Hello, Astarea Hill!

I am Homura Hino. I'm a fourth year at St. Spica. Most of you will know me from the Student Council, fencing, or martial arts, and Lulim students may know me because I like to join the cooking club during their sessions.

I admit that I am not very good with technology, I still own a CD player instead of an MP3 Player and I don't really do social networking, the only things I do on the computer is homework, browser games and watching movies, so please bear with me as I learn to use this! I was told that writing my thoughts out somewhere would be good for me, but I've never had the patience to keep a diary, so I figured I'd give this a try.

Lately I've been spending a lot of time with my fellow martial artist and student council member, Himiko Miyamae. I don't really know why I haven't been spending more time with her outside of our respective activities. Perhaps it never really occurred to me. I know a lot of people think she's weird but I've always gotten along with her, and I'm getting to know her a little more now and she's such a wonderful person! She's very lively and noble with her intentions, she calls herself a warrior and she's like a wonderful breath of fresh air. We only got to talking on a personal level at the Winter Ball (everyone looked so beautiful, by the way!) and I found that I think we should have done that long ago. We're planning to spend more time together in the spring and I'm very excited for that.

It occurs to me I miss my cat. She's a ragdoll who I adopted from the shelter when I was little. I only get to see her during the summers when I go home and she's getting a bit old now. I don't want her to go while I can't be with her, that would be the worst possible case. But as the seasons go I can't really control that, so I can just hope for the best. She's old and she'll pass soon, and if I can be with her when it happens I think that would be easier for both of us.

Winter vacation's almost over and classes are starting again soon. I would say I'm looking forward to it, and I am, but I think I'm also a little nervous too. I think what I'm most looking forward to is the sessions at Lulim's cooking club starting up again, oh, and spending time with Himiko. She said she'd introduce me to some of her Science Fiction books, and I'm really excited for that!

I went to a coffee shop in the city with Himiko-chan. I would really recommend their peppermint tea and vanilla cappuchinos, those are my favourites on their menu. While I was there I saw the last snow of the winter, and it was lovely. I almost miss the snow already, but that matters not.

Himiko-chan and I are getting to know each other very well. We've decided that we're going to have a contest, and whoever gets the lower grades at the end of term has to buy the other lunch at the winner's place of choice. Perhaps this will motivate me to do my very best this year! We're also going to be studying together, and she's going to teach me a little about ththingin (is that spelled correctly?), at least so I can understand what she's saying, so that will be interesting.

I'm also going to meet her horse. I think his name was Kronos. I like horses, but I've never been close to one. I love to draw them though, even though I'm not a very good artist, I bought a how-to-draw book a few years ago and I've been doodling horses ever since.

Well I think that's all that's on my mind for now. Have a great spring, Astarea!

It's official! Himiko and I are girlfriends! I can scarcely believe it myself, let me tell you, I feel like the luckiest girl in school. We went riding on her horse, Kronos, who I might add is absolutely gorgeous and such a diva for attention. I was a bit worried he would be uncomfortable carrying us but he didn't seem to have any problem. It was my first horse ride ever and I was always a bit scared of heights so I never tried before now, but Himiko made me feel safe and secure. By the end of it my heart was racing and I felt like I was on top of the world!

{Uploaded is a rough sketch of a Friesian Horse. It's obviously not done by a master artist, but it was plainly drawn with much care. It's labelled "Kronos by HH, for HM".}

On a less than stellar note, I heard that Miator's student council president, Shimizu Hikari-san, went missing and there have been police on campus. I know that our schools are rivals in every sense of the word, but as a member of Spica's student council my heart goes out for her and I dearly hope that she is found swiftly and safely. I am very worried for her but I've known her to be a capable person so do please for those who are close to her, hold on to hope!

On that note my heart also goes out to our beloved Student Council President, Junko Hiruko-san. I hope you recover quickly and with as little pain as possible, and I hope you like the flowers I had sent to you! I don't know what kind of flowers you like, so I picked Hibiscus because I like them. I'll come visit you soon, but if you're reading this please let me know if there's anything you need and don't be afraid to call me, okay?

Well, bye for now!

Wow, can you believe that summer is already over? Personally it was my first time going to the Astarea Summer House, but wow, that was an incredible adventure! Himiko and I had so much fun, and I made a necklace from seashells that I found.

Speaking of Himiko, congratulations on becoming Student Council President! Even though it was a bit of a shoe-in due to circumstances, I am 101% certain that you'll do an incredible job, and that's not just me being biased. Know that if you ever need any help to just let me know. It's the top of the world now for you, isn't it? I'm so happy for you!

On an unrelated note, during the summer one night I started playing a video game on my laptop. It's not very good for games but it does run it. It takes place in this fantasy world and my character is an elf. You're supposed to be some sort of legendary hero that slays dragons, but personally I've just spent all my time running around collecting ingredients to make potions. I actually like video games, though I am under no illusion that I am, in fact, actually good at them. I remember when I was younger, before coming to Astarea, I would spend all day playing a game where you would build and maintain your own zoo. Wow, video games have really advanced since then! But since coming back to Astarea after the summer I've had to put this a bit on hold. The difference in schoolwork between fourth and fifth year was really drastic! But I'm determined to be on top of the class this year! Maybe I should start up a study group to make it fun? Who knows!

So, fall. I love the fall! My favourite coffee shop in the city is serving pumpkin spice cappuchinos during the fall, which is one of my favorite drinks. I like to go and buy the canisters of the stuff so I can make it whenever I want, but nothing beats freshly brewed from the shop, you know? I think I'll be stopping in every weekend! If you all have a chance to go there, it's the Java Minute just inside the city when you enter from Astarea Road.

Wow I really wrote a lot. I hope everyone has a great time this term, and that everything goes well this year! Give it your all, everyone!