Chapter One

Agreement

I stood by the school's large window, looking down below and the numerous persons entering the school building. My dark, black hair glistened against the sunlight rays falling down. My stray strands of hair merged together to form a sleek streak, making me seem solemn and not loquacious.

I entered homeroom with all my textbooks in my messenger bag at took a seat.

"Mizushima Kasumi!" the homeroom teacher called my name.

"Hai," I replied in a monotonous voice as she continued onto the following names to list.

"Nanase Haru!" she called another person's name.

"Hai," the boy replied solemnly.

To the girls of the school, Nanase Haru was the bishonen, a person whose looks and intelligence were out of the ordinary. I had heard that he had and still is a gifted swimmer, though I never really watched him in action.

My swimming skills weren't all that great . . . though Iwatobi High School does not own a swimming club, sadly enough.

"Kasumi," sensei called me. "Please come up to the board and complete the following problem."

"Hai," I replied as I stood up from my seat and walked over to the board with a piece of chalk already at hand.

As I wrote down the final answer on the board, the teacher nodded in approval of my answer, and I returned to my seat.

"Correct," the teacher informed the class as he continued on with the lesson.

I stole a quick glance at my surroundings. I was surprised to see Haru sitting next to my seat because he always sat on the fourth row, not the second.

"Haru, would you please answer the problem?" the mathematics teacher asked.

"Hai," Haru replied, looking at the current problem on the board. "The solution is 4xor minus ½ xyz is equivalent to 14sdr plus 46gsr."

"C-correct," the teacher sweat dropped as he erased the board clean.

Last year, Haru and I had tied first academically. This year, I had the strangest feeling that it would happen again for he was extremely clever. One time, I overheard him saying to himself:"

When you are ten, you are considered a prodigy. When you are fifteen, you are considered a genius. When you are twenty, you are considered normal.

I mean, who says that so easily to one's self? We all want to be prodigies and geniuses! Look at America's Bill Gates who invented and founded Microsoft! What did he do to be well known and still considered a genius?

After school ended, I viewed the outdoors, watching people leave school excitedly in their clicks and groups. Sometimes, I wished that I could gain a friend, but, alas, my independence rarely allows me to work with others unless for a mandatory project or of a kind.

Right before classes were all dismissed for the day, the principal spoke through the speakers saying that there would be a dance in three weeks. You could say that it would be similar to Prom in the United States. After all my years in high school, well, only two years for this is my third, I have been asked out many times and rejected all of them. Most of them were trying to get my attention since they thought I was "hard to get," but, truth was, I just didn't like their personalities. None of them were mature, smart, or clever. Leaning on the railings, I saw and heard Haruka, Makoto, and Nagisa walk down the hallway.

"I couldn't get anyone to join the swimming club today! It was horrible!" I heard Nagisa cry.

Makoto sighed, "It is a new club after all. Others have already signed up for the other classes. Right, Haru-chan?"

"Hn, I thought I told you not to call me that anymore," he snorted in reply.

They finally noticed me there on the railing, staring out at the outdoors.

"Ooh! Heya, Kasumi-chan!" Makoto shouted, waving at me ferociously as he ran by my side.

"Do you need something?" I asked monotonously.

"Uh . . . kind of . . ." Makoto blushed. "Would you go out with me?"

"Um . . ." I hesitated.

I didn't want to hurt his feelings, not like I did to the myriad of boys before.

"Sorry," I replied slowly. "I would, but I don't think that I'm ready to date yet."

"Oh, I see," he whispered loudly enough to hear, looking down to the ground. "But, do you want to go swimming with us later? We'll be practicing, so . . ."

I took a pause to think, "Uh, sure, I suppose."

"Arigato!" Makoto smiled warmly and jovially. "Come by the local swimming pool at five."

"Alright," I replied, regretting what a mess I got in to.

"Ooh, and," Makoto continued to beam happily. "Nagisa and Haruka will be coming as well."

"Okay," I replied as I suddenly took a glance at my watch.

It was 3:45 P.M.

"I got to go," I bowed my head slightly to the people before me. "Gomenasai."

"No need to apologize!" Nagisa smiled as I dashed outside towards home.

Makoto's Point of View

"Wasn't she so cute?" I exclaimed quite so very dramatically as I glanced at Haruka and Nagisa.

"Mhmm, hai," Nagisa agreed, nodding his head repetitively.

"Haruka?" I asked, still in a daze of her shining beauty, as I turned over to Haru only to see him missing. "Haruka?!"

"Hn," I saw him already down the hallway towards the exit door.

"Hey!" I shouted, as I sprinted after him as quickly as I could for he was too agile. "Wait up!"

"Hn," was his sole reply as he exited the school building.

Kasumi's Point of View

As I left the school building, I caught sight of a bright, twinkling flicker. I quickly ran over to it to see Haruka, Rin, Makoto, and Nagisa holding their trophy. On the blank white other side, there was a signature, that of Haruka's. After picking it up and looking at it intently on the way home, I decided to return the picture to Haruka when I met up with him later at the pool.

Truth be told, I didn't know much about why I even agreed to swim with them. I used to swim competitively when I was in middle school and was known as a prodigy. Now, however, I was like Haru, swimming freely as I could be.