Some Face Frustration, But They Grow
Haley was growing more beautiful as the last of her baby fat slowly melted away.
She was also at that age when interest in one's looks blooms in earnest, and she'd begun styling her hair and dressing up with the techniques Caroline had taught her. Her already cute features turning genuinely pretty only sent her popularity soaring.
"Hey… you're Haley Newman, right?"
"Yeah."
"I'm in your class. We should hang out."
A boy who'd barely given her the time of day before showed up all dressed to impress and tried to strike up a conversation. Haley shut him down in her own characteristic fashion.
"Don't talk to me."
"…No, I just—"
"I said don't talk to me. Hey! Ciro! Get over here and get rid of this guy!"
Ciro, who'd been chatting with new friends about football and games, heard Haley's piercing voice and muttered under his breath, looking thoroughly put-upon.
"Why me instead of Yohan…"
"Geobugi went to the bathroom. Are you going to move or what?"
"She's nuts, seriously…"
"What?"
"N-nothing. Just a sec…"
As he led the boy away, Ciro whispered,
"That girl's not right in the head, so don't mess with her."
Haley, sharp-eared as ever, caught the gossip and fired a warning at him.
"I can hear you. Spit out all that food I bought you when we were little."
Ciro flinched and shot back,
"You bought it? Your mom bought it."
"Talking back here, talking back there. Ugh…"
Haley had her moments when she got as touchy as a puppy that hadn't eaten in days.
In that state, anyone who wasn't Yohan or Emma was better off making themselves scarce.
Ciro knew this from hard-won experience, and sensing the situation was about to explode further, he took the boy and slipped out of the classroom.
Just then Yohan walked in, wiping his damp hands on his clothes.
He glanced at Haley standing there with her arms crossed, looking thoroughly sour, and tilted his head.
"What's wrong? Need to poop?"
"…You… never mind. Forget it."
For a moment her face flared with irritation, then she muttered with the air of someone too weary even to get angry.
Yohan scratched his head at her reaction and looked over at Emma beside her — a silent question of what had happened. Emma shrugged, and Yohan clicked his tongue as if he understood perfectly.
Lately, Yohan had been worried.
When they were younger, plenty of people simply steered clear of Haley's personality. Middle school, full of kids whose heads had gotten bigger, was different.
Some didn't care for the way she carried herself, and now that the semester was a little underway, there were even students who had it out for her.
There was a real risk of someone picking a fight with her the way Emma once had.
And that worry became reality.
"Hey. Who do you think you are, ruining the classroom atmosphere?"
A girl from a nearby elementary school came up to Haley and took issue with her attitude.
Yohan, who'd seen this coming, stood up and moved behind Haley as she bristled for a fight.
"What are you gonna— wh-what the—!"
Just like two years ago, he wrapped his arms around her waist and hoisted her clean off the ground.
"Not this again! Put me down!"
She thrashed in panic the moment her feet left the floor.
Yohan spun the flailing Haley around and said something in her defense to the wide-eyed classmate.
"She's actually a good friend. She's just hungry today."
"Hungry my ass! Put me down! You wanna die?"
Then he asked Emma to handle the cleanup and carried the squawking Haley out into the hallway, setting her down carefully.
"What do you think you're doing? Is this a joke?"
"I know."
"Know what?"
"That you're a good person."
"What are you talking about. She started it. Aren't you supposed to take my side? You promised last time!"
"I did take your side."
"That was taking my side?"
"Yeah."
"How do you figure?"
"Wasn't it?"
"No. You said you'd fight with me."
"We agreed that if friends fight, we look at the situation and break it up."
"She's not my friend. So you're breaking it up because she's your friend, is that it?"
"I wouldn't call her a friend yet either, but we're in the same class. Wouldn't it be better if we all got along?"
Yohan's nature was the complete opposite of Haley's.
Like oil and water. And yet no one else could understand how the two of them were closer than anyone.
"Hah… you're the same as ever. Even grown up, you're still a kid."
"We are still kids. If you're not an adult yet, you're a kid."
"You're the only kid here."
"No I'm not… Want me to buy you ice cream today?"
"Don't change the subject."
"Let's sneak out at lunch and hit the fast-food place. Just grab ice cream and come right back."
"…You're cutting class? You?"
"Not cutting class — just stepping out for a bit. What do you say?"
Yohan was scratching exactly where Haley itched.
He'd figured out that this cramped little school was so stifling it made her irritable on pure instinct.
"Well… fine."
On second thought, fighting over every little thing felt like going too far, and Yohan's calm tone had soothed her without her even realizing it. She accepted his tempting offer.
