"Have holes?" I echoed, confused.
She looked at me while still swinging her hands side to side. But then I noticed... she was standing next to my alarm clock. As I focused on it. Something caught my attention.
[08:04 AM]
"Is that the time?" I muttered, still staring at it.
Tamaki, puzzled, followed my gaze as she stopped swinging. She didn't seem to understand what I meant, or maybe she did... It was hard to tell. But something in her expression seemed serious as she turned to look at the clock.
"Huh?" She murmured, kneeling as if to get a better view. I stopped looking at the clock and turned my attention to her slowly as she reached forward with her hand, trying to grab the clock.
"Got it!" She said, lifting a small white bottle.
It was a bottle that I kept my pills in.
I felt... disappointed. I thought that she'd noticed the time - that it was almost time for the first period at school, and we were late.
"What is it?" I asked.
"You're almost out of pills. See?" She said, her cheeks starting to flush.
'Why does she care about my pills?' I wondered, turning back to look at the clock.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
I turned to her. She was still holding onto my pills.
"You better be going, or you'll be late for school," I said, looking away.
"Ah?" She murmured.
Then she added. "What about you?"
I faced her again and said, "I haven't even taken a bath yet... so, you better be off before you're late."
"Then I'll just have to wait until you're done." She said with a gentle smile.
I didn't know what to say to that.
She waited until I was done bathing. She even stayed while I ate breakfast.
We stepped outside not long after. The morning sun was still low, but its light already made me squint.
Tamaki walked beside me, hugging her bag close to her chest. She didn't say anything at first. Just glanced up at the sky now and then like she was waiting for it to speak before she did.
The street was quiet. Just the sound of our footsteps and the occasional rustle of leaves.
"You didn't have to wait for me," I said, not looking at her.
"I know," she replied softly." But I didn't want you to walk alone."
I didn't answer.
I didn't know if I was annoyed… or just confused. But I didn't stop walking either.
"You walk like you're carrying something heavy," she said suddenly. Her voice wasn't teasing. Just observing.
I glanced at her. She wasn't looking at me. Just straight ahead. Maybe she didn't expect me to respond.
"…I am," I muttered.
She didn't say anything back. But she slowed her pace just a little, like she was trying to carry some of it too.
As we turned onto the street near the school, a girl stood across from us on the sidewalk. She wore the same uniform; her eyes fixed on Tamaki.
She didn't wave. Didn't call out. Just stood still. Her expression was unreadable.
Tamaki saw her too. For a moment, her steps faltered. Then she kept walking.
The girl said nothing as we passed. But I felt her eyes follow us the whole way.
We finally reached the school. But it we were too late. The other students were already on break.
After we had entered the classroom hall, Tamaki and I went our separate ways.
'I'm glad that's over.' I thought while entering my class.
I headed straight for my desk. No one noticed passing by, they were too busy with their break. It was my chance to slip in and pretend that I was in class all morning.
But that was just wishful thinking. My seat was in the first row, making it hard for me to hide from anyone.
My heart suddenly started to race. Breathing became hard. I felt dizzy. without knowing it... I fell asleep in class.
Later, I was suddenly waking up to someone's call. He called my name several times, but I did not respond. I thought maybe the voice was just in my head, or it was just a dream... But still, I did not respond.
"Hey, Hizuki!"
"Hey!"
"Hizuki! Wake up!"
He called out aggressively.
I opened my eyes slowly, and the first thing I saw was that the whole class was looking at me. Some of them were murmuring under their breath, "I think he's doing it on purpose." And agreeing with each other.
"Hey!"
I turned, looking at who was calling me.
It was my math teacher, and he wasn't happy with me. At least that's what his face was saying.
"Why are you sleeping in my class?" He asked, trying to hold back his anger.
"I'm sorry, sir, I wasn't feeling well."
He stood up straight and then said, while still looking at me with his piercing gaze. "Get out and come back when you feel like being in my class."
"Okay," I replied.
Then I stood up from my desk. Everyone's gaze was on me. I took my bag and hung it on my shoulder as I left the classroom.
In the hallways, I could hear the teacher start to teach the moment I had left them.
"Given the function f(x) = 2x^2 - 4x + 3,① Find the coordinates of the vertex.② Find the axis of symmetry.③ Find the minimum value of the function..."
He sounded like he was still angry for some reason, but who am I to judge? Maybe deep down, he was feeling happy.
With nowhere else to go, I headed straight for the rooftop, where most of the time, there is no one there during class hours, but the moment I got there, I found this plain-looking girl sitting down and looking at the clouds.
She seemed nice, so at first, I hesitated to approach her.
"Who could she be...?" I wondered.
Suddenly, she looked at me, and with that, I had no choice but to approach her.
"...Hey..."
Her eyes were locked onto me. I could feel my palms start to sweat.
She looked the other way as I got closer to her. Was she ignoring me? I thought. And if that was the case, I was in the clear, because I don't know how to start a conversation, and her ignoring me... There was no chance we were going to talk to each other.
"It's been a while?" She said, turning to look at me again.