Love, Hate, and The Bridges Between

Chapter 1

Rin's eyes reflected a brilliant azure as she gazed up at the sky, her hand cuffed just above her eyebrows to block the sunlight. "Looking like another bright day," she said to herself, as she made her way out the door.

Rin loved to take the morning in for all of its aspects. The sights, the smells, the sounds, the tastes, the feelings; she loved all of it. Rin was also very observant, enjoying the little details in every little thing. She could tell the difference between different species of ladybugs based on the slight change of shade their bodies had, or whether dirt had earthworms recently slither within it, among other things. However, due to this, Rin was very absent minded when it came to time. She often found herself at a loss for time on multiple occasions, whether for important appointments or small errands.

The sun shone particularly brightly this morning. Rin could feel the heat sticking to her skin, sweat seeping through her newly laundered summer uniform. Rin's already turtle like pace was shot down to a crawl as the sun made her sluggish, unable to stand the heat. She continued to shuffle groggily as if shackled to the ground before coming upon a section of the road covered in trees that was completely shaded from the violent attacks of the sun. Her expression excitedly changed as she waddled toward the grouping of trees, taking shelter under its shade. With the sun rising higher in the sky and the heat progressively getting more violent, Rin could not find it in her to get up and continue walking. Rin began to doze off, much like the very few clouds in the sky that sat aimlessly, achieving nothing except existence.

There was a quiet buzz that filled the empty silence of Rin's listlessness, as a ladybug landed on her left hand. Her eyes slowly opened, turning toward the bug. "Hey there little guy," she spoke to the ladybug quietly, to not frighten it. However, to no avail, as it shyly fluttered away.

The peacefulness of the situation Rin found herself in was something out of a storybook, one which Rin wished she could be in at least for awhile. However, just as the ladybug had come and gone, this peacefulness was shortly lived. Her gaze had wandered to the thin beige watch that sat prettily on her wrist, unaware that she had forgotten to keep track of something very important on Monday mornings.

Her eyes widened, "8:15am," the watch read. Rin panicked, rubbing her eyes before taking a double take. "8:16am," it read now.

Rin's heart skipped, "I'm going to be late!" she exclaimed as soon as she snapped back to reality. Her peaceful world shattered right in front her due to her own carelessness. She jumped up hurriedly and began her sprint across the town to the high school, which was at the very least 15 minutes away at walking pace from where she stood. Rin darted speedily, her sweat drenched hair sparkling as it fluttered behind her. She soon passed by Towa Bridge, which glistened as the sun reflected off the surface of the river below it. There were many bridges in Rin's hometown, though this one was the most popular among tourists-primarily due to the iridescence of the river.

Rin quickly rounded a corner as she neared the school, past a newly built bakery shop, as her sprint stopped dead. Rin felt a sudden oomf as she ran into an unsuspecting passerby, both of them falling to the ground.

"S-sorry!" She stuttered, before dusting herself off and continuing her rush for the school that was just a couple hundred meters away, not wasting another second.

The boy quickly picked himself off of the ground, too. He didn't bother to call to the girl that had just performed what was essentially a hit and run on him. Instead, his curiosity was drawn in by something else; an object that was left on the ground.

---

"Hey! Rin! You're late!" Toru said, as he watched Rin barely make it pass the school gate before the bells rang. "You can't keep doing this, y'know."

"I know! I know!" Rin jested as she gasped for air, finally able to catch her breath. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Still..." he continued, "don't get into a habit."

"It's practice! For the track team!"

"Don't use that as an excuse!" Toru scolded her.

Rin sighed as she gazed at the behemoth infront of her. The school was three stories high, and its design was a crude in-between of modern and past architecture. Rin entered the building, with confidence in her stride. Everyone's head swiveled at breakneck speed to catch a glimpse of her. Rin was soaked in sweat, which caused her skin to shine and her hair to glitter as it reflected the natural light pouring in from the school's massive windows. Confidence and beauty radiated from Rin, much to everyone's delight.

Then, the chatter and whispers began.

"That's the second year, Rin. Right?"

"She's so pretty!"

"Think she'd go on a date with me?"

Countless comments continued, before Toru began to worry.

"Hey, Rin,"

"Yea, Toru?"

"Are you not bothered by it?" he asked.

"The comments? Not at all!" she answered, "I think it's all really flattering."

"If you're fine with it, I guess," Toru surrendered, "it's not like I can just tell them to stop anyway."

---

"Haru! Where did you get that?" a boy asked, hanging over Haru's shoulder.

Haru inspected the object he'd picked up off of the ground before getting to class. The hard plastic card rested in his hand mockingly, as if it was stared back. Through closer inspection, it became evident that the card was a student ID and of the same school as him.

"Shirai Rin," he read.

"Woah! Is that the second year everyone's talking about? She looks hot. I'd be so down to take her home if she gave me the chance"

"Whatever you say," Haru dismissed, cringing as he stood from his chair. "I'll just bring it to the faculty room."

"Let me do it, Haru!" the boy offered with a rotten grin. "Maybe I'll get to talk to her."

"Maybe not," Haru replied, sighing. "You people really have to stop that. It's gross," he retorted, shutting the door behind him as he headed for the faculty room.

"Pain in the ass," he muttered, under his breath.