"No fighting when we go back, deal?"
"Depends. If she picks a fight again, I'm fighting."
Since he'd left Emma to clean things up, there probably wouldn't be any real trouble.
So Yohan nodded readily.
"Alright."
Haley would adapt just fine, the way she always did. She put up her spines at first, but given time she'd end up close even with the girl she'd just fought — of that he had no doubt.
Just look at how she and Emma had gone from barely tolerating each other to inseparable best friends.
Besides, thanks to the strength he'd built through training, lifting Haley was far easier than before.
Next time she gets like this, I might as well pick her up and put her down a few times as muscle training.
Thinking something that would make Haley foam at the mouth if she ever heard it, Yohan patted her back and returned to the classroom.
"Sage of the Magic Tower, Aiden! You've finally returned!"
Hearing his class title from the RPG they'd been playing together, Aiden's mouth stretched into a wide grin.
Caroline was secretly delighted that her son didn't feel the least bit embarrassed hearing something like that shouted in a crowded airport.
"Sage of the what…? So childish."
Haley muttered, riding the peak of her puberty and thoroughly on a rebellious streak.
Caroline kindly corrected her daughter.
"Sage. It means someone wise and experienced. And smart, too."
"I didn't ask."
"I was just answering."
"Ugh, why is everyone acting like Geobugi these days?"
Geobugi was the exclusive nickname Haley used for Yohan.
Caroline knew this perfectly well. She greeted Olivia, then glanced sidelong at Yohan chatting warmly with Aiden and said,
"Can you explain how any of this is like Yohan?"
"See…! Even the way you talk is the same…!"
"Hmm…"
"Mom…!! Are you kidding me!?"
"What?"
"Ugh… this is ridiculous. I'm going home by myself."
"The airport is over twenty kilometers from the house."
"I'll take the bus."
"Think you can manage? It'd be good exercise, though…"
Sensing her mother might actually leave her behind, Haley scowled hard.
"What…?"
"I'm kidding."
"Why does everyone keep doing this to me? Life is so rough, seriously…"
Caroline found Haley's old-soul grumbling amusing, but she was careful about her daughter's puberty and did her best to play it cool.
The reason she could afford to be this way was that Haley's adolescence had turned out milder than expected.
If she'd gone completely off the rails, there would have been discipline to match.
As it was, Haley was a bit more prickly than other kids, but she was showing classic teenage symptoms, so Caroline figured she could ease up a little.
"Let us conquer the unfinished Gargoyle Dungeon, brother!"
"Alright. If Yohan holds the front line, I'll burn everything with my magic."
Already immersing themselves in anticipation of the game, the two of them hooked the console up to the TV the moment they got to Caroline's house.
Getting scolded by Caroline to wash their hands and feet was a bonus.
"Haley! You sit too. Aiden brought an extra controller. Let's do three-player."
Yohan patted the sofa next to him.
Haley snorted and said primly,
"I don't play baby games like that."
"Come on, play with us. We need an elf archer."
"What's an elf archer?"
"A pretty race that shoots bows from far away."
"Could I shoot you with it?"
"Technically yes, but we're basically teammates. I trust you won't."
"Hmm…"
Intrigued by the pretty character — and the confirmed possibility of team-killing — Haley sat down next to Yohan with a show of reluctance.
"I'll play with you once."
"Okay."
"Aren't you going to say thank you?"
"Thank you."
"You too. Hey, don't ignore me — say it."
Haley stretched her legs out behind Yohan and poked Aiden in the side, demanding gratitude.
Yohan gave Aiden's leg a discreet tap so Haley wouldn't notice.
Catching the signal and remembering their earlier conversation, Aiden offered his thanks in a small voice.
"Thank you for becoming our companion, sis."
"That's more like it."
Even Haley, who'd been rough all along, had mellowed considerably as she grew — and perhaps from watching Yohan get along with everyone.
And just as Yohan had predicted, she naturally made peace with the girl she'd fought and got along reasonably well with her classmates.
Yohan adapted well to middle-school life, which he was experiencing for the first time, and with skills even more advanced than last year he tore through the U-11s.
In his age-group league he was considered completely without equal, and lately whispers had started circulating among the youth coaching staff that Yohan was a genius.
His height and build were also developing right on track with the club's projections.
So the club considered promoting him to the U-13 team over the winter, but after hearing from the U-11 coach that the U-13 league had an entirely different structure and that it would be better to prepare him thoroughly for the season, they decided to skip him up starting next season.