285 Chapter one, 2017, a new year: 8 (1/2)
Noriko let go of Urufu at Tomasu-kun's surprising outburst. A little reluctantly, she admitted to herself. Despite her being in love with Nao there were still some lingering feelings for Urufu.
”That's not Jennifer Cooper. Doesn't matter if she's fifteen, my Jennifer looks totally different.”
'What's going on?' Noriko wondered silently.
At her side Noriko felt Urufu stiffen.
”My name is Jennifer Cooper. I never said I knew you. They did,” Coperu-san said and pointed at her and Urufu. Coperu-san until she joined the club. After that she'd become Jeniferu-chan despite being a stranger. Those were club rules.
”What?” Urufu said. ”You're Jennifer but she's not Jennifer?” he continued. Noriko saw him looking from one face to another.
”She's not Jennifer.”
”I'm Jennifer!”
”You're not!”
”I am.”
”Wait, please be silent,” Noriko tried. Then she saw the entire door to 3:1 filled with apprehensive faces. ”Let's continue this somewhere else,” she added.
Her last words had both Coperu-san and Tomasu-kun look at the door to 3:1, and they fell silent. One after another they nodded.
”Urufu, cafeteria?”
He shifted his attention from the freshmen to her. ”No space left, but maybe under the sails?”
While Noriko doubted they'd have any better luck there, it should be enough to convince the two newcomers to follow them downstairs. With Kareyoshi disrupting the lives of the Himekaizen students, Noriko wanted to stay away from any commotions on the school grounds.
”Sure,” she said, making it sound like she agreed with Urufu's idea. ”We buy some grub and take it outdoors.”
As they walked downstairs Coperu-san asked the question Noriko waited for. ”Under the sails?”
”That's what we call the sunshades between the wings outside the cafeteria,” Noriko explained.
”Won't that be cold during winter?”
'Huh?' Only a few sat there after the cultural festival early October, but it was still a strange reflection to make. ”Yes, why?” Noriko asked, fishing for more information.
Coperu-san smiled. ”I was thinking of all the snow and that.”
'Snow?' Then an idea struck Noriko. ”Do you have a lot of snow where you come from?” she tried.
They were almost at the cafeteria entrance before Coperu-san answered that question. Amidst the low thunder of conversations among the tables came the tell-tale question. ”It snows less here than in New England?”
Noriko didn't know much about New England, but the question in itself suggested Coperu-san had moved here recently rather than having spent one year in middle school like Urufu and Kuri, or Tomasu-kun for that matter. 'Is she even from the same world as Urufu and Kuri, and Tomasu-kun for that matter.' ”How old are you?” Noriko asked, just to test her suspicion.
There was just a little hesitation, just a little, but there should have been none, or a very long one.
”Fifteen.”