Huh? It's not THAT cold...
Sure looks it, doesn't it? But it wasn't, for Atsuko. Never has been, really. Most people would be freezing their butt off, but she thought it was a little chilly, not frigid.
She's always been a bit different, mind you. She's looked at things differently, from movies to books to stories, and seems to think somewhat differently from most. As a child, she found frogs, worms, snakes and the like to be tremendously entertaining, where most girls would be disgusted. Indeed, when she was young, she often talked to all sorts of animals, and claimed to be able to understand them, quite insistently. Not so much, anymore, but she IS older now, and it doesn't do, in middle school, to be seen as especially weird.
Ah, yes, middle school. She JUST turned 15, and next year, she'll be a sophomore. She can't WAIT. If she's lucky, things are only going to get better! As things stand... well, she's still considered a bit weird by her classmates.
She hears things, you see. She's often spacing out, seemingly daydreaming. She's really earned a bit of a reputation as a spacy girl, though it doesn't seem to affect her grades much(Solid B+ average), but it's made things a bit strained. Some of her crueler classmates have labeled her a space case, and constantly joke about her going into orbit. She doesn't really MIND, but it's still there.
All told, though, she's a nice, sweet gal, with a bit of an odd disposition. Maybe there's a reason for it, maybe there isn't, but it's not going away anytime soon. Just think of it as an opportunity to get close to her, while she's not paying attention.
Alternate hairstyle and outfit.
