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It was 9:00 in the morning, and the students of Solistia Prep were practically buzzing with excitement as they gathered for orientation.
“Good morning, students, this is Principal Aelfric with announcements.” The principal said over the P.A. “As I’m sure you are all aware, today is Valentine's Day. We confirmed this yesterday, but in case anyone missed it, the staff has decided to allow Valentine’s exchanges this year, provided they only take place during lunchtime and in between classes.”
The crowd of students cheered. “Yes, yes. Because there are no other announcements for today, the remaining 15 minutes of orientation can be spent in quiet conversation.”
Ochette grinned and turned to Hikari, who was standing next to her. “Hikarin, are you going to give any Valentine’s jerky to Aggie?” Hikari’s face grew bright red.
“Don’t say it so loud!” He whisper-shouted. “And most people give chocolate, not jerky.” He looked over at Agnea, who seemed to have not heard anything. She was in conversation with Castti and Throne.
“Do you expect to receive many Valentine’s gifts, Ochette? You are quite popular.” Hikari said. “Nah, probably not. I don’t mind though! Chocolate is nice and all, but it can’t beat a good piece of jerky!” Ochette said excitedly, the way she always spoke when she was talking about jerky.
Temenos and Partitio wandered over to Hikari and Ochette. “I already told those three—“ Temenos pointed back to Agnea, Castti, and Throne, “—but Mr. Osvald informed me that there was a student council meeting later today. “Okay!” Ochette said, and Hikari nodded.
“Is there anyone you’ll be gifting chocolate to, Hikari?” Temenos asked, elbowing him and grinning smugly. “Why does everyone keep asking that!” Hikari said, embarrassed.
Partitio patted him on the back. “Aw, there’s no shame in it! Heck, I’m plannin’ on givin’ some to Castti later!” “Ooh! Good luck, Parti!” Ochette said. “Thankee kindly, Ochette!” Partitio said.
The bell rang a few minutes later, so the students shuffled off to class. Through some weird luck, all seven members of the student council ended up in the same class, and their homeroom teacher was Mr. Osvald, the overseer of the council.
“All right, who can name the six primary types of magic?” He asked, writing Elemental Magic Types on the chalkboard. Throné raised her hand. “Fire, Ice, Lightning, Dark, Wind, and Light.” She stated. “Yes, and these types are…” He continued his lecture for the full hour, rarely even pausing to take a breath.
After class, a boy jogged up to Ochette and gave her a box. “Here, Ochette! I got you some Palentine’s jerky!” He said, out of breath! Ochette gasped. “I love Palentine’s! And jerky! Thank you, Pom!” She said. Pom smiled and jogged away, probably to get to his next class. “This is gonna be so good later!” Ochette said, putting the box of jerky in her backpack.
Several classes later, it was lunchtime, where most of the chocolate exchanges would be taking place. The council all sat at a table, along with some others. “My, this lunchtime will certainly be interesting. It’s practically a battlefield of love to see who can gift to who first.” Temenos said.
Across the cafeteria, several exchanges were happening. One of the girls from Gardening 101 was giving chocolates to an exchange student from Timberain City, and Partitio’s friend Joe was gifting chocolate to that one girl with the funny laugh.
“Will anyone be receiving chocolate from you, Temenos?” Crick asked, a hopeful expression on his face.
“Oh no, I’m nowhere near confident enough for that.” Temenos said pleasantly.
“And yet, you have the audacity to call me a little lamb every day?” Crick asked. Temenos shrugged. Crick looked slightly disappointed, but Temenos didn’t seem to notice.
A girl walked up to the table. “I got this for you, Temenos.” She said. She handed him a box of chocolate and scurried away. Crick glared at her. “Thank you, Reiza!” Temenos said in her direction.
“Speakin’ of that, I got somethin’ for ya, Castti.” Partitio said, rooting around his backpack. He turned back to her, holding a box of chocolate, and saw that she was holding one too. “I see we had the same idea, then.” Castti said, blush dusting her cheeks. “Aw, shucks.” Partitio said. They high-fived for some reason, and exchanged chocolates.
“I bet you’ve gotten tons of candy, Parti! You’re one of the coolest people in school!” Ochette said. Partitio started counting on his fingers. “Just from Castti, Alrond, Misha, Ori, Floyd, Terry, Audley, and Thurston. Is that a lot?” All the other council members were too slack-jawed to answer.
“I don’t expect to get anything. I’m not really interested in anyone, and I doubt anyone’s interested in me.” Throne said, squishing around her mashed potatoes with her fork.
“Don’t worry! I have Palentine’s jerky for you all!” Ochette said, taking an exorbitant amount of jerky out of her backpack. “Thank you very much, Ochette.” Temenos said, accepting his with a smile. Hikari smiled and nodded, but remained silent. It was the best possible time to give Agnea the chocolate he had gotten her… and the moment ended. Soon enough, the lunch bell rang, and it was once more time for class.
On the way out of the cafeteria, a boy of about their age came up to Agnea. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Agnea! I got you some chocolate!” “Thank you, Gil!” Agnea said, taking it with a smile. Hikari loved her smile. It was always so bright and genuine and…
“Hikari?” Agnea asked, snapping her fingers next to his ear. “What? Oh.” Hikari said. “You stopped moving, and it’s time for class.” Agnea said. Hikari nodded. “Another opportunity…” he thought, but was still too hesitant.
In the time between classes for all of the three classes left in the day, someone gave Agnea chocolate. A girl named Gisele, Agnea’s friend, Gus, and a first-year named Mikka, but she was only friends with Agnea’s younger sister, so that didn’t really count. Hikari felt really jealous.
School was over, and the students were lining up for the bus, when Hikari made up his mind to give it to her before getting on the bus. When he was about to speak, he got distracted by Crick saying “I-I got this gift for you!” To Temenos.
Temenos smirked. “My, Crick, how forward of you. If I didn’t know any better, I might think—“ Crick put his hand over Temenos’s mouth, blushing and shaking his head.
“Aw, they’re so cute!” Agnea said. “Yes… about that…” Hikari mumbled, unzipping his backpack. “Sorry, what was that Hikari? I couldn’t hear you.” Agnea said.
Hikari sheepishly held out the box to her. “I… have this for you.” He said quietly, looking anywhere but at Agnea. Then he heard her laugh. He looked back at her and saw that she was offering her a chocolate as well.
“I was tryin’ all day to give this to you, but couldn’t figure out how!” She said. Hikari laughed too. “How about that.” He said. “Woo-we! Ya finally did it!” Partitio shouted from the back of the line.