Reina finally arrived at the school gate. There, a taller girl, about 167 cm, was waiting for her. Upon seeing Reina, the girl immediately stepped closer, her expression clearly brimming with anger.
"Reina..." the girl said sharply. Recognizing the figure as Yura, Reina immediately felt alarm bells ringing in her head. Without thinking, she tried to turn around and run toward the gate, but she was stopped abruptly when Yura grabbed the back collar of her XXL jacket.
"What did you mean by sending a voice message like that?" Yura demanded, her face flushed with irritation. "Because of that voice message, my mom thought I was watching porn, and my phone was almost confiscated!"
"Oh, sorry, Sis. I was just messing around," Reina replied, trying to suppress her threatening laughter.
DUG.
A hard blow landed right on Reina's head, creating a lump that immediately began to throb. "Ouch, sorry, sis," Reina groaned, rubbing the top of her head with a grimace.
Yura took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She then glanced at Reina's oversized jacket and looked away, trying to regain her composure. "Hmph, okay."
A moment later, Yura looked back at Reina, this time in a much more relaxed tone. "Hmm, you're still wearing that jacket."
Reina smiled slightly, adjusting the slumped collar of her jacket. "Well, it's so that when I grow tall and big, I can fit in this."
"Hmph, I see," Yura replied curtly, her eyes sweeping over Reina's petite, 159 cm tall body. She chuckled. "You've always been like a bottle."
Reina pouted, feeling disapproving. "Hmph, it's no fun carrying around a physical body."
"But it's true, like a Yakult bottle," Yura replied with a crisp laugh.
"Hey. I told you I don't look like a Yakult bottle," Reina protested, her face growing even more contorted.
Yura didn't give up, but instead became even more mischievous. "Well, it's a fact, you look like that anime character named Levy, right? The one with the Titans."
At that name, Reina's anger instantly evaporated, replaced by a flash of curiosity. "Levy? Oh, that Ackerman from the Titan anime, huh? Well, I wouldn't want to be compared to him, but if he were paired with me, I would. And especially because he's smart, handsome, and strong."
Yura burst out laughing, her teasing intensifying. "Oh, you're so funny, you're so good at imagining things. You'd be better compared to Levy's height than paired with him."
"No." Reina pursed her lips even more, this time more than before.
....
After that brief skit, they stepped through the school gates. However, Yura suddenly stopped mid-step. "Oh my gosh! I forgot to do my math homework!" she shouted, holding her head, as if her world had just collapsed.
Reina could only reply with a sly, teasing smile. "Come on, Yura, you're going to get mad at Mr. Satoshi."
Yura fell silent, her thoughts drifting into the classroom. She could imagine the worst-case scenario facing Mr. Satoshi, the most stern teacher in the school. She imagined him collecting a pile of books, and hers was absent. She could hear Mr. Satoshi's thunderous voice, "Yura, why aren't your books here?"
In her mind, she'd stammer, "I left my books, sir." And Mr. Satoshi would throw an eraser and yell, "Yura! You're in 11th grade, but you act like a second-grader. That's why you shouldn't stay up late, playing games all the time. The doctor, when she first entered this class, had said that staying up late and being irregular is bad and can lead to strokes."
The thought made Yura's face burn like a tomato, imagining being laughed at by the whole class. She tried another scenario in her head, one where she honestly said, "I forgot to do my homework, sir." Mr. Satoshi would surely come at her with a cane, hitting the table hard, and shouting, "Did you forget!? You must have been playing this game so much that you lost track of time. Now, you can work outside, and I'll give you extra questions as punishment."
Yura swallowed, hoping for a miracle; perhaps Mr. Satoshi would fall ill or be unable to attend.
"That's it, Reina," Yura said curtly, not wanting to waste any more time. She immediately picked up her pace, sprinting towards class, racking her brain for someone to cheat on before the bell rang.