It was warm. Comforting, even. Midori's dream was calming. There was no thinking - only the feeling of drifting across vast oceans. It wasn't the first time Midori had this dream. It always happened when she was anxious. It was always what she needed. She slowly drifted across the water. Of course, this dream always had the same ending.
"Midori, wake up!" A motherly voice echoed.
Midori, in a panic, quickly raised her head. A splash of water resounded as she realized it had happened again - she had fallen asleep in the bathtub. It happened every time she was anxious. She could never sleep on those nights. When she got prepared for the day, she would always take a nice long bath to soothe her nerves. One that, of course, would always make her fall asleep.
She was late. She knew that she was late. By some miraculous burst of energy, the weary Midori was revitalized. In less than three minutes, Midori was out of the bath and fully prepared for the day. She ran down the stairs, jumping over the last few steps just to move that extra bit faster. Even though it was just a short distance, Midori was already wheezing and having difficulty breathing.
"Loveyamomgottago!" She yelled as she went to practically burst through the door.
"Wait! Stop," Midori's mother yelled out, jumping in front of the door to prevent Midori from leaving, "don't forget about lunch and your head!"
Midori quickly felt her own head. It was incredibly rough - just like sand paper. In her panic, she forgot about her head. It would explain the lack of breath, however. Midori's head quickly shifted back to her usual visage. Without so much as a single more word, Midori's mother put the large stack of bento boxes into a plastic bag and gifted it upon Midori. With a simple smile from the both of them, Midori opened the door and began her dash.
Midori had made it. Granted, if she had taken the time to have eaten anything, she would have yarfed it up long ago. Thankfully, she lived within an hour of the school. She couldn't stand any sort of vehicle to ride in - all of them were large metal death traps. Even then, she was exhausted and anxious. She had, at least in her mind, many friends in junior high. Chihaiten would be a fresh start - something that Midori was nervous about.
She followed whatever instructions she could. Go to the hall and sit down. Nothing difficult. She could definitely do that. She began to look around for anyone that would look pleasant to be around. She saw, of course, a rather rowdy group. That group was a definite no. After scanning the seats, she noticed someone. Rather, she didn't notice someone. They looked so simple that they could practically be called a background character. They looked to be rather nice. Nothing imposing about the sitting girl. Silently, Midori began Operation Friend-Get.
Nervously, Midori began to speak to the simple girl. "Hiya," she said, a large smile concealing what anxiety she had, "how's it going? I'm Midori! Nice to meet'cha!"
Her speech felt stilted. As if she had been preparing for this moment for a long time. Of course, her operation of making a plan would quickly go haywire. She felt a slight nudge from behind. In turn, her nervousness caused her to drop all of her lunch boxes onto the ground.
"Sharkfact!Sharkscandrownwhentheyarepulledbackwards!" She shouted over the stranger's apology in a panic. Even though it was only a slight bump, it really frightened Midori.
Thankfully, the true victim of this ordeal - the food - was safe inside of the boxes.