A Hero I Look Up To

I've Been Meaning to Ask...

It's a school day, and Tobio and Loid were the first to arrive. The students were getting excited because the break starts the next week, which means there's four days left of school. It is snowing at school, which means every student is wearing warm clothing. Tobio is still wearing his gray hoodie, but he now wears black long pants. Loid is wearing a blue hoodie and black pants. Surprisingly, he's also wearing black boots with his outfit.

"Sometimes... I wonder if Mia's absent..." Tobio looked up at the sky, letting out a sigh. "The road is covered with snow, and because Mia lives near this school, she would be the first to arrive, but... she's not here."

"Ah, that's right... there's a lot of snow today..." Loid said. "I hope the traffic isn't too bad..."

Tobio has been familiar with snow. He would take walks with Chris at their hangout place and would see kids build a giant snowman or do snowball fights. When Mia came over to Tobio's house for the first time, it was snowing, and Mia introduced Tobio to making a snowman. Tobio remembered building a giant snowman with Mia and warming up his hands by touching a warmed mug with hot chocolate after all that work. Those memories made Tobio want to experience them once again, but not just with Mia. Tobio wanted to play so many games in the snow with Mia, Loid, and Chris.

"Tobio...?" Loid was calling out to Tobio when he was lost in thought.

"Oh, I'm fine." Tobio said. Just then, a voice of a little girl calls out to Tobio and Loid...

"Hey guys!! Sorry for coming late!!"

Mia has finally arrived. Loid waved at Mia, while Tobio got a little embarrassed, looking at the snow.

"What's wrong Tobio? I thought you would be happy to see me!" Mia said with a worried face. A few seconds later, she remembered something. "Oh yeah, this is for you!"

Mia brought Tobio's birthday gift as promised. Mia apologized to Tobio non-stop, as if she forgot something that's very important to her, because she couldn't hang out with Tobio on his seventh birthday. Tobio told her calmly not to worry about it that much and patted her back. Mia smiled, as she didn't have to worry about it anymore. The three went to a nearby area to sit on so their legs won't get tired from standing. Loid chose a nearby bench, so they all say there watching Tobio about to open the present with excitement. Tobio felt the excitement too, but he held it in and went straight to the gift.

Tobio opened the gift Mia gave him after a few seconds passed. He tried not to make that much noise because if he did, people would hear. The talking from the other students did cancel out the noise of a present being unwrapped. As Tobio lifted the cover of his present, he saw a black Instant camera. He took out the camera and stared at it for a few seconds. Pictures... his parents never took any pictures of Tobio, but only when he was a baby, they took pictures. Not even around Tobio's house did he see a picture of him. Tobio looked at Mia, wondering why she gave him the camera as a present, but there was only one explanation.

"With the camera, you can make a lot of memories with it! Why not take a picture of me and Loid?"

"Really...?" Tobio was wondering if Mia was being sure of herself. Mia nodded and told Tobio to take a picture of her and Loid as a memory. Tobio was unsure on how to use the camera, trying to find the snap button. Mia told Tobio where the snap button was, and before he took the photo, Mia was standing next to Loid on his right, while Loid was sitting down. Mia made a peace sign with her right hand and made a big smile, while Loid just slightly smiled. Tobio clicked the snap button and the flash came out. A picture slid out of the top of the camera, with a white frame on the front and a black background in the back.

"The picture... doesn't show?" Tobio asked Mia in disappointment.

"No, it does!" Mia replied. "Put this under the sun and we'll see the picture show up soon."