I changed schools for the reasons concerning my parent's work.

And I was in the fifth grade of elementary school. Halfway through, to be exact.

I'm Asaki Noriko, nice to meet you.

I'm Asaki Noriko, nice to meet you.

Noriko-chan, have you already finished the preparations?

Ah

Yes.

I got to live temporarily in my aunt's house in the country.

A place where no bus stop or train station seemed to be found.

I was thankful that they had prepared a uniform for me even though I was enrolled only for a short pediod of time.

And so, my first day at school.

Noriko-chan, can you go alone?

Is it really okay if your auntie doesn't go along with you?

It's okay, it's okay.

I'm off.

Snow was falling down.

Ah, excuse me, the staff room is... ?

Even though they're inside the school...

Because there was only one class for one grade,

I found my classroom quickly.

1ST YEAR STUDENTS

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Alright.

Left cluttering around, there were desks and chairs and...

In a great silence,

I asked myself involuntarily if that was some vacant classroom.

NAME LIST

Acchan, wait

Umm, I'm

You see... ...ah

Starting today, here...

You see...

Umm, and the teacher... is...

Acchaaan

Huh? Who's she?

Well,

I also don't know.

Starting today, I'll be going to this school.

Ah-

I'm Asaki Noriko, nice to...

You'll be "Nono" then.

Nono... ?

Acchan, lend me your pencil.

Use yours, damn it~

Nono,

Where did you come from?

Tokyo.

Awesome, That's a city!

Stop it.

The boy with curled up hair was "Acchan".

And the girl with an irregular fringe was "Yakko".

What are the names of you two?

And where's the teacher?

Nono, have you got your textbook?

Yakko, come're quickly, lesson is about to start...

First period is going to start soon.

Yeah.

I was

happy that I had been called by a nickname for the first time,

and I wanted to put off thinking

about the things like that there was no teacher,

and that we had just started classes with students only, for later.

Acchan was solving mathematical formulas that looked complicated,

and Yakko was reading sentences written completely in English alphabet.

I

Asking myself if only I was awfully far behind,

I had them teach me.

Hey Nono, Yakko's fringe looks so stupid, right?

She failed trying to cut it by herself.

Stop it, Acchan.

Fringe grows back quickly.

Nono's so kind.

Lessons have ended.

Nono, we will guide you through the school.

I wonder if the school bell is broken.

Hey, now that you mention it, the staff room... ?

Nono, you too, come wearing boots tomorrow, ok?

Snow comes into the school building.

But we don't know where does it come from.

Right.

The snow,

it looked like it was springing up from their feet.

Noriko-chan, how was school?

It was fun.

I see, that's good.

Have you made some friends?

Yeah.

Auntie,

I'll go wearing boots tommorow.

I've told you that you can't do this, didn't I?

But It'll be hard to walk...

Nono!

Good morning,

Yakkoooh!

What are we going to study today?

Those two

studied according to the clock.

Other than that, they played.

Sometimes they even did it together with lower-class students.

One week, two weeks came by.

Even when the snow alongside the road started to melt,

Inside of the school building was still as white as ever.

A little more time passed since then,

we should have become sixth graders by then.

But,

No matter how much time had passed,

Yakko's fringe always had the same length.

Nono, are you doing home?

Yeah, let's go home toge...

Be careful.

Bye-bye, see ya' tommorow.

...Acchan,

Snow is also going to be here tommorow, right...

I wonder.

See ya'

I had never seen those two going home earlier than me.

Or even them going outside, for that matter.

I had learned from the calender as well as newspapers that my aunt had at home that it was practically the end of the rainy season by then.

I left home in summer clothes,

and I changed them to winter clothes in school.

Because it was still snowing, and it was cold.

Because this school is cold.

Let's continue from where we left off yesterday, Nono.

Our chemical experiment.

Quick, quick, the lesson is just about to start!

Ok.

I had grown a little taller than them.

Playing and studying everyday with the two kids that wouldn't grow up was fun.

Even if they were different than me.

By some mystery, in that place, I didn't have any fears or doubts.

It's was just that

I felt that it was really cold there.