A Hero I Look Up To

A New Strategic Friend

It's now eighth grade. Tobio and Loid found themselves a new friend. Her name is Alana Ishikawa. She had long black hair with bangs, with red eyes and rectangular glasses. She also wore a blue winter dress with white snowflakes and a white skirt on the dress. She was an honor student with good grades and much more knowledgeable than both Tobio and Loid.

It was the beginning of school. The three were discussing plan A—specifically the details of the plan. They all sat in a triangular shape, with Loid and Tobio sitting next to each other and Alana between the two, with Loid in her left and Tobio in her right. They seem to be looking at the paper Loid had wrote on last year, but there were a lot more details than last year.

"That aside... I remember when I first met you, I was surprised you had longer hair than Mia!" Tobio exclaimed.

"R-Really!?" Alana was surprised. "Was my hair really that long?"

"I'm pretty sure that's how I remember it," he replied back, putting his pointer finger on his chin, looking up.

"I... don't know about that," Loid butted in. "Mia loved putting her hair into two braids and that's how I remember it."

"Come to think of it, what was it like when you first met me, Tobio?" Alana asked Tobio, tilting her head.

***

Loid was the one who has befriended Alana and introduced him to Tobio. The first time Tobio has ever met Alana, was in the courtyard, where Loid wanted him to meet.

"Tobio, look who I met," Loid said, walking towards Tobio.

"Who's this?" Tobio asked with curiosity.

"I'm Alana, Alana Ishikawa. A pleasure to meet you!" Alana said with excitement.

"Your hair...!" Tobio pointed at her long black hair. "It's so long!"

"I know!" Alana cheered. "I love how long it is! Mom said it's easier to take care of than short hair since it gets frizzy."

"What's.. frizzy?" Tobio asked. "Is it like tangled hair?"

"Well... my hair does get tangled..." Alana looked away in embarrassment. "However, I can take care of it pretty good!"

"I know, it's silky." Loid pointed out.

"Your hair is even longer than Mia's!" Tobio shouted.

"Who's... that?' Alana tilted her head.

"Oh, a childhood friend," Loid said. "She doesn't go to this school, so it's just us. Also I'd point out the same thing as Tobio if I were in his shoes."

The three laughed at each other's comments while talking about Alana's hair. She was a nice girl that Tobio and Loid met, and they get along really well.

***

"Now that brings me back!" Alana mentioned. "I remembered laughing with you two about hair."

"Yeah!" Tobio exclaimed, but the started to switch the topic. "Did Loid tell you about what happened with me by chance?"

"Yeah... I feel really bad," Alana frowned. "Loid explained this whole 'plan a' thing to me on the first day we met and a bit about you."

"Really!?!?" Tobio was surprised. "That's amazing!"

"So this 'plan a' is about running away from your home, right?" Alana changed the subject and asked Tobio, tilting her head. "Loid told me on how terrible your parents were since childhood and how you were neglected. He also told me that you couldn't talk to this 'Chris' person, which you could potentially break because he was the one that brought your phone."