The bell rang loudly, filling the grim silence in the classroom. Hearing the sound of the bell, the students who were waiting for this moment were very excited. They also packed up their books shortly.
Most of the students who had nothing to do with the club would go straight to their homes and some of them would spend the time until evening at their favorite restaurant, while the club members would stay at school and return in the evening.
The students who stayed usually practiced and training in their clubs and some of them usually had business with the teachers in the office. Some would go home early, but some would stay any longer.
A crowd of students passed through the gate. Most of them walked and some of them ride their bicycles with a 'ring ring' sound. There was laughter that sounded joyous, echoing in joy like something that was always awaited.
It was the middle of spring now and soon summer break would come. The students looked very excited, even a few of them had planned where they would go and with whom they would spend their time. Seeing by how they talked to each other, they all seemed impatiently waiting for the summer break.
After training at the club, as usual Haru took the time to see Daiki secretly. Since the archery club was on the ground floor, Haru only needed to stand on the third floor to see Daiki's training ground below.
However, unlike the previous days, the person Haru had wanted to see never come up, even after he waited there for more than thirty minutes.
Haru took a deep breath. He initially thought that Daiki might have gone home earlier, but as soon as he saw the members of the archery club had just packed up their things to go home, Haru subconsciously frowned. But, before he could think of anything in his head, someone's voice could be heard calling out his name from afar.
"Hey, Youichi!"
The voice sounded familiar. As soon as Haru turned to the voice come from, he saw a familiar boy approaching him with a jog.
"Youichi, I thought you got home already," the friend said when he was near Haru.
"Ah, Shino ...," Haru muttered. "Why are you here? I thought you were still at your club, you know."
"Ah, that ... Mr. Abe asked me to stay for a moment to correct some of my incorrect answers at the previous exam. You know how he is, right? He won't let me breathe as the summer break comes," Shino said in a frustrated tone.
Haru covered his smile with a fist, sneering, "Yeah, that's better, though. Because if he doesn't, Mrs. Ito will be the one who asks you to stay and you can't escape. That's definitely even worse I think. You will stay until late up the night in this school." Haru laughed at his words.
"You insolent." Shino said irritatedly, "Don't let yourself go through the same shit as me, okay? I'll laugh at you as you do now, you know."
"Oh, come on, I was joking, man. I'm not that kind of friend. I was trying to cheer you up," Haru replied while patting Shino's cheek.
"A little joke from a little gangster. It's not funny at all." Shino glared at Haru as if his eyes were full of anger and cursed him by the look, but it was just a made-up face. He had never been that sensitive to Haru.
Akiyama Shino was Haru's classmate. They had known each other since they were in Junior High School. Since they both lived in the same city, they were both in the same school until now. However, they had different interests, so they join different clubs.
Shino joined the archery club just like Daiki. He was also a talented student at the club and had received a lot of praise from the coaches. Unfortunately, Shino was a delinquent, so some teachers had to rebuke him firmly.
Haru and Shino were not that close at first. But because it was Shino who made Haru able to meet with Daiki by accident, Haru automatically asked him a few things about the archery club at the beginning and ended up making them as close as they were today.
"By the way, who are you waiting for? Let's go home," Shino said.
"Hmm ...." Hearing Shino said that all of a sudden, Haru got confused. He scratched his head while thinking about something.
Actually, Haru truly wanted to ask Shino where Daiki was, but it was hard to ask such a thing. He knew that if he asked Shino, it would probably become trouble later and that could make Shino suspect him.
Haru was afraid that Shino's questions would corner him at any moment and he did not want anyone to know about his feeling toward Daiki.
Getting no response, Shino asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Why are you daydreaming?"
Haru got a little surprised. He did not realize that he was daydreaming, so as soon as he heard Shino's words just now, he laughed awkwardly.
"Oh, um, that … I forgot something in my locker, you go first," Haru said, then hurried off.
"Hmm ...." Shino stood there for a long time, staring at Haru who was getting further.
Shino wondered. This was not the first time he had found Haru standing in the same place as if he was waiting for someone. But, Shino did not think about it any longer and he suddenly exclaimed, "Alright. I'll go first!" Shino shouted at Haru who had disappeared behind the classroom wall while waving.
On the other side, after Haru was sure that Shino was not there anymore, he, who was just hiding in the changing room rushed out. He stood in the hallway silently before he stepped towards the stairs. But for no reason, within just a few steps, Haru suddenly stopped.