Under the Night Sky

Japan, summer of 20XX.

In my way to the school, I can hear the cicadas crying, but something else has my attention...

“So hot…”

Looking up to the sky, I don't see any clouds.

I wish I could stay all day locked in my room with the air conditioner on.

My luck is that I live close to the school, so I just need to walk a few blocks.

But that doesn't make my discomfort with this heat any better.

As I walk, I hear a meowing and the stray cat who lives in the neighborhood, Tama, approaches wanting attention.

Ok, ok, but let’s be fast.

I stop to pet him quickly and in less than a minute, I was walking again.

When I finally arrived at school, I feel relieved. I don’t really like the classes, but at least I'll be in a room with A/C.

The school is already full of life and students keep arriving. The bell will probably ring soon.

I go to the first building, where all the first-year classrooms and part of the second-year classrooms are located.

We can think of the school grounds as a big rectangle. As you enter the school’s gate, going straight ahead will lead you to the second building, where some of the second-year classrooms and all the third-year classrooms are located. On the left is the first building and on the right is a gym and a smaller building with rooms for club activities, and a cafeteria. In the middle, we have a big courtyard.

The school is relatively large for this town, but it's the only public high school here.

Entering the building I have one last challenge before I can sit in my chair and forget about the heat: I need to climb the stairs to the third floor.

My walk to the classroom is the same as always: I don’t stop to talk with anyone in the way. It's not that I don't have any friends, I'm just a bit anti-social. If it's not really necessary, I rarely take the initiative to start a conversation with someone I don’t know. Strangely, I talk a lot with my friends. But the thing is: I don’t know how I made friends. When I realize, a new person is by my side, as if we've been friends since forever.

Was the other person who approached me? Or was me who started a conversation? When? How? Where? It’s really a mystery for me.

Approaching the classroom, my gaze quickly fixes on a girl with long hair who is talking with two other girls near the door. The girl who caught my eye, Mei, is extremely popular in our class. She is beautiful, friendly and smart. She is always surrounded by people and all the boys love her. I can't say I'm an exception, but she's on a complete different level, so I don’t even think about this.

And she notices my arrival.

“Ah, Souma! Good morning!”, she says smiling.

“Good morning, Mei. Good morning to you two too.”

And that was the end of the conversation. But just these small exchanges every day are enough to satisfy me, because until a while ago, we wouldn’t even do that.

Speaking of it, when did we start greeting each other?

In the classroom, I see Hayato. He is a bit silly sometimes, but he's one of my few friends. No, for some reason, he's my best friend.

“Hey Souma! Ready to have some fun tonight?”

“I wouldn’t call that ‘fun’.”

“At least it’s better than studying alone.”

“I would do anything to be able to go straight home today after school…”

“I hope you're not thinking about running away.”, a girl’s voice joins us.

“Don't worry, Hina. You can bet Souma will stay here until he's kicked out by the night guard.”

“That will never happen. As soon as I memorize everything, I'll go home running so I can have some fun before going to bed. And I doubt Akira would kick me out.”

“Yeah, I believe he would let us sleep here if we wanted.”, Hina said looking in the direction of the classroom door.

A boy who had just entered was heading towards us.

“Hi. No changes for today's plans, right?”

“No changes unfortunately.”, I reply to Naoto who completed our group.

“Perfect.”, he says as he adjusts his glasses.

At that moment, the teacher entered and everyone went to their seats. It will be a long day.

After school, Hayato, Hina and Naoto will stay here with me to study for the tests we’ll have just before the summer break. Well, we always do that before any test, it's my strategy to get acceptable grades. I would probably just play games if I stayed at home.

Time passed and lunch break arrived.

Only Hayato and I went to eat on the rooftop today.

Hina said she would have lunch with some friends. Naoto had something to do, and it’s probably another girl wanting to confess to him, another one to be rejected. Naoto already has a girlfriend who lives in a nearby town, but very few people know this.

My friends and I have one thing in common: we all like videogames. Some more than others. Well, I'm easily the one who likes the most. So it wasn’t strange that I and Hayato talked about games during lunch.

It looked like we had barely started to talk when the bell signaling the end of the lunch break rang.

Why does time seem to fly when you're distracted having fun? And it seems to be even faster when what comes next is a pain.

Without any other option, we went back to the classroom and soon after, the teacher arrived. Class resumed and I'm pretty sure the clock stopped working, because the time passed really, really slowly.

The classes finally ended. But while everyone else was leaving the room, my friends and I stayed behind.

"Alright, let's get started!"

“You're too excited, Hina. And with your high grades, you don't even need to study.”, a bit depressed Hayato said.

He's right. Both Hina and Naoto are model students. I'm the one who doesn’t study on a daily basis, so I need these long study sessions to at least memorize enough for the tests. Hayato isn’t good with his studies either… And I think I can say the same thing about he playing games.

