§2　Just between You and Me

Kaworu Mimori

"You’ll often find shoe soles fallen on the street."
When someone says that, you might laugh it off as silly, but once you start paying attention, you really do start to notice soles on the road.
Similarly, once you become aware of someone you've recently met, you start to see her around the castle often. Right now, Jupiter, in the middle of her meal, just spotted the Ravenclaw girl she met yesterday.
It seems she noticed Jupiter, too, as she finished her meal first and, on her way out of the dining hall, smiled and waved at Jupiter. Jupiter waved back with a big smile.
"Hey!"
Seeing this, Jupiter's Quidditch teammates sitting around her looked startled.
"Do you know Mercury Jay!?"
The one who eagerly jumped in was a petite redhead, the Hufflepuff seeker.
"Huh? Uh, yeah."
"Just pick one, eating or talking."
The one who made the comment was a tall blonde girl with her hair cropped short. She played chaser and was the ace of the team.
"...Yeah, well, sort of?"
Swallowing a mouthful of lasagna, Jupiter furrowed her brow.
"Wait, why do you know about Mercury?"
"Are you stupid!? ... Oh, right, you are."
The redhead Seeker shrugged.
"How rude... Oh, right, you are." Jupiter retorted.
"Don’t you really know?"
The blonde Chaser looked incredulously at Jupiter.
"She's the top of our class, isn't she? A celebrity."
"Hmmph."
(A classmate!?)
Thinking she was a senior due to her calm demeanor and skillful use of magic, Jupiter widened her eyes as she stuffed her mouth with garlic bread.
"That's right. And apparently, she hasn't dropped a single point on any paper test since our first-year.”
“And her nickname is 'Miss Perfect'."
The girls were certainly well-informed. Or perhaps Jupiter was just particularly clueless.
"Hey, hey. Isn't she super cute?"
Interjecting was a tall, black-haired boy. He played the same position as Jupiter, a Beater.
"Yeah," Jupiter recalled their exchange from the library yesterday.
"Plus, her voice is ridiculously cute," he added, wearing a smirk.
"Why are you acting so smug?" the redhead Seeker chimed in, apparently tasked with providing the retort.
"Wow! Hey, can you introduce me to her?" the boy exclaimed.
"Why should I?" Jupiter's brow furrowed.
"If you can become friends with her, maybe I can have a chance too," the boy chuckled, oblivious to Jupiter's evident annoyance.
"No way," Jupiter's clear alto voice dropped an octave, her gaze sharpening.
"If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll stuff a Bludger down your throat," she warned sternly.
"Come on, don't get so worked up over silly talk," The seeker cut in, trying to diffuse the tension. Despite her casual tone, she was inwardly uneasy. Jupiter Forest was a renowned Beater, excelling in broomstick techniques and physical activities on the broom, earning her the nickname "The Sniper." If she caused a scene here and got suspended, it would be embarrassing, and more importantly, if she got serious, no one could stop her.
"Anyway, forget about that. Seriously, how did you even meet that honor student?" The blonde teammate subtly diverted her attention.
"Where? Well, um..." Jupiter paused, recalling yesterday's events in the library, then grinned, genuinely amused. "I'm not telling."
"It's our little secret," she added with a mischievous smile.

§2　Just between You and Me ---Fin.