Today is the first day after the summer break, there is a new transfer student, she stand in front of the class to introduce herself. She write her name on the blackboard, "My name is Hanazono Nadeshiko, nice to meet you." Then she turn to the homeroom teacher, "can i sit now please?"
"You can sit there in the middle."
She walks and then sit there, in the desk beside me. She yawns as soon as she sit there, and now I can see her face looks like she is sleep deprived with her droopy eyes.
"Natsume, please show her around the school later." The homeroom said.
It's rare someone move here, we're very far away from the city. There are more people leaving this town than moving here either for working or college. Though, this town is not as bad as my village which is one hour away from here, where there is barely any young people anymore.
Sometimes I wonder, if my village is just going to disappear because there is no people anymore. Seeing the abandoned buildings that I know the owner was is kind of depressing, who knows how much more homes are going to have the same fate.
Now it's recess, everyone surrounds her introducing themselves and asking her a lot of stuff, though she doesn't give long answers. I'd thought we'll look around the school on recess, but there is no way I ask her right now, when she is having lots of people around, though if she forget about it then I'm good.
Kuroki turned his chair to me and bring his lunchbox too, "hey, what do you think about her?" he asked.
"Don't know, though she looks kind of messed up."
"I guess she is, have you two talked yet?"
"Haven't got a chance yet, she seems like not very talkative though, with how she answers them."
He smirks at me, "I didn't know you're so observant."
"She's literally sitting next to me. Why are you asking these anyway, are you interested in her?"
"Maybe, I want to have a girlfriend at least once." He says kind of accepting his fate. I'm also the same, but I don't really mind it. "Homeroom teacher asked you to show her around right, why don't you get her number for me also."
"Or, why don't you do it yourself?"
"Come on, do it for a friend, okay?" He begs me like a cat begging for food.
"I can't guarantee anything."
"Just do it, man."
"3 juices, right?"
He's a bit peeved, "yeah, whatever."
***
So she don't ask me to guide her or anything in the recess, which I'm not complaining, except she now wants me to show her around.
I know she is asking me to show her around, but her eyes been glued to her phone this whole time, and we're just silent the whole way except the part where I show her places that she might need to know.
Maybe she is not the kind of person that talks much, but her silence just make it very awkward. I should try to break the ice, "Where are you from?"
Without nudging or anything,"Tokyo."
"And, where do you live now?"
"Desolate village that you live in."
I'm a bit surprised, how does she know where I live? "H-how do you-"
"I saw you on the bus stop this morning."
I'm a little bit confused, I don't see anyone on the bus stop earlier, other than a raccoon that begs for food. "But I thought I was alone at the bus stop earlier?"
"I was in a car with my dad idiot."
I'm dumb. "So, does your dad pick you up again later?"
She puts her phone in her pocket and then looks at me like a cat asking for food. "No, please go home with me. I don't know how to get back." She suddenly changes personality like it's nothing.
I am a bit confused with it, "Why though?"
"He went back to Tokyo, working."
Well, it's not like I am annoyed or anything, we're taking the same bus anyway. So I just agreed to it, and go home together with her.
She is dead silent in the entire trip, the only thing that I can hear from her is her fingers tapping her screen. It feels like she lost all her existence and now just a background in an empty bus.
We arrived at the bus stop, this almost torn down wood shed with a plank used as a bench.
She walks first, "Thank you, see ya."
I remembered what Kuroki asked me to do earlier on recess, "Hanazono!"
She turned back from across the street, "what?"
This is pretty embarrassing, and why did I agree with such deal, it's literally just 3 juices. "You know, my friend asked earlier, if he could have your number."
She stand there silently for a few seconds, I feel like something is going to get wrong anytime now. "Sure, but don't give it to him." Now I'm baffled, what is going on inside her mind? She gave me her number, I think I will still give it to him anyway.
"Thank you." I guess?
"You're not giving me your number? what are you, a celebrity?" She said, a little bit annoyed.
I give her my number, and then we part ways because our home is in different direction.
When I got home, I got a message from her, "if I see any random number chatting me, I'll do an unspeakable things to you."
What the hell, this girl is weird.
On one hand I'm happy that there is a new people here, but I'm also pretty disappointed that the person is her. I don't know how long she is going to stay here, or if she will stay at all after this year.
Even how weird she is, I still want her to stay here so we got more young people around. It might sound weird, but her being here sort of make living in this place more alive.