[Scene: A dimly lit classroom, late afternoon. The sun barely filters through the blinds, casting slanted shadows across the empty desks. The hum of distant conversations drifts in from the hallway, but inside, it's quiet—almost too quiet.]
HANA: (seated by the window, absentmindedly twirling a mechanical pencil between her fingers) "Do you ever feel like you're just… here? Like, you exist, but you're not really living?"
TAKUMI: (leaning back in his chair, arms crossed) "That's a weird way to put it. But yeah. I get what you mean."
HANA: (glancing at him, skeptical) "You do?"
TAKUMI: (nods, staring at the ceiling) "Sure. Wake up, go to school, pretend to care, go home, sleep, repeat. Feels like a script someone else wrote, doesn't it?"
HANA: (smiles faintly, shaking her head) "Exactly. Like we're stuck in a loop, and no matter what we do, it's all predetermined."
TAKUMI: (clicks his tongue, sitting up) "But then, doesn't that mean it's our job to mess up the loop? Do something unexpected?"
HANA: (raises an eyebrow) "Like what?"
TAKUMI: (grinning) "I don't know. Stand on a desk and start reciting bad poetry. Sneak out of school in the middle of the day. Dye your hair neon green. Something. Anything."
HANA: (laughs softly, shaking her head again) "You think that changes anything? It's just surface-level chaos. You can throw a rock into a river, but the current keeps flowing the same way."
TAKUMI: (shrugs) "Maybe. But maybe if you throw enough rocks, the river changes."
[Silence. The second hand on the classroom clock ticks forward. Hana rests her chin on her palm, eyes distant.]
HANA: "...You always talk like you've figured something out. Like you have the answer to a question I don't even know how to ask."
TAKUMI: (smirks) "Nah. I'm just good at faking confidence. It's a survival skill."
HANA: (murmurs) "Survival, huh…"
[She looks outside, watching a crow land on the school fence. It caws once, then takes off again.]
HANA: "You ever think about what comes next?"
TAKUMI: (tilts his head) "Next? Like, after school?"
HANA: "No. After everything. After life."
TAKUMI: (exhales slowly, tapping his fingers against the desk) "You really don't hold back, do you?"
HANA: (shrugs) "It's just a thought."
TAKUMI: "You make it sound like a destination. Like there's a road, and at the end, there's… something."
HANA: (softly) "Maybe I just hope there is."
TAKUMI: (pauses, watching her carefully) "Hana. You're not… planning something, are you?"
HANA: (snorts, shaking her head) "No. I told you before—I just think too much."
TAKUMI: (relaxes slightly but keeps his eyes on her) "Thinking too much can be dangerous."
HANA: (smiling faintly) "So can pretending everything's fine."
[The classroom door creaks open. A teacher enters, looking surprised to see them.]
TEACHER: "You two still here? School ended twenty minutes ago."
TAKUMI: (stretching, standing up) "Guess we lost track of time."
HANA: (grabs her bag, slinging it over one shoulder) "Yeah…"
TEACHER: "Don't linger too long. The janitors will lock up soon."
[They nod and step into the hallway. The school feels different now—quieter, more hollow. Empty corridors stretch ahead, lined with lockers that hold stories no one will ever tell.]
TAKUMI: (walking beside her, hands in pockets) "Wanna get something to eat? I hear food makes existential dread easier to deal with."
HANA: (chuckles, shaking her head) "That's your solution to everything, isn't it?"
TAKUMI: "Hey, it works."
HANA: (pauses, looking at him) "…Okay. But only if you're paying."
TAKUMI: (mock gasp) "You wound me."
[They walk down the hall together, the air between them lighter than before. Somewhere in the distance, a classroom door slams shut. The sun continues its descent, casting long shadows against the walls.]
[End of Chapter 2]