February 7, 2022
Word: Humor
Pov:
Maho Hasegawa
A noise of a sliding door pulled open resounded throughout the hallway, reaching the ears of everyone within its influence. The rumbling sound of footsteps gradually approached the classroom, shaking the ground with its weight. Curiosity killed the cat as everyone, including me, changed their gaze towards the window beside the classroom rather than the chalkboard bombarded with tiresome equations. Running past us was Seiji Ito holding Saki Nakagawa in his arms, like a prince carrying his princess to safety.
"Just get married, you two," I thought.
As the class caused an uproar by mingling with each other, making our math teacher's blood boil from the chatter. The noise died down. Although some persisted in gossiping. Lending my ears to those brave individuals, I overheard their conversations. "How nice, being carried like that" , "How are those two not going out?" , "Get married already lol" ; the usual thoughts of an outsider prying into the matters of others.
Faint laughter was within earshot. Buried memories made their way to the surface.
"Don't get involved with her, she might take your boyfriend away from you," a female classmate warned, taking glances at me.
"What a whore," a female classmate laughed, eyeballing me.
"Can you stop looking at my boyfriend with your disgusting eyes?" a female classmate said with a sneer.
"Want to go at it with her?" a male classmate suggested to his friend while staring at me with dirty eyes.
Folding my arms across my chest, I rested my face into my arms pretending to sleep. Meditation was the key to canceling everything from my mind, drowning the noise with the sound of my breathing. Diverting my attention from the negativity of my past to the innate action of breathing, unnecessary thoughts flushed out of my head.
"Everything is fine Maho," I thought. "Everything is fine."
A hand grabbed my shoulder and moved it back and forth. Irritated, I reluctantly rose from the sleeping position, glancing left and right to see who it was. Turning my gaze around my shoulder, I was relieved to see a familiar silhouette.
"Are you alright?" Seiji tensely said, moving his hand away.
In a snap of a finger, the once lively classroom transformed into a room filled with empty seats. Glancing at the window, numerous students were leaving the school gate. It was already time to go home. Once I processed the situation, I let out a sigh. I shut my brain off for that long? That's incredible.
"Nevermind about me…" I said, stretching my back. "... what happened to Saki?"
Considering how adorable she is, she might have forgotten to drink water during a hot summer afternoon.
"She collapsed from the heat. The nurse told her to go home before it developed into a summer fever."
"I saw you run past our classroom holding Saki in your arms. I commend you, noble knight in shining armor, for successfully attending to the princess' needs," I teased, bowing towards him with my right hand on my chest.
"Shut up," he blushed, turning away from me.
Saki is an adorable little kitten, shying away from her playmate. While Seiji is the playful wolf, playing with the kitten while protecting her. How can such a beautiful pairing be so adorable?
"So," I said. "What did you need me for?"
"Oh, right. Saki wanted you to escort her home."
"Can't she just call for her parents?"
"She said she doesn't want to bother her father."
Saki never mentioned her parents to us nor whether she had any siblings or not. I visited her house once, but her family was absent then. "Is she having problems with her family?" I wanted to ask. But, knowing Seiji, he might not know anything either.
I stood up from my chair, grabbed my bag and said, "Alright, I'll escort her home."
"Thank you, Hasegawa-san."
"In one condition," I said, grinning.
Seij tilted his head, raising an eyebrow.
"Walk home with us."
"No no, I insist. Let the both of you have a nice girl's talk."
"No, I insist. I want to walk with my friends," I said, gazing into his anxious eyes.
Everyone knew about my past. Because of such childish reasons, they excluded me from their circle of friends, used me as their subject for insulting words, and applied salt to my open wounds. I convinced myself that I can't get along with anyone anymore. Avoiding the gazes of people around me, covering my ears with my hands; I did everything to keep away from other people myself. It was a wall protecting myself.
Yet somehow, these two were able to break through that wall, putting me a part of their group. Sharing a lot of memories in a matter of months. I admire them. I love them. I'm glad that I became their friend. I'm glad they made me their friend.
"Thank you," I whispered, lowering my head from Seiji.
"Did you say something?" Seiji asked, tilting his head again. Adorable.
I shook my head and said, "Nothing. Come on, let's go fetch our sleeping beauty from the health office."