[b]Toma Tanaka - Warakuma High, Main Entrance[/b]

"Ah- Tanaka Toma," he said with a small bow, returning her greeting. "Nice to meet you, Shirohane-san. And I'm fine - I've taken worse hits." As he said this, he caught a glance of the paper's contents - it was a grocery list. Upon seeing this, Toma realized his new home had no food in it. On top of that, neither he nor his parents had had lunch; they'd be starving once they woke up. The least he could do was get them some instant noodles or something.

The train of thought brought him to another realization: he had no idea where anything was in this town.

He was at a crossroad: he could either use the legitimate excuse of him being new to ask a cute girl if she could show him where the grocery store was, possibly spend more time with her, and potentially be introduced to other students that she knew. [i]Or,[/i] he could go meet with a bunch of stuffy teachers and be forced to explain his situation to each and every one of them.

The ideal choice was clear. He could just phone or e-mail the teachers, anyway - a little less personal, maybe, but it'd work.

Toma decided it was worth a shot.

"Are you going grocery shopping?" he asked. A faint, sheepish smile formed on his face, as he leaned into another small bow. "I'd hate to be a burden, but could I ask you to show me the way to the grocery store? My family just moved here today from Osaka - I kind of don't know where anything is."

The boy thought he felt himself turn the lightest shade of pink, causing him to internally kick himself. There was no reason to be embarrassed; he was simply asking for some help. The worst that could happen was that she said no - in that case, he'd just continue with his original, admittedly boring, plans.