Minutes had passed since the bell rang, announcing the end of morning classes and a reminder of lunch break. Almost half of the student had already left the classroom to eat lunch with their friends Those who were left also had their own circle and is happily spending their break with them. As usual, Konan ate in silence by herself. Not that she have any friends to eat with in the first place or that it bothers her. She's used to doing things alone and the solitude it gives her.
It is a gentle afternoon where the sun is considerate enough not to give its full power ablaze. The gentle mid-spring breeze that carries the sweet fragrance of the wisterias. Except for the chatters of her classmates in the room, the afternoon is peaceful for Konan. Since her seat is next to the widow, she's given full access to the view outside. From the students sitting on benches under the shade of trees, couples laughing next to each other, teachers walking from the one building to another and the soccer field where boys played a little for some good sweats.
Konan roamed her eyes outside as she munched her food. The scenery is nothing new to her for she sees it every school day. When her eyes darted a little low, she saw the familiar face of the girl she caught peeking at her thrice. The moment her eyes landed on the girl, it immediately averted its gaze and walked away.
Konan already decided not to pay attention to the matter, but now she doubt if she can do that. The questions she never gave a chance inside her head piled up and now oozing out.
Why is that girl always looking at her?
Is it possible that she harbors hatred towards her? Konan is thought that hatred is poison capable of rotting a person's heart and may cause harm to oneself and other people. But what could be the reason of the girl hating her when as far she remembers, she hadn't done anything wrong to someone. She is always mindful of her actions around others as not to accidentally upset them. Could it be that she's one of those girls who didn't like how she shared her book to Rui? But that's impossible since that happened yesterday and she's been aware of the girl for days now.
For someone who lacked emotions, logic is used for decisions and to answer questions. However, in this case Konan is running out of logics that would answer her many questions. What her mother said held true, that not everything can be answered by logic. So before her mind go haywire, she decided to stop eating and brought out her sketchbook. She focused her gaze on the cluster of wisterias ahead and drew it along with the white fluffy clouds hovering still above them. For her, sketching is a way to organize her thoughts. She quickly got so absorbed in what she's doing that she didn't noticed the guy who stood behind here and marveled her artwork.
"What a nice drawing." Konan jumped in her seat and faced the owner of the voice who's non other than Rui. She hid her sketchbook behind her and gave Rui a brief look before sitting back. She was startled and it took a while before her heart returned to its normal beat. Being startled is one of emotions she managed to know and experience. Startled is a short-lived emotion or in right terms a body and mind reflex.
She heard the chair scrape beside her and shifted when someone sat. "Thank you." She said without looking at the guy and maintaining her gaze forward.
Rui dragged his chair forward and sat next to Konan. He leaned his elbow on the table and propped his jaw on his palm. He stared at the girl who's eyes where fixated on the floor in front of her. His brows knitting as the seconds goes by and the girl didn't bother to even take a glance to him. Is his face unpleasant to her that she can't muster to strength to look? Rui shook the idea out of his for it seems a little bizarre. Still he couldn't shake off the possibility that his seatmate hate him and for unknown reason he felt restless so he decided to ask. "Why are you not looking at me?"
Konan shifted in her seat upon hearing the question Rui asked. In her mind, she's weighing between telling the truth or weaving a lie. She decided none of the two options and instead she turned her head to face the guy beside her and looked straight into his eyes. They locked gaze for a time being until Rui decided to break the contact. Konan also averted her eyes only to see the crowd watching them with open mouths, especially the girls. It is when the door opened and the teacher walked in that the crowd dispersed. Rui also dragged his seat back to his desk and sat ready for long hours of lesson as everyone did.
She decided earlier. She would look for that girl and ask her the reason why she seemed to be tailing her. Yes she did. So when the class was over and she finished her responsibility in cleaning the room, Konan hurried to her school locker to change her white uwabaki shoes into her black school shoes. She planned to roam every classroom to look for the girl. Judging on the green stripes of the girls indoor shoes, she is a second year.
But it seems like what she had decided is unnecessary for the girl showed herself to her. Konan stared at her as she excessive averting of her eyes and fiddle her fingers in front of her. The slight shaking of her knees also didn't go unnoticed to Konan. The girl seemed reluctant to talk for she keep opening and closing her mouth like a fish taken out of the pond gasping for air so Konan cleared her throat and decided to ask first.
"Why are you following me? Do you need something from me?" She asked, carefully minding her tone as not to come out loud.
"I....." the girl trailed off before finishing her sentence. Konan watched as the girl took a deep breath and slowly looked at her in the eye. " I am Suzuki Ami. I was sent by the club president to recruit you in our club." The girl stated as she handed her a fill up form.
" That's it?" Konan muttered as she stared at the paper. She diverted her gaze to girl who is standing straight and holding her breath like she's in a military training with a strict commander who's going to eat her alive if she lose her posture even a little.
"That's it?" She repeated, now more loudly as to ask the girl. The girl nodded.
" You're not angry with me or hates me?" Konan asked. The girl shook her head.
"I'm not, I just cant find the courage to give it to you. I'm sorry if you feel that way." The girl, Ami said and smiled. "Please come to the clubroom tomorrow after class if you're interested. Actually I really hope you will be and join our club." She added before turning her back and jogging away ,waving. Konan watched her disappear into the crowd of students exiting the gate before looking at the paper again.
YAOKE HIGH WRITING CLUB.
Our mightiest weapon is our pen!