The number eight is jealous of the number seven - continue this story.

  "Hey Tsuki, what's your writing homework for today?" Ryouka waved her writing paper. They are in the same grade after all.

 "Write an essay about environmental problems, why?" Tsuki answered quizzically.

  "Mine is... weird." 

  "How?" The silver-head peered at the paper. "...Wait a second, aren't we supposed to write essays by now?"

  "That's why I said it's weird." Ryouka furrowed her brows. "Yup, it's definitely weird. 'The number eight is jealous of the number seven'? What's that? Aren't numbers just... something dry that humans create? I mean..."

  "I got what you mean. It's just that the 'continue the story' part that confused me. Why a story while you're supposed to learn to write scientifically?"

  The auburn-head thought for a while. She seemed to recognize something. "My teacher did say that she wanted a change and thought we'd like it." She looked at the paper again. "Maybe this is it." 

  Now it makes sense, what left is...

  I can't think of any ideas! I'm not that creative!

  Ryouka grabbed her short strands of hair, frustrated. This is really hard for her to think of an idea! She hates Math! Now that it had invaded Writing, which is another one she isn't so good at, she's hating it even more!

  "I'm gonna go ask someone!" With that, the auburn head turned and stalked out of the room.

  In the empty corridor with the writing piece in her hand, she looked for somebody, anybody, to come out of their rooms, because they were doing their assigned homework. Just then, a door opened. Ryouka's spessartine eyes gleamed, and she ran to the said opened door. It so happened to be the edgy teen Shizuka but she couldn't care less.

  "Hey!" Her call startled the noirette. Ryouka usually didn't say much with her, their encounter two years ago was still fresh in both of their minds. "I need to ask you something!" The auburn head raised the writing paper high. "You've scarcely spoken to me, now you want me to help with your homework? This is strange." Shizuka raised an eyebrow.

  "Why is the number eight jealous of the number seven?" The younger paid no mind to what the noirette had said.

  "I beg your pardon?" Ryouka thought that the elder might be thinking about how strange the question is, because it is indeed strange...

  "You heard me! That's what I wanted to ask!" ...But she is going to swallow all their misfits and the not-so-good encounter that had been the newcomer's first impression of her.

  "..." Shizuka just stared, and Ryouka started to wonder if she's going to reply or not.

  "Did you see the difference between number eight and number seven?" After a while, the noirette finally said something. Ryouka tilted her head. "No?"

   "The number eight is jealous of the number seven, because he ate more. That's a hint I'll give you. Figure it out." With that, Shizuka went pass her and left.

  "Wait, what do you mean by "he 'eight' more"? Hey!" Ryouka called after her, but the noirette had already disappeared from her sight.

  "What's with the shouting?" Hikari poked her head out from her room. Ryouka turned to her with such determination that Hikari had chills down her spine.

  "Shizuka didn't give me any straight answer to my homework! Help me!" The former wailed and proceeded to come close to the second eldest. "Why is number eight jealous of number seven? Because Shizuka just said something along the lines of "he 'eight' more" and then left! Help me, Hikari!"

  "Ah, I see." The brunette gave her a lopsided grin. "She's smart."

  "What do you mean?!"

  "Let's come into my room, shall we?" Hikari beckoned Ryouka in and closed the door.

  "Can you draw number eight? And seven?" Hikari said once she was back to the sullen teen. "Of course!" Said teen immediately drew the numbers, and she drew them big.

  "Now do you see the difference between them?" The light manipulator asked. "Your question is just like Shizuka's!" Ryouka pouted. "They aren't the same! Number eight is bigger and round-" She stopped when realization struck and her eyes flew wide.

  "Did you get it?" Hikari chuckled. "What Shizukume-san said is actually 'he ate more', by the way."

  "!" Ryouka had never felt so stupid before. After shouting "Thank you!" she ran back to her and Tsuki's shared room. Leaving behind a grinning Hikari as she closed her door once again and continued her homework.

  "How can I be so stupid?!" Ryouka let it all out. "It's so simple!" The shout startled Tsuki, but she didn't really mind it. Being with Ryouka means being next to a speaker, so she's somewhat used to it.

  Ryouka clenched her right hand and she could feel the pen cracked a bit. The auburn head then scribbled down lines after lines of the story.

-----------------------

  "Did you get it?" Said Shizuka as she sipped her coffee.

  "Yes!" Nodded Ryouka vigorously. "With some of my help." Hikari added.

  "Hmhm." Shizuka hummed. "So what's the summary of your story?"

  "Uh..." the spessartine-eyed teen scratched her head. "The number eight is jealous of the number seven because they are thinner than him. He tried to do exercises and signed up for various diets to make him as slender as seven. But one day when he asked seven the way to stay thin, seven confronted him that it was their nature and he should be proud of himself, saying that they also wished to look as bulky as him. Satisfied, number eight cancelled all his weigh-loss plans, realizing that he should stay healthy instead of trying to achieve a dream figure that he knows would never be him. The end."

  Shizuka gave a thumbs up, and sipped her coffee once again.