Almanzoz City

Chapter 10

Akata's POV

Beneath the shelter of a canopy, we occupied benches positioned near the entrance of the garden.

Rai was resting leaning her back against the wall. Before I could even make small talk with her, Citrus interrupted.

"Since it's almost the end of the year soon, what are you guys going to do? Any plans?"

"I think I already know what you're going to ask." Nell said.

We all looked at her with a gaze.

"What? I'm totally not going to ask all of you to hang out with me so we can all have fun together in Almanzoz!"

"Yeah..." Elysia said with a questionable look.

I immediately diverted my attention to Rai as soon as Citrus started to chat with the other two.

She turned to me as I sat next to her.

"Hey! Uh... Sorry if the ringing noise caused this to you, I- I didn't mean to-"

"No no! It's okay, I guess." Rai said. "I'm okay now, and thanks for trying to help too." Rai smiled as she held the hot pack closer to her.

I still felt guilty for what I did... even if I didn't know her ears were sensitive.

"How do these things work...?" She asked.

My eyes widened. "Well- hot packs contain a mixture of iron powder, water, vermiculite, and salt; and they activate by squeezing them to produce heat by the crystallization of a supersaturated solution of sodium acetate."

She simply stared at me with a puzzled expression.

"Oh- sorry, I was being too immersed in it." I gave an embarrassing laugh. "I guess Science is my forte."

"Oh! That's fine. Well uh, I enjoy History more." She replied back.

I simply hummed a response and smiled at her, except now it turned a little bit awkward.

For some reason, I struggle with engaging in one-on-one small talk with fellow students, despite forming positive connections with many teachers and maintaining a friendly demeanor towards my peers.

Despite my amicable interactions, I still feel a sense of loneliness. Until I encountered these four people.

I was wondering if I should ask why her ears are quite sensitive, although Foxians should have more sensitive ears than Wolfians.

"Soooo uh, do you have any other friends besides Nell? Are you two close?" She snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, I only met Nell when the principal decided on our dorms. We were in different classes too, but after a while, we both now joke around a lot so it's pretty nice to have a friend." I said while I curled up my tail. "But other than Nell, I wasn't close to anyone else before I met you guys."

"Huh... you seem to get along with everyone though. You're even friendly with the teachers."

I gave a small laugh in response.

This was the first time I've seen Rai being so talkative to me. I wasn't even able to do anything while she was covering her ears. I'm not sure if I'm even good enough to be a friend.

"Well, maybe we all can be best friends from now on. Don't tell me you eat alone during recess too- This time, you won't feel so alone."

I was bewildered by what I just heard, I rarely hang out with literally anyone in my class, or even Nell himself.

Is having a friend group really so great?

Maybe I'm the one that has been avoiding social interactions, or maybe despite being friendly towards others, I still struggle to form actual connections and friendships with them.