After class, Kotori, Irana, Viola, and I made our way to the cafeteria, navigating through the crowd of students. The smell of freshly cooked food lingered in the air, but before we could even step in line, I spotted a group of brats eyeing us from the side.
They were trying to approach.
Tch. Not happening.
I shot them a sharp glare, sending a silent message to back off. Their movement halted for a brief second before they hesitated, exchanging glances. Then, as if they’d come to a mutual agreement, they slowly backed away—though I could tell they weren’t happy about it.
Or maybe they had simply noticed Kotori standing beside me.
That’s right. The same Kotori who just so happened to be the leader of their rival group.
Either way, I wasn’t going to complain.
That was close.
Just as I exhaled in relief, another movement caught my attention. A different group of boys was now approaching us—this time, Kotori’s followers.
I almost groaned. Seriously? Is this going to be a daily thing?
But then I noticed Kotori subtly raising her hand, sending them some sort of signal. Whatever it meant, it was enough to make them stop in their tracks.
A mutual, unspoken truce, huh?
At least for now.
Come to think of it, those mischievous boys had been following me for quite some time now. Not by choice, of course. At first, they had practically forced me into being their leader, pestering me nonstop until I just gave in. I had no real interest in their group, but they just wouldn’t leave me alone.
And as you might have guessed, I regretted it ever since.
I had tried multiple times to dissolve the gang, but they were persistent, constantly returning to me whenever they got themselves into trouble. Eventually, I set one condition for staying their so-called leader:
Don’t involve me unless the problem directly concerns me.
Simple enough, right?
Except, of course, Kotori’s followers declaring war on them apparently fell under the "concerns me" category. So now, here I was—dragged into yet another headache.
By the way, what was our group’s name again? The Mischievous Boys’ Group? …But the leader is a girl? That doesn’t even make sense.
Now that I think about it, I never actually knew our group’s official name. Maybe "Violeta" would be a fitting one. It had a nice ring to it, though I wasn’t sure why it felt so right.
Anyway, today’s breakfast was corn porridge. It was not bad. I liked it, though I still wished for green bean porridge. Meanwhile, Irana stared at her bowl with the same lack of enthusiasm as yesterday.
Since we were already sitting and eating, now was the perfect time to ask Kotori about that so-called declaration of war.
But before I could speak—
"Hey... Aria..."
Kotori’s voice sounded unusually hesitant.
I glanced at her, only to see her fidgeting slightly.
"I’m sorry!!"
…Wait.
Why did she just raise her voice like that?! And why did she suddenly slam her head onto the table?!
Now everyone in the cafeteria was staring at us.
"...Kotori... what are you doing... please lift your head up!!" I whispered harshly, feeling my face heat up from the attention.
Kotori slowly lifted her head, and I froze when I saw tears streaming down her face.
What?! Why is she crying?!
"Can you tell me why you’re apologizing?" I asked cautiously. I already had a good idea, but I wanted to hear it from her.
Kotori sniffled, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her uniform.
"...Because of my careless words... those idiots are now targeting you, Aria. I’m really sorry. And no matter what I do now, it seems like I can’t get rid of that misunderstanding!"
Well… the way she’s apologizing right now is probably making the misunderstanding even worse.
I sighed. "...So it really is your fault, then."
Oops. That kind of just slipped out.
"Yes, it’s my fault... so please forgive me?!"
Ahhh!! Why is she raising her voice again?!
This was not what I expected from Kotori. She had always seemed like the strong, confident, tomboyish type. I never imagined she would apologize like this—so openly and dramatically.
But before I could respond—
"Enough!!... How dare you make the princess cry in front of everyone!! Your actions are completely out of line!!"
Oh no…
Now things have gotten even worse.
To my dearest mother from my previous life,
How are you now? Are you in heaven? Or perhaps… you’ve been reincarnated like me?
Wherever you are, I just want you to know—today is my second day of middle school.