The Golden Pear [YA - Featured]

♫~Notes 14~♫

Freya skipped the rest of the classes. On her way to lockers, she met Amy-sensei.

"Inuhakka-chan!" Concerns flooded her voice. "I've heard from Aiyoku-kun you were suddenly unwell."

The girl nodded since it was true, and her tired face left no space for doubt. The image of Aiyoku's number floated in her mind.

"Don't worry. You are acing my lessons, so today's homework doesn't apply to you. Just get well."

The ginger-haired girl gave her an encouraging smile before they parted. Nobody bothered her. As she looked around, it seemed everyone kept a greater distance from her.

A pang stabbed her heart. The school was never so freezing as now. For the first time in a long while, she yearned to have somebody to talk to.

'Why did I reject others?'

The question started with the sequence of memories of fire, her father dying in front of her, and the tears of her mother until she left her as well. Having nobody meant no pain from losing them. With nobody around, she could remain protected.

'Not alone...'

The faces of the Satos came to her mind, and Star's happy neigh echoed. She pressed her school bag.

'I should go.'

With those words, she locked her locker without actually checking what she did or didn't have. However, she controlled if she still had Aiyoku's name card and his jacket.

She got on the bus, and this time yelling music didn't bother her, as it muted her thoughts. She arrived at the Satos earlier than before.

"You look horrible," Mrs. Sato-san said after she hugged her. "You aren't eating properly, are you?"

Before Freya could argue, her stomach rumbled like thunder.

"Called it!" Her mischievous smile found its way onto Freya's face. "Come into the kitchen. I've finished baking muffins."

Freya lifted her eyebrow as she followed her. She had never heard about this, but her nose detected a sweet aroma.

"It's a recipe from my pen pal from Europe. She does them often! I have to show you her pictures! They look like small cakes! I'm drooling just seeing them."

Mr. Sato-san joined them in the dining room. "At this rate, she'll stop making all the good stuff."

"What?" she barked, but her wrinkles couldn't hide the mischievous sparks. "Dear husband, would you be so kind and remind me who ate the last baking tray?"

Her other half fidgeted. "Well, I was hungry, and there was nothing else..."

They grinned at each other, knowing they both fell in love with muffins. Mrs. Sato-san put the plate with the fresh batch on the table. "I'll get you hot cocoa too. You need all the energy you can get."