Polar Planes [Luffy x Nami]

10. Petrichor

Her head was still foggy, and she had a difficult time distinguishing reality from dream based on the events yesterday. She'd been half asleep when talking with Luffy; had he even come over to her house or was that just another absurd manifestation in her mind?

Heat instantly rose to her cheeks at the thought. Why would I dream of Luffy coming over?

"How are you feeling?" Usopp asked.

They were eating lunch inside the bustling cafeteria this time, as the rain last night had soaked everything from the rusty benches to the field of grass on the quad, which had grown to almost the length of a wheatfield ready for harvest.

"Still a bit under the weather, but not that bad," she replied.

"Nami's a monster," Vivi commented. "You never suffer more than one day from a sickness just so you can go back to school, huh?"

"I'm going to fall behind on my work otherwise." She dropped her fork into her meal plate. "I forgot to meet up with Luffy today."

Vivi rolled her eyes. "Do you ever just relax?"

"She's right you know," a chilling voice called from behind.

Reluctantly, Nami craned her head up to meet Boa Hancock's eyes, which glittered a glacial blue capable of cooking up another feverish cold within her.

"You should just relax now," she continued. "I'm tutoring Luffy today."

"Oh, I see." Nami chewed on the side of her mouth. "Did you talk to Coach Garp?"

Hancock sneered. "Does it matter? As long as Luffy is getting the help, you're fine, right?"

"Yeah."

"Besides, I know you and him have different schedules," she added. "Our practices end at the same time, so I can just help him right after."

"Okay; thank you, Hancock."

Hancock waited, expecting something else. Nami just wasn't sure what.

She finally decided to leave with a slightly puzzled expression on her face. Vivi exhaled as if she were holding her breath this whole time.

"Why would a girl like her have beef with a girl like you?" She asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You two basically live in different worlds at this point," she explained. "What is there to fight over? I know Hancock doesn't care about being ranked top of her class, and I know you don't care about being the best soccer player in the league."

Nami pursed her lips. "I just get the feeling that I've done something wrong to her."

"I think she thinks you're one of those lonely academic private schoolers who have nothing to do with their lives." Vivi shook her head. "Thank goodness you're out of Mary Geoise High now."

That's right; Nami never told Vivi that she was planning to go back. She would do so when she worked up the courage. Although, that day might never come.

Back in Mary Geoise High, she had spent every waking moment hoping for the day to end - hoping for high school to end, for that matter. After the first month of her freshman year, she had come to accept the fact that she'd be alone. She had not made an effort to befriend anyone in her class, and perhaps that was her own fault.

On the first day, one girl had come up to her. "Hey."

"Hi."

"Is this your first time in the district?" she had asked. "I don't remember seeing you around during middle school."