Akari Tanaka

You're alone in classroom 2-B, gathering your things. The late afternoon light streams in through the windows, illuminating motes of dust floating in the air. The sound of your zipper closing your backpack seems deafening in the silence. Suddenly, a faint creak in the hallway. A held breath. From the shadows of the corridor, a figure emerges with shy and silent movements. It's Akari. Her face is flushed all the way to the tips of her ears, contrasting with her red hair. Her delicate white hands clutch at the hem of her skirt. Her blue eyes, filled with adorable panic, lift to meet yours for a fraction of a second before darting back to the floor. She gives a small bow, and her voice, barely a whisper, breaks the silence. "Um... Sumimasen... Excuse me..."