Chapter 8:
High School Raindrops
Hao Hao, Alice, and Mae all found an unused classroom to start their work. The pixies gave them pots and tools to get started, and they’d already found a place outside they hoped they could transfer the plants to once they got the actual approval from Emily. It was an exciting time for the girls and their smiles confirmed it.
As the three of them started up in the afternoon after classes, Cleo and Sumi appeared. The former asked, “Mae, you joined?”
“Yeah. It sounded like fun, and I’m thinking about using the flowers on some of my outfits.” She saw Hao Hao’s face, and added, “Not a lot of them. One or two, and only if it’s okay with you two.”
They nodded.
Cleo said, “We were wondering if we could join you.”
“Oh.” Alice said, “I wasn’t sure if this would be fun for you.”
“We’re not sure, but we’d like to try it.” Sumi said, “You three make it look fun. Have you invited either of the boys?”
“You think Daichi or Kirai would sit here playing in the soil?” Mae asked humorously. “Daichi won’t. Too messy.”
“And Kirai?” Cleo asked. Her whiskers flicked in a way that might be cute if she wasn’t staring so dully.
Mae had no response. Alice said, “Honestly, I wouldn’t know how to approach him to ask.”
“Well, maybe Hao Hao could try.” Sumi said.
Hao Hao blinked. “Me?” She asked nervously.
“Yeah! You do sit next to him.”
Sumi was smiling as she grabbed a pot for herself, almost unnervingly so. The other girls were looking at her. Alice asked, “Would you be willing to try?”
“I don’t know…”
“You convinced me.” Mae said.
“Then she’s our best shot at getting him.” Cleo affirmed, and the rest of them nodded too.
“Obviously, you don’t have to.” Alice said.
No, she didn’t, but a part of her did want to. It was nice to hear that they thought she could do it. Plus, when she blinked into the soul realm, she could see the frowns on their spirits, and that saddened her. She felt like she was supposed to make it right.
“I’ll try,” She said.
“I’m happy to see you coming out of your comfort zone.” Shui said.
Hao Hao came outside. The forest was hauntingly dense even without the morning fog. Blue street lights broke through darkness of the evening, leading a path to who knew where. She wasn’t sure if anything dangerous lurked in the woods, but she kept close to the school walls anyway. Circling to the back with a confidence that was relatively unlike her. This is where (she heard from the pixies) she could find Kirai after class.
The leaves crunched as she walked. She thought she heard music in the distance, but she couldn’t imagine who would choose to play out here, and it stopped before she could get any real lead on it. She brought her hands to her shoulders. It was colder out here than inside.
“I wish I brought a coat.”
“Oh!’ Shui said. It bobbled up to where she couldn’t see, and then came back down with a light, black coat. Hao Hao said, “Thank you.”
“You talk to yourself loudly.”
Hao Hao hadn’t even noticed Kirai by the tree. How long had he been there? She looked at him, but he was staring down at the ground. Laying against the base of the tree. It looked like he hadn’t seen Shui bring her the coat. Maybe he’d been asleep.
“I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”
“You didn’t.”
He shuffled at the base of the tree. He wore a school uniform just like everyone else, but he had a heavy hoodie on top. Loose and black. His white hair stood out against the darkness the enveloped him. Definitely not old. It must just be his natural hair color (or, natural in this place, at least.)
“What do you want?” He asked.
“Oh, um, well…” His tone implied he was bothered. That made her nervous all over; she hadn’t intended to be rude. “I was just looking around.” She lied.
“I won’t join your club.” He said.
“How—”
“It wasn’t that hard to figure out. You did nothing but talk about it in class.”
Right. Kirai does sit right next to them, but she was surprised he’d heard. He always had those headphones in. She assumed he was listening to music.
“Are you going to just keep standing there?” Kirai asked.
“Ah! Um, well… I guess I’ll go. If you’re sure.”
He didn’t respond, but he was clearly annoyed. She walked away. Talking to his spirit might be difficult while he was listening for her to leave. Perhaps she could circle back around? Shui floated by her. It said, “Look now.”
She blinked, and there was a black spirit in front of her. “Ah!”
It darted back. Shui came forward, “Wait! Just a moment please. Hao Hao was just startled, is all.”
He did. The spirit, frowning and gloomy, said, “Sorry.”
Hao Hao looked back. She couldn’t see Kirai, but could he hear her? They walked along a little farther. She said, “It’s okay. So… you’re Kirai’s spirit?”
