On Monday morning Nao was very sleepy at school. It was hard for her to keep her eyes open, so she put her head on her hands and tried to stay awake. But the guys did not miss her unusual behavior. Normally Nao was a very attentive and alert student.
"What's wrong with you?", Kura was the first one, who dared to ask her.
"Oh, nothing. Really", she tried to smile, "I am just studying really hard for the mock exams."
Kura made a silly face:
"Mock exams? You're actually preparing for it?"
"Of course I do. I care a lot about my grades, because I want to go to university."
"Really?", the guys seemed to be very impressed.
"Do you already know what job you want to do?", Ichi asked.
"No, unfortunately I'm still looking for something I am good at", she looked a little depressed.
"Well, don't be down", Nao shrieked when Yankumi suddenly stepped into their conversation, "you're still young and there is plenty of time until graduation. But it's great that you're already thinking about you're future."
"Yes, that's amazing. I still don't have the slightest idea of what to do after school", Kura sighed, "but I know that it will be difficult to find a job."
"Guys listen", Yankumi stepped to front, "don't be so undetermined. People might often tell you that you're worthless or stupid, but if you really work hard on your dreams, they may come true one day. Just don't give up right from the beginning."
The guys were not very persuaded, but they were afraid of one of their teachers long speeches, so they kept their mouths shut.
"And as for you, Katsuragi", Yankumi smiled motherly at her female student, "don't overwork yourself. You look really worn out today. Even if you have high ambitions, you should have fun and try to enjoy your high school days."
"Hai", Nao mumbled, but was not so sure, if she could take this advise.
"Do you have to work today?", Ichi asked Nao after class ended.
"Yes, in the evening. Why?", she eyed him questionably.
"That's good", he smiled, "so you can come with us to the game arcade now, can't you?"
She was really suspicious of him:
"So you want me to follow Yamaguchi - sensei's words?"
"Of course. Everyone can see that you're much too stiff. You need to relax for a while."
"I've never been to a game arcade...", she confessed slowly.
"It's okay, we'll show you how thrilling we are, Nao - chan~", Shunsuke put his arm around his shoulder, but was pushed away by Yamato, who saw how troubled Nao looked. The girl wondered if she was really as boring and uptight as everyone said.
"Okay, I'll give it a try", she eventually sighed and soon was dragged out of the classroom by Shunsuke and Kura.
"What's wrong, Ren?", Yamato asked his friend when the others were gone. The whole morning Ren was very quiet and not as spirited as always.
"Nothing big, I just don't have time to hang around with you guys today, sorry", he jumped over a chair and headed home. Yamato was really worried for he knew about Ren's problems at home. Well, soon or later he would find out what was going on, but for now he wanted to enjoy the rest of the day.
The guys did not exaggerate. Nao was really amazed how many funny games there were at the arcade and she was really enchanted by a game called "Move It". She just had to follow the moves of the dancers on the screen. After half an hour the guys were kind of bored watching her having fun on her own and they started looking for their own favourite games. After a while Nao was too exhausted to go on and went over to watch Kura and Ichi playing a shooting game.
