A natural 'onset' that came along with puberty, no doubt.
That being said...
"Ms. Tsujihara, are you free after lunch?" asked a female classmate as soon as Freda walked into her classroom.
"After lunch?" Freda repeated needlessly, delaying her response. "Ah, I have something to take care of after lunch. Sorry."
"Ms. Tsujihara, have you read today's news?" asked another classmate.
"The news?" Again, she repeated the speaker's words as to buy her some time to think of a desirable response. "I'll read it during lunch."
"Is that so?" A beaming smile appeared on the girl's face. "Then, let me tell you what happened to—"
Freda raised her hand to stop her and shook her head, accompanied by a broad smile. "I'll look into it during lunch, okay?"
"Ah... Sorry, Ms. Tsujihara."
Freda asserted her sentiment on the matter. She didn't want to hear anything about the news until lunch, and her decision was final. Of course, people have feelings, so she refused the girl's ardent follow-up with an amicable expression.
Her choice of action elicited the desirable result. Others who saw the exchange began to disperse and went back to their seat. People have different personalities, so their response to a specific stimulus would undoubtedly be different as well. Freda took this fact into account when she was interacting with someone she barely knew.
The best course of action was always to be gentle. That way, she avoided hurting anyone. People perceived input, and output would follow through afterward. A negative output—making someone feel sad—would only happen if she poked their sensitive side.
She was not a therapist nor was she a psychologist. She wouldn't be able to ascertain what people thought, so she treaded the best possible path—be nice towards anyone.
"...Tsujihara."
Upon hearing the voice, she turned her head and saw a tall guy standing behind her. Her face turned red when he smiled at her, making her heart flutter.
"You promised to hang out after lunch," the guy reminded her of the promise she made the day before. "I'll bring along some of my friends as well. It won't be fun if I don't bring them with us."
"Ah... Naoto, couldn't it just be the two of us?" Freda said in a restrained voice.
"Huh?" Arai Naoto knitted his eyebrows together. "Why?"
"..." Freda fidgeted as she thought of an appropriate answer to tell him. He wouldn't accept a frivolous reason, so she had to come up with something that would change his mind.
"...I want to spend more alone time with you. We haven't had any precious memories together, so perhaps you can tell your friends to not come—"
"Nah, that would be boring!" Naoto quickly brushed Freda's reason off without a second thought. "You're my girlfriend. I want to show you to them."
"...Show?" The way Naoto phrased his words made it seem like Freda was a rare decoration he wanted to show off to everyone. At least, that was what Freda thought.
Naoto slung an arm around Freda's shoulder and brought his face close to hers.
"Like I said, it won't be fun with just the two of us," Naoto repeated softly. "Those pitiful guys don't have a girl, and I got you here. You're beautiful, so why not show yourself to them?"
A simple and straightforward reasoning.
Freda found herself dumbfounded for a few moments before she said anything in response.
"...If you say so," Freda smiled a wry smile, ultimately acquiesced to her boyfriend's unmoved decision.
Arai Naoto was a famous soccer player for the school's team and was handsome enough to attract students from other schools to confess to him. A high-achiever and a smooth talker. Arai Naoto's reputation preceded even Tsujihara J. Freda.
For others at the school, the couple was like a destined match. Two people bound by the red string of fate, like some would say. Strictly put, everyone expected—no—anticipated the pairing to come together someday, and their wish manifested itself at last.
It wasn't long since Freda and Naoto started dating. Approximately two weeks had passed since then, and so far, all eyes were on them. People were unable to reject their curiosity—fervently waiting for any development or progress regarding their relationship.
A natural reaction, given the stimulus. Freda herself couldn't be any happier than being by his side.
Happy that she could distract herself from her past.
Why would she not want to think of her past? Did she have unpleasant memories she didn't want to remember? Perhaps she encountered a certain vile individual in the past that she so desired to forget about no matter the cost?
For someone as young as her... someone at the beginning of her youth to be exact having such a sombre thought was woeful. What kind of experience did the girl had to be feeling that way?