He nodded.
“Then, shouldn’t you be with him?”
He sighed. “Kirai pushes me away, to be honest with you. He’s a good person, honestly, but he doesn’t like to talk to people.”
Hao Hao nodded. It was only recently that she picked up the habit, so she understood the sentiment. Shui asked, “Why does Kirai push you away?”
“He’s going through something. I’d rather not be specific.”
“Of course.” Shui said, not pushing further.
“But I think he actually could use some friends. I’m just not sure how to get him interested.”
It was obvious that gardening wasn’t something that caught his attention. “What does he like?”
“Music. That boy plays every day after school out here.”
Hao Hao nodded, realizing suddenly that she’d heard him play before. Around the school sometimes, she could hear it, and she’d heard as she approached just today too. “That was him?” His spirit nodded. Hao Hao said, “He plays really well. I wouldn’t have guessed it was him.”
“Kirai’s been practicing from a really young age.”
“Is there any way you can think of for us to get him to join?” Shui asked.
“Just talk to him. I know he sounds annoyed, but it’s just a learned habit. If you stick with him he might open up to you.”
Hao Hao nodded and blinked away the soul sight. She turned around, stopping just for a moment as she saw him get out his guitar from behind the tree. He began to play. A lovely song she didn’t know the name of. She didn’t want to interrupt him. She tried to leave, but he spotted her first and stopped.
“I thought you left.” He said.
“Sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. This is a public space; I don’t own it.”
He said it like he hated it. Like it bothered him, but the words themselves actually implied that she could stay, and so she did that. She came forward. Sitting by one of the other trees nearby.
“It’s cold out here,” she said.
He was quiet. Talking really wasn’t her thing, but… Kirai wouldn’t make up for it like Alice or Mae would. Shui and Kirai’s spirit were behind her, cheering her on silently.
“You play the guitar?”
“Yeah.”
“You play well. It sounded nice.”
He scratched the back of his head and adjusted himself. He looked and sounded a bit daunting most of the time, but with how nice his spirit was, she had to wonder if he was just shy. She found talking difficult most of the time too.
“What do you listen to in class?” He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She explained, “You always have headphones in your ears.”
“Right, yeah. I, uh, I like to listen to rain.”
“Rain?”
“Yeah. Helps me study.”
She’d heard of people using music to help them focus, but she’d never heard of them using just… noise. Now that she had heard of it, she wanted to try it sometime. It sounded useful. She always had a hard time in class; too noisy.
“You know, um… you wouldn’t have to attend all the time, if you did want to join. You could come out when everyone else was gone if you wanted.”
“Then I’d be accused of sneaking around to cause trouble.”
She shook her head. “We wouldn’t think that.”
“The others would. They probably don’t even really want me to join.”
“Well, actually… it was them that suggested it.”
“Hm.”
He picked back up his guitar and played. The same song as before. Hao Hao stayed with him a while, before getting up and deciding that that was probably enough for today. She wasn’t going to try to force him if he didn’t want to join. Just an offer in case he decided he did.
Hao Hao saw the others the next day in class but couldn’t bring herself to tell them she’d already talked to Kirai. The boy in question didn’t make an appearance. Alice looked to Hao Hao, but she merely shrugged. She heard the whispers from the other members of the gardening club.
“I can’t believe he’s not here,” Sumi said.
“It’s like he knew we wanted to talk to him today,” Mae said, crossing her legs and she turned to face the others behind her.
“Or, he’s just late,” Alice suggested.
But as the day went on, and no one saw him, it was assumed that he knew they wanted to ask him and he was purposely avoiding. Hao Hao didn’t correct them. Couldn’t. That would mean she’d have to admit she failed, and that made her more nervous than anything else in the world.
Later that day they were in the garden, starting to plant the seeds in the ground. The pixies and Emily confirmed where on the school grounds, so they could do whatever they wanted as long as they stayed in their area. It was more than big enough for what they wanted to do, so Hao Hao wasn’t worried.
“How deep do I dig?” Alice asked.
Hao Hao came over and showed her. Once that was done she got up to resume her own section, but she was surprised to see Kirai. Approaching them, he asked, “Um… do you want help?”
“Of course.” Alice said, “Anyone that wants to can.”
“Alright. What do I do?”
A couple of the other girls were quick to show him. Hao Hao blinked into soul sight and saw that the spirits were all happy now. Even Kirai’s, who was actually nearby this time. He smiled at Hao Hao. Saying thank you without words.
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