Sweet as Sugar

Go talk with Hanako. [ ]
Read my book. [X]
Wait for Shizune and Misha to come to a decision. [ ]

I do what I always do when I don’t know what to do. Like now. I’ve already started on one of the books I borrowed yesterday and took it with me to school to fill the empty moments between classes. I find the page that I creased a corner of to mark the spot I left yesterday night, and pick up from there.

Misha and Shizune apparently come to a decision and leave the room without so much as a glance at me. So much for the Student Council. At least now I can have some peace and quiet to read…

“Hey, is that Heart of Darkness?”

Hmm? I glance up to see the brunette girl that sits up front staring at me.

“Erm, yeah. It is. How did you know?” I ask.

She reaches into the front of her bag and withdraws a cookie before answering.

“I thought I recognized one of the lines,” she says with a sheepish smile. “I was, uh, being nosy.”

Geez. I guess no one can mind their own business around here. Oh well. She seems nice enough.

“You recognized it? So I take it you've read it before?”

She takes a big bite of her cookie and chews. She kind of looks like a hamster.

“Yesh. I rebbit lasht mont.” She swallows her mouthful before continuing. “Uh, sorry. But yes. I read it last month. I’m Ikuno, by the way. Ikuno Komaki. You’re Nakai, right? The new kid?” She finishes one cookie and reaches for another one seemingly automatically.

“Yes. Hisao Nakai.”

An awkward silence passes as she chews and I stare. She finishes her second cookie and grabs another one. I wonder how she stays so thin if she eats like that all the time. Maybe she has a fast metabolism. Or maybe her disability is being eternally thin. I can’t imagine how-

“Soooo, Hisao. Do you read a lot?”

Her question snaps me back to the present, which is probably for the best.

“Yeah,” I answer. “I got into reading a lot when I was in the, umm, the uhh…“ Oops. I’d rather not talk about that.

She nods and seems to understand, which I’m thankful for.

“That’s good to hear. I just got into heavy reading this year.” She takes another bite. “There’s nothing like a good story to go with a good cookie.” Her own wisdom seems to shock her as her eyes grow wide. “Oh, how rude of me. Do you want one of these?” She holds out a cookie with a bite taken out of it.

I raise my eyebrow at her and she quickly grabs a fresh, whole cookie after cramming the other one into her mouth.

“Herr guh. Ids fress. I-“ She swallows and starts to cough. “Gah! Sorry. Here you go. It’s fresh. I baked them this morning! Oatmeal raisin!”

Her smile falters as I continue to stare at her. Finally, I relent and grab the cookie. Surprisingly, it’s warm.

“Yeah, oatmeal raisin is definitely my fav kind of cookie.” She grabs yet another one. How many of those does she have?

I take a bite. It’s actually very good.

She seems to notice my enjoyment and gives an approving nod before turning back to her own book. I guess this conversation is over.

---

A couple minutes pass before my stomach starts to grumble. I do my best to ignore it and focus on my book, but a small giggle breaks my concentration. I look up and see Ikuno’s blue eyes staring back at me with a sparkle.

“Hungry, huh? Was the cookie not enough for you?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s-“ My stomach betrays me with a thunderous rumble, causing Ikuno’s smile to spread even wider.

Still smiling, she turns away from me and picks her bag up off the ground. She walks over to my desk and upends it, causing a small torrent of brightly colored food packages and foil to spill across the wood.

“Here, take what you want. I’ve got plenty. Plus,” she adds with a wink, “I can’t eat too much if I want to keep this girlish figure.”

I look over my options and grab some curry bread. “Hey, thanks. Umm, why do you have so many snacks?”

My question seems to catch her off guard and her eyebrows take on a sad tilt. I might have just made a mistake.

Then, just as quickly as she darkened, her expression brightens back up with a megawatt smile.

“I just like to eat. And eating all the time gives me an excuse to go for those runs through the forest that I love so much,” she says as her gaze turns to the windows. “There are some great trails out there...”

Ikuno snaps her eyes back to me and gives me a smile. “Hey, Hisao. What are you doing tonight?”

Well, that saves me the pain of having to ask her about her plans. “Uhh, nothing. I guess I’m just going to try to get settled here. I’m still a little overwhelmed as the new kid.”

“That’s great!” she says. “Um, kind of. Not that you’re overwhelmed, but- oh whatever. If you’re still trying to get settled, then how about a tour of the forest? I’m going for one of my jogs after class. Do you want to come with me?”

Hmm, Nurse did say I need to get some exercise. And she is kind of cute…

“I’d love to.”

“Fantastic,” she says as she flashes me a winning smile and a wink. “It’s a date.”