Chapter 2:

An Afternoon To Remember

Re:Write

Her eyes were immersed in my diary as if my life events were a romance novel.

Delinquents taking interest in my life, Great! Just what I needed.

I coughed, grabbing her attention. My voice came out in fragments; my feet tapped against the porcelain floor.

"Ummm… aaah... that's mine."

Her gaze shifted from the diary to my eyes. Her eyes were as blue as the sea, deep and distant. Staring me from head to toe.

My heart pounded against my ribs. My eyes avoided meeting hers.

Stop pounding so loudly, I get it—she's beautiful.

"Ohh! This yours?"

She took a seat at the top of my desk and spoke in a cool, collected tone— her hair draped all over my desk.

Ask her nicely to return it. DON'T do anything reckless, Haruki.

"Yeah, give it back."

I answered in a low, almost inaudible voice, taking one step toward her.

She crossed her legs. A finger tapping against her cheek.

"Nah, I'll keep it."

My body stood frozen. My throat tightened as my voice felt stuck at the tip of my tongue.

WHAT! Why? Did she see something?

"Why? That's just a pile of rubbish I was about to throw away."

" Rubbish? Then... you wouldn't mind if I do this, right?"

She took out her phone, flipping pages with one hand and taking photos with the other.

Stop her, moron.

And how am I supposed to do that?

Figure that out yourself.

" Knock it off."

She looked up.

"Why so eager about 'a pile of rubbish' ?" she mimicked in a sing-song, high-pitched voice, batting her eyelashes mockingly.

"Umm...Well, you know what they say—one man's garbage is another's treasure."

I stammered.

" Now you're just contradicting yourself."

"I...I..wasn't—"

Her gaze went back to the diary as she started reading.

" 'I saw a girl today who manhandled one of the boys.' Seems more like a diary than rubbish. Or were you referring to me?"

A cold sweat broke out across my forehead. I couldn't stop my hands from shaking. They lunged toward her, trying to grab the diary from her hand.

Bad plan—taking her on physically? Idiot.

She reacted fast; her fingers closed around my wrists mid-reach, stopping me cold.

"So, I was right. This is something Important to you. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Her finger waggled.

"Didn't mommy tell you not to mess with bad people?"

She stepped in, her shoulder brushing against my chest.

Too close. I'm so going home with a broken shoulder.

She twisted my arm, spun under it, and suddenly her hand was on my waist. I was moving — not by choice.

And just like that, it had turned into a dance.

Wait...she didn't throw me?

I pulled, cementing my feet to the ground.

"Let go."

She didn't; her grip tightened— firm enough to control, not hurt. She spun, dragging me alongside her, turning resistance into momentum. Her hair danced with the breeze.

A dance with the devil.

With each step, she got closer. Our bodies brushing more intimately. My heart throbbed like a drum in silence.

"Stop. What if someone sees us?"

She didn't answer. Just kept spinning slowly. Forcing me to follow her rhythm.

We swayed between the desks, neatly arranged beneath the setting sun. But then—

I stubbed my toe against the corner of a desk, losing my balance, I collided with her.

We both fell to the floor, the thudding sound resonating in the empty room.

Yeah, today is not my day. First off the bed, now this.

I rubbed my forehead before I looked beneath me.

Heat rushed to my face.

I landed on top of her, both my hands on either side of her head. My legs brushed against her skirt.

Silence.

I felt the heat of her breath—close, personal, and more intimate. The silent hum of the classroom turned the atmosphere almost romantic.

Ah...ah...ugh...this is the worst. A teacher must have heard us.

"Uhm… ahh… wah… I didn't…mean...to..."

" Ohh, really?"

Our gazes locked.

A faint heartbeat crossed my ears.

Was that a heartbeat? Is she suppressing it?

" What if I report you for forcing yourself on me?"

" I....didn't....do...anything. It was your fault. If you had just returned the diary, none of this would have happened."

"Go on. Try and explain this to a teacher, Haruki"

How does she know my name? Did she know me from the beginning?

" How do you know my name? Also, I never allowed you to use my first name."

" It's written on the first page of your diary. Cute. So stupid"

This...girl.

" Also, a guy whose body I just tangoed with shouldn't be telling me what to do."

" Hah...you're one to talk. Someone who's currently beneath me."

She raised an eyebrow, momentarily caught off guard.

" Don't act so cocky. You saw what happened in the morning, right? I can easily get...out."

So strong.

...

"What's so special about that diary?"

"Not your business."

She grabbed my wrists, holding them tightly.

"Wanna talk now?"

"Aren't you forcing yourself on me?"

"Acting like you aren't enjoying being on top of a girl."

"I'M NOT."

"So, you don't like girls? Is that what you're hiding in that diary?"

"No, I like girls."

" I get it. You've never felt the touch of a woman before."

"Unlike you, I kept my dignity. I don't sell myself to gangs."

She pressed harder.

"Gangs? That bullshit about me is still around."

"You believe everything you hear?"

" I saw it."

I whispered.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Did you say something? Afraid to say it to my face?"

"Why were you here?"

"I was passing by when my eye caught a notebook lying on a desk."

"I decided to give it a peek, then you showed up. I thought about messing around with you."

Her eyes avoided meeting mine.

"Why?"

"Nothing. It's fun," she answered.

"Fun? What's so funny?"

"Seeing you so desperate. That diary must be special."

"You're messed up."

"That's what they all say."

"Now, talk before I knock your lights out."

Do I tell her?

"Hurry up, Haruki."

I took a deep breath before answering.

"It's a souvenir of the past. Something I love and despise the most. Something that doesn't judge— just listens to all my problems without complaining. Your muscle-head wouldn't understand."

I looked away.

"Happy now?"

"Yeah. Was that so hard? But who the hell are you calling a muscle-head?"

....

" Gonna get off me, pervert."

"Umm...sorry."

...

The moment I started moving my body, a click, then a flash.

"High school couples, huh! Can't live a moment without each other," he said in a cheerfully witty tone.

" No wonder you left early, Masato-kun."

My eyes flicked to the door.

"Oh yeah, I should introduce myself to your girlfriend."