The Writer Osamu FF

Chapter 20

"Hey, do you have a minute?" said the black-haired girl, who had raised her head a little. Standing in front of her were two girls she had often seen in the corridors. She also knew them from what had happened on the first day of school.

"What did you want from me?" she wanted to know, hiding half her face behind her hair. "Kaede could use your help." said the gray-haired girl, who had sat down opposite her. "I...don't think..."

"Why not?" Chika asked, unable to understand the girl. "I...can't help anyone who's popular...or can fight back."

So that was the point. Chika looked at Kaede, who had been looking at the black-haired girl. She must have had a lot of thoughts going through her head.

"Is it because your name is Megumi?" Kaede asked, causing the girl's eyes to widen. Her green-grey eyes literally stared at the table. "Megumi is a beautiful name and can be used for both genders. Other people probably don't understand that."

"How...do you know my...name?" Megumi asked, trembling slightly. "It's on your drawing folder." Kaede clarified immediately and recognized the kanji script straight away.

Chika was amazed at how good Kaede was. She knew quite well how to deal with such people and how to address them. "Chika said that you could help me find some inspiration for the title of my book."

"Huh...?" The girl wearing glasses raised her head questioningly. So the two of them didn't want anything bad from her? A sense of relief came over her. She needn't have worried so much.

There used to be a lot of people who laughed at her because of her name. Many also said that she was a boy, which had never been true. Megumi was almost ashamed of her own name and always kept to herself because of it.

Drawing was the only thing that could distract her. It allowed her to forget everything else and take her mind off things. So far, however, no one had ever said that the name was beautiful. Except for Kaede, who had told her straight away.

"I have an idea right away! Megumi can draw your cover!" came from Chika, who had been full of enthusiasm. "Cover...?" asked Megumi. She didn't really understand the whole thing just yet.

"I want to write a novel after all these years. But yesterday I failed because I couldn't think of a title. Chika said that I might be able to get some ideas from you." Kaede explained, which surprised Megumi a little.

"And what you're hiding under his arms looks very nice and promising to me. But it would be even nicer if you didn't hide your face and your glasses like that. That would also give you a bit more confidence and stop me worrying."

Megumi looked at the brown-haired girl as if paralyzed. For some reason, she liked Kaede. Her head, her words and some of her looks alone were as if she was in her own world. There was hardly anyone who had noticed her insecurity right away.

"I wonder...how you always manage to do that..." Chika breathed next to Kaede, who had propped her head up.

"How I manage what?" Kaede asked back. So she wasn't aware of what she was doing and saying. She really was in her own world, as Megumi could see. A real writer, actually.

"All right, I'll draw your cover as soon as I know and have read some of the contents of your book." Megumi offered and didn't have to think about it any longer. Because Kaede had an aura that made Megumi feel comfortable. Something like an older sister or something similar. And Kaede was probably the first person she would draw something for.

"Uhhh! That means we're now a little group of three and friends!" Chika exclaimed happily, which made Kaede and Megumi smile slightly.