Lesson Learned

Rio Nakamura's Different Perspective

A/N Okay so this was in the works for a while, so I've just edited it, hence the super quick update.

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When she was seven...

Rio sighed, curling up against some steps near the back of the primary school during break. It was quiet here, and none of her classmates was around to gawk at her like she was an animal in the zoo.

The little brown-haired girl sighed, wishing the teachers hadn't introduced her as 'bright' and 'extremely gifted'. 

Making friends was hard enough and since her mom was retiring from modelling and her dad's job was going to be permanent at the advertisement agency, it looked like they wouldn't be moving around from place to place like they used to.

She turned the page of her book, sitting comfortably on the steps.

"What are you reading?" a curious voice behind her made her jump.

Rio turned around quickly and frowned when she saw a girl about her age walk around to her. The girl had strawberry blonde hair that was tied in pigtails, and bright big violet eyes which were staring at her curiously.

Rio blushed, burying her face in her book. "Um...it's called Snow Country."

The girls face lit up. "I've read that!" She grinned, rushing over to her. Rio curled away slightly when she sat next to her on the steps. "I wasn't supposed to, but my dad didn't notice it was missing." Then her smile grew. "I've already read it all—how far along are you?"

"Um, I'm only half-way through," Rio replied shyly. "I'm not meant to have it either..." She picked at the corner of her book. "Um, my name is Rio Nakamura..."

"Yeah, I know!" The girl grinned. "My name's Mitsuko Asano."

Asano?

Rio frowned when she remembered that Asano boy who had kept glaring at her when she'd got the right answer instead of him in class.

Mitsuko did look a lot like him.

"Is that other Asano boy your—"

"Yes!" She bounced up and down. "We're twins," she said proudly. "He's older, but only by a few minutes—he's also really smart."

Rio nodded, feeling a little overwhelmed. "Um, yeah, he seems smart."

"Uh, huh—ooh!" Mitsuko clapped her hands suddenly, making Rio jump. "Let's go play hopscotch!" She grabbed her hand, yanking her to her feet. "I know a game where we have to add up the numbers and—"

Rio looked unsure, struggling to keep up. "I don't really know." She pulled away, making Mitsuko frown. "I don't think the other kids like me..."

Mitsuko looked confused. "What?" Then her frown deepened. "That's not true. They don't even know you so how can they not like you?"

She tugged the end of her hair nervously. "What if they make fun of me?"

A very serious look clouded Mitsuko's face. "They won't make fun of you if you're with me," she told her confidently. "And if they do, I'll just get my brother and his friends to beat them up." Her smile was sweet like sugar. "So don't worry!"

Rio stared at her in surprise, wondering how she could be so confident about that. No one had ever offered to stand by her like that before, or at least sounded like they meant it.

A faint blush crept onto her face as she took Mitsuko's hand. "Okay, then."

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