Vol. 2 Friend... My first friend? - Part 1

I"I was really happy after I was free from Himari." I wanted to say that, but circumstances didn't allow it. I was sitting with an unknown person. I didn't know a thing about him, and he claimed he wanted to sit with me. Why? That was the first question that came to my mind. Because every human has something behind their action. Thanks, Loner's Monologue. (Lol)

So, him sitting with me—there had to be a reason. Was it an act of pity? Was he kind, not wanting anyone to suffer by sitting with me? Was he a bully? Numerous questions flooded my mind, but none led to any conclusion. I let out a tired sigh. Catching a glimpse of my sigh, he said,

"You look tired today. Did you get enough sleep?"

'Why are you concerned about me? Pay attention to the teacher and don't speak out of nowhere; that freaked me out.'

Without saying a word, I nodded to him. He looked convinced and started listening to the teacher.

'I guess he's not a bad guy, at least...'

I wasn't able to focus in class. I observed his every movement. He attentively listened to the teacher, he didn't make unnecessary small talk, and if someone called him, he spoke with them cheerfully. I saw everything, yet I couldn't deduce why he wanted to sit with a loner like me.

Soon it was break time. That meant Himari was about to come. The student sitting with me was eating lunch with his friends, so I always sat alone. Watching that, Himari stood up from her seat and was about to come my way. Kushida noticed her.

"Himari, where are you going?....." Himari stopped and turned towards Kushida.

"Well, you see~..."

"....Why don't you eat with me?" Kushida asked.

"With you?" Kushida was smiling the whole time.

"I....." Before Himari could speak, Kushida held Himari's hand and pulled her back into her seat. Himari was now seated; she had no choice but to eat with Kushida. Himari took a moment to realize what had just happened. But it was too late for her.

They both started eating lunch. As always, observing the class, I saw the whole incident. I was grateful for what Kushida had just done. I didn't know the reason for her actions, but I didn't need to know it either. After lunch, the boy came and sat back with me. He didn't speak to me. The day passed, and it was time to go home.

Although mobile phones weren't permitted in school, we students brought them daily, and the teachers never found them. I got out of school. I don't have friends, so I usually walk alone on my way home. I pulled out my earphones and connected them to my phone. I had collected all my favorite songs, made a playlist, and all I had to do was push the play button. I named my playlist 'The Loner's Playlist.' Damn cool, right?

There was a reason why I did it. My house is just a five-minute walk from the school, so I don't need to listen to music and distract myself. It's thanks to my ears that I had to do it. Many students walked their way back home. They talked about the stuff that happened in school. If my ears heard it, my brain started processing it, and after putting every piece together that I heard from different students, I could see what was going on in school. What's wrong with that? Nothing's wrong here; the only thing bad is that I don't have control over it. It just happens, and after deducting everything, my brain provides me with the result, even if I don't want it. So, to avoid it, I forced my ears to hear music, not student gossip.

Someone tapped on my shoulder while I wondered why I listened to music. I turned around to see who it was. It was the same boy who sat with me today. He smiled at me. He said something, and I realized I couldn't hear him.

"Wait a second..." He stopped and started watching me. I pulled out my phone and pressed the pause button. He saw the whole thing and understood why I stopped him.

"Please continue..."

"I was asking if your home is this way? Because my house is also this way. We can walk together if it's not a problem for you."

His intentions were good, I knew that. But there was a problem; today I couldn't walk home with him, even if I wanted to. So I had to deny his request for today at least.

"We can... But today I can't do it."

"Ahh. Can I ask why?"

"The thing is, we're standing in front of my house."

'That's why I can't go with you. I am sorry. I am.'

"Oooh... I understand. No problem there, we can walk home tomorrow."

I nodded to him and smiled at him. He was staring at me very intensely all of a sudden.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's just... You don't smile in class usually."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it's the first time I've seen you smiling. I think, no, I'm sure, that no one in the class has ever seen you smile."

'I already have full control over my emotions, that's all. You mortals couldn't understand it.'

"You should smile more often. You look good while smiling."

"If I smile more often, wouldn't my smile be no different than others'?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I smile rarely; that makes my smile different and special from others. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah, you got that right."

"It's getting late. See you tomorrow at school."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye."

I waved my hand while saying goodbye. What did he want? I still didn't get it. That's how life is; not everything has a perfect answer, and nothing is discovered yet. Holding those thoughts, I went inside my house. I got straight to my room and lay on my bed like a dead body, as always. I was thinking about him.

'Again, I don't even know his name. I should learn my classmates' names, at least. Tomorrow, the first thing I will do is learn everyone's names.'

I don't know when, but I fell asleep. Nothing special happened after that. I did my homework, played video games, ate dinner, and slept.