2. Chapter 2 (1/2)

"this is unbelievably hot!" exclaims a certain pig-tailed girl.

after the entrance ceremony, she has gone straight to joseph's, her favorite café. it isn't really popular, but the drink is good and the staff is friendly, not to mention the great service they have. she and her friends are immediately

ought three cups of ice water the moment they sit down. since the day they found out about this café, the group of three has been there every day after school and today is no exception.

"yeah, i can't believe it's spring. the sun is tormenting us." says saten ruiko as she uses her hand to fan.

saten ruiko is a tall, lean girl with long black hair and is always full of spirit. she has only known her for about a year, but kuroko has never ceased liking her enthusiasm. she finds herself envy of that sometimes.

"i hope there will be some rain later. i don't think i can put up with this heat any longer. why does the air-conditioner have to be

oken today?" whines uiharu kazari.

unlike saten ruiko, uiharu kazari is shy, small and quick to tears. she has short black hair, and the most noticeable thing of her is the flowers on her head. uiharu and saten are from the same school, sakugawa high school, a pretty normal local school.

"so, how's the entrance ceremony at your school, shirai-san?" asks saten as she sips her smoothies with a straw.

"it's as boring as always." sighs kuroko.

it would be much better if not for her.

"it's ojou-sama kind of bore, right?" uiharu squeaks in delight, ignoring the incredulous look of her friends.

"well, i bet it's better than ours. the principal's speech is extremely long this year. i even have a good sleep!" exclaims saten after shaking her head at uiharu, who is now looking at her parfait with eyes of heart.

"sorry, saten-san…but uiharu, i think it's time to go." says kuroko as she looks at the small watch on her wrist, cutting the conversation.

"aw, you guys have to go already? we just got here." says saten.

"yeah, just wait for me to finish eating this." uiharu agrees without hesitation.

"sorry saten-san. duty cannot wait." responds kuroko as she slips the green armband on.

kuroko and uiharu are members of the city community service, judgement. it has

anches all over the city, and

anch 177 of the two girls is one of them. their job is various. as big as helping the police solving crimes or protect students from thugs and delinquents to as small as cleaning the trash. the service wants the citizens, especially the students, to have more responsibilities. that's why the service can have children at the age of 12 and above. the older you are, the bigger job you get.

"why don't you join us someday, saten-san?" uiharu says, laughing.

"nah, running around and doing all kinds of things for the city without getting paid is not my forte. tell me when they actually give you something for your hard work." saten answers grudgingly.

"see you later, saten-san." kuroko says as she drags uiharu out of the café.

"you know what? saten-san is right," says kuroko as they walk, "i can't imagine running around in this heat. just standing makes me feel nauseous."

"don't worry, the heat can't kill you." says uiharu casually.

"easy for you to say. you sit in the air-conditioned office typing your computer while i'm the one doing all the physical things."

"you have nothing to worry about. if you cannot stand this heat, neither can trouble. you'll back in the office before you even realize it." uiharu reassures.

"you'd better be right, uiharu."

so after saving a cat on a tree, chasing a dog to retrieve a little girl's bag, looking for a lost wallet and finally helping the traffic's congestion, all shirai kuroko can say is:

"what did you say earlier, uiharu? what did you say again?" sarcasm is one of her special skills, after all.