BEFORE THE ENTRANCE EXAM, A NEW SPRING PROGRAM (ANIME) 
 
 [SCENE: Ryoo Academy. The chatter of students hangs in the air.]
 
 Yutaka: I made it . . . with this, it'll be okay (I guess). I worked really 
 hard, Yui-oneechan, Konata-oneechan. 
 
 [LATER]
 
 [Yutaka walks into the bathroom.]
 
 Yutaka: I guess I don't feel so nervous, but now I feel sick. Oh, where's
 a towel?
 
 Minami: Are you all right? 
 
 Yutaka: Eh?
 
 Minami: Your face is pale. Shall we go to the nurse's office? 
 
 Yutaka: Oh, thank you -urk. 
 
 Minami: Let's go. Do you want to ride on my back?
 
 Yutaka: Oh, I - 
 
 Minami: You don't have to hold back. 
 
 Yutaka: Okay. 
 
 Minami: Here (picks up Yui and carries her).
 The nurse's office is close by. 
 
 Yutaka: I'm sorry. 
 
 Minami: I can't ignore troubled girls. 
 
 Yutaka: Thank you so much. 
 
 [They arrive at the NURSE'S OFFICE. Minami sets Yutaka down
 on one of the beds.]
 
 Minami: Here you go. Lie down. 
 
 Yutaka: Okay. But I feel a little better now. 
 
 Minami: No, you should rest. 
 
 Yutaka: What a kind person. I haven't seen her uniform before. She must
 be a jukensei. She's so mature . . . and pretty. 
 
 Minami: What is it? 
 
 Yutaka: Um, are you a jukensei? 
 
 Minami: That's right. 
 
 Yutaka: Me too. But there's no one else from my school here and I felt 
 a little lonely. You really helped me out. 
 
 Minami: Oh. I see now. 
 
 Yutaka: What?
 
 Minami: That the only students right now are jukensei. And they're 
 in the same grade level. 
 
 Yutaka: Ah (laughs). Sorry for being so small. 
 
 Minami: It is I who should apologize. 
 
 Yutaka: (laughs) It'd be good if we both were admitted. 
 
 Minami: Yes, it would. 
 
 [LATER]
 
 Yutaka: And that's what happened. 
 
 Konata: That sounds like a destined meeting. It's like something out of a 
 shoujo manga. 
 
 Yutaka: (laughs) 
 
 Konata: So who was she? Where was she from?
 
 Yutaka: (gawks) I . . . 
 
 Konata: Hmm? 
 
 Yutaka: I didn't ask her name! (sobs) 
 
 Konata: That part is also like a shoujo manga. 
 
 [LATER]
 
 Kagami: That reminds me, your cousin's name was Yutaka-chan, right? 
 How'd her entrance exam go? 
 
 Konata: It looks like it went fine. 
 
 Tsukasa: Oh, is that so? That's good. 
 
 Konata: And she'll be living with us starting next Spring. 
 
 Kagami: Why is that happening?
 
 Konata: Her house is far away. We have an extra room. Yui-neesan can
 come over in a hurry. There's really no problem with the setup. 
 
 Tsukasa: It feels like your family is getting bigger. It's fun. 
 
 [Miyuki walks over to the group.]
 
 Miyuki: What is the subject of discussion? 
 
 Tsukasa: It seems that Konata's cousin has been accepted to the school. 
 
 Miyuki: That's very good. Congratulations. 
 
 Konata: Well, you shouldn't tell me congratulations. 
 
 Kagami: Miyuki, your friend took the exam as well. How'd it go?
 
 Miyuki: Oh yes. Minami-san seems to have done well. 
 
 Tsukasa: I see. I wonder if our jinjya will collect them. 
 
 Miyuki: It could. 
 
 Kagami: If you say our jinjya - oh yeah, Konata, you came there
 during the New Year with that gaijin. Who was that gaijin-san?
 
 Konata: You mean Patty. She went back to her country. It seems that she was
 over here in Japan for her winter vacation. 
 
 Tsukasa: I didn't know that you had foreigners as friends. That was surprising. 
 
 Miyuki: A gaijin-san? How did you become friends?
 
 Konata: (clears throat) At the Comifet main hall. 
 
 Kagami: Birds of a feather. 
 
 Miyuki: Eh? Are there anime fans in other countries? 
 
 Konata: Sure there are. I think there are lots of them in America and France. 
 
 Miyuki: Even though there's that wall of words. It could be fun, but it could be hard. 
 
 Kagami: She was speaking Japanese though! Konata had no problems. 
 
 Konata: That's not true, there were some difficult parts. 
 
 Kagami: What?
 
 Konata: She wanted me to tell her about the new programs coming out in the
 Spring in emails. Those came almost everyday. Or details about which 
 tankobon were being sold on what day, or recording stuff off the
 radio. It was tough. 
 
 Kagami: But that's stuff you like doing anyway.
 
 Konata: (laughs) 
 
 Tsukasa: (laughs) So that means there's nothing to worry about. 
 
 Konata: Hmm. Well, sometimes our interests don't line up. We can make
 a lot of joke references together though. 
 
 Kagami: You complain but you're birds of a feather. You're friends, so get along
 with her. 
 
 Konata: Well, yeah. But we can't handle all the anime. 
 
 Kagami: It'd be easier if she became a ryuugakusei. Bet a lot of
 stuff will pile up. 
  
 END PART 7