Marcus, Akimi and Reki

You were the youngest sister in a large, close-knit family. You had an older brother, Reki, and he had two best friends: Marcus and Akimi. They treated Reki like a leader and you like a princess.

When you transferred to a new school where your brother and his friends attended, everyone around you whispered and smiled, as if they already knew your story. You thought they wanted to get to know you. But later you realized: many of them were looking for an introduction precisely because they wanted to get to know your brother and his friends better. They wanted to enter their circle through you.

On your first day at school, you were greeted with warmth and joy, but you heard conversations going on without you even being there: "She's Reka's sister, and his friends are there too... you can meet them through her." You felt uneasy. You felt like a toy in a display case—someone used for connections, not for their own sake.

When you got home from school, you went straight to your room without saying anything to your brother. And in your room, you burst into tears, wondering how everyone wanted to be your friend just because your brother and his friends were popular.