"Karaoke, shopping, and maybe we can hit the cyber cafe as well," Naoto said with a haughty tone.
And so, the couple did just that.
Naoto invited two of his friends (guys of course) to the occasion. Freda barely knew any of them, other than the fact that they were in the same soccer club as Naoto. To put it bluntly, they were clubmates that wished to hop in the ride because they had nothing to do.
Nothing wrong with such an intention. However, Naoto's friends were not the nicest of the bunch and they were somewhat at the other end of the spectrum. Freda rubbed her arm a few times.
'It's fine. This is not the first time,' Freda said in her mind.
Freda put up a fake amicable expression in front of them—just like always. She would be wise to maintain her usual demeanor. Despite her best to maintain her public persona, she was still a teenager—a callow girl being thrust into an environment with no escape. All she could do was persevere until the end.
This was what she wanted after all.
. . .
Freda let out an exasperated sigh.
Without a doubt, Naoto's friends were thoroughly banal. Nothing about them struck the girl as unique to their own. They were followers of the strong, nothing more, nothing less. The truth calmed her a bit.
Freda walked out of the cyber cafe after she sought permission from Naoto, who was preoccupied with playing an MMORPG with his friends. She was not interested in such a trite activity that her boyfriend often indulged himself.
So, she went outside to get some fresh air, and hopefully, a thing or two would tickle her interest, albeit a scant amount. Freda looked left and right, realizing that it was already past 5:00 P.M. Corporate workers started to head back home, wanting to take a repose from their workload.
Students prowled the narrow street, stopping by any cafe or store that caught their fancy before heading home. Freda watched the common scene with an indifferent expression.
"...I should get back home soon," Freda muttered to herself.
Unfinished schoolwork aside, she didn't want to make her parents worry about her. There had been numerous cases of schoolgirls gone missing in recent weeks, so she had to stay vigilant.
Wasting precious time at a place such as a cyber cafe unnerved her. What was the point of spending money at a place like this to play games? The only apparent answer to her was them wanting to seek fun.
But that kind of fun involved wasting money as well, so she despised that act quite a bit. She had an attachment to saving money. It went without saying that watching her boyfriend's unrestrained spending miffed her. Yes, she couldn't stand being with people that took part in such a pointless activity.
Alas, this was only her sentiment on the matter, and she wasn't trying to impose it on others. No, she wouldn't do that. People were interested in different things because of their upbringing and the people around them.
For the young girl, she refrained from saying her thoughts out loud and just let the flow of the event took its natural course.
"Persevere until the end," the words came out Freda's lips like a motto—a rule she came up for herself.
Tsujihara J. Freda walked up to a stand selling canned drinks cordially. She looked through the available options and grabbed a red can among its colorful assortment of cold beverages preserved in the small fridge.
"Thank you." The old lady behind the counter smiled after she received payment from Freda.
Without wasting another second, Freda opened her can of drink and took a greedy gulp. Bitter, lack in any form of preservatives. Sure, she could use a green tea without sugar or coloring. The taste helped to invigorate her, as expected.
"Ah, a cold green tea in the evening. Your taste is questionable as usual, Freda."
"Hm?" As she was about to indulge herself in her canned tea, Freda heard her name being called. Had Naoto finished gaming already?
She heard a sound akin to a tin can being opened somewhere to her left. Naturally, she turned her head towards the direction of the sound.
"..." A tall high school student had a calculating gaze unlike someone of his age. Entranced by his deep ocean blue eyes framed by rectangular glasses, she didn't move at all in the next few seconds. That person had an aura unbefitting of his young face and disheveled appearance.
Why was that? The answer lied with the expression this high school student was making. He had a knowing smile plastered on his face, as if he knew everything about Freda. Some would describe his expression as saintly.
Who wouldn't think so? To Freda, it was like she had stumbled into someone far too mature to be a high school student. Was he dressing as one to make himself appear younger? No, he did look like an actual student, but the aura he emanated was on the other side of the spectrum.
"...I." Freda's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, unable to ascertain what was happening to her. She had never met this person, and yet she was at a loss for words with a snap of two fingers?