Stumbling Over Love | ✓

Chapter 33

_Chapter 33~ I'm Here_

I'd never really enjoyed the start of a new school year. The only thing you could really look forward to were the cherry blossoms since they were always so stunning, but other than that you had new teachers, new classmates, new and harder material to learn... Since I'd never been so gung-ho about change, mainly due to the fact that I didn't get to live a normal school life—being thrust into a delinquent high school because of the will of my father's new job and all—of course me and change didn't blend.

Though, maybe...

Maybe this year would be different.

Turning my gaze upwards towards the third year's class lists, 3-1 in particular, my focus was fixated on my name as well as my cousin's centimeters above it.

"Yes, I'm with Reina!" Erika cried out from beside me, practically tackling me into a sideways hug.

I recoiled, attempting to push her off of me. She didn't relent. "Erika..." I sighed.

"Oh, c'mon! Don't be such a downer," Erika whined. "Aren't you excited that we're in the same class?"

"Of course I am... like I told you how I would be over and over again throughout our walk here."

"I'm excited too," Erika admitted, beckoning me towards the building. "Anyways, hurry up and show me the inside! I want to see! I want to see!"

"Okay, okay," I murmured, slipping out of the crowd of students and heading towards the doors.

"The building looks kind of rundown but the inside is better, right?" Before I could answer her question, Erika whipped her head left and right, scouring the passing students. She quickly whispered, "Hey, Reina... Are the boys in this school hot?"

My mouth quirked down a bit. "Hot...?"

"Y'know, good-looking," she responded. "When I came for registration, I heard that the guys here are dangerous. There're a lot of bad boys in this school, right?" She dreamily sighed. "Man, I'm weak to those kinds of people...!"

"What are you saying, Erika?" I hissed, snapping my fingers in front of her face to wake her from her reverie. "It's not good to get involved with them at all!"

"But you hang around one of your own don't you? How lucky...!" Letting out yet another starry-eyed breath, her shoulder leaned up against mine. "I can't wait to meet a prince charming of my own."

"Prince charming?" I demanded, letting the fact that she mentioned Iwasaki slide. "At this school? Are you being serious right now?"

Erika didn't answer; her attention was already diverted to something else. She commented on anything and everything we passed on our way to our classroom. She was curious to know why we weren't considered twelfth graders, implying that it was the norm classification in Canada. I had equal questions to why her Japanese was so good, to which she explained that she grew up in Hokkaido until she was six before moving. Plus all her parents ever did speak to her was Japanese, so she got used to switching between languages. Nevertheless, it truly was flawless. I wouldn't have doubted it if she told me she lived in Japan her whole life.

Upon arriving to our classroom, seeing how they were already familiar due to our long years of schooling together, most students were socializing with others. I was startled greatly at the sight of a familiar male sitting towards the back of the room.

"Iwasaki?" I said in surprise. We were in the same class? I hadn't even noticed his name inscribed on the list out front!

At the mention of his name, Ryu looked upwards, eyes slightly widening at the sight of me. "Kikuchi... we're in the same class?"