Although I don’t study at home, I try to at least pay attention to the classes, so it's not that I don't know anything. I just need to refresh my memory and practice with exercises to get some good grades and keep my life peaceful. Yes, peace and quiet. That's all I want.

The study session started and everyone stayed very focused, only interrupting someone to ask questions about something we didn't understand. It was time for a small sacrifice.

Around 6:30 pm, Hina and Naoto said goodbye and left.

"My dear stupid friend, I'm counting on you in these final moments.", said Hayato joking.

“I'm sorry, my dear friend, but you are the stupid here, after choosing that character to fight that enemy yesterday...”

"Oh, I was trying out a new strategy!"

"A strategy to try to lose as soon as possible?"

"Then don't ask me for tips when I carry the team to victory!"

“Right, right. Well, let's end this suffering first.”

“Sure…”, Hayato finished with a sigh.

Soon the school was completely dark and silent.

8:20 pm. The hands of the clock on the wall wouldn't lie.

"I can’t do this anymore! Time to go.”, Hayato said while stretching. "Will you continue?"

“Yes, I really want some good grades. Thank you for staying until this late.”

“If you say so…”

Hayato quickly put everything in his backpack and got up to leave.

“I'll be online until 1 am, so call me if you want to play something together.”, he said as he walked towards the door.

I look at him, seeing him waving his hand as he walked. Seconds later, I was alone in the classroom.

My attention returns to the history book. To tell the truth, I think I already studied enough, but I'll continue until 9:00 pm just to be sure. At that time, the night guard Akira will probably show up saying it's late and that I should go home.

As I read the book, I can clearly listen the clock moving. The expected of a Friday night. The entire school is completely silent. The courtyard is dominated by the darkness.

I look at the clock again, 8:28 pm. I suddenly remember I promised a friend from a game that I would help him on a certain mission tonight.

How did I forget that? Whatever, I've studied enough!

I throw my belongings into my backpack, I make sure the windows are closed, I turn off the lights, I leave the classroom and close the door. At this moment, I see a girl running to the stairs.

That beautiful long hair… It was impossible to not recognize her. It was Mei who ran upstairs.

What is she doing here at this hour?

I walked down the hallway until I stopped in front of the stairs. My eyes fixed on those leading up.

She… went up, didn't she? But why?

If Mei went upstairs, she's on the rooftop right now. But what would someone do there this late?

I stand there for a while, trying to decide what to do.

There's no way I can resist the urge to go there, my curiosity is killing me.

I slowly go upstairs, trying to hide my presence. For some reason, I'm a bit nervous and I even try to control my breathing. If Mei returned right now, seeing me like this, she would probably think something bad about me.

Soon I reach the door that leads to the rooftop, which is only partially opened. I lean against it trying to see the outside. Only the light near the door is turned on, but I can see Mei near the railings at the other side. Was this possible because of the moonlight?

I don't know how much time passed, maybe it was just a few seconds, maybe it was several minutes, but I just stood there mesmerized by her hair that slowly danced in the wind. I could only see her back, but even so, she is really beautiful...

After some time, I’m back to my senses.

Something is wrong.

What was she doing there? Why isn't she moving?

Under the night sky, the silence was absolute and a certain uneasiness was beginning to overtake me.

Maybe I should go there.

Carefully, I finish opening the door.

Still not knowing if I really should be there, I walk slowly as if trying to hide myself in the night.

I try to see if something is wrong, but it really is too dark. Her moonlit silhouette was all I could see from this distance.

I stop halfway.

“Hello Mei. What a great night, right?”, I say, showing my lack of creativity when it comes to starting a conversation.

“…”

No answer. She remains in the same position.

I start to get even more nervous while I start to move again.

"Mei, did something happen?"

“…”

Silence.

I'm getting closer and closer… And I finally stop beside her, but I keep my eyes on the dimly lit school grounds.

Again I try to start a conversation. "Are you crying? I know we're just classmates, but you can speak with me if you want. I'll listen."

“…”

Welcomed once more by the silence, my heart starts to race.

There's something really wrong here!

A feeling of dread starts to overwhelm my body, but even so, I start to move my eyes towards her.

Mei was there, holding the railings with both hands. Her head was down and leaning against them.

Maybe she is really crying and is trying to hide it. But… why don't I hear anything?

I think about touching her, but something on the floor catches my attention. A liquid near her feet.

When I realize what it is, I start to shake… A scream catches in my throat…

A red pool was there, a pool of blood. That's why Mei wasn't moving. She was dead.

The fear conquers me and I try to take a few steps back, but I fall to the ground. I keep looking, shivering, and I finally notice a big cut on her stomach.

At this hour, I could be at home, playing a game without a care in the world...

This will be a long summer.