Chapter 1

The curtains shift with the draft of the wind. The breeze carries the scent of cherry blossoms and grass through the room. Birds sing loudly while the cicadas fight for dominance with their voices. With an atmosphere like this, who could focus on class?

“Ms. Suzuki Kohaku, stop looking out the window”, Mr. Sugiyama taps his ruler on the desk.

He casts a dissatisfied look at her.

Suzuki blushes softly, “sorry”. She tucks a strand of her pink hair behind her ear shyly.

‘Sorry’ my toe. Each year, a kid in every classroom gets assigned a seat near the window. Everyday of that year, the teacher has to keep reminding them to pay attention in class. But somehow that kid has perfect grades and is in excellent standing with the teachers.

Not only this, they always end up with a partner at the end of the year. In fact, they’re the only ones that end up in a relationship. When is it my turn in the chair?

Katsuhiko taps on my shoulder, “who do you think she’ll end up with?”

“She hasn’t been seen with anyone. Maybe she’ll break the cycle,” Keiichiro chimes in.

“No way, the Dating Seat has never failed. Not in 200 years”.

“How would you know?” I asked.

“The occult club told me”. Keiichiro says proudly.

“You don't even believe in that sort of thing,” I retort.

“Ever since he started going out with his girlfriend, he’s been interested in that sort of thing” Katsuhiko jabs his finger into Keiichiro’s arm.

“You're whipped”.

Mr. Sugiyama glares in our direction, “focus!”

“Yes, sorry” Katsuhiko quickly returns his focus to his handout.

Suzuki glances in our direction wearily. Her eyes linger on Katsuhiko. Those who are chosen are always the most oblivious.

Katsuhiko glances up at her and looks back down.

“Do you think she has a crush on the teacher?” I could feel a vein popping out of my neck.

“Why don’t you ask her? Though I’m sure you’d get slapped for asking such a question.”

“Mr. Abe Taiyou, see me in the office after class.” I could hear a few snickers from my classmates. Keiichiro slaps my shoulder playfully.

I wonder why I chose these two as my friends.

I put my pencil to the filled out paper. Erasing and rewriting the answers until the page becomes soft. The classroom just so happens to overlook the garden. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom and all the plants are flowering. I wanted to catch a glimpse of the view. I glared at the back of Katsuhiko’s head. He ruined my plans. I’ll make his love life hell.

Kin-kōn kan-kōn

The bell scares me out of my thoughts. “Hand in your worksheets. Abe, follow me.”

The two I called friends quickly left me without so much as a glance. I packed up my things and followed Mr. Sugiyama wordlessly. “This is your second strike talking in class while doing classwork.” Mr. Sugiyama says. He slows his pace to walk beside me. I let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, there’s too much to talk about recently” I respond.

“Is there anything going on at home?” Mr. Sugiyama asks. His tone is suddenly soft, and his eyes look at me with concern.

Huh?

Is this why he’s asking me to follow him to the office? I wrap my arms around his shoulders. “You care about me!” I hang off his shoulders for a while.

He shrugs me off, “is there?”

I shake my head. “It’s all normal in my house.” I grin at him.

“So, you’re just talking to be disruptive?” Mr. Sugiyama's tone turns cold.

“No, no. There really is too much to talk about.” I tell him.

We reach the door to the staff room. Before I can step in though, a person bumps into my shoulder. The delinquent glares at me, “my bad”.

He has a healed wound by his lip and an open gash in his eyebrow. His gaze is sharp and cold. “No worries,” I say quietly.

He nods and walks in.

“Abe, why are you loitering?” Mr. Sugiyama asks.

“Sorry.”

Mr. Sugiyama sits in his chair and turns to look at me.

“You've been disruptive recently. You say it's not because of issues at home. Have you been bullied recently, or maybe you're just having a hard time?”

Mr. Sugiyama stares at me with worry in his eyes. “You're usually so quiet.”

Mr. Sugiyama goes on but the delinquent I bumped into catches my attention.

“You said that you were going to turn over a new leaf, but you're fighting with your peers at any opportunity.” The teacher chastizes him.

“It's not my fault.” The delinquent says defiantly.

His voice is rough but quiet, he glances off to the side.

“One student said that they were just trying to help you get to your classes and you blew up on them. How is that not your fault”.

The delinquent’s eyes narrow.

“Are you listening Abe?” Mr. Sugiyama waves his hand in front of my face.

“Yes”, I quickly turn my attention back to the teacher.

“What do you have to say for yourself?”

“When it was cold, I was sad and depressed. Now that it's warm, I have defrosted.”

Mr. Sugiyama did not laugh. “Is that so,” Mr. Sugiyama frowns. The delinquent stares at me. His shoulders shake as if he’s holding in a laugh.

“You're dismissed. I don't want to talk to you about this again.”

******

“What happened at the staff room?” Katsuhiko finds me quickly after I leave the room.

“I just got a stern talking to. I’ll probably get told to clean the classroom or join a club.”

Katsuhiko pokes at my cheek, “you should have joined a club a while ago”.

That’s what he’s focusing on?

“I’m a proud member of the ‘going home’ club.” I pound my chest firmly.

Katsuhiko shakes his head. I glace out the window. Students teem around the school gates. It’s easy to tell who is close to who and what people like each other.

I catch a glimpse of someone familiar. Suzuki Kohaku looks around. Katsuhiko watches her silently for a while, before knocking of the window to catch her attention.

“We’re two stories up, she’s not going to see you.” I tell him slightly mocking.

To my surprise Suzuki looks up. She smiles brightly and waves Katsuhiko down. Like a sailor called by a siren, Katsuhiko stands straight.

“I-”

“Don’t leave her waiting.”

I tell him patting his back. Katsuhiko rushes down the hall, bumping into another familiar face. “Hey!” The delinquent says.

He stops when he sees that Keiichiro is already far down the hall. Katsuhiko is always leaving me to clean up his messes. The delinquent casts his glare at me.

“I’m sorry, he isn’t usually like that.” I try to keep his gaze, but his expression is so intense. The delinquent takes a deep breath, it’s quite clear that he’s trying to calm himself.

“It’s not your fault,” he says.

“Yeah, but I’m sorry anyway. This is the second time I’m seeing you today, but i never caught your name.” I scratch the back of my head.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me, I’m-”

“Takahashi Junpei”, he says.

I pause for a beat. “Abe Taiyou,” I reply.

He looks confused for a second, then gives me a small smile. “I see.”

His smile reaches his eyes even though his lips don’t move much. I find myself smiling back at him.

He has a beautiful smile.