Some People Are Pretty Weird, Right?

There was a girl in their class who barely spoke.

She sat in the third row by the window next to Tsukihito. She had perfect posture and was always first to open her notebook and always done with assignments before anyone else. The kind of student teachers probably dreamed about.

If you asked most of the class what her voice sounded like, they wouldn’t know.
It started during English. Masaki tried to pronounce a word and completely butchered it. Like, impressively bad. Even Mr. Kitagawa had to turn around so he wouldn’t laugh. The class giggled.

And then-

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!!” It exploded from the back corner of the room. A full, sudden, sharp laugh. Every single head turned. Shinohara was still sitting perfectly straight. Hand over her mouth.Eyes wide with fear.Like she didn’t expect it to come out that loud either.

Silence.

Then she slowly lowered her hand and went back to writing.Like nothing happened. Kiyuri leaned toward Tsukihito. “There’s no way that just came from her.” “It did,” he said.Later, during history, Mr. Kitagawa casually mentioned how some historical figures met very unfortunate ends. He said it in a normal voice. Nothing dramatic. And then-

“HAHAHA!”

Again. Louder this time. It echoed through the classroom.Someone dropped their pen.

Shinohara stopped laughing all at once and blinked at the front like she had no idea why everyone was staring.

Tsukihito felt like his brain was lagging. How does someone that quiet produce that kind of laugh? At lunch, it got worse. They were sitting outside near the courtyard pond. Hiro said, “Imagine tripping down all these stairs on the first day.” Masaki added, “And the whole school sees it.”

Kiyuri pointed at Tsukihito. “You’d recover though. You look like you’d just stand up and pretend it was on purpose.”

“I would not.” From behind them, 

“HAHAHAHA!”

Birds actually flew out of a nearby tree. They all turned. Miyo Shinohara was sitting alone on a bench. Back straight. Face calm. Book in hand. Like she hadn’t just scared half the courtyard.

Masaki stared. “That’s not normal.”

“It doesn’t match,” Kiyuri said. “Her whole vibe doesn’t match.” That was the weird part, she looked like the quiet honor student. She acted like the quiet honor student. But her laugh sounded like it belonged to someone who found life way funnier than everyone else. Like a dry humor comedian.

The next day, Hiro decided to push it.

During break he said, loudly, “I once walked into the wrong classroom and sat there for ten minutes before realizing.” Some people chuckled. Then, as if on cue.

“HAHAHAHA!”

Desks shook. Even Mr. Kitagawa paused mid-sentence. She clapped a hand over her mouth again, shoulders shaking, trying to stop. It made it worse. Tsukihito couldn’t help it. He laughed too. Not at Hiro. At the situation. After class, he walked over to her desk while the others hovered nearby pretending not to watch.

She looked up at him.

Calm again. Like the laugh had never happened. “Your laugh is loud,” he said. Straight to the point. She blinked. “…Is it?” “Yes.” Pause. She looked down at her notebook. “I forget sometimes.” “Forget what?” “To keep it in.”

He didn’t know what to say to that.

She adjusted her bag on her shoulder. There was the smallest hint of a smile. Then she walked past him.Kiyuri rushed over immediately. “What did she say?”

“She doesn’t do it on purpose,” he said.

Masaki crossed his arms. “That’s worse.” Hiro nodded. Tsukihito glanced toward the hallway where she disappeared. The quiet girl with top grades that laughs like a cartoon villain who just discovered comedy.

“Some people are pretty weird, right?”