

"Nice. Surprisingly, I can keep up with the core classes. The facilities here are great and I can't wait to tell my father the things I did here," Akiko gushes and starts to eat with a giddy smile.

"You sure sound happy," Michio notes after swallowing his bite. "Fujisaki-kun here told me you're a transfer student. What school did you come from?"

"Well," Akiko had mouthed but then continued to chew her food. Swallowing, she responded. "I'm from Hatsumoriko High School, a school from Kyoto."

"Ah," Ren starts. "Is there a particular reason why you moved here?"