"Do you prefer dolphins or lions?" Minoru asked me during Chess Club the next day.
"They're both cool," I replied, scribbling an answer down to a math problem. "Why are you asking this?"
"Don't you like one over the other?" he said. He sat down opposite me. "Not really," I said.
"Furaru!" The door was slammed open and Umari Etsuko waltzed in gleefully. "Hello! Will you teach me some more chess today?"
"No," Minoru said curtly. He turned back to me. "Then which do you like more: fish or rabbits?"
"What kind of fish?" I asked, as Umari dropped a chess board on top of desk. "Hey! Watch it, Umari!"
"Move your stupid homework." She shoved at my arm and papers.
"Why don't you two move somewhere else?" I asked. "I'm trying to get my homework done here."
Minoru sighed and leaned closer towards me. "Just ignore her. All kinds of fish. Any fish."
"Will you tell me why you're asking this?" I asked, finally looking up at him.
"Fine. Do you want to go to an aquarium or a zoo?"
Umari slammed her hand on the desk with a grin. "The aquarium! Duh! Take me with you, Furaru! I love the aquarium! And animals in general!"
I smirked. "Yeah, Furaru, maybe you should just take Umari-san. She'll go with you anywhere." He glared at me. "Pick one, Rika-san."
"Zoo then," I said with a shrug. "But if you prefer to go somewhere else, then that's fine too." He sighed, leaning back. "Fine. And I'm not teaching you Umari."
"Why not?" She pouted. "You taught me last week!"
"No. You can learn from someone else." Then he glanced at me and smiled. "Why don't you learn from Rika- san?"
"Why would I want to learn from some second-rate girl like her?" Umari said. "I only learn from the best. Which is you, Furaru."
"If I'm second-rate, you must be third-rate," I mumbled. "Seeing as you can't even beat me."
She glared at me. "Once my great Furaru teaches me some more, I'll be beating you in a flash." I smiled. "You wish. Umaru."
"What? It's Umari, you dumbo!" she said.
"Umaru and Furaru, doesn't it sound cute?" I asked.
She paused, considering it, and then smiled. "It does! Okay, you can call me Umaru! Actually, don't. It sounds a bit strange."
"Umaru and Furaru, sitting in a tree," I sang.
Minoru stood up abruptly. "Forget Saturday," he said with a deep scowl. "I'm not wasting time or money on